RNG is too Much

[Banjo0119]

After taking a little break from this game for a month or two, I figured I'd open it up and get a couple of games in to relax. Nope. This is 100% the worst state the game has been in since I started playing.

Relics: So many Boss Relics, such little use. I'm pretty sure at least half of the relics now are completely unusable because of either crippling drawbacks, or lack of synergy with whatever build I'm currently running. I totally get wanting to add more relics, but you gotta boost how many we can choose from 2/3 to 3/5 if you're going to have so many bad ones.

Balls: Wow some of these balls are bad. Overly confusing descriptions, lack of synergy, etc. It's not that they're terrible on their own, but there is no universe where I'm going to pick up half of them in Cruciball, especially since my build already hinged on a very specific set of balls/relics to shine.

Forest: This is a complaint I've had for a while, but Forest still being untouched sucks. It genuinely is so, so bad. The stages feel slow and frustrating, especially those with wall pegs where you'll just bounce off the side and do 8 damage because you don't have any relics, balls, or strategies yet. Both bosses are insufferable to fight unless you pick their direct counter. With the previous mentioned ball issues, it's made the first area harder than the 3rd. I've lost most of my games tonight in the first area because I can't do enough damage, and I can't get the balls to do enough damage either.

All in all, I still think the game is fun, but it feels much less strategy based and so much more RNG based. Before, even if I pulled bad relics, I would have good balls. Even if I pulled bad balls, my relics might be able to salvage it. Now? I skip most staged entirely because there's no reason to pick up a ball that hurts me for 3 damage every 10 blocks I hit, a ball that can only be used once, or a ball that outright hurts whichever play style I'm using. Really hoping for an update to fix these issues, because they've killed my attention span for the game 10 fold.

[maxzslayer29]

I agree with the boss relic bit and I agree this game can be a pain. However this sounds like another case of falling in the "synergy" hole. Failing to establish a foundation for your deck will make the rng feel far worse. Taking orbs that simply have higher stats or provide some other unconditional consistency to the deck is key. Around ball ten the strategy of brute forcing runs with rng becomes drastically less practical and proper strategy is all but demanded

[Arson]

I fully agree, this game has become akin to going to a casino and only playing roulette or slots. Once you have enough skill to get past the first 8-10 cruciball levels, wins only start to come with perfect luck. Some pegboards seem to be designed to do as little damage as possible, and the changes the devs make to the game are some of the most brainless ideas I’ve ever seen devs do. The slime boss “nerf” that added more pegs but also more health, is IMPOSSIBLE, I haven’t beaten it once, in over 20+ runs. Now as soon as I see the slime boss on the map, I reset.
I would consider myself to be a skilled, avid gamer, and never ever have I seen a game that I couldn’t just “get better” at. This game is so annoyingly RNG based. Didn’t get all 8 of the healing Items available to the Spinventor? DEAD
Didn’t find any piercing orbs?
DEAD
Didn’t get Tactical Treat to move refreshes?
DEAD because the refresh is stuck under EVERYTHING
I don’t wanna see any tell me “well you don’t have to play the game yknow”
I shouldn’t have to stop playing the game if I want to have fun, the devs should fix their broken ass gambling simulator posing as a game. Not playing the game shouldn’t be the more fun option
And don’t come at me about not owning the game on Steam, I play on mobile (it’s the same thing, we have all the same updates)

[Arson]

Originally posted by maxzslayer29:

I agree with the boss relic bit and I agree this game can be a pain. However this sounds like another case of falling in the "synergy" hole. Failing to establish a foundation for your deck will make the rng feel far worse. Taking orbs that simply have higher stats or provide some other unconditional consistency to the deck is key. Around ball ten the strategy of brute forcing runs with rng becomes drastically less practical and proper strategy is all but demanded

I understand what you’re saying, a strategy is required to beat higher levels, but this game makes it basically impossible to form a deck at high level.
I’m constantly healing after every fight, allowing me no gold to spare for orb upgrades, let alone to buy relics. And even when I do make it to a shop with some money, I’m met with a slew of ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ orbs and relics.
And when I skip the fights and aim for question marks? All the game can offer are 3 pebballs or take damage, or 2 fireballs or take damage, or the Gamblin (which is pretty ironic), or the bramball/egg tree.
The devs make it too hard to even get past the forrest, the slime boss is insane after the rework, and the enemies in normal fights do waaaaay too much damage before even getting to the the boss.

