Maybe reconsider meta-progression please?

[Duke Skytalker]

I've seen several people and myself show interest in meta-progression for the sake of replayability and I came across a reply from the dev stating he has no intention to implement it at all. I wanted to make a case for it considering the interest of people who came to infer this game is a roguelite (with progression) rather than a roguelike (aka no progression).

Progression would allow for things like alternate class loadouts/abilities or just some method of customizing each character to better suit certain builds, allowing for the same character to be able to be tuned more granularly for a given run. I.e. swapping a passive or an active for a different one from a pool unique to that char, having a handful to mix and match per playstyle.

In addition, it could allow for just the satisfaction of unlocking things like more characters themselves or for the run modifiers. Spending to unlock everything sets another sort of goal for players as well. I believe being able to unlock boosts for the start of the run with meta-currency could also be interesting. I'm not sure how they'd be implemented separately from the modifiers currently in place but it's a relatively common mechanic that I think would fit well for an endless grindfest like this.

My main thing is definitely the character customization because build variety is the heart of games like these and I think it would be great for replay value. I think back to games like Slay the Spire, Rogue Adventure, Risk of Rain or Monster Train where there's depth of customization for each class and it changes the way you're inclined to build your deck/class. A talent tree could also be a really good addition with unique nodes per character. I say this as someone who loves this game and has recommended it to many friends already. I believe that the leaderboards would still be very relevant if meta-progression were added, so I'm not sure I understood the initial explanation behind the choice to not include meta-progression. I really like picking themes for my runs and I think having more control in the form of perks/talents and alternate class abilities can add another dimension to most games in this genre. So to conclude, all I ask is to keep an open mind and if anyone else is interested I'd like to hear other opinions/suggestions as well.

[axilirate]

Originally posted by author:

Progression would allow for things like alternate class loadouts/abilities or just some method of customizing each character to better suit certain builds, allowing for the same character to be able to be tuned more granularly for a given run. I.e. swapping a passive or an active for a different one from a pool unique to that char, having a handful to mix and match per playstyle.

this can be done without meta progression


i want to focus on making the base gameplay more interesting rather than balancing and working on meta progression, every second spend of working on meta progression is a second that could be worked on a new item, adventurer mechanic etc.

im my opinion meta progression is just an artificial way to boost playtime, and replayability and once you unlock everything you are stuck with the same problem "what else should i play for".

if your only motivation in games is to unlock stuff, than this game might not be for you.
i want this game to interest the player beyond "i need to do x to unlock x"


also, you can have depth of customization without meta progression.

[roobs]

Originally posted by axilirate:

i want to focus on making the base gameplay more interesting rather than balancing and working on meta progression, every second spend of working on meta progression is a second that could be worked on a new item, adventurer mechanic etc.

Excellent!