Suggestion: More consumables that act as escapes/emergencies

[GreatSphynx]

I enjoy the game a lot, but I'm really surprised by how underutilized the consumable cards seem to be. Mostly just tarots and planets which really dont have a ton of functionality being played as "instant" cards mid hand. Lots of traditional roguelikes and even roguelites have things like potions and scrolls that can act as emergency escapes. It would be cool to see things like a card that lets you discard your whole hand and redraw without using a discard. But the trade off is it's something yo u have to hold on to. You could even use that traditional roguelike idea and have cards be unidentified, so its a coin flip whether it helps or hurts you.

As an avid roguelike AND roguelite player I think one of the biggest weakenesses in Balatro's balance is that there are instances where even with a good run, and good luck on a particular round, you can end up with just an unwinnable situation since there isn't really a TON of restructuring you can do to deal with certain encounters. It is nice you get to know what the boss blind is ahead of time. But I think it would be really great (especially for longer endless mode play) to basically have ways to counter or at least attempt to counter those dead end rounds. And i think it would also make the sorta underutilized consumable pile more interesting and a bit of a deeper mechanic.

I do know there are some cards I haven't unlocked that sorta do some things to this degree, just a suggestion of where future content could be added for some more interesting play and more player agency and control over difficult situations. Game is still great.

[sweetandcool]

Huh, I've always used Tarot cards as an emergency escape.

Imagine holding onto a "make 3 cards x suit" for an easy straight flush or emergency flush.

Or even a card to make a steel card so that you can discard efficiently for the hand you need and then guarantee a steel card bonus.

Or imagine throwing out all the stops with a glass card.

Anyways, almost every Tarot card can be used extra effectively during a round, and can even carry a run where you are struggling a bit.

[sab0t]

Originally posted by sweetandcool:

Huh, I've always used Tarot cards as an emergency escape.

Imagine holding onto a "make 3 cards x suit" for an easy straight flush or emergency flush.

Or even a card to make a steel card so that you can discard efficiently for the hand you need and then guarantee a steel card bonus.

Or imagine throwing out all the stops with a glass card.

Anyways, almost every Tarot card can be used extra effectively during a round, and can even carry a run where you are struggling a bit.

i used to just use my tarots immediately without really thinking about it, but eventually figured out the strategy you've described which is a MUCH better way to use tarots. this makes an especially big difference when you're against a boss that is weakening your score output.

Say I'm playing a build that doesn't make use of flushes / suits at all. I will still hang onto tarots that change card suits, as let's say I'm going to play a straight, but 2 or 3 of the cards are debuffed. I can use the tarot to change their suit to make sure they score for that hand.

all this said, more types of consumables is an interesting concept, certainly. i'm not sure how needed it is but if done right it could definitely add to the gameplay.

[BeautifulFlowerField]

edited - i see that you're not saying tarots are weak just that there aren't a ton of ways to use them as consumables in round that are interesting. i think that's exactly how it should be. the blinds only do one thing, there's very little design space for counterplay without changing the game completely and most of the crazy hand manipulation cards are spectrals.

[GreatSphynx]

i understand what you guys are saying and yeah they can be useful mid round, i guess i am just thinking more in terms of like rarer very strong one time use type things. like yeah cloning a card or converting a few to a suit can be useful, but in most of my time playing it has rarely been like the difference between a win and a loss unless it was going to be a very narrow loss. i dont think it would be totally necessary, i just think the consumables that are available right now are just a little limited and narrow in scope, thats all. and i think it could open up a lot of interesting gameplay with more interesting consumables, especially ones that are more uncommon and rare. also full disclosure i dont have everything 100% unlocked so this could change to a degree. and obviously consumables are more important in different deck types like if you go with telescope.

[kevinforrestconnors]

Originally posted by GreatSphynx:

i understand what you guys are saying and yeah they can be useful mid round, i guess i am just thinking more in terms of like rarer very strong one time use type things. like yeah cloning a card or converting a few to a suit can be useful, but in most of my time playing it has rarely been like the difference between a win and a loss unless it was going to be a very narrow loss. i dont think it would be totally necessary, i just think the consumables that are available right now are just a little limited and narrow in scope, thats all. and i think it could open up a lot of interesting gameplay with more interesting consumables, especially ones that are more uncommon and rare. also full disclosure i dont have everything 100% unlocked so this could change to a degree. and obviously consumables are more important in different deck types like if you go with telescope.

In my experience, once you get to Orange Blind and beyond, you absolutely need to enter the final stages with some good tarot cards and use them very strategically.

[sweetandcool]

Originally posted by kevinforrestconnors:

Originally posted by GreatSphynx:

i understand what you guys are saying and yeah they can be useful mid round, i guess i am just thinking more in terms of like rarer very strong one time use type things. like yeah cloning a card or converting a few to a suit can be useful, but in most of my time playing it has rarely been like the difference between a win and a loss unless it was going to be a very narrow loss. i dont think it would be totally necessary, i just think the consumables that are available right now are just a little limited and narrow in scope, thats all. and i think it could open up a lot of interesting gameplay with more interesting consumables, especially ones that are more uncommon and rare. also full disclosure i dont have everything 100% unlocked so this could change to a degree. and obviously consumables are more important in different deck types like if you go with telescope.

In my experience, once you get to Orange Blind and beyond, you absolutely need to enter the final stages with some good tarot cards and use them very strategically.

Agreed. Tarot cards have saved my bacon countless times.

I'm not against the idea of more consumables being added if they are interesting, but currently they can be used pretty effectively and I don't think they need to be buffed.