[maxzslayer29]

@Arshin
I really have no good advice other than what I said earlier in this thread. If you feel the need to heal constantly you are either taking too many elites before your deck is ready or your just not placing your shots correctly as I even on ball 16 rarely take more than single digit damage per combat in act one baring a few specific fights and most elites and I rarely feel the need to heal more than once. Maybe play balladin a bit more? He is super consistent, with a sphear in his starting deck and one good stat stick can give you upwards of 18 block at the start of every fight which makes him very good at regular fights

As for the things in you said not directly at me. I used to have a very hard stance on the slime boss haters but as of now im cutting yall some slack this bozo got buffed in the recent update for sure and it is rough and so is leshy the new boss, if you see him build single target and hope you find a act two answer as well but there is no guarantees here.

There are a lot more answers to getting refresh stuck than tac treat, in fact I would argue tac treat is the worst refresh solution. There are a fair few orbs that solve this issue, concentrication, reorbinizer, and all the orbs that out right say refresh the board and any relic that says refresh the board or gives more refreshes not to mention unicorn horn helps as well

As far as piercing/aoe goes well that is probably the biggest up in the air thing in the game but thats why I would argue that balladin is the best character in the game. As I said earlier one good stat stick and a level three sphear and you are set to just plow through combats act's 1 and 2 making more aggressive and rewarded paths significantly more viable

All in all I hope the game gets better for you maybe take a break from cruciballs just to chill because the balls are merciless

[Arson]

Originally posted by maxzslayer29:

@Arshin
I really have no good advice other than what I said earlier in this thread. If you feel the need to heal constantly you are either taking too many elites before your deck is ready or your just not placing your shots correctly as I even on ball 16 rarely take more than single digit damage per combat in act one baring a few specific fights and most elites and I rarely feel the need to heal more than once. Maybe play balladin a bit more? He is super consistent, with a sphear in his starting deck and one good stat stick can give you upwards of 18 block at the start of every fight which makes him very good at regular fights

As for the things in you said not directly at me. I used to have a very hard stance on the slime boss haters but as of now im cutting yall some slack this bozo got buffed in the recent update for sure and it is rough and so is leshy the new boss, if you see him build single target and hope you find a act two answer as well but there is no guarantees here.

There are a lot more answers to getting refresh stuck than tac treat, in fact I would argue tac treat is the worst refresh solution. There are a fair few orbs that solve this issue, concentrication, reorbinizer, and all the orbs that out right say refresh the board and any relic that says refresh the board or gives more refreshes not to mention unicorn horn helps as well

As far as piercing/aoe goes well that is probably the biggest up in the air thing in the game but thats why I would argue that balladin is the best character in the game. As I said earlier one good stat stick and a level three sphear and you are set to just plow through combats act's 1 and 2 making more aggressive and rewarded paths significantly more viable

All in all I hope the game gets better for you maybe take a break from cruciballs just to chill because the balls are merciless

You make some good points, but I shouldn’t have to change characters to have fun, I’m currently on ball 15 with Spinventor. There’s only one good damaging orb that helps with refreshes, and that’s reorbinizer, the other ones do terrible damage so i don’t pick them often. And I rarely take elites, I take most of my damage from that stupid 3/4 circle pegboard, I want to throttle whoever designed that abomination.

[That Fish Guy]

The devs should prioritize your constant fun over the game they want to make?

Maybe play the game in the way that it's fun for you, Rather than demanding it be fun all of the time, there's nothing wrong with choosing a character that best matches your play style, or a difficulty that you don't challenging enough to be rewarding without ruining your enjoyment.

There are tons of ways to play the game, if you don't enjoy all of them, focus on the ones you do enjoy.

I don't enjoy playing dps characters in LoL, TF2 or crpg's it doesn't mean those games are badly designed

[Arson]

Originally posted by That Fish Guy:

The devs should prioritize your constant fun over the game they want to make?

Maybe play the game in the way that it's fun for you, Rather than demanding it be fun all of the time, there's nothing wrong with choosing a character that best matches your play style, or a difficulty that you don't challenging enough to be rewarding without ruining your enjoyment.

There are tons of ways to play the game, if you don't enjoy all of them, focus on the ones you do enjoy.

I don't enjoy playing dps characters in LoL, TF2 or crpg's it doesn't mean those games are badly designed

You’ve missed the point, all characters should be viable, it shouldn’t be unreasonable hard to beat the first level with one character, and STUPID easy with another.
Also, yes, the devs should prioritize the fun-ness of their game, over making shi ash updates. Not just my fun, but the community as a whole, and I’ve seen most people agree that this game is extremely unbalanced and luck based. I know RNG is a core part of roguelikes, Peglin is not a roguelike anymore, it’s a glorified gambling simulator, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

[maxzslayer29]

@Arshin
I still think you are doing something wrong because all characters are viable. Have you ever considered taking orbs that do not do much damage but offer utility? Because you should pick up the first orb you see that helps with refreshes unless you find a relic for that problem first. I cannot pin point exactly what you are doing wrong but if you feel that one character is massively better than the others you are doing something wrong that much is undeniable