Just Got 100% Acheivments! Thoughts on the Game.

[Seeking Solace]

This is such a hidden a gem. The story is great, the pixel art is awe inspiring, the characters are lovely, the soundtrack is awesome, and the gameplay is pretty neat. There's not a thing that holds this game down. It's all done pretty well for an indie tactics game.

That said, I was a bit disappointed by the difficulty. I got a video recommended to me on YouTube of a person criticizing the game because it was "too difficult" and "unfair." Ironically, the negative video got me excited to try out this game because I like seeking challenge. Sadly, it turned out that my expectations of the difficulty that resulted from that one video were a bit too high. The game is fairly easy and I didn't have trouble with any fight whatsoever, at the hard difficulty. As long as I'm using the right element(s) against the bosses and reducing their defenses, that's it, I win. Same tactic throughout the game.

Also, by using only a single element for my characters and fae, I can stack 3 scrolls to boost the entire team's ATK, HP, MB, DEF, and RES significantly as well as 10 Apex stacks each, so if there are 2 or 3 enemies on the map with an elemental advantage over you, they would still pose zero threat. Crits from Arcane enemies or bosses with guaranteed crit attacks pose zero threat. Enemies that reduce defense pose zero threat. The stat bonuses from the team-wide scrolls are so significant that my team felt like damage sponges while dishing insane damage in return throughout the playthough. And then you have spell talismans of every occasion imaginable. A spell that reduces all enemies DEF, spells that provide teamwide ATK, HP, and MB boosts (if using the single element tactic), Teleportation, another DEF reducing spell, etc.

The game is indeed "unfair." In favor of the player that is. You get so many cheesy tools at your disposal that it's impossible to lose if you have the slightest idea of what you're doing.

Still, I don't regret buying this game. It's easily worth its price if not much more. I haven't been emotionally invested in a video game character in such a long time. This game made me tear up multiple times. I can see myself continuing to listen to the soundtrack even 5 years from now. Such a beautifully made game...

[myhr2]

Glad you enjoyed it!

About the difficulty...thing is, it's quite knowledge-based, so if you're going blind, with little prep, and don't try to understand game mechanics, you get destroyed pretty fast, because no amount of smart excecution will save you.

I know the video you're talking about...and yeah, any video that bashes on a game based on its difficulty without actually analyzing said difficuty is moot. And by that I'm not saying you're not entitled to your opinion if you think a game is too hard. But as long as you don't know why you find it too hard, and explain it in a understandable way, then your input is as useful as wet toilet paper.

[Seeking Solace]

On the topic of game balance, thinking back on it, the teamwide scrolls NEED a nerf.

Using only characters and fae of only one element and equipping the 3 scrolls that boost that element grant:
+20 Base HP, +8 base ATK (Scales up with level up to +120 HP, +40 ATK at level 99)
+10 Base MB, +20 RES (Scales up with level up to +60 MB at level 99)
+20 DEF, +10 Apex

The Apex stacks make the whole element advantage part of the game null. You just pick the element that the boss is weak to and don't use any character or fae of any other element because the mobs that supposedly have an advantage over you can't actually CRIT you to deal any serious damage to you. Pair that up with all the defensive bonuses of the scrolls and all your characters and fae become damage sponges.

Which brings us to the next point. At level 5 crafted rings + scrolls, even your ranged characters would posses 60 DEF. That's 55% damage reduction. And enemies can't even reduce your defenses because the Apex stacks protect from that too. Poor things have no way around actually doing anything against you.

The attack bonus from the scroll is also fairly significant. For some characters like Claudia, that's essentially a +50% damage buff. So not only do your characters and fae become damage sponges, they become nukes as well. Had the scroll only granted ATK and not HP on top of it it would still be OP. (Claudia also goes from 88 HP to 208 HP at max level with the scroll. That just doesn't feel right...)

All of these scrolls would've made sense if they were only affecting the character equipping the scroll... It gets even more weird considering that they outperform a lot of single-character buffing scrolls, like the one that grants +10 base ATK but no HP, +40 DEF but no Apex, etc.

Teamwide buffs on scrolls is a bad idea. Either that shouldn't have been a thing or the buffs themselves get massively nerfed (Like... Cut to 25% of current effects). The only non-teamwide scroll that's worth using is the Ruinous scroll. All other scrolls are pointless in comparison. These scrolls are so incredibly powerful that they're bordering "cheese" territory. I say bordering because I've seen even worse balance issues in other games, like FFT and the FE series.

