Hi Larian.
So, to preface what I'm about to say, I am generally enjoying the game and would give it a solid 7 out of 10 if it were out today with full story content and the stuff that is currently available to play. I understand that the game is still in Early Access, and I won't whine about the races/classes or spells, feats and abilities that aren't yet implemented. I will say that some design choices (such as the game being balanced around exploding barrels and puddles straight out of divinity; and companions that get pissy at me for trying to explore side-content, giving me flashbacks to Morrigan from DA:O and not in a good way) are kinda questionable.
I am not even going to go into the rough deal that was handed to the poor rogues by making disengage and hide a bonus action available to all. What I am here to cry on the internet about is the way you implemented reactions and those abilities that don't use the action economy directly (like rogue's sneak attack. Why do you guys hate rogues? Is it all the stealing?).
So, like you probably know, in tabletop D&D reactions aren't declared during your round, instead you're able to when the conditions described in the Reaction are met, trigger it at will or not and wait for a better opportunity to use it. It opens up more tactical options for classes with more than one reaction, and allows for precise management of resources. For example, there is a spell called shield in the game that uses a reaction. In 5e proper it increases your AC by 5 for the rest of the turn (and blocks magic missiles) and is a reaction triggered by someone either hitting an attack against you, or using magic missile on you. When that happens, you can say that you use shield, or not. Let's say, for whatever reason, your character is fighting both a goblin, and an ogre. Let's say the ogre goes first, swinging at you for a whopping 2d8+4 damage, that can probably kill a low-level wizard instantly. You don't know the exact numbers on that hit if you've never fought it before, but you can judge by seeing it roll against a different person (some DMs roll behind a screen, but I think for 5e the assumption is rolling in the open). Let's say it rolls really low. Nice, that means you won't have to spend your reaction or your spell slot on a shield. Then goblin goes, and hits you for a little bit of damage, but you don't spend any resources to stop it, because you think it's not worth it. How would that situation play out with the current system you have in the game? Best case scenario, wizards wastes a spell slot and a reaction blocking insignificant damage from a goblin, and a player is frustrated at the system.
Same thing with these abilities that can be triggered at will, depending on circumstances. Rogues usually go for a dual-wield because they can make two attacks, one with an action and one with a bonus action, both getting a chance at sneak attack. Which, by the way, doesn't take any significant changes to "fix". Just add a second sneak attack skill if the rogue is dual-wielding (seriously, am I the only one seeing a pattern here?) Paladins sometimes go crit-fishing and will probably want to spend their biggest smites when they roll a 20, and definetely won't be pleased if they burn a spell slot on a miss which looks like it will be happening to me a lot, when Pallys come out. Some Battlemaster maneuvers, like Precision Attack, only make sense to use when you've missed a hit by a very small margin. Same with Bard's inspiration dice, a core mechanic for that class. Probably all the classes have features that use this system. All in all, it's a very important part of the battle tactics and resource management in 5e, and taking it out and replacing it with the clunky system you've made is a bad idea, that makes for a less fun, less in-depth experience, at least for me. From what I've seen here and on other places on the internet discussing this game, also for other people. I hope this was just a limitation on early access due to time constraints, and not a conscious design decision that you made and are totally settled on.
Anyway, since you've thankfully went with turn-based mode, it can be very easily implemented in game. Add another level to the toggle you have on reaction: confirm use. Basically, when the conditions are met, a pop-up will appear, asking you to confirm if you want to use your reaction, or not, showing the costs, and if there's a dice-roll involved, the number that was rolled. Change all the abilities like Sneak Attack to be a sort of reaction, that doesn't use up the reaction for the turn. If people don't want to manually click confirm every time they get an attack of opportunity, let them auto-use it. If they want more control, let them confirm it every time. If they know they don't need that ability, let them turn it off. And let them change between the three modes whenever they want to, based on the situation that they find themselves in.
Thanks. I'd also love to know what other players think about this suggestions, both of those who've played 5e and those who didn't.
Last edited by Ratmanking; 09/10/20 07:15 PM.
