[quote=“Mr_Lolz, post:1, topic:1605”]Simple change: currently I am reluctant to take proffesions because they cost points and dont really compare to the long term benefits of stats.
instead, why not reduce the cost of all benefical traits so the currently cost=1 ones cost 0 and only the good ones cost 1, and only the ones that introduce a disadvantage like smoking cost -1
This way you make a choice between lots of equal options that cost nothing, or choose to invest or not to invest, instead of only choosing not to invest when trying to make an optimal character.[/quote]
But if you’re going to min-max anyway, you’ll take the smoker profession to get that extra point and try to ride out the withdrawal. Also, temporary advantages aren’t temporary if you wouldn’t survive without them. While it’s unlikely starting with a wrench and mechanics manual will make that difference, it just might.
As an analogy, when I first started playing League of Legends, I bought armor penetration runes because they scale the best, offering a flat % increase in damage (the % depends on your target’s armor, but not on your own stats), whereas the alternative 15 or so attack damage is minuscule when your endgame total is 300+. But without that early damage, you’re at a huge disadvantage and will likely never make it to endgame where armor penetration is better. Better scaling and late-game potential is meaningless if you never get there.
Ultimately, this is a roguelike. It doesn’t have to be balanced or even remotely fair. Not every character build will have the same endgame potential or early game survival ability, and that’s perfectly fine. Characters with weak potential can be fun in their own right. Maybe not so much right now, but if the game had an endgame goal you might feel differently. Winning the game as a “yeek sorcerer” is more fun than winning as an “alchemist” with 5000 hp.
