# Where is the game at? **URL:** \ **Category:** Wicked General\ **Created:** [November 11, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499 "2025-11-11T02:20:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scott\_gallagher](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/scott_gallagher/32/6843_2.png) [@Scott\_gallagher](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Scott_gallagher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 2:20am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/1 "2025-11-11T02:20:32Z")
Hey everyone, So, where is the game at? I love Moon studios and I’ve given No Rest for the Wicked a few attempts. I’m an average gamer, more casual than anything else., and when I played the game it was too damn hard! I had issues, rolling off the cliff, enemies having too many hps, deaths being too punishing, etc… Have they made any changes to make this game more accessible to us casual gamers or is it what it is at this point? In it’s current state, I thought it was garbage and couldn’t get past the point where I was strong enough to deal with it. Looking forward to your feedback. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_gallagher](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/scott_gallagher/32/6843_2.png) [@Scott\_gallagher](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Scott_gallagher)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 2:27am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/2 "2025-11-11T02:27:18Z")
**Past concerns:** **Combat & Difficulty** - Early-game enemies are too strong, with inflated health and relentless attack patterns. - Difficulty spikes hard after reaching Sacrament, punishing players before they can adapt. - Parrying is unreliable, with timing windows that feel broken or inconsistent. - Combat lacks responsiveness and fluidity; attacks often miss due to bad hit detection. - The game punishes players for learning rather than rewarding improvement. - There’s no accessible mode or assists to help casual players ease into the game. **Gear, Durability & Progression** - Gear breaks too quickly, forcing endless resource farming and downtime. - Durability adds frustration without meaningful gameplay value. - Repair costs and crafting timers slow progress unnecessarily. - Upgrades and enchantments are poorly explained and overly grind-heavy. - Focus, infusions, and rune systems lack clear guidance or in-game explanation. **Tutorials & Onboarding** - The game provides almost no direction or tutorials for core mechanics. - Players must rely on external sources like YouTube just to understand basic systems. - There’s no structured introduction or in-game help for new players. **Exploration & World Design** - Nighttime visibility is too low, making exploration frustrating and easy to misstep. - The town layout is confusing and inefficient, with key vendors too far apart. - Resource respawns are inconsistent and unpredictable. - Environmental hazards like cliffs and jumps are poorly signposted. **Performance & Systems** - Lag and instability persist even in offline play. - Realm functionality remains inconsistent. - Multiplayer is still missing or unclear in status. **Overall Design & Philosophy** - The game often feels punishing for the sake of difficulty rather than balance. - It caters to hardcore players while alienating casual ones. - The early game needs rebalancing to encourage learning instead of discouraging it. - Accessibility and quality-of-life improvements are urgently needed. - The potential of Moon Studios’ design and artistry is clear, but buried under frustration. ---
**Author:** ![Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/silas-inservio-pax/32/10458_2.png) [@Silas-Inservio-Pax](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Silas-Inservio-Pax)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 2:57am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/3 "2025-11-11T02:57:29Z")
@Lombix_4 Could I pass this one to you? Scott, I have not played in your timeframe, but let me paint you a picture of the game now. - Difficulty is too subjective, but the game has now tiers. 3 paths you can take, where the easiest one (Path of the Torn) reduces enemy hp by 20% and damage by 50%. - Parry timings have always felt good, with a few exceptions (looking at spearman). - Gear durability is generally not an issue anymore, if at the least you learn to survive. There are consumables to repair, a rune and of course the smith himself. - Timers have all been adjusted, I refer to Lombix though if he includes that in his answer. There are more resources now, still player made but they are all available in the [Discord](https://discord.gg/wickedgame). Sheets with all possible enchantments, weapon stat alignments, where they drop etc. Most of them are pinned in the channels. Scott, i’m going to be honest. More then 50% of your post pertains to difficulty, and although I sing the glory of this game to everyone, it might not be for you. If you give it a try again, you will need to trust yourself that you can learn to dodge, parry or block. The game has a lot of options in either of these directions. Balance is currently in favor of the player, that could potentially mean your experience will be severely different and better. What I really want for you, is: - if you experience the same troubles you had in the past, come by in the Discord for a few tips (just a few). With those you can resume to learn and if you eventually face a hard obstacle again you repeat the progress 😉 The art, traversal and level design are still top-notch, this can still be a fun experience for you, but in the end you will have try to see if that is possible. I hope to have taken away a few of your worries, you are very welcome to ask more or ask in the Discord! We stand at the ready, Silas ---
