Bunch of feedback

[Zote]

Panther boss stalls way too much. Very unenjoyable fight because of that.

There's one enemy in stage 4 that shoots out a bunch of spinning blades that come back towards you. The indicators for that attack are just completely undecipherable. It's just indicator spam with a lot of them overlapping making it nearly impossible to tell what's a damage zone and what isn't.

Enemies in stages 3 and 4 are really, REALLY spongey.

Most bolt projectiles aren't telegraphed very well or get lost in everything else happening onscreen. The two main culprits are the guys that shoot homing water bolts at you and the projectiles shot by the tentacles the level 4 boss shoots.

Magic wand (and it's upgrades) feel really weak. I don't think it's a dps issue as much as a game feel issue. It shooting 3 projectiles and dividing up the damage between each make each individual projectile feel like they barely tickle the enemy, which just feels kinda bad. Not helped by the fact that the sword and shield already deals such little damage if you're not dash attack spamming at the end of every combo.

I wish I could see what unlocks the next slot in the upgrade tree. I'm just kinda upgrading blind until I hit the upgrade that opens up the rest of the tree.

Mole costume seems completely unviable. It is a lot of negatives in exchange for a highly mediocre perk and an item that shows up in a lot of my runs anyway. Unless it's designed as a challenge costume, at which point it should probably be made a little bit clearer.

I tend to skip most roots I find because the negatives are hardly ever worth the positives. Since every root seems hyperfocused on a specific playstyle and you only get a selection of 3 it is very unlikely that you'll find anything useful to your build. Even if you do I don't think the perks are worth the dice. Also just my two cents but I find it extremely odd that an upgrade framed as a blessing from the tree nerfs you. That's more like a curse in other roguelites.

I cannot for the life of me figure out how you're supposed to do a dash attack with the greatsword. Sometimes it goes off, sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it goes off when you don't want it to and get flung towards damage. Very annoying.

[Zote]

Oh yeah also the mole boss with the bombs tends to throw his t shaped bombs offscreen which makes them way harder to avoid than probably intended.

[Faceless Noid, Pizzaterror]

Roots can have a +10 dice option as well as a +15 def option neither of which have a malus. +10 dice I think doesnt grant an item which should be looked at. Should always leave the roots with an item and a buff imo.

[Zote]

Originally posted by Faceless Noid, Pizzaterror:

Roots can have a +10 dice option as well as a +15 def option neither of which have a malus. +10 dice I think doesnt grant an item which should be looked at. Should always leave the roots with an item and a buff imo.

well let's see. if you pick a root, you:
skip a stage, including all the exp in it and potential rewards (artifacts, money, tablets, minibosses, enchantments, traders, etc)
get a chance to *maybe* get a net positive perk if you bring enough dice with you, or get really lucky
or
get a chance to nerf yourself and get a mediocre buff in exchange for an item you were looking for
or
get absolutely nothing of value worth taking

like at least if you have your build figured out you can still sell artifacts you don't need. feels like entering a root has a 20% chance of being beneficial with a 40% chance of nerfing yourself for little benefit and a 40% chance of being a dead space that eats your dice.

the main problem imo is that the nerfs are for universal things while the buffs are for hyper specific things. feels like that should be reversed. I don't have any perks memorized but you'd see stuff like +20% companion damage in exchange for -10% move speed. you'd maybe have enough companions with enough upgrades to make the damage worth it, and you will 100% suffer from the loss of move speed. so it turns into purchasing the item at the cost of your base stats which is never worth it imo.

plus there are just better things to spend your dice on unless you're trying to gamble on that +10 dice / +15 def perk. I never go into a root with dice unless it's right at the start of a run.

[Zote]

another thing: I think the elemental costume's unlock requirements are way too high. I had 3 fully maxed out lightning keys in my last playthrough and that was still only like 66% of the way to unlocking the costume.

[Bone_Reaper]

Originally posted by Zote:

another thing: I think the elemental costume's unlock requirements are way too high. I had 3 fully maxed out lightning keys in my last playthrough and that was still only like 66% of the way to unlocking the costume.

the elemental wizards are probably some of it not the best costumes, and the unlocks felt just fine to me, the keys are by far some of the worst ways to get elemental stats, as they need massive investment for mediocre returns, so going in to specific builds rather then trying to get them along the way is the way you need to do it.

