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Hello Dauntless team,
I have been playing for about a week, and I thought I'd add in my feedback from multiple areas. I have don't Q&A for years and just to add my observation which all might or might not have already been said.
This game reminds me more of Toukiden mixed with Vindictus than Monster Hunter. I like it, having played Monster Hunter since 05, I am very familiar with all games similar to it. I like the potential Dauntless has and want to see it flourish greatly. I understand and am aware that the game is still in development/work in progress. Here are my thoughts based off what I've played from frost fall only:
Performance - At the moment this game pulls heavily on the CPU. Even while streaming the game with streaming settings based on the GPU right now Dauntless could be optimized for more a balance CPU/GPU memory usage which is a very friendly option while using Unreal Engine.
Health & red Health - In a game like this, red recoverable health is important to this game style of play. At the moment Poison, Bleeding & Burning deal total damage and with only 5 potions max, that is a bit harsh on new players and might be difficult for new players to even solo hunt targets, if they cant find help from others.
Potions/Items - Potions 5 carrying limit for this genre of action looter is harsh, while I have taken into account the other ways to heal, i.e: lanterns, campfires, etc. In a game like Monster Hunter for example, you can mix items on the fly and in MH World they even added in a auto crafting feature if you are out on a hunt. In Toukiden You have a set amount of heals based on the guardian spirit you have equipped. Since there are many different types of potions the item limit could vary based on the strength of the potion and not 1 limit fits all. the simple potions could be limited to 10 with commons and so on at 5 and under with different bonuses for using them balancing out the lack of carrying size.
Mixing/crafting items - Why do you have to go a NPC to craft items in town? It does feel odd in a game like this but it does make sense for crafting rare or special items that can help in missions but not the basic items. If he offered more than use regular items the NPC have be more purpose.
Item Vendor - I have noticed the city doesn't have a vendor that just sells basic Items for currency. I had no clue "notes" were currency, because they don't buy you anything. You could have a tavern NPC that sells the simple and basic items for Notes and have the crafting NPC all you to make more advanced items using the what you find out in hunts to enhance the items, giving the game another layer of strategy.
Vendor UI - At its current state the UI for the vendor doesn't function properly with Controllers, other than that it also doesn't proper show all the information for weapons, armors and lanterns. As the game progresses and the artist/team find the style of layout best for this game and its them keep in mind the word limit and resolution for both the positive and negative space on the screen. being able to view/preview the items desired is one thing but also getting the information on the item to properly plan for gameplay in hunts is ideal. Both are equally important.
Weapons and Armors - I like that designs of the them both, why are they all the same def and atk per tier? along with the max level being +5? With the uniqueness of the cosmetic and the repetition of creatures the tier 2 Gnasher Armor and weapons should just progress and the player progresses. Using parts from higher tier versions of the creature to advance the weapon and armor. For example: With a system like this the player would then have a reason to back to the lower tiers to hunt to make a new version of the weapon upgrading it to a different path as in elemental damage or none element damage. taking a basic tier 2 sword to a tier 5 fire sword, the crafting a new one to have a ice sword as an option. Being that this game is going to be F2P it forces players to spend more time in game to make all the weapons they want at once or completing the weapon then returning back to lower tiers helping lower level players as they gather materials. Since at the moment +5 is the max, +5 could be the requirement to transcend the weapon into the next tier, giving some type of glow or cosmetic to show the player and others that their weapon is maxed, we all know fashion is end game lol btw where is the trench coat from the e3 2017 co-op trailer???
Lantern Healing - While lantern Stamina regen is great and the shield is handy the Health Regen is severely lacking. In a game like MH you have a base of 100 hp always and a max of 150 hp in Dauntless what is the player hp? and how do we measure healing? even the wiki cant tell how effective the heals are and how much we get back. The potions give a decent return, while the lantern is only good for stopping bleeding status. The lantern should be more effective given the amount of time and usage. I like the System and I feel like the cores could enhance the effectiveness but I'm not seeing how it can be useful. The lanterns with help of cores also have the potential of a healer/support type style that I am also exploring but the effectiveness is questionable. I do think the lanterns can be a great tool for the game making it unique but something feels off. At the Moment going for my style of play is a losing battle but I also feel the lanterns aren't balanced at the moment and might need to wait for further updates
War Pike - I understand the War Pike is a new weapon, but do they all have to look the same? I hope in the near future they have different styles but what does the War Pike do better than the other weapons? will it have special elemental blast? will it provide more strategy? while its a cool weapon I don't really see what it brings to the table other than poking. Maybe if the identity of the weapon had more to it... Not to bash the War Pick but it is literally a copy of the glaive from MH minus the insect. I look forward to the weapon having its own identity as development continues.
