Great Foundation, But RNG and Lack of Strategic Depth Hold It Back

I've spent over 50 hours in Commander Quest and genuinely enjoy the core gameplay loop—there's a lot of potential here. However, the game currently leans too heavily on RNG, which undermines the strategic experience it could offer.

Deckbuilding Direction Needs Refinement
It would be a major improvement if the game recognized your early deck choices—say, within the first 5–10 cards—and began offering more synergetic options rather than continuing with random, unrelated picks. This would make each run feel more purposeful and rewarding, and less like fighting against the system.

Event Choices Need Transparency
Events often feel like blind gambles. For example, paying 150 gold for a "Legendary Card" gives you a random one with no control. Instead, allow us to pick from a few (1–3) legendaries to give players more agency. Strategic games thrive when players make informed decisions, not blind guesses.

Wacky Work Labs Need a Rework (Not a Rebuild)
This feature has potential, but currently feels like a slot machine. It would be vastly improved if, when selecting a card (e.g., Owlbear), you could preview 3–4 possible positive and negative outcomes at the same time before committing. A simple right-click or hover-to-preview would make this feature far more engaging. Additionally, clearly separate the outcome pools for different card types (units, structures, etc.), and allow players to back out ("Head Back") before locking in a choice. This would add strategy without removing the unpredictability that makes roguelikes fun.

Faction Variety Is Lacking
Currently, we only have Humans and Dwarves. While new leaders like Khan or Attila are welcome additions, the game needs an entirely new faction—Orcs, Elves, Dragons, Goblins, or something fresh and thematic. A full tribe with its own mechanics and card pool would greatly enhance replay value and strategic diversity.

A Pause Button Would Go a Long Way
Adding a spacebar pause function during battles would be a huge quality-of-life improvement, especially for newer or older players who want to carefully plan tactical card placement. Since it’s a single-player game, giving players the option to pause without penalty would improve accessibility without affecting game balance.

Map Pathing Feels Bland and Predictable
The current act structure could use more variety and meaningful choices. Starting each act with a battle and ending with a campfire (for rest or upgrades) is fine, but in between, the limited node types—Wacky Labs, elite fights, and shops—don’t feel dynamic or rewarding. Introducing new node types or map events (e.g., altars, training camps, scouting towers) could make pathing more exciting.
Additionally, adding a relic or mechanic that reveals upcoming event types (not exact results, but the kind of event) would eliminate the frustrating “double RNG” problem—where you don’t know the event or its outcome. Let players know what type of risk they’re taking, even if the exact result is still random. That’s good roguelike design.

RNG in Relics Needs Tuning
Relic offerings also suffer from inconsistency. For example, I’ve completed around 10 successful Steel Production Dwarf runs, but only once was I offered the relic that gives +10 steel per turn. A relic that fits perfectly into a synergy should appear more often across multiple runs—not once in ten. This kind of low drop frequency feels punishing rather than rewarding.

Hero Balance Could Use a Pass
Some starting heroes, their powers, and their starting relics are significantly weaker than others. I’m sure the devs have backend data showing which heroes are most and least picked. Please don’t nerf the popular ones—instead, bring the weaker ones up to par. Consider adding new cards or relics that complement underused abilities so that every starting hero feels viable and fun.

Final Thoughts
I say all this as someone who wants to love this game. It has charm, style, and a solid core—but it desperately needs more strategic depth and less blind randomness to reach its full potential. With targeted improvements to deckbuilding, event clarity, map pathing, faction variety, and balance, Commander Quest could become one of the defining roguelike deckbuilders on Steam. I’m rooting for this game, and I hope the developers are listening—for the long-term health of the game and its growing community. 💖

I like this game, but it is way to short. Before you can build a cool deck you already finished the run.
Starting Deck is almost the same everytime doesnt matter what you pick. Races are just a skin, doesnt matter if you play Human or Dwarf , the Cards are the same. Its a shame , maybe give it some time and it gets better.
Cant recommend it for now but definetly keep an eye on the Updates

It's a good deck building autobattling game... There is some balance issues sometimes, like a RNG specific threat that totally counters your build or just draws the battle out to like 40 turns... But it's good...