i wish you could pick a starting skull

[darthdud0]

i wanted to try some skulls but they never seem to drop, i wish there was a way to pick a starting skull, even if it was an expensive upgrade to the main base i just want to pick, i am bad with luck, i only got the cool soldier guy twice and always say no to the tree guy, i have only had one run without the tree skull being an option, i want to pick a starting skull, random can come after that but i want a good start.

[SPplayer76]

No, the closest you can get is to check the free skull, then pause and restart. If you are looking for a higher rarity skull, this could take a while.

[darthdud0]

Originally posted by spplayer76:

No, the closest you can get is to check the free skull, then pause and restart. If you are looking for a higher rarity skull, this could take a while.

the problem is the free skull is luck based, resetting over and over just to get a good start doesn't work and defeats the point of both not having the ability to picking a skull and having random skulls,i wish they would add the ability to pick a starting skull, resetting a random skull over and over kind of proves that there needs to be at least an option to pick a starting skull.

[Tafnir]

A possible revision: trade dark quartz for a skull of your choosing. Maybe a few hundred for a common and one or two thousand for a rare?

[darthdud0]

Originally posted by Tafnir:

A possible revision: trade dark quartz for a skull of your choosing. Maybe a few hundred for a common and one or two thousand for a rare?

i just wish i could pick a starting skull, random starts just don't feel like progression to me, in other games with random elements i at least like to have control at the start.

[Mr. Dandy]

Yea i agree, I think what could be added is that you could spend quarts to upgrade the npcs
maybe the witch gets more skill tree unlocks, you can choose your starting skull with the fox, stuff like that.

[815|Shouldabeen]

I said it before in another post at one point, but I think they should have an option to let you buy any skull at the start (including legendaries), but make it cost an absurd amount of quarts. Say like 30k or something. This way, you can't do it every run because eventually you'd run out since you don't make near that amount in the run. It'd let you play what you want once in a while without removing the normal game mechanics for most runs.

And yes, I'm aware that most of us have a massive quartz pile from running this game a billion times, but if the cost was too high then it would be really hard for newer players/save files to ever utilize it.

[darthdud0]

i just hate not being able to pick a starting skull, it drove me crazy not being able to feel like anything got done, you can unlock new skulls but at no point can you select them, you might like random skulls but i don't, it drove me away from the game, i only saw the big update to the weaker skulls and thought "cool, i might give this a try again" then remembered "you won't see half of those skulls" and decided not to play it again,
no matter how much i enjoyed this game the inability to make any progression other then passives ate at me, you can unlock and upgrade passives but other then that have no control over how you play, 815|Shouldabeen for you 30k sounds small, i don't think i got that amount in the entire time playing this game, i just kept not getting far, the rouge-likes\lites i like playing are like endless dungeon where the only control you get is how you start, i just wish this game had that.

[815|Shouldabeen]

Originally posted by darthdud0:

i just hate not being able to pick a starting skull, it drove me crazy not being able to feel like anything got done, you can unlock new skulls but at no point can you select them, you might like random skulls but i don't, it drove me away from the game, i only saw the big update to the weaker skulls and thought "cool, i might give this a try again" then remembered "you won't see half of those skulls" and decided not to play it again,
no matter how much i enjoyed this game the inability to make any progression other then passives ate at me, you can unlock and upgrade passives but other then that have no control over how you play, 815|Shouldabeen for you 30k sounds small, i don't think i got that amount in the entire time playing this game, i just kept not getting far, the rouge-likes\lites i like playing are like endless dungeon where the only control you get is how you start, i just wish this game had that.

I think it should be more available as an endgame option after you've done all witch/castle upgrades and don't have anything else to spend quartz on, that's why I think it should be so high. Currently there's no sink at all for quartz, and it just seems like a very easy/logical quarz sink

[darthdud0]

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

Originally posted by darthdud0:

i just hate not being able to pick a starting skull, it drove me crazy not being able to feel like anything got done, you can unlock new skulls but at no point can you select them, you might like random skulls but i don't, it drove me away from the game, i only saw the big update to the weaker skulls and thought "cool, i might give this a try again" then remembered "you won't see half of those skulls" and decided not to play it again,
no matter how much i enjoyed this game the inability to make any progression other then passives ate at me, you can unlock and upgrade passives but other then that have no control over how you play, 815|Shouldabeen for you 30k sounds small, i don't think i got that amount in the entire time playing this game, i just kept not getting far, the rouge-likes\lites i like playing are like endless dungeon where the only control you get is how you start, i just wish this game had that.