**Author:** ![Lombix\_4](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/lombix_4/32/9402_2.png) [@Lombix\_4](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Lombix_4)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2025, 1:55pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/4 "2025-11-11T13:55:52Z")
Scott, you’ve written a detailed explanation and you have my respect for that since most players come to this forum without having thought carefully about the criticisms they make. That said, I think you approached the game with the wrong mindset and this led to a bad experience. In fact, the problems you encountered (which are real and many have been fixed in the new versions) have been magnified out of proportion because of this approach. ## The “casual gamer” situation: In my experience, **when it comes to the “casual gamer” I’ve encountered two archetypes** (or sometimes a mix of the two): **The first is the player with little experience and or little time to play** (I assume you fall into this category since you played Ori which is not a very easy game.). **If you’re this type of gamer, I recommend playing simpler games in the same genre first, especially Death’s Door & Another Carb’s Treasure.** By playing these games, you should have all the resources (skill and experience) you need to enjoy NRFTW on medium difficulty (which is the intended difficulty, and therefore also the best experience as a first playthrough). **The second archetype is the player who sees the game as a power fantasy adventure** where he wants to be able to advance without much difficulty. This player is interested in relaxing while playing the game, he just wants the right resistance to make the gameplay interesting. For the rest, he is interested in the story and therefore dying more than 3/4 times in an area or from a boss while exploring becomes frustrating for them, they just want to go forward and see what’s beyond the obstacle of gameplay and explore the world and the story. **If you are this type of player, you can set the difficulty to easy** and read the tutorials carefully (which are now much more numerous and better written (still not perfect)) and the effects of the enchantments, you can play this way, **but if you have 0 experience in the genre you might still have to put in a bit of effort** , and you should play the game once it’s fully released (so you can see the whole story without waiting for updates). ## Direct answers to your concerns: > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Early-game enemies are too strong, with inflated health and relentless attack patterns. The enemies at the beginning of the game have attack combos that may seem very fast and dangerous, but once they finish an attack combo they stop for a while and you have a clear opportunity to hit them. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Difficulty spikes hard after reaching Sacrament, punishing players before they can adapt. Once you get to Sacrament you can choose multiple paths, you can also go back to the starting area to level up and get some loot (the enemies and houses change so it’s not a repetitive experience) > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Parrying is unreliable, with timing windows that feel broken or inconsistent. Perry is a mechanic that is designed to be riskier than dodging and in exchange gives you a greater reward when you execute it correctly you can complete the game without doing any perry you are never forced to learn this mechanic (is intended to be used by the most skilled players and ignored by the less skilled players). > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Combat lacks responsiveness and fluidity; attacks often miss due to bad hit detection. There are very few attacks that are unclear and don’t work well. This is an impression you may have due to your lack of experience. You may have difficulty reading the animations because you are not used to isometric view (this is why I recommend playing Death’s Door). > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > The game punishes players for learning rather than rewarding improvement. It’s a punishing game, it’s when you make a mistake or get hit or die, but you’re not punished for doing the right thing, you only get punished when you make a mistake, so this statement isn’t true. Furthermore, the punishment isn’t that big, you just have to walk a little way to get back to where you were, and the enemies you’ve already defeated don’t come back. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > There’s no accessible mode or assists to help casual players ease into the game. Now there is an easy mode, but even before there were ways to make your life easier, for example you can level up, you can use consumable items that you find around, and generally by exposing the easy areas instead of the difficult ones the game naturally becomes easier. