Character kits too small - Game feels lacking in terms of outplay potential.

[scenic osprey]

Hey guys,

I just want to be fully transparent and say that I haven't played the game much. This is my first impression after doing maybe around 7 or so Wolfswoods. It's possible that this is less of an issue later in the game, although I'm kind of doubting it, because it doesn't seem like there's space for extra skills on my skill bar or anything.

Anyway, I feel like there is simply not enough skill expression within the game. It feels less about player skill, and more about character balance and gear, because you can still lose a fight even when you landed everything and felt you played well. This is because there are so few skills, movement options, and outplay mechanics in the game.

Lets say I have a full energy bar to use on my ultimate, and I get into a 1v1 on equal terms with what looks to be an evenly matched opponent. I land some shots, he lands some shots. Maybe he lands a root, I land a stun and use all my energy on my ultimate move, meanwhile he comes out of his stun and does the same, and he just barely kills me.

I die with everything on cooldown and am left thinking: "What could I have done better?" And when there's not a clear answer to that, the game feels shallow and there's little reason to keep playing it for me.

Lets compare it to a game like Battlerite. Similar top down camera, skillshot based combat game. But that game's characters had more skills, more movement options, more defensive counter options, and multiple ways to spend meter. If you lost a fight in Battlerite it was clear that you should've used your counter or movement better, shouldn't have played into their counters as much, could of used your energy meter differently, etc, etc.

I think a baseline dash/evade with a cooldown, and another skill or two for all characters would go a long way in making the fights feel more satisfying and legitimate. The core gameplay is awesome, but I'm left wanting more options. I feel like I can't do what I want in combat. Thank you and GL!

[hollow vessel]

It’s been like this for years sadly …… They have improved on the game in damn near every aspect and in amazing ways. However when it comes to the kits any changes that were made have been or at least feeeel very minor. Like how “ThorEss” lol healing works a multitude of times. Yet they don’t at only change the kits in any entirety or bother to make them more robust . Which I will have to agree with you and as someone who has checked in for years playing this now. Every single thing about the game could lol perfect, feel perfect, story and immersion, theme fit , networking , clans whatever all top notch. However if you guys don’t do this exact thing to make the combat more engaging and the range of skill ceiling to floor be made wayyyyyyy more widespread. The game will fail period. Your trying to remain new player safe wayyyyyy to much in a genre that doesn’t care for this. From Tarkov, to even the newer legends , extraction based games are all challenging and the community reflects it. You’re gonna sacrifice your entire player base for a smaller one that’s likely gonna quit anyways because not enough ppl and ques. Example eternal return an absolutely amazing twist on moba that is massive in Asia and absolutely would hit it off so big if the global release was handled better and also advertised. So unfortunately even tho players who have been playing it with vpn and horrible latency because how good the game is will continue to do this or have quit because server ques are wayyyy to slow. Because not enough people play it consistently in the US. Kinda went off coarse a bit here but at the same time not really. It’s a domino effect that’s at this point gonna affect your game. People cry difficult monsters nerf nerf nerf with every new wave of players. It’s not the kits that are the issue of anything have more to do with your characters to fight these enemies could make it easier in its own right. It’s just tuning ! Pls add skills n more vertical progression systems.

[viscid quiver]

Hey,

Came here to say same thing - I played roughly the same amount of games and I am finding myself extremely frustrated with the combat. I like the look, the feel, the map is fleshed out, everything outside of combat is in an OK state from what I can see, but man. The combat feels REALLY bad.

Fahros has some great detail above but I just wanted to add - what are you guys thinking with the nuclear-bomb-levels burst damage and hamstrung characters? This is such a strange design decision. In both PvE and PvP situations I die like this:

initial exchanging of blows
someone lands a stun or I step on a bandit trap
I try to use either one of two dashes
can't cause stunned
bursted to zero

Twice this happened with friggin' low level bandits. Soon as I am snared, they start their triple-shot and blam. I'm gone. This is even worse if you've managed to aggro 3+ mobs, basically a death sentence. Dodge three traps while constantly moving to dodge a triple tri-shot from three indpendently moving mobs? In a map where everything is a corridor four characters widths wide?

Better hope nobody happens upon me for some PvP while I'm trying to juggle these three flaming-bandit-chainsaws. I'll be 50% HP and completely unable to dodge their stuns and attacks.

Again, as Fahros said, I don't feel like I lost any fights. Me and my opponent(s) each pressed our buttons once and then one of us is dead. Which feels EXTREMELY bad in an extraction game, since you die with a tonne of 'valuable stuff' and you're left at the end thinking welp, there was absolutely no way to prevent that. Can't wait to waste another ten minutes grinding this bullshit so that I can get 100-0'd by mechanics that feel incredibly bad .

[viscid quiver]

You guys gotta get off this Tarkov levels of insta-death, it doesn't work with the topdown RPG style extraction you're going for. The bones of this game are good and you have so much good art.

Let combat last more than 1.5s.
Give everyone some options for moving / dodging / blocking / whatever.
Completely remove or vastly, vastly, vastly reduce the amount of stunlock abilities in-game
Think more Apex Legends, less Tarkov. A fight should involve a good amount of repositioning, trading blows, waiting for mana, using bandages etc.

I hope somebody at the Studio reads this. Because if you guys continue down this road for PVP this game is dead. and I don't want it to be