The point I'm trying to make is, I feel like I didn't get to experience the battles the way the devs intended me to on my 2 playthroughs. I just... Cheesed my way through and brute forced everything. Maintaining game balance is very important in that regard.

[yaeL]

+1

[myhr2]

Mmmmh, while I can see your point, I'd argue that you are not forced to use these scrolls.

But here is what I think would be a change that follows your line of thinking : what if these scrolls only buffed the summons and not the leaders? It would still incentivize you to build an elemental line-up (which is cool, imho), but with more flexibility on the leaders.

Edit : might be that the scrolls buff the summons and only the leader equipped with them, something like that. In any case, I do like the possibility to buff your summons through scrolls.

[Seeking Solace]

Originally posted by myhr2:

Mmmmh, while I can see your point, I'd argue that you are not forced to use these scrolls.

You can use that argument for any horribly balanced game that ever existed, and you would be right, but self imposed restrictions are a tape fix. It's outright bad game design to render the majority of the choices available to the player obsolete. There are tons of scroll variety, it's a shame for all of that to go to waste...

But yeah, my next playthrough I'm restricting myself to using only 2 hero characters. That means one less teamwide scroll. Will see how it turns out.

[Steilon]

I suppose it depends though too really, I mean you could grind for those scrolls sure but there's no guarantee you will get all the scroll types you'll need as you go along, it honestly depends on how you play, granted at those levels I'm sure it's probably more needed than not and other scrolls are really there for the beginning, I also believe that in games clever use of what's given to you should be that rewarding dood.

If anything the only real issue I found (which in all fairness can be mitigated with the right spell card or unit) are units like the Harpies who are just untouchable, granted I am still early on but I had a barn owl and my doggo and that's literally the only thing that could hit them, what's that back attack? I would but uhhh the Harpy is a long ranged flying type who surprise surprise loves to have their back to the wall 100% of the time and will happily fly over water where most units can't reach them and well the game loves to Xcom me and give them their 34% parry chance 90% of the time dood.

Otherwise I think the game is as balanced as you the player make it and that should be the reward for grinding a lot, if anything it's kind of our fault at that point if we grind that much dood. XD

[Seeking Solace]

Originally posted by Steilon:

Otherwise I think the game is as balanced as you the player make it and that should be the reward for grinding a lot, if anything it's kind of our fault at that point if we grind that much dood. XD

You are making an assumption that I do grind in my playthroughs. I didn't play a single free battle in most of my playthroughs, except during endgame to get 100% achievements.

The teamwide elemental scrolls are fairly common drops (excluding the lightning ones). It would be a miracle to get to the final boss with any of the elemental scrolls missing, even without a single free battle. That's unless you don't collect enemy drops of course.

Regarding the Harpies' topic, any melee unit can take care of them. You should be running at least 2 melee units for combos. Orowantus also has true sight, paired with her Arc Type attacks, she can one-shot them with ease. Flying over water and empty spaces is more of a weakness than a strength. Freezing or rooting them for example would instantly kill them.

[artki]

Originally posted by -Solace-:

I got a video recommended to me on YouTube of a person criticizing the game because it was "too difficult"

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Is that the Wanderbots vid?

[myhr2]

Originally posted by artki:

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Is that the Wanderbots vid?

I was curious. There are some negative reviews about this game on Youtube, and I tend to watch them. It's always interesting to check different opinions to yours, not to bash on them, but it's a constant reminder than people can have such wildly different approaches to pretty much everything.

I didn't know about this Wanderbots, so checked it. Yeaaaaah...overall, nice little youtuber focused on indie titles. But one thing that is amusing, is how Fae Tactics will be classified from "insanely hard" to "pretty easy" by different people.

As I said previously, Fae Tactics' difficulty is all about understanding the mechanics, and using them. It's both knowledge and excecution, but since it's turn-based, execution is solely intellectual, the only part that has to do with eye-hand coordination is the cooking mini-game. RNG has in fact very little place...if you understand and use the mechanics, that is (backattacks, combos, and baiting)

So when I see someone moving a unit without carefully checking attack and move ranges, enemies abilities, positioning, or terrain effects,...yeah, they'll probably have a hard time. It's a shame, but it is what it is.

[artki]

Ahh, thanks.

Originally posted by myhr2:

Originally posted by artki:

----------
Is that the Wanderbots vid?

I was curious. There are some negative reviews about this game on Youtube, and I tend to watch them. It's always interesting to check different opinions to yours, not to bash on them, but it's a constant reminder than people can have such wildly different approaches to pretty much everything.