[Zote]

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

Originally posted by Zote:

another thing: I think the elemental costume's unlock requirements are way too high. I had 3 fully maxed out lightning keys in my last playthrough and that was still only like 66% of the way to unlocking the costume.

the elemental wizards are probably some of it not the best costumes, and the unlocks felt just fine to me, the keys are by far some of the worst ways to get elemental stats, as they need massive investment for mediocre returns, so going in to specific builds rather then trying to get them along the way is the way you need to do it.

what kind of items should I aim for for those unlocks then? the only other item I found that entire run that increased lightning was the balanced elements book (probably got the name wrong) and it only increased it by like 1 extra point at max level. plus it decreases fire damage so it's a no-go for the fire unlock

[Bone_Reaper]

Originally posted by Zote:

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

the elemental wizards are probably some of it not the best costumes, and the unlocks felt just fine to me, the keys are by far some of the worst ways to get elemental stats, as they need massive investment for mediocre returns, so going in to specific builds rather then trying to get them along the way is the way you need to do it.

what kind of items should I aim for for those unlocks then? the only other item I found that entire run that increased lightning was the balanced elements book (probably got the name wrong) and it only increased it by like 1 extra point at max level. plus it decreases fire damage so it's a no-go for the fire unlock

other good sources are some roots can give elements, the best i've seen flat out gives 7 of all 3 elements for -10 physical damage, which is very worth it for a magic run, the sword and shield has an anvil upgrade that increases all elements as well, then there are some post game items like a belt with gems on it after you beat the 1st new boss after clearing the game again, which can give you up to 12 for all elements, and then Magitech Type items are really good for it too, those are the ones i can remember, there are definitely others i just don't remember them right now, since it's really hard to remember every item, but after we eventually get the full artifact list book i can go through it and see everything.

[Zote]

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

other good sources are some roots can give elements, the best i've seen flat out gives 7 of all 3 elements for -10 physical damage, which is very worth it for a magic run, the sword and shield has an anvil upgrade that increases all elements as well, then there are some post game items like a belt with gems on it after you beat the 1st new boss after clearing the game again, which can give you up to 12 for all elements, and then Magitech Type items are really good for it too, those are the ones i can remember, there are definitely others i just don't remember them right now, since it's really hard to remember every item, but after we eventually get the full artifact list book i can go through it and see everything.

idk the items you listed are a single point off of the key and I had a bunch of em and was still barely halfway to the unlock. if you have to get lucky and get the specific elemental sword, and the specific elemental root, and an additional 3 elemental items at max level that seems a little unreasonable compared to other unlocks. but oh well

[Bone_Reaper]

Originally posted by Zote:

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

other good sources are some roots can give elements, the best i've seen flat out gives 7 of all 3 elements for -10 physical damage, which is very worth it for a magic run, the sword and shield has an anvil upgrade that increases all elements as well, then there are some post game items like a belt with gems on it after you beat the 1st new boss after clearing the game again, which can give you up to 12 for all elements, and then Magitech Type items are really good for it too, those are the ones i can remember, there are definitely others i just don't remember them right now, since it's really hard to remember every item, but after we eventually get the full artifact list book i can go through it and see everything.

idk the items you listed are a single point off of the key and I had a bunch of em and was still barely halfway to the unlock. if you have to get lucky and get the specific elemental sword, and the specific elemental root, and an additional 3 elemental items at max level that seems a little unreasonable compared to other unlocks. but oh well

you already start at 20 for all 4 damage types and only need to get to 50, and the keys need massive tablet investment to get similar effects the items i listed are usually maxed out at +3 or so, if you are in post game and take the root in the later game saving 5 or so dice then it shouldn't be too bad to almost force the correct one for the unlock, as you would be playing for the unlock rather then winning a run, which is normal for character unlocks in roguelikes, and the Keys are still useful, but generally some of the least effective ones, i'm personally wile playing getting to 45 to 55 on magic runs often, so remove the magic costume's base +5 to the element i'm getting consistent 40+ still, so just add pretty much any single lightning boosted item and it will be relatively easy to get the unlocks.

