Dark Mirror's Hard Mode Progression is a mistake

[ShanachieWolf]

Too much of the unlocked features are pure quality of life that don't meaningfully effect difficulty, while minimizing RNG on runs or allowing greater customization of the experience.

Locking content behind hard mode that benefits enjoyment of the base game as much if not more is a mistake. Difficulty narrows options and freedom of builds to what succeeds, while ignoring what a given player finds FUN. Certain builds are numerically inferior, or less viable for a given player, but the game instead of using the mechanics to support less viable playstyles, locks solutions behind increasingly difficult hard mode run completions for no actual gain to the experience.

Choosing starting items and skulls should replace the RNG method of the base game from the jump after rescuing the Fox NPC. Imagine failing a run with a specific skull at the final boss, then getting back to castle and realizing you can pick up where you left off to a certain degree with basic items and the same skull you started with. Hard Mode's version would be better served upgrading basic skulls to rare and allowing you to pick from all rare skulls in addition to basic skulls at Hard Mode 0/1.

Hard Mode is basically Skul 1.5 but all the quality of life improvements are held hostage by slogging through runs that are less fun than they could be with more freedom of choice and quality of life locked behind a grind for no benefit to the player.

TL;DR: Skul has made major improvements to base gameplay design, but instead of making it a universally better game, requires fighting through hard mode to have a better and more enjoyable experience when difficulty and fun are not intrinsically linked, but mechanics that improve on worse game design that fix roadblocks to fun or enhance already present systems are locked behind difficulty for no good reason.

[Eagle Eye Jack]

It's sad how much people just want to be handed things without working, even in video games. You don't need the bonuses of the dark mirror to beat the normal game, you only need a little experience and effort. The bonuses are there to help you clear the difficulty of the mirror.
I will earn my rewards, thank you. There's no achievement in being handed things.

[ShanachieWolf]

So, in short, your response is GIT GUD gatekeepy nonsense with a dash of moral superiority supposedly gained from the PRIDE AND ACCOMPLISHMENT of beating a slightly harder videogame when difficulty wasn't even the main thrust of my post. Yes, I should treat gaming like a job instead of a fun hobby to enjoy, my mistake. /s

If you read the post, most of the bonuses don't effect difficulty in a meaningful way, and many just minimize bad RNG that restrict expression of skill instead of properly challenging it.

[ImTheSideKick]

you know you can turn down the difficulty if you having that much of a issue with the game. the base game is a joke compared to the dark mirror now and i just finished lvl 9 so no the base game doesnt need less rng, its fine as is

[Sobrio]

The base game with less RNG will be broken to be honest.

[HoneyDrake]

Originally posted by Eagle Eye Jack:

It's sad how much people just want to be handed things without working, even in video games. You don't need the bonuses of the dark mirror to beat the normal game, you only need a little experience and effort. The bonuses are there to help you clear the difficulty of the mirror.
I will earn my rewards, thank you. There's no achievement in being handed things.

while I understand your reasoning, the issues are on hand: balancing being horrible bad concerning scaling.

Not saying that it's actually an issue for "Skul", I am not sharing the thread creators feelings. I think the game itself is decently balanced.

But the issue itself still stands: If someone decided to build a arson build he should be as strong as someone building a poison build, considering both are similarly difficult to find and close to each other costs.

I have no issues if X is stronger, or Y is way more rare.

I have an issue with "Both are similarly difficult but one is obviously the better choice at any given circumstance" (which, once again, doesn't seem to be the case here in this game)

[ANGST']

Git gud

[LeEpicGamer]

Just invest ttime and git gud

[WillSP]

I used to have problems with the difficulty curve of hard mode as well, the key is really just learning to use the tools you gain throughout Dark Mirror in creative ways and you'll find DM10 isn't that bad.

HEALTH: Having 2 in revenge (even if you have to use an inscription pedestal) + Maxed out Piety is enough to make the game MUCH easier, you don't even really need Piety to notice the difference

DAMAGE: Soul Strike, Predicted Pain, and Go-Getter are insane for boosting your damage. Remember that thanks to inscription pedestals you don't have to waste as much space in your inventory to max out inscriptions like Courage, Wisdom, Execute, Fairytale etc so you can have more space in your inventory to fit other items to further boost your damage.

SKULLS: you have a TON of ways to min-max your build in Dark Mirror and Bones are far easier to obtain so don't be afraid to choose a skull at the start of the run with full intention of building your entire run around it.

It actually gets to the point where playing DM10 is much more fun than the base game due to all the Dark Hearts you earn and upgrade options you have.

Originally posted by Honey Drake:

Originally posted by Eagle Eye Jack:

It's sad how much people just want to be handed things without working, even in video games. You don't need the bonuses of the dark mirror to beat the normal game, you only need a little experience and effort. The bonuses are there to help you clear the difficulty of the mirror.
I will earn my rewards, thank you. There's no achievement in being handed things.

while I understand your reasoning, the issues are on hand: balancing being horrible bad concerning scaling.

Not saying that it's actually an issue for "Skul", I am not sharing the thread creators feelings. I think the game itself is decently balanced.

But the issue itself still stands: If someone decided to build a arson build he should be as strong as someone building a poison build, considering both are similarly difficult to find and close to each other costs.

I have no issues if X is stronger, or Y is way more rare.

I have an issue with "Both are similarly difficult but one is obviously the better choice at any given circumstance" (which, once again, doesn't seem to be the case here in this game)

Arson and Poison are actually both very powerful in there own way, many Poison items Boost your characters physical damage incredibly high even compared to items with Arms or Courage, Id say the only Poison item that needs a buff is Chimera's Poison Fang.

(though it would be nice if disposable syringe had a 10% crit chance to match invisible knife)

I admit that not all options in this game are created equal...heck I just posted a thread of all the balancing issues I've found the other day and it was MASSIVE, but there are a fair few options that are actually pretty good.

[theoneandonlytoasty]

rookie mode is a cool feature. thanks for sharing your opinion, but hard game =/= bad game although it may feel like it's the game's fault