Thank you so much for playing and leaving such detailed criticisms. I will endeavor to fix all the bugs you pointed out as quickly as possible an update the post. You clearly stress tested some of the levels and found things that the people testing the maps missed (mostly me but a little bit my brothers).
I definitely take your point about the items. There was a bit of a lore focus on only wizards having magical artifacts except for the few Church consecrated relics but I definitely need to look at making the items better, especially for Stephen and Katarina who will not get access to their relics for some time.
Overall I will try to improve based on your critiques and keep them in mind as I move forward onto the next Act. I hope that despite the myriad deficiencies you enjoyed playing and will continue to be patient with me as I work through improving it.
Thank you again!
Hmm. Well if it's the lore you're worried about I think you can skirt the rules a little bit for characters that aren't mages/wizzards. It should be quite simple to anticipate the effects and why said character has "that" specific item without the need to add a tool tip to it.
For example, you can give Katarina a dagger that gives her bonus attack damage and slows the target she hits; since dagger is poisoned, it will cripple the victim for a time while dealing a little bit of damage (basically a modified Orb of Venom that doeasn't give melee Heroes a ranged attack vs air units).
Or give Stephen a sword that gives him bonus attack damage and attack speed; since the sword is made out of high quality/refined Tungsten unlike the weapons on the millitary market, it's a lot easy to swing and boasts a sharp edge that doesn't need daily maintenance (he is a noble so he wouldn't be carrying a low quality weapon around).
Even armor can be a fair thing to add. For example "Warriors" like Erik could use heavy armor that gives stats like Ring of Protection, or even use weapons that could cause bluntforce trauma (items like Rusty Mining Pick that would work well with his passive).
Characters like the Marshal, however, could use Shields unlike others (like Frostwyrn Skull Shield) not only because of his model, but his martial training. Characters like Katarina would have access to lighter armor types that enables her more flexibility, sacrificing protection in favor of mobility (effects like Talisman of Evasion + Ring of Protection+1).
I think small things such as these would help certain characters out in the start of the action before or if they will get their hands on some real relics that boast stat increase or special effects (like being able to cancel out magical effects, cast spells or summon units). It was quite disheartening to have most characters see them develop a drinking problem or an addiction to potions while Trinity was getting the most out of... well, she was getting very powerful quickly.
Of course, the more powerful items that can summon minions or unleash bolts of energy would be exclusively for mages since only they would have the necessary training to use such things. So (unfortunately) you won't see characters like Erik summoning a small pack of wolves to his side anytime soon.
Approved