[Zote]

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

Originally posted by Zote:

idk the items you listed are a single point off of the key and I had a bunch of em and was still barely halfway to the unlock. if you have to get lucky and get the specific elemental sword, and the specific elemental root, and an additional 3 elemental items at max level that seems a little unreasonable compared to other unlocks. but oh well

you already start at 20 for all 4 damage types and only need to get to 50, and the keys need massive tablet investment to get similar effects the items i listed are usually maxed out at +3 or so, if you are in post game and take the root in the later game saving 5 or so dice then it shouldn't be too bad to almost force the correct one for the unlock, as you would be playing for the unlock rather then winning a run, which is normal for character unlocks in roguelikes, and the Keys are still useful, but generally some of the least effective ones, i'm personally wile playing getting to 45 to 55 on magic runs often, so remove the magic costume's base +5 to the element i'm getting consistent 40+ still, so just add pretty much any single lightning boosted item and it will be relatively easy to get the unlocks.

i believe the requirement states that you have to increase your elemental damage by 50, not get it up to 50. that means the goal is actually 70. either that or it bugged because my keys in total gave me +33 lightning damage.

also the tablet investment wasn't really an issue, i was using the 20 survival perk

[Bone_Reaper]

Originally posted by Zote:

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

you already start at 20 for all 4 damage types and only need to get to 50, and the keys need massive tablet investment to get similar effects the items i listed are usually maxed out at +3 or so, if you are in post game and take the root in the later game saving 5 or so dice then it shouldn't be too bad to almost force the correct one for the unlock, as you would be playing for the unlock rather then winning a run, which is normal for character unlocks in roguelikes, and the Keys are still useful, but generally some of the least effective ones, i'm personally wile playing getting to 45 to 55 on magic runs often, so remove the magic costume's base +5 to the element i'm getting consistent 40+ still, so just add pretty much any single lightning boosted item and it will be relatively easy to get the unlocks.

i believe the requirement states that you have to increase your elemental damage by 50, not get it up to 50. that means the goal is actually 70. either that or it bugged because my keys in total gave me +33 lightning damage.

also the tablet investment wasn't really an issue, i was using the 20 survival perk

it is just get over 50, i just hit 51 and unlocked it on my Test File, on a blind run on the 1st areas boss room, so no it was not hard or even that unlikely, since if you are specifically going for it, the Anvil is easy to force for the Carrot Sword for +3 on all elements with the starting dice, and with the Willpower Tree letting you convert item selections in to more dice if they don't give you what you want, making it even easier to get what you want, and the Cap Stone of the Willpower tree also lets you take the elemental items in to another run (maybe not all but the best ones to pile them on until rng is on your side).

[Zote]

Originally posted by Bone_Reaper:

Originally posted by Zote:

i believe the requirement states that you have to increase your elemental damage by 50, not get it up to 50. that means the goal is actually 70. either that or it bugged because my keys in total gave me +33 lightning damage.

also the tablet investment wasn't really an issue, i was using the 20 survival perk

it is just get over 50, i just hit 51 and unlocked it on my Test File, on a blind run on the 1st areas boss room, so no it was not hard or even that unlikely, since if you are specifically going for it, the Anvil is easy to force for the Carrot Sword for +3 on all elements with the starting dice, and with the Willpower Tree letting you convert item selections in to more dice if they don't give you what you want, making it even easier to get what you want, and the Cap Stone of the Willpower tree also lets you take the elemental items in to another run (maybe not all but the best ones to pile them on until rng is on your side).

well then I guess it just bugged. my lightning damage should've been 53 by the end of the run

edit: nevermind, just booted the game and i have the frog. I think the notification just didn't appear. worth noting I also unlocked the white wolf costume on that run, maybe the costume unlock notification breaks if it happens multiple times on the same run?

[Bone_Reaper]

ok yeah if you have all the artifacts unlocked then it's not hard at all, i'm missing the root with +7 and the Belt with gems form the post game new boss, for a +12, and i'm already at 70 lightning damage at the end of the 2nd floor of the 2nd area.