Since you’re such an experienced player, tell me—what, in your opinion, does racial balancing actually mean?
Where exactly are humans a “balanced” race? They have slightly more stat points than the other races, but their average stats don’t give them any real advantage in anything.
Spell it out for me: what is there about humans that would actually make me want to pick them?
Oghmirs and Thursars are stuck with magical vulnerability in exchange for defense and damage. And unlike speed, that defense and damage actually require skill to use effectively.
So what’s the downside for Alvarins?
They have almost the same number of stats as humans, and they also get access to a hybrid build (and why is that even a thing?).
The difference in health compared to humans is negligible.
They can use every weapon in the game.
They’ve got a legitimate “wall hack,” which is just nonsense in a game like this.
They have a reduced aggro range, which, combined with their speed, breaks dungeon algorithms and lets them ignore mobs.
They can jump over most obstacles in combat and take no fall damage.
They don’t have any real vulnerability—reduced physical damage taken isn’t a “vulnerability.”
First, I think it’s wrong to have agility as the only stat that determines movement speed. In my opinion, height should matter too: the longer the legs, the faster the character. As it turns out, speed matters more than raw damage—so we could easily drop the damage bonus in favor of more speed.
Having both super‑stats—fast running and fast combat mobility—is too much. We need a fairer split between what passive sprint and active maneuverability actually give. It shouldn’t be a whole bundle of advantages with zero penalty (like, say, a −6 kg armor weight reduction).
I won’t have any issues with the Alvarin’s speed if I get enemy‑control skills in return, or if the game introduces a rule where taking damage while running causes an injury that forces you out of the running state.
But right now, the game’s rules are entirely on one side’s side: the “auto‑save” mechanic of speed is just silly. Alvarins are basically the low‑skill option, and people use them because they’re tired of wasting time and resources on other races.
Unlike other racial abilities, which depend on the situation or the opponent’s actions, running depends only on the player. It shouldn’t have the same effective value as, say, an Oghmir’s defense or a Thursar’s attack.
As for magic and damage reduction—come on, and this is coming from someone with 6k hours in the game? Even if you weaken magic by 50%, it won’t change anything: hitting a target once or twice makes no real difference.
Magic in this game has a ton of problems:
- It’s way too easy and has no real consequences.
- Practically only Alvarins can avoid magical damage by breaking the distance; other races don’t have that option.
- Magic is unpredictable: you can only tell what spell was cast by its effect. Ecumenical spells are completely invisible.
- Mages in this game are like Thanos snapping their fingers and taking half a character’s health away from anyone.
None of this fits the rules of competitive player‑vs‑player conflict. The opponent should be able to tell what’s being used against them and have a real chance to avoid the damage, not just rely on passive tools like magic resistance.
What magic needs:
- Spell costs should depend on the specific magic school’s progression, not on a single convenient “all‑schools” skill that lowers costs for everything—that’s just bad design.
- Casting and charging should be different for each school, and players should be able to see which school a mage is currently using (including which spells they’ve memorized and are ready to cast).
- All spells should have slowed travel and clear visual flight paths (you can balance it by increasing the area of effect). Only beam‑type spells (with instant activation) should be truly instant.
Or add an extra short cast when activating a memorized spell: if you create a spell and don’t use it immediately (within 1 second), storing it in memory should require a brief recast (0.5–1 second) when you finally trigger it. Every action needs a clear visual effect.
- Increase spell difficulty based on the caster’s state: standing still, moving, running, jumping, mounted (walking vs. fast run vs. gallop). Each situation should add its own difficulty modifier. If a cast is interrupted (including voluntarily), apply a “magic backlash” effect to the mage with all the fun consequences. Also penalize leaving a spell in memory without using it.
Mage gameplay shouldn’t be “pew‑pew.” It should depend not just on positioning, but also on following internal timings and directional rules for magic.
Why are fast Alvarin mages so overpowered? Because when they choose magic, they completely bypass all the race’s weaknesses and keep only the strengths. Fast mages have no real limitations except health—they’re basically playing Counter‑Strike with automatic rifles against opponents with knives. Why should some players have to risk and sweat while others just press a “win” button?