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > - Gear breaks too quickly, forcing endless resource farming and downtime. > - Durability adds frustration without meaningful gameplay value. > - Repair costs and crafting timers slow progress unnecessarily. Weapons and armor do not take damage with use but lose their use every time you die (tools (pickaxe, axe, shovels and peck cane) are excised but they wear out when you use them) so this impression of yours comes from the fact that you die often. This is an intentional choice by the developers, designed to make the player take breaks when they die a lot. I have a lot to say about this mechanic, both positive and negative, and I think I’ll write a topic about it. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Upgrades and enchantments are poorly explained and overly grind-heavy. Now the descriptions are more readable and easier to understand but the system still has many problems. I have discussed them here: [The RNG Problem, Enchantment System Vs Gem System (Refined)](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/the-rng-problem-enchantment-system-vs-gem-system-refined/19706) and I also proposed a very detailed solution. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Focus, infusions, and rune systems lack clear guidance or in-game explanation. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > **Tutorials & Onboarding** > > - The game provides almost no direction or tutorials for core mechanics. > - Players must rely on external sources like YouTube just to understand basic systems. > - There’s no structured introduction or in-game help for new players. Now the tutorials are there but there is still no way to comfortably re-watch the tutorials that have already appeared. However they confirmed that they intend to resolve these issues. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Nighttime visibility is too low, making exploration frustrating and easy to misstep. I have not encountered this problem, I think you just need to increase the brightness of the game from the settings. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > The town layout is confusing and inefficient, with key vendors too far apart. The vendors are all near the same square except one, and now they’ve also removed the loading times to enter their stores. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Resource respawns are inconsistent and unpredictable. It’s done in post to increase replayability but the Devs said they will make sure you also have the possibility to obtain things in a precise and consistent way. For example, the next update will add a research table that will allow you to obtain blueprints of Items you are researching. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Environmental hazards like cliffs and jumps are poorly signposted. I think you have this impression because you are not used to the isometric camera, even in my opinion it would be a good idea to make the fall damage less punishing > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > Lag and instability persist even in offline play. The game continues to improve in this area and the developers intend to bring the game to the Switch 2 as well, so as long as your system is better than a Switch 2 you shouldn’t have any problems (in the finished product). > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > - Realm functionality remains inconsistent. > - Multiplayer is still missing or unclear in status. The Multiplayer Update is the next update. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > The game often feels punishing for the sake of difficulty rather than balance. The game’s combat is designed to make you think about every possible move. It’s not difficult just because it’s difficult, it’s difficult because you have to learn it. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > It caters to hardcore players while alienating casual ones. I think it’s somewhat true but **no one said that NRFTW has to be your first Souls game or your first isometric view game, That’s why I recommend you play games like Death’s Door & Another Carb’s Treasure first to introduce yourself to the genre, so you can better appreciate this game.** > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > - The early game needs rebalancing to encourage learning instead of discouraging it. > - Accessibility and quality-of-life improvements are urgently needed. > - The potential of Moon Studios’ design and artistry is clear, but buried under frustration. I agree that they can do better but the current situation is not terrible and the game continues to make progress in these areas in every update. ### If you plan to play the game on easy mode I recommend you read this first: [Game Accessibility and Difficulty, Unsolved and New Problems (Breach Refind)](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/game-accessibility-and-difficulty-unsolved-and-new-problems-breach-refind/19972) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_gallagher](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/scott_gallagher/32/6843_2.png) [@Scott\_gallagher](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Scott_gallagher)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 4:00am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/5 "2025-11-21T04:00:48Z")
