Balance and QoL Change Suggestions.

Hello,

I´ve recently got the Game and got to say that its really fun. Its noticeably early access and thats okay. Its still pretty early in Development and i knew this coming into the Game Im not one of those People who expect a finished Game when buying an Early Access Title. But there are a few Things that need to be adressed.

1. The Boss is way too bullet Spongy. Its literally impossible to kill when alone or with just 2 Players as my Friend and i tested. The Boss is not fun in the Slightest. Up until we fought the Boss we found the Game very well balanced. But the Combination of him literally sprinting to you, while simultanously having More HP than like 50 Payday 2 Bulldozers COMBINED is just way too much. Solo its literally impossible, we managed to kill him barely with 2 Players but we died to his Retinue of Heavies.

2. The Stash Rooms: First off, i like that every type of Stash room has a Defib inside it. Well thought of, makes you almost always able to get your Mate/s back up in case they decided to Hug a Heavy. BUT, the Dead Drop Rooms… either make it so only ONE can spawn per Map or disable the ability to open any other of this Type for the Mission. It was unbelieveably frustrating to spend 6 Phones on a Second Dead Drop Room only to find out that you cannot pick up a Second Box.

3. Money is almost always our least concern so: Make us able to Upgrade (Only Upgrade, not buy new Ones) Our Perks with Money. Near the End we each had 12K money left with nothing to spend it on since we only died once had got lucky with the free Dead Drops.

4. The Perks dont feel Unique enough for a Roquelite. a Percentage Stat increase just isnt fun enough to warrant having this game over Competitors like the new “Rogue Core” for example. I know this Comparison is hard, but they are both Roguelite Team-Based First Person Shooters. Consider it a Compliment that i compare it to a Game i have hundreds of hours in. (Seriously, i really like your Game so far. Keep it Up!)

   We need more Gameplay defining Perks. +5HP on Kill or +10% Damage on a SPECIFIC Weapon Type is not gonna cut it. Currently i see so little Defense/Support Perks because the Pool is bloated by Reload, Fire Rate, Damage and other Stuff for every Weapon Type. If you decide to stay with this System of Perks (Small Buffs instead of more Interesting Stuff) then i might suggest to reduce the Bloat by making it: +20% Damage on Primaries FULL STOP. Not SMGs, not Rifles. Primaries.

   But still. I recommend you People do a bit of Brainstorming, with the Community of course, on what kind of Stuff you could add. Im looking forward to your Creativity!

   On that Topic, since this is a Team-Based game: Have more Coop Oriented Perks for the Teamplayers like Health Regen Around them or a Damage Reduction Aura.

   4b. Suggestions: Melee Damage Increase if you dont use any Guns, Longer time to be detected, Grenades have higher Bounce Power, Being able to go into a “Down but not Out” State, Your Secondary doing Way more Damage if you Dont have a Primary equipped, A lot of Self Heal for Pacifying Enemies Less Lethally, Higher Movement Speed the lower your HP is, being able to Climb on Ledges, The Backslot being a Perk or having a Second Backpack Slot, being able to repair Allies Armor by using Cash in Missions.

5. Some Weapons feel way stronger than their Competitors or otherwise similar weapons. Some Examples:

   1. The Magnum is Trash compared to the Deagle. Unless it gets the Ability to use a Speedloader or does more Damage, i would always choose the Deagle.

   2. The P90 is the best SMG in every conceiveable way. Its Precise, reloads kinda quick, does the same Damage as the UMP-45 which makes no sense and has the biggest Magazine. Name me one Reason not to take the P90.

   3. The Sniper is Outclassed by the Shotguns with Slugs, any Assault Rifle and even the Pistols in Terms of usefullness. That paired with the Fact that it does NOT come with a Scope makes me try really to think of a Reason to ever buy it again.

6. Armor: While i really, REALLY tried to like the Armor System… Just having more HP is not really rewarding. Some Suggestions i can provide:

   1. Enemies killed by Headshots, that were armored, have a Chance to drop a Armor Plate. This Armor Plate then replenishes 1 Bar of Armor.

   2. Provide more free Armor Refills around the Map, or take a Hint from Idea 1 and make it Spawn Armor Plates at the Evac and around Supplies.

   3. Armor should have more differences other than Hp, More HP, Most HP. Make Heavies Armor takes less Damage in General while slowing the Player down a bit (Maybe 40% with Heavy and 20% with Medium?) while giving us the Ability to get a Bonus to it if Unarmored (Risk Reward?). You could make this Speed Debuff reduceable or denyable by Perks!

   4. Makes us able to get Helmets or similar Stuff that Reduce Things like Sniper Damage or the Effect of Flashbangs. In return you could make getting flashed more Punishing! Always remember, if you give players a way to reduce or deny something, you can make it Stronger!

   5. Personally, I would love the Ability to have be able to Steal Enemies Armor. For example stealing a Heavy Dudes Armor. But that might be too far. xD

7. Maps: Objectively Speaking, the Maps are nice. But i found myself being very quickly disappointed at the lack of Variety. This is not Critic, this is a Wish for the Future for there to be more Maps. I want to add a Question to this Point: Are randomly generated Maps a Possibility? Is that in any Way or Shape possible? I would love it as no 2 runs would be the Same. Of course i dont mean complete Randomness, maybe more Like: In the Airport Hall, the 2 Stores Interior can be randomly generated. In the Mall, Every Shop Interior is Different each Mission. Something that gives us more replayability, that is always very important for Roguelikes and Roguelites.