I think it should be more available as an endgame option after you've done all witch/castle upgrades and don't have anything else to spend quartz on, that's why I think it should be so high. Currently there's no sink at all for quartz, and it just seems like a very easy/logical quarz sink

all you are fishing for is a quarts sink, i want to feel like i made progress by unlocking skulls, we are not having the same conversation, i want to have control over how i start, random starts suck, you are complaining that you can't spend your mountain of quarts, i never got the amount you want to throw around.
i am not asking for something i cannot afford, i am asking for the ability to even want to play the game, i tried to meet a middle ground at the start of the conversation with it being an end game upgrade, but i realized that i wouldn't ever get there without this function, i can't bring myself to play with random start skulls.

[815|Shouldabeen]

Originally posted by darthdud0:

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

I think it should be more available as an endgame option after you've done all witch/castle upgrades and don't have anything else to spend quartz on, that's why I think it should be so high. Currently there's no sink at all for quartz, and it just seems like a very easy/logical quarz sink

all you are fishing for is a quarts sink, i want to feel like i made progress by unlocking skulls, we are not having the same conversation, i want to have control over how i start, random starts suck, you are complaining that you can't spend your mountain of quarts, i never got the amount you want to throw around.
i am not asking for something i cannot afford, i am asking for the ability to even want to play the game, i tried to meet a middle ground at the start of the conversation with it being an end game upgrade, but i realized that i wouldn't ever get there without this function, i can't bring myself to play with random start skulls.

I hate to say it, but "welcome to roguelikes". Almost no roguelike allows you to start exactly how you want to. In STS, you get to pick your character, but your neow bonus is a random selection. In Dead Cells, you get to pick from a few random starter sets (granted you can do limited unlocks but that game has A LOT more unlockables), in CoTDG you can pick your early starting weapons from a random selection, in Hades you get to pick your first god, but the abilities they offer along with their level is random; the list goes on. That's why I think picking a specific skull should be locked behind a quartz sink, because it inherently changes the way the game is played. I guess if you were to argue being able to pick any of the common skulls from the beginning, i'd be okay with that, but otherwise it's just too game changing.

[darthdud0]

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

Originally posted by darthdud0:

all you are fishing for is a quarts sink, i want to feel like i made progress by unlocking skulls, we are not having the same conversation, i want to have control over how i start, random starts suck, you are complaining that you can't spend your mountain of quarts, i never got the amount you want to throw around.
i am not asking for something i cannot afford, i am asking for the ability to even want to play the game, i tried to meet a middle ground at the start of the conversation with it being an end game upgrade, but i realized that i wouldn't ever get there without this function, i can't bring myself to play with random start skulls.

I hate to say it, but "welcome to roguelikes". Almost no roguelike allows you to start exactly how you want to. In STS, you get to pick your character, but your neow bonus is a random selection. In Dead Cells, you get to pick from a few random starter sets (granted you can do limited unlocks but that game has A LOT more unlockables), in CoTDG you can pick your early starting weapons from a random selection, in Hades you get to pick your first god, but the abilities they offer along with their level is random; the list goes on. That's why I think picking a specific skull should be locked behind a quartz sink, because it inherently changes the way the game is played. I guess if you were to argue being able to pick any of the common skulls from the beginning, i'd be okay with that, but otherwise it's just too game changing.

ADOM you pick your class, dungeon of the endless you pick your starting characters and the pod they start in, FTL you pick your ship, loop hero you pick your class, the list goes on.
being able to pick a common skull from the beginning would be nice and then expensive upgrades could unlock higher tiers, and picking the skull doesn't "inherently changes the way the game is played", since it could be argued it doesn't change anything after that, picking a "good" start doesn't make anything else easier, it just allows you to at least have something to fall back on.

