by Fureyon » Sun Feb 07, 2021 2:03 pm
So I'm almost done taking the update through a spin of regular Doom 2. I'm using all bits of the mod (addon and weapon shop) as well as DoomRLA Monsters with LegenDoom for some monster endurance and the odd curveball. Here's the feedback on the balance/mechanic changes so far:
Sandman: Might've gone a bit overboard here. This weapon feels a little too good now with the boost. It's always been awesome, and I agree the power boost makes it feel more like a chaingun BFG, but maybe consider amping up the initial ammo expenditure, with it gradually expending less ammo as you ramp up towards the final RoF boost. This would encourage people to use this as it was "intended" (Neverending dakka) and make the auto-cannon mode a little less good. It feels like in general the bullets hit about 50% harder, and I suggest upscaling the per-shot ammo cost to 4 or 5. That way it's more in-tune with the Pulverizer, with the caveat that this will dish out much higher DPS over the same amount of time.
Mourning Glory: A much needed buff to the Stratocaster, as now I feel like it's worth using this as an explosive shell dispenser. I've even started using this more against big enemies. Maybe add a slight stabilizing effect to the rapid-firing? I realize I could just toggle the weapon recoil effect, but it does feel a bit much on this gun's stratocaster in general. Maybe tone it down a little in normal mode too, not much tho as I feel this adds a lot of oomph to the feel of this glorious cannon.
Meteorfist: Feels so much better now, and far more consistent to boot. Great improvement overall!
Corpse Blast: Feels a little nerfed compared to how it was when it did the whole spirit thing, but is far less laggy now in general tho. Maybe increase the radius of the explosions a bit to compensate it not sending out homing bullets at monsters? I've always used this more to take down big enemies that come together with smaller enemies. Or mop up after an explosion doesn't kill all enemies in a ledge/tight space.
Firebreath: I'll be honest, I don't quite recall if this used to work the way it's working in this update in the past or not, but I do love the changes to this. It's always been a nice starting spell and feels even nicer now. Scourgebreath being fixed is also neat, I didn't know it was broken tho... guess I never used it so close to walls.
Apocalypse: Love the new effects, explosions are pretty and this adds more personality to the spell IMO.
Thunderstruck: I really appreciate that you can toggle Rider of Storm as well as manually aim the spell. This has always been a great spell IMO, but it's even better now.
Deadmaker Skullfire: A much needed boost. I thought this was the weakest spell in Deadmaker's arsenal by far, which was a shame because regular and tomed have such great uses. The casting method, mana usage and overall power did not help this before, but now that it's basically a napalm shower...
Flamewave: Previously I used this as the magic equivalent of a super shotgun, or when I knew enemies were close to walls as the remnant fire pits are really great at taking down enemies. Now I use this like a broom, to sweep away trash! Great improvement overall! Maybe tone down the size of the individual flames though as I had some trouble using this in tighter tunnels where the previous version worked just fine for that. Tomed version is regular version but better, and Deadmaker is an actual fire barrier. It used to move slowly back in the day, but the fact it doesn't now doesn't really take away from the spell.
Hammersmite: Welcome changes to the Deadmaker version in general, although I'll admit I'd gotten used to how it worked in the past. I don't really have people to play Guncaster MP with, so I can't attest to its healing power, and I'd just throw a berserk pack or medikit to heal myself personally.
(Tomed) Knives/Frostbite/Crows: Didn't notice much of a change all in all and I wouldn't use them differently from how I used them in the past, but it's nice they're both more effective now.
Pulverizer Ammo Pickup: Thank you!