First of all, I want to thank you for one of if not the best game’s i’ve played in a decade. I am very excited for 1.0 release, and have dragged several friends into the EA who have very positive feedback as well.
I have noticed that the endgame starts to feel much too easy. I am coming to this game as a fan of soulslikes, and I know there is probably an appetite for the ARPG endgame fantasy of being untouchable. Perhaps there is a way to give both playerbases the experience they’re looking for.
Rather than trying to get the best numbers or best synergy the way I usually might, I have put in many hours trying to find a build that feels cohesive and just powerful enough to clear the hardest areas without deleting the screen everywhere I go. I do not usually go this route in other games, because there is usually and endgame available that lets me push the numbers and still present a significant challenge.
I have never even touched the Black Pearl/Mottled Gem builds and I still find myself dialing my builds back considerably so that I feel like I can engage in combat without just poising through damage and 1-2 shotting everything.
Just today, I went to go do a Pestilence run and realized I forgot my Torn fodder at home, so I burned some random stuff to get up to Pest4 for a change of pace, accepting the additional curses. I honestly forgot I could do this, because the rewards seem to be identical regardless of what you burn.
I was amazed at how much more fun I had using the same build I’ve settled on. The significant ramp in difficulty was an experience I couldn’t find anywhere else in the game, and I had to manage my stamina, health, spacing and position like I haven’t had to since I first started my character.
After I cleared it, I felt like either the Pestilence rewards should be based on how many curses you endure, or, the Torn items should be far, far more rare. And/or, the rewards should somehow be based on the number+quality of Torn items you burn. For example, burning Husks would give better rewards and/or less/easier curses than burning SInews. It is currently very easy to go infinite on Torn items; even using the 5 effigies a day, I go positive on Torn Sinews consistently.
So not only is there currently no reason not to burn Torn items, there’s also no reason not to just burn 8 Torn Sinew.
Anyhow, this is the first significant point of feedback I have after 300+ hours of EA gameplay. Thanks again for the amazing game!