Ranged Weapon - With all the melee battles can become very cluttered and cramped, a bow or rifle would be a nice addition, with the theme of this game so far a ranged weapon could be different than the norm. Instead of a basic bow you could go with dual cross bows that work like dual pistols. or a harpoon cannon, even a rail gun that use elemental energy, based off the weapons already in game ranged design has potential. I dont know how you guys feel about range but transforming weapons are also an option. I was/am a big fan of the weapons in Bloodborn the sword bow and the gun rapier are my favs. If the intention to keep the players within melee range a transforming weapon could be ideal, for instance: using the special button Q/RB could have a harpoon cannon become a lance.
Shock status on players - Why does it lock the players ability to use items and prevent interaction with the UI is that intended? and why? this overpowered ability has been the down fall of many parties creating a broken mechanic. For example: player goes to revive another player. Active player is shocked and now is stuck in an animation loop until hit out of it by an enemy behemoth or killed by shock damage from other projectiles. A more safe effect could be to slow player movement or extend animations, or even drain stamina. Something that does not break the game.
Elements and Status - What do the actual elements and status do? I saw in a video that fire use to burn behemoth and etc. what happened to that? and where are the poison and paralyze weapons? Bleed weapons? does it even actually matter to use a elemental weapon if all weapons do the same damage? variety leads to strategy which is fun about games like this. I would like to see elemental damage comeback and the damage numbers in the UI to show how much elemental damage we do. Seeing the part damage, wound damage and base damage is confusing, and is there no critical damage? if so why cant I build for crit damage?
Behemoth Variety - While I love the art style and direction the game is going in, fighting the Gnasher in about 5 different ways is getting old fast and annoying. Unlike MH where their area 2 to 3 variants of a monster that are only there for weapon/armor variety. The same creatures are just being overused I really like the Skarn and there's only one version of it???? you fight Gnasher 5 times tier 1-4, Shrike 4 times tier 1-4, Drask type 8 times tier 1-4. That's a bit overkill into burnout. As development continues I look forward to more variety no just in the types but also in the size and sale Behemoths come in all sizes and i hope to see some large enough to rival elder dragons from MH.
Danger level & Revives - While an interesting mechanic it is a lot more important the game insist. Indication for UI should be more visible like progress bar on the screen. While I do like the mechanic it feels way too complicated for the way the game is making situations into instant game over, while the revival system is not inviting to players encourage solo hunts. Finding a balance to the games engine with revival system can be tough. Usually with games that have infinite based revives that decrease over time these games have AI NPC to help the player in the absence of actual players. That's why i said this game reminds me of Toukiden, in Toukiden you don't get continues like in monster hunter but you need other characters to revive you if you not online you have the option of npcs. While Dauntless is a new title it shares this aspect minus the AI NPC option of most japanese games in the style. Right now the game feels like its in a strange place catering to MH & Souls veterans a like while heavy encouraging team play with no support for the beginner/lone wolf.
Game Balance/Difficulty - As I stated before finding a balance is indeed difficult, but I hope one can be found that makes the game fun and challenging for solo & group players but also balanced without being severely handicapped. All I can advise from the outside looking in, is overall balance with multiple game play strategies, letting the players find a way to maximize their way of play and providing tools to even the playing field we are "human"? Slayers and for slayers its all about the gear we use that allow us to slay the beast and even the playing field. Finding a medium for all players is key, for example MH Low rank is easy intro to the game and monsters, High Rank provides the challenge making casual players fine tune their skills or interest to continue forward and G Rank is for the non casuals, those who want to go above and beyond. I think Dauntless can find its own structure the way you do it can make or break the game but it is going to be very sensitive being a F2P. Will Dauntless go the Warframe round where everything is time restricted and players spend thousands of hours in game being able to obtain everything with the cost of time? or will Dauntless be like DCUO where the game is free to play and then everything is locked behind a paywall just to enjoy it? Me personally I love the Grind be don't wanna burnout due to over catering to veterans like other games such as Vindictus... which is another game Dauntless reminds me of.
I look forward to the next update and future of the game. I was excited when it was announced at e3 2017 and still am. I hope thins feed gives ideas and inspiration to the development.
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