It is more then "a bit unfair" for something so significant to be racially restricted with zero alternatives, but there might be alternatives in the future so, can't really get into that yet. Of course there is more then one uber effect from rakkie restricted potions to choose from, which just makes it that much more asinine. The racial restriction seems a bit arbitrary at the same time, not sure why he added those for just one race. I mean, if he plans to add other racial potions later then he definitely should have waited to unveil those, and if not... then why are they restricted to a single race. For now though not only can non-rakkie players not compete in terms of tankyness, but they also cannot compete with damage dealing potential either.

Also I know I've already said this to death, but it is going to be extremely hard for Citan to balance this game as is with only one skill having significant access to percentage based mitigation. If he balances for that one modifier then nobody else will be able to tank anything going forwards, and if he does not balance for that effect then anyone using that skill will find content to be ridiculously easy. It has to go or be available to more skills, I'm sure we're in agreement on that though. ( getting rid of it seems like it would eat less dev time then rebalancing every other skill though ). I think there is a big problem at this point as it has gone on for so long now, some people are not going to be happy if that gets nerfed. The other alternative ( and I have literally been saying this for years now) is reducing mob damage and increasing mob health still, because percent based mitigation loses effectiveness if you are not getting hit for 300-900, in addition to that it reduces a lot of the other issues combat currently has.

The crafting aspects of this game are so well fleshed out ( although they get a bit convoluted for my tastes, and of course some skills are still missing completely aka jewelry, weapons, metal armor) but the combat side is just "kill them before they can kill you, or go unarmed and just pull 5-10 mobs and laugh". Combat and especially group combat, feels like an afterthought.

I remember some years ago Citan made a post about where he wanted combat to be, he said something along the lines of wanting it to take like 40 seconds to kill a single mob. That just isn't ( and was never) possible though with the amount of incoming damage players take, you cant really survive any fight at level that lasts that long ( unless you are using unarmed atm) So, what we ended up with was everyone building for extreme damage, because the choice was never given to build another way ( unless you like failing). And also that could never work out currently because he tends to also throw somewhere between 3 to a bazillion mobs at us at the same time with no tools to avoid that except body pulling, which is well and good except wandering pathers kinda screw that all up regardless. To me overcrowding mobs is a real issue that just sucks fun out of the game, ESPECIALLY combined with reducing a players ability to deal with crowds. It feels like it is going two opposite directions at the same time and it gets frustrating.

Maybe what he wants has changed, and that's fine... but we have no idea because he isn't telling us. I know what I want to see though, I want to see slower but more meaningful combat more akin to everquest. In that game it actually DID take you 30-40 seconds to solo a trash mob ( or longer) but at-level they also didn't have the potential to kill you in 4 seconds either. Not only would that solve a plethora of combat related issues, but it would also slow down players to an extent where one player cant kill every single mob in a lower level dungeon. For instance right now I could run through crypt / hand/ borghilde/ brainbug /mushroom/ animal nexus / boarded basement/ red crystal/the first part of goblins( up to annexes) / the first part of DC/ ( etc etc) and kill every single mob that exists on the map in under 5 minutes, 10 at most... this is not good for newer players that might be trying to experience these places. I mean, this is his baby, and it's fine if that's NOT what he wants anymore, but since I don't actually know what he wants, I am giving feedback on the assumption his mindset hasn't changed.

I get that people are not going to be happy if you focus on balance at the expense of releasing new content, but there will be more stuff that needs balancing going forwards if you don't handle it now before it really does become such a huge undertaking that it's not even worth it to try. The other alternative is to say "fuck balance" and just let everyone be overpowered... probably easier, and there can be fun in that approach but it is also less satisfying.

At this point I'm not sure if Citan still even wants my feedback, if that is the case please just tell me and I will go on my merry way. If not, I will do my best to help you realize your vision. But it would be super-helpful in that case to know what your current vision regarding combat actually is.





P.S. I'm sorry for putting this bullshit in your thread Yaffy, I just started with the comments about rakkie potions and it sort of got out of hand. I guess that's what happens when I don't post for a while.