"I guess if you were to argue being able to pick any of the common skulls from the beginning, i'd be okay with that, but otherwise it's just too game changing."
how does it change the game? how does picking the starting skull change the game?

[815|Shouldabeen]

Snip

Originally posted by darthdud0:

I guess if you were to argue being able to pick any of the common skulls from the beginning, i'd be okay with that, but otherwise it's just too game changing."
how does it change the game? how does picking the starting skull change the game?

Imagine picking any legendary skull. You no longer have to take ANY skull rooms in the run and can focus 100% towards item build. Imagine even picking a unique. You only have to collect 100 fragments, which with some luck can be done before first boss or at the very least before 2nd adventurer fight. That completely changes how the game is played. Skul isn't only about getting the right skull, but balancing your currencies to both upgrade your skulls and have the items you need to progress. Taking one of those things out of the equation completely throws off the balance of the game.

[darthdud0]

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

Snip

Originally posted by darthdud0:

I guess if you were to argue being able to pick any of the common skulls from the beginning, i'd be okay with that, but otherwise it's just too game changing."
how does it change the game? how does picking the starting skull change the game?

Imagine picking any legendary skull. You no longer have to take ANY skull rooms in the run and can focus 100% towards item build. Imagine even picking a unique. You only have to collect 100 fragments, which with some luck can be done before first boss or at the very least before 2nd adventurer fight. That completely changes how the game is played. Skul isn't only about getting the right skull, but balancing your currencies to both upgrade your skulls and have the items you need to progress. Taking one of those things out of the equation completely throws off the balance of the game.

gonna quote myself "being able to pick a common skull from the beginning would be nice and then expensive upgrades could unlock higher tiers"
i want to work up to legendary, you know, progression.
for you the game is about balancing skulls and items, for me it is lamenting that i can't pick my starting skull and finding items, there is no balance, i always pick skull door since i can't find good skulls, the balance you seek is already lost on me due to us both having different experiences.
you cry for a way to spend your mountain of quarts, i just want to pick a starting skull so i can want to play the game and feel like i actually unlocked something! within 7 hours of playing it i only saw recruit 3 times(i common) and only saw rock star once(unique) and saw hunter 13+ times(uncommon) and so much wood skull!(30+then stopped counting)
i am not a hardcore gamer, i have beaten dark souls 3(the easy one!) i like hard but more importantly i like progression, i like control over at least a start, the chance to sometimes maybe have something randomly show up is not progression, it shows up when it wants or it doesn't, i hate this half of the rougelite genre, you work to get the things you like less often, the more options that can show up lowers the odds of any given thing from showing up, once i noticed this i quit games like it, it wasn't presented as a game with no control over your start, the ads show you unlocking permanent upgrades, so why wouldn't they let you pick something you "unlocked"?

[815|Shouldabeen]

Originally posted by darthdud0:

gonna quote myself "being able to pick a common skull from the beginning would be nice and then expensive upgrades could unlock higher tiers"
i want to work up to legendary, you know, progression.
for you the game is about balancing skulls and items, for me it is lamenting that i can't pick my starting skull and finding items, there is no balance, i always pick skull door since i can't find good skulls, the balance you seek is already lost on me due to us both having different experiences.
you cry for a way to spend your mountain of quarts, i just want to pick a starting skull so i can want to play the game and feel like i actually unlocked something! within 7 hours of playing it i only saw recruit 3 times(i common) and only saw rock star once(unique) and saw hunter 13+ times(uncommon) and so much wood skull!(30+then stopped counting)
i am not a hardcore gamer, i have beaten dark souls 3(the easy one!) i like hard but more importantly i like progression, i like control over at least a start, the chance to sometimes maybe have something randomly show up is not progression, it shows up when it wants or it doesn't, i hate this half of the rougelite genre, you work to get the things you like less often, the more options that can show up lowers the odds of any given thing from showing up, once i noticed this i quit games like it, it wasn't presented as a game with no control over your start, the ads show you unlocking permanent upgrades, so why wouldn't they let you pick something you "unlocked"?

