Upgrades don't feel like upgrades

[October]

Despite making upgrade purchases, it doesn't seem like there are any improvements to the weapons being used.

If there are, then it isn't updated on the weapon stats, between attack damage or range, etc.

[Logan]

Okey so it's not just me then, I've upgraded Str THREE times and the creatures still take exactly the same (3) hits to die.
Even got the second weapon, which has a whopping 0.15 more damage (xD), and still deals the same damage.

Is this a glitch, or just very underwhelming upgrade design?

[Ackranome]

Yeah, they're pretty minor. So, don't worry about it. ^.^

#caw

[THE AVERAGE]

Yeah, it doesn't seem like they do anything at all, so it's just a superfluous menu to make it seem like you're actually choosing things when it makes zero difference. Similarly, there seems to be a random bug with the amount of souls you get at various points too, unless it's just gated, or there are diminishing returns in any given area. When I unlocked the Inner Furnace, I was gaining zero souls, despite the graphic appearing after each kill, and now in a new area I'm only getting +1 per enemy...

[Caretaker]

Yea, almost maxed and I've noticed it takes one less hit, but that's not much especially since later enemies still take a lot more.

[Soüp]

The upgrades are pretty minor, but they do work. You will notice it as you progress through the game. I think the attack range boost is more useful than the damage boost from upgrading strength though.

[October]

Originally posted by Soüp:

The upgrades are pretty minor, but they do work. You will notice it as you progress through the game. I think the attack range boost is more useful than the damage boost from upgrading strength though.

It'd be good to have a visual description of how much the values are changing. If I have to wait until it's nearly maxed out then it seems more like a wasted effort.

[Chthonic Rook]

I've maxed out one tree (speed) and have three dots in strength and I have noticed zero difference. I'm not sure I'm running into a bug here.

[inappropriately_gendered_fungus]

Yeah, the upgrades do feel kind of underwhelming. That's a tricky aspect to nail in design though.

[Rodrick Linr]

Good to know I'm not the only one. So, it seems you need to fully upgrade strength/speed/etc to maybe feel some improvement. This is either broken or the designer doesn't know how upgrades work. This, imo, is broken and needs a fix.

I mean, other games are souls-like, difficult, but nail the upgrade system. Look at Hollow Knight: when you upgrade your sword for the 1st time, you immediately feel the difference. Same thing for the charms you equip. If the player can't feel the upgrade, it's not an upgrade, it's just a menu screen you want to fill for the sake of completion.

I'd either fix the upgrade system, or remove it altogether.

[Ackranome]

Originally posted by Rodrick Linr:

Good to know I'm not the only one. So, it seems you need to fully upgrade strength/speed/etc to maybe feel some improvement. This is either broken or the designer doesn't know how upgrades work. This, imo, is broken and needs a fix.

I mean, other games are souls-like, difficult, but nail the upgrade system. Look at Hollow Knight: when you upgrade your sword for the 1st time, you immediately feel the difference. Same thing for the charms you equip. If the player can't feel the upgrade, it's not an upgrade, it's just a menu screen you want to fill for the sake of completion.

I'd either fix the upgrade system, or remove it altogether.

Wait until you try Umbrella mode.

[filthy casual]

The upgrades are noticeable when you MAX it out. You may not notice because each step is small. MAX out a category and start a new game to compare the difference.

[October]

Originally posted by filthy casual:

The upgrades are noticeable when you MAX it out. You may not notice because each step is small. MAX out a category and start a new game to compare the difference.

So there's ultimately no (noticeable) improvement until you fully max a tree. This seems like a bad design and feels very unrewarding for each point we allocate.

[Quidjibo2021]

I know, it's dumb. But they are stronger/faster/longer.

[Ackranome]

Originally posted by October:

Originally posted by filthy casual:

The upgrades are noticeable when you MAX it out. You may not notice because each step is small. MAX out a category and start a new game to compare the difference.

So there's ultimately no (noticeable) improvement until you fully max a tree. This seems like a bad design and feels very unrewarding for each point we allocate.

Leveling up is is a silly concept. You're already as powerful as you need to be from the get go.

You can legitimately take on all bosses with an umbrella [half-damage] and your bow-and-arrow with no upgrades and no health or magic increases.

[conantheimp]

Agreement with the general consensus here. I really don't know why they felt it was necessary to include this feature. I will say that I notice the difference a bit more(Str 3 atm on first run), but it seems to be moreso on early enemies and with the Sword(I primarily use the Daggers, tho...). I notice faster charge time as well, even if it is minor, but Dodge seems...completely useless as a stat(if you dodged correctly the first time, you should be safe...)