For awhile now I've been worried that you guys might be making the game too easy. I like that you guys request and listen to suggestions, but I've seen games/stories take too much input from their audience that it ends up warping and changing the overall idea the developer had in the first place. I've read posts and seen youtubers complaining about the difficulty but at the end of the day, they usually prevail (even some of the reallyyyy bad lets players
). As you said in the blog, an easy mode might take away that sense of accomplishment.
The game is called Secrets of "Grind"ea so with a lot of old RPGs, if you're having trouble, you just grind and come back. Death has no penalty as is so if you die, a player should think "let me go level up some more", "wow that boss was hard, let me come back and rethink my strategy" or "do I have the best equipment? Maybe I should go back to flying fortress and get the last of those cards". There are a lot of older games that people never beat but I'm sure they still find it enjoyable. At least here, you have the option of increasing your stats and practicing an area/boss over as many times as you like.
Other comments:
*I think the game is pretty balanced without health potions and I think it helps give the game a different dynamic focused on learning patterns, using the shield, etc. I feel like a heal spell that maybe created a small circle where you regen would be consistent with the current flow of the game as you'd still have to time/place it correctly, perfect guard in the circle, blah blah.
However, I like the idea of the 3 bottle system and think health potions could work there. Currently, it's too easy to farm money and buy enough to always be buffed. That does make me worried about how I'll level my pet lol.
*Would this change how potions work in arcade mode? As is, I think the # of potions one finds on a run is balanced and it might be cool to have two different systems working for both modes in the game.
*I also think the up/down mechanic wouldn't add much to the fishing experience. Adding fishing exp would make it be more rewarding but I'm not sure what the perks would be upon leveling (chance to find equipment like arcade mode, longer cast to catch better fish, catch 2 fish at a time, slightly wider bar, mantles to display at home, idk)
*Like the idea of the magic orb as long as distance is kept small.