8. Dead Drops: They should be more Unique. Of Course its a Budget Friendly Way to possibly get your Grabbers on a Weapon you havent unlocked yet, but i was thinking more in the Ways of: Let there be more Stuff that can only be found in Dead Drops. But these Things have to feel Unique too. Not just another SMG but something that can really change the Flow. A Flamethrower or a MGL (Multiple Grenade Launcher) or perhaps even a Minigun could be fun. Currently i try to avoid Dead Drops if at all Possible in Favor of getting the Gun i want. Maybe have Dead Drop Weapons have Unique effects too or even random Attachments. Finding an AK with AP Rounds would be way nicer than just getting a plain old AK. While we are at it….

9. Unlocking of Weapons and Attachments feels out of Place in the current Gameplay. While its nice to have Goals… i dont think this is the Way. I dont know what your Vision is so here is my Ideas:

   1. Weapons all have different Prices anyways. Skip the Unlocking of Weapons, the Increased Prices for the arguably Better Weapons is Restriction enough.

   2. Attachments can go either Way. You could make them all unlocked from the beginning but make us pay for Attachments. Not much but kitting out your Favourite Weapon in a Run feels rewarding in itself. Attachments could be less Expensive, things Like Ammo or maybe even Enhancements could be Pricier. With this you could have more drastically changing Attachments like Thermal Scopes or those Double Magazines for a quicker Reload. Perhaps the Speedloader for the Magnum i mentioned in the Weapon Balance Part could be one of these!

   3. Same as for Weapons goes for the Grenades. Why are Shorter Fused Grenades and Impacts behind a Finished Runs Wall? They offer different Playstiles and are NOT Upgrades over the normal Frags. For Example: Impact Grenades are WORSE for myself as i like to bounce my Grenades. And Short Fuse Frags decrease the effective Range/Safety.

      3b. While we are at it: We could have Perks that change Grenades, like making them Extra Bouncy or add a Fire Effect like Molotovs would.

   4. Meta Progression is technically falling into the unlocking part, so ill add it here.

      We need more. Thats it really. I know they have only recently been implemented, but in general we need more and they could add more. On a Side Note. Increasing Grenade and Equipment Capacity is really OP as you get a complete refill if you finish the Mission with even just 1 Charge remaining. So not only do you get more Stuff in the Current Mission, you ALSO save Money because its less likely that you use them all up. We only Buy Grenades and Equipment ONCE per Run. Thats it. Free Refills are broken as Hell.

10. The Missions:

    1. While i like the current Selection of Missions, we really need more diverse Mission Types. Especially the Raids feel more like a Deathmatch than anything else.

    2. While we are at it i would like to Have Longer Campaigns. Only 7 Missions gives you only so many Upgrades you can get. Ive never reached full Perks or even seen if there are Level 3 perks. (Side Note: Makes Leveling a Perk AS Worthwhile as taking a new One or even more so. Let us focus on a Build)

       Maybe even an Endless Run where after the First Boss (and any Boss thereafter) we get to choose if we want to leave or Continue with the Operation.

    3. If Possible: Implement Difficulties where higher Difficulties are more Challenging, but give higher Rewards, other Cosmetics and perhaps even more Skill Points during the Run. Currently, i find the Boss too hard (As mentioned) while finding the normal Enemies to be on the weaker Side.

    4. Mission Choices: As it is currently implemented, why would i ever NOT choose the Mission that gives more Skill Points? Taking the safer Route is neither Fun nor Rewarding in a Roguelite.

    5. Make Intel more Valuable:

       If the Team finds all the Intel in Mission, only THEN give us the Optional Mission but therefore it can be more in Terms of Rewards than just Money. As mentioned, Money currently has too little uses with the Free Refills and lack of ways too spend it.

    6. Scaling: Make the Enemy Amount scale with Player Count. The current Enemy count is okay for 2 Players. Make it a little less for Solo. Increase it a Bunch for 3-4 Players please. Solo is a bit too hard while more than 2 Players it really REALLY boring. I felt cornered and vastly outnumbered when i played solo and in my first 4 Player Lobby where i was playing with guys with the same amount of experience than me, it was so boring i almost wanted to quit. we should be more or less forced to play as a Team instead of everyone running around Solo. Of course, if you build yourself that way you can go solo, either Ramboing or Sneaking/Skulking about with your Silenced Pistol. But Teamplay should be encouraged, either by Mechanics that Reward it or by Enemies that Punish you for not doing it. Otherwise…. You could just make this Game Singleplayer. And yes im Serious. If the Teamplay is not encouraged/Rewarded, then making this Singleplayer might even be better. Im not saying you should do that, im just stating my Opinion on the Matter.

    That all being said, i really look forward to what the Future for this Game holds, i love this Game already and i absolutely do not regret buying and Supporting you.

    Sincerely, RooikatG11