Introduction: Setting the stage
For context, I love story-driven games & whilst I generally avoid grinding in games, I’m open to it if it’s well-executed and serves a meaningful purpose.
I’m about to do a deep dive into my major concern regarding the current state of the game: the endgame. I’ll be completely open that I haven’t reached the endgame in my playthrough, so if I miss the mark, do correct me as it may alleviate any worries that I hold.
When I first saw gameplay for the late game I was completely surprised. Builds that allow the player to cheese the game? I personally believe they looked boring. They don’t look engaging and seem like a complete power fantasy. Whilst I understand combat evolves I feel like the pacing is off, which potentially might be a result of the game being in EA. I am fine with progression and the player becoming stronger, but one thing I personally believe is that the game should never get easier; only the player should get smarter. The direction at which the game looks like its heading is that it will lose the personality it had at the beginning of the experience.
Developer Insight: Weapon Diversity and Vision
The game boasts a diverse array of weapon archetypes, including daggers, bows, staffs, clubs, swords, and more. Each weapon contributes to the depth of combat, offering a unique experience to players. Thomas, the Creative Director, emphasised this commitment to quality in a statement:
"Every weapon we add to our catalogue needs to get my stamp of approval - We want all the weapons to have a somewhat unique playstyle and come with a unique rune special.
Ultimately, adding a weapon in Wicked is similar to adding a new character in a fighting game and we’d like to focus on quality over quantity. It’d be easy to just add more models, but I think we’re all better served if every weapon we implement allows players to play Wicked in a somewhat different way."
This commitment to quality over quantity suggests that more weapons will gradually be introduced throughout the game’s Early Access phase and potentially beyond version 1.0.
The Problem: Grinding & RNG
Now that we have established the weapon archetypes and how many weapons are available currently, let me explain the problem with the constant grind & RNG.
During a crucible run, you have a loot pool from which you are rewarded a weapon after defeating the boss. This results in the constant grind of replaying until you obtain the desired weapon. Additionally, you have to contend with the constant RNG, potentially receiving the desired weapon without the desired affixes.
So, in combination with this loot pool of 100 weapons, RNG, and any future weapons to be added, this results in an aspect that can be quite unfair. Some players may obtain desired loot within a few runs, while for others, it may take hours.
Now, referring back to the Wicked Inside Showcase: (https://youtu.be/CQGm48kBjKo?t=227)
“loot in NRFTW is randomized, ensuring that every player has their own unique experience”
While this does make every player’s experience unique, it doesn’t ensure fairness for every player. It may be unfair for some and easier for others, resulting in two polar opposite experiences. This imbalance may dissuade players from continuing to play. To further support this point, at the opening of the game, it was later patched so that players could buy weapons from the blacksmith, meaning that prior to the change, if someone was unlucky with loot drops, they wouldn’t have a weapon.
Note: I could be wrong about that last point, I am pretty sure I heard it somewhere, so please correct me if I am wrong.
Grinding & RNG: Potential Solutions?
Here are some potential workarounds I can think of currently:
- Allow players to extract or remove affixes from unwanted weapons and transfer them to desired ones, offering more player freedom and reducing the need for constant grinding.
- Introduce guaranteed unique weapon drops from story bosses to alleviate unfairness. These items could have high requirements, preventing early acquisition of super-powerful weapons and adding a sense of progression and reward.
- Consider implementing higher drop rates for certain weapons in specific crucibles, offering players a more targeted approach to obtaining desired gear.
- Implement unique armour blueprints as drops from bosses, adding a sense of reward and achievement for players who have faced that boss. Moreover, it could introduce an exciting element of creating builds inspired by the bosses themselves. (Suggestion By @Ketsi)
Crucibles: Endgame Potential
Firstly, let’s revisit Thomas’ tweet:
I find this idea incredibly fascinating, and I fully support its implementation. Let me elaborate on how it could be utilised, drawing inspiration from Hades’ boons system.
During a Crucible run, players would face waves of enemies in a stage. Upon defeating all enemies, players would be presented with three choices out of these rewards:
- A new weapon (Potentially allow for the choice of what archetype?)
- Acquire a new piece of gear (Choose the type e.g., pants, helmet, etc.)
- Unlocking a new affix (That can be applied to existing weapons & gear)
- Level up an existing affix (Increasing the % bonus gained)
- Obtain a new rune
- Rewarded with a new gem
- Receive a new ring
This introduces an element of strategy as players must carefully consider their choices. Then the player must advance to the next stage and repeat the process, akin to the structure in Hades.
Upon completing the final boss within the Crucible, the player could be granted a cursed or unique weapon, adding another sense of reward. These rewards would then be ‘extracted’. However, if the player dies during the Crucible, they would lose the rewards obtained, adding a sense of risk and tension.
Essentially, the Crucible could function as a rogue-lite, as intended by Thomas, while also implementing an extraction-esque element. While this maintains the core aspects of grinding and RNG, I believe this endgame could be more engaging and add further replayability for those who choose to play it.
Conclusion: Moving Forward
Thank you for taking the time to read my deep-dive. I hope it has provided you with a clearer understanding of my current concerns and potential solutions to the issues discussed. Please share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
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And if you’re interested, check out my deep-dive regarding the three core pillars for level design in NRFTW: