I’ve had the exact same doubt, and this change definitely throws me off. If there’s one thing I enjoy above all else, it’s the ability to create solid builds in a well-balanced game. Experimenting with combinations of weapons, stats, and runes until you get the most out of the combat style you’ve chosen is, without a doubt, one of the most satisfying aspects of any good ARPG.
The problem is that in NRTFW, any optimal build is so powerful that it ends up having a negative impact on gameplay: the combat system simply becomes irrelevant. That said, I don’t understand why, in response to this issue, the decision was made to make life impossible for players who want to optimize their builds. That level of RNG is unbearable.
About seven months ago, when I was an active member of the forum, I wrote this:
The stacking of effects and high percentages is a problem. This becomes obvious when looking at both enchantments and rings. For example, stacking percentage-based damage boosts—such as +30% rune damage—sends the numbers skyrocketing. Then you throw in another ring that adds +20% overall damage, and with just two pieces of gear, your damage increases by an incredible 50%. With enchantments, the scaling goes even further. The higher these percentages get, the harder it is to balance both enemies and players. This leads us to one of the hottest issues in the community: some players have weak builds and can’t progress, while others with optimized builds only need to press one button to break the game.
The game need balance, not more RNG.