I’ve finished my first playthrough of NRFTW and would like to share some feedback.
First of all, I thoroughly enjoyed the game and will definitely stick around to check out new updates. NRFTW scratches an itch that few other games do and think the game looks very promissing. Multiplayer is what I am most looking forward to. There aren’t many ARPGs with the potential to create an enjoyable multiplayer experience, but I see that potential in NRFTW due to its pacing, methodical combat, and visual clarity.
However, the game is far from complete, and there is still much to improve. Many of my concerns have already been discussed by the community, addressed during my playthrough, or promised for the next update. Therefore, I will focus only on the issues that remain relevant or are of greatest concern to me.
To give you a bit of context, my first character is a heavyweight, strength-based melee fighter wielding a Claymore. During the leveling process, I experimented with cold infusion. It was effective at keeping enemies in place for charged attacks, but the damage against frozen targets wasn’t great. Later, I switched to the physical damage version with the Ice Ram rune to incorporate a shatter combo. Even though I struggled a couple of times, overall, I had an absolute blast playing this character.
Performance
- It’s likely an ongoing effort, but the performance still isn’t great. The game runs smoothly most of the time; however, asset loading continues to cause frequent hiccups, especially when transferring to another zone or when something in the world changes, for example when a boss spawns or a building project is completed.
General
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Game needs to do better job at explaining what each mechanic, mod or rune does. Good start would be to provide more detailed stat overview. Provide functional training ground that would allow players to tests their characters with consistent numbers. Use more intuitive and descriptive mod names and lastly add detail descriptions to explain any nuaces.
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We need a proper stash solution. Let me put it this way: the game offers an entire housing system, yet I’ve never interacted with it—because the only thing I’ve ever placed in my house is just another stash.
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Eventually, there is no reason to engage with most traders since they always offer the same goods. The only exceptions are Grinnich and Finley. It would be nice if they also offered some random items from their respective crafts.
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I like to test runes on newly acquired weapons. However, doing so usually forces me to use up all my fish food. It would be nice if there was a way to replenish focus in town. Perhaps after resting in the inn? Just give players the freedom to experiment without needing to burn through their resources.
Combat
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I believe monster density could be slightly higher, especially at higher levels.
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Focus gain and rune costs don’t feel well-balanced—at least with a two-handed sword. Before crafting gear with focus gain mods or equipping the Band of Calmness—even after investing 20 points into focus—casting a rune that costs 100 focus felt like such a luxury that I rarely used it. The only exception was the damage buff. I believe rune casting should be more accessible, especially in the early game. On the other hand, the Ring of Determination in the end-game completely negates focus management, which also isn’t ideal.
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First off, I absolutely love that ranged enemies can hit their own allies, creating opportunities for strategic positioning to turn their attacks to your advantage. However, I feel that ranged enemies are a bit overtuned. Their attack speed is very high, and every projectile causes stagger—even to heavy armor. I believe projectile stagger values should be reduced to prevent frequent interruptions to characters with decently high poise.
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Poise doesn’t mitigate knockback attacks. Even with 50 poise, my character can still be pushed back several meters by the vomit. If reaching the required poise threshold doesn’t grant immunity, then it should at least reduce the knockback distance to make poise feel more impactful.
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Certain enemies retreat far too often. Many ranged enemies tend to do this, and some bosses—such as the bat monster—are especially frustrating in this regard. Flying enemies, in particular, are troublesome because they remain untouchable while airborne, even when a vertical attack visually connects with them.
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I recognize that improvements have already been made in this area, but I believe ledge protection still needs further refinement. Some problematic scenarios remain unaddressed. Using an attack or rune near a ledge shouldn’t feel like an unavoidable death sentence. In reality, a fighter would instinctively adjust their attack distance rather than deliberately launching themselves off the edge.
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As much as I enjoy the freeze-shatter combo, I feel that it deals too much damage. The combo is so powerful that it can effectively one-shot most bosses.
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Backstab attacks should be easier to execute. When I get behind an enemy, I often miss simply because they swing their weapon, which slightly alters the angle. This has nothing to do with my positioning.
Weapons
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There are many runes that serve very similar functions. While I appreciate the variation between similar moves—whether more grounded or more flashy in animation—I believe the game needs more runes with distinct purposes or combo synergies. For example, I ended up using Ice Ram (a combo setter), Raging Spiral (a solution against groups), and Balance Smash (a strong single hit). I can think of a life-leeching attack that would perhaps make the life-leech gem less mandatory, or a cheaper rune with a bracing move that would allow players to actively withstand knockback attacks, finisher move, etc.
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I’d love to see more off-hand options. I usually prefer one-handed swords (I’m currently practicing with a Jian sword irl), but using a bow as an off-hand stat stick feels a bit odd. I don’t mind the bow as an option—though a crossbow would be more fitting—but there should be a greater variety of off-hand choices, including the option to have no off-hand while still gaining compelling advantages.
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Balance between one-handed and two-handed weapons isn’t great. The fact that one-handed weapons can use 2 sets of mods should be compensated in some way.
End-game
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Combat is too easy. Most of my deaths come from falling off ledges or fighting bosses.
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Currently, we have the Crucible and Pestilence Outbreaks as end-game activities. Both systems modify the player experience in some way, either positively or negatively. I’d love to have an end-game system where I can play the character I created without any ‘system’ modifiers.
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Pestilence Outbreaks - there often isn’t enough enemies and players are forced to search every corner to kill remaining enemies in the zone. I believe the boss should spawn when 1/2 - 3/4 monster in the zone are defeated.
Thanks for reading. I’m looking forward to doing next playthrough with the upcoming update.