You really have an interesting choice of words. I have not cried about anything, but merely made suggestions for the implementation of a system that meets you halfway. I even agreed with your original thought of being able to select common skulls. But you continued the argument, so I assumed you wanted more. I agree, some skulls show up a WHOLE lot more than others (I see stone monkey at the start about 80% of the time), but that's the way the game and rogues as a whole work. There's always randomness. That's the attraction. If you don't like that part of rogues, you simply don't like rogues. The whole struggle is to try to win each run with the cards you've been dealt. You're not always going to have the super sick OP run of your dreams. I honestly even find it more satisfying to win runs where I'm not uber strong. It means I played well, not that I was carried by sick RNG.

Even Beelz talks about how he has to search for hours for skulls, just to showcase them. That's why I think it best to let us select skulls as sort of an endgame for spending the pile of quartz. If it weren't for that reason, I don't think they should really let us in the first place (except for maybe commons just because constantly resetting is stupid).

[darthdud0]

Originally posted by 815|Shouldabeen:

Originally posted by darthdud0:

gonna quote myself "being able to pick a common skull from the beginning would be nice and then expensive upgrades could unlock higher tiers"
i want to work up to legendary, you know, progression.
for you the game is about balancing skulls and items, for me it is lamenting that i can't pick my starting skull and finding items, there is no balance, i always pick skull door since i can't find good skulls, the balance you seek is already lost on me due to us both having different experiences.
you cry for a way to spend your mountain of quarts, i just want to pick a starting skull so i can want to play the game and feel like i actually unlocked something! within 7 hours of playing it i only saw recruit 3 times(i common) and only saw rock star once(unique) and saw hunter 13+ times(uncommon) and so much wood skull!(30+then stopped counting)
i am not a hardcore gamer, i have beaten dark souls 3(the easy one!) i like hard but more importantly i like progression, i like control over at least a start, the chance to sometimes maybe have something randomly show up is not progression, it shows up when it wants or it doesn't, i hate this half of the rougelite genre, you work to get the things you like less often, the more options that can show up lowers the odds of any given thing from showing up, once i noticed this i quit games like it, it wasn't presented as a game with no control over your start, the ads show you unlocking permanent upgrades, so why wouldn't they let you pick something you "unlocked"?

You really have an interesting choice of words. I have not cried about anything, but merely made suggestions for the implementation of a system that meets you halfway. I even agreed with your original thought of being able to select common skulls. But you continued the argument, so I assumed you wanted more. I agree, some skulls show up a WHOLE lot more than others (I see stone monkey at the start about 80% of the time), but that's the way the game and rogues as a whole work. There's always randomness. That's the attraction. If you don't like that part of rogues, you simply don't like rogues. The whole struggle is to try to win each run with the cards you've been dealt. You're not always going to have the super sick OP run of your dreams. I honestly even find it more satisfying to win runs where I'm not uber strong. It means I played well, not that I was carried by sick RNG.

Even Beelz talks about how he has to search for hours for skulls, just to showcase them. That's why I think it best to let us select skulls as sort of an endgame for spending the pile of quartz. If it weren't for that reason, I don't think they should really let us in the first place (except for maybe commons just because constantly resetting is stupid).

maybe i didn't make myself clear, i am a casual, i can beat hard games but i am still a casual, i have lost with legendary skulls, i have never beaten a run, the farthest i got was a weird alchemist guy boss, that is who killed me with my grim reaper skull and everything, i am less then half as skilled then you think i am, i was using easy mode! i am begging for an easier mode!
i don't care that you don't have anything to spend your quarts on, make a thread about that "need more quarts sinks", for someone who isn't crying for quarts sinks you keep bringing it up at every opportunity, just ask for one in your own thread.
and you keep acting like this is how every rougelite is, you are just wrong, there are 2 kinds of rouge lites,
1:where you gain more things to randomly come across with no control over your start.
2:where you unlock more things to randomly show up and the only control is how you start.
you like 1 half and i like the other, i had only heard of slay the spire out of all of your examples, we have explored different parts of gaming even within a genre, we both like different subgenres in a subgenre, rougelite is a subgenre of roughlike.
i want to meet in the middle ground but there is no middle ground between have control over start and have no control over start.