Thank you for responding. I’m definitely in the category one. I think my main issue with the game was not learning how to play it, but getting brutally punished WHILE learning it. (Which is absolutely stupid when it affects your gear to the point that you have to REMAKE YOUR F\*NKG CHARACTER because you simply have no other choice!) THAT is the main issue I had with the game! I’m about 30 hours in and to be honest, I barely made it to the town and when I went to the starting zone to grind a bit, the enemies were stupidly ramped up. Like I said, I’m hopeful. I’m going to give it another try this weekend and see if it has improved at all. _Curious_ Are you playing with a controller or k/m? (I’m rolling with the k/m) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_gallagher](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/scott_gallagher/32/6843_2.png) [@Scott\_gallagher](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Scott_gallagher)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 4:03am UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/6 "2025-11-21T04:03:05Z")
Thanks Silas! I’ll give it another try and also swing by the Discord. Cheers! ---
**Author:** ![Lombix\_4](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex003/user_avatar/forum.norestforthewicked.com/lombix_4/32/9402_2.png) [@Lombix\_4](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/u/Lombix_4)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2025, 1:18pm UTC](https://forum.norestforthewicked.com/t/where-is-the-game-at/20499/7 "2025-11-21T13:18:28Z")
> [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > _urious_ Are you playing with a controller or k/m? (I’m rolling with the k/m) This is the only game I play with the controller even though I bought it for PC (obviously since that’s the only place where it’s available xD), the reason is that I started playing it a week after it was released in early access and at the time there was no option to remap the keys and the default controls were very uncomfortable to me, even though I can change the controls now I’ve gotten used to the controller and I prefer it. > [@Scott\_gallagher](#): > > THAT is the main issue I had with the game! I’m about 30 hours in and to be honest, I barely made it to the town So, if this is the situation, it means you have absolutely zero experience with the genre. If you don’t want to gain experience with the games I recommended, I’ll give you some tips for starting out. ### Weapons & Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith (Damage Stats) It’s important to find a weapon that you feel comfortable with, At the beginning of the game you will always find a random weapon on a corpse in the starting area (this corpse always spawns in the same place), and even if you don’t like it you will have to adapt until you find and save Filiamore (the blacksmith), after which you can buy weapons from him, finding what you like to use the most. If you find this process of finding the most suitable weapon for you too slow you can also start a new Realm until the corpse has the weapon you are looking for. Every time you level up you can put points into some stats (you probably already know this) I advise you to avoid putting points into Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith at the beginning of the game, these stats only increase the damage slightly and become important leater when the weapons that scale with these stats are upgraded. Weapons scale with one, sometimes two of the damage stats (Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith) check the weapon you like to see what it scales with, if it scales with strength it means you have to put points into strength, and no other damage stat, all the points you put into the other damage stats (Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith in this case) are useless, if a weapon scales with two stats such as Strength + Intelligence it means that to get the bonus damage you will have to level up both stats and keep them at the same level (if you have 13 levels in strength and 15 in intelligence you get less damage than when you have 14 levels in strength and 14 in intelligence). ### Equip Load, Armor and Dodges There are three dodges: Dash (Light Load), Roll (Medium Load) and “Dive”(Heavy Load), and this depends on how heavy your equipment is and the level of the “Equip Load” Stat. The stronger the armor, the heavier it is, I recommend you to bring your equippable loadout to at least lv 14-18 to have a decent armor. ### Healing and Food There are 2 ways to heal yourself: Food, The Healing Rune, (and Dying if you want to count it xD), I don’t know if the healing rune had already been introduced when you played the first time, but it actually allows you to use focus to heal yourself, and it’s useful for not wasting food. To avoid running out of food, it is essential to collect all the “herbs” you can, the herbs are the basis of every recipe and are easy to ignore since they mix a little with the flora. The health attribute obviously increases your health but it doesn’t increase how much you heal yourself so if you notice that you have to eat too much food to heal yourself it’s not worth leveling up Health until you find better food. ### Focus and Stamina Focus and Stamina are player preferences but I recommend you bring focus lv11-13 and stamina to lv14-17 ### Enchantments and Gems It’s best to avoid the Plague Enchantments (those with curses) since you’re just starting out. To reroll and add enchantments you can use Embers (unfortunately it is a RNG based system), if you don’t want to rely on RNG you can use gems (if you find them) once you arrive at the city.