Have you ever been playing a game of pox and read the description of something, based a plan on it, gone for it, and watched as it failed because the description was incorrect or didn't explain what really happens? I've been playing this game for a while, but there needs to be some serious work done to make the game more approachable. I have brought two friends to this game, one could deal with me beating him over and over due to me knowing the small details and tricks you only learn trough tons of practice and getting spanked in games, but one couldn't take it. He rationally thought that PoxNora was filled with infinite finite details that he would have to commit to memory to succeed. A few examples are... -Placing a relic on a stealthed unit to reveal it -Knowing exactly how much damage DoT effects will do when factoring in regeneration and other healing effects -Knowing that a summoned unit cannot contest a font -Somehow predicting how knockback is going to work -Knowing when knockback is going to chasm a champion or not -I know there are tons more, these are just a few to make my case In my opinion, before the devs take on balancing and making thematic changes, we drastically need to simplify the game and make realistically approachable for someone scrolling along on steam. This means making damage calculations reasonable and making players confident in the strategies they come up with while deckbuilding. When I first saw the color coded chart for gale force I truly realized pox had a problem. Only after introducing friends to the game I did realize that it's a massive factor in stopping players from getting into the game.
I completely agree with the notion that info concerning game mechanics should be easily accessible on the website and descriptions should be more precise.
What you say has a lot of merit. However some of the things you've highlighted are simply something you learn through experience. nobody ever told me a relic unstealthed a unit. I learned that. nobody told me summons couldn't contest fonts. I learned that. Nux didn't even exist when I started playing this game. savage tundra and shattered peaks only just beat me. knowing how much damage you'll deal is actually called counting. the game doesn't need to work it out for you. you need to work that out for yourself. you cant have a strategy game without strategy. you cant formulate your plans if the game formulates them for you. Also making the game simple could just be another word for making the game boring if done wrongly or rashly.
A lot of this information could be more clearly stated in descriptions, but that which can't be done through descriptions -- Knockback charts, the 0 AP clause, stealth interactions -- should at least have a complete explanation on the website; Pox needs a master rules compendium. I've got some of this stuff in the works, actually, and could knock out a mediocre draft for public viewing this weekend. Formatting is a huge deal for something like that though. Oh, and yeah, Wandering has its own problems. Partly because the ability is explicitly random, but also because it also functions like Manic but in relation to the opposing shrine; few people know the KB chart, fewer know how it relates to manic, and I'm sure an even smaller portion actually knows how to figure it out quickly while in a game. (Based on observation and guesswork, I think square of movement from Wandering has about a 25% chance of misfiring and going in one of the other 3 directions.)
Actually, things like knockback could be bound into an improved UI. And randomness has no place in this game and needs to be eradicated with vengeance.
In the case of something like Wandering or Tetra Shield, I totally agree. But spells like Dark Rising are mostly alright with a random element, I feel. If they could be reworked away from randomness, that would be swell.
I understand the viewpoint that veteran players have had to learn these things and that's part of what makes them top players, but at this point in time we have to be concerned with the future of pox. I'm not saying that we should make new players feel warm and fuzzy about every game they play, but having one of these "learning experiences" takes a toll on new players who often aren't even sure what just happened. In the case of using a relic to reveal a stealthed unit, there's no OH, OK, that's a thing, moment because you aren't alerted that a player used that method to reveal your unit.
im not saying they don't. but some people like complexity. they like to work things out. they like to experience things and not have things simply handed to them on a plate. take your friends as an example. 1 actually learnt and was willing to do so, the other was unwilling to do so. we can get to the point of absurdity where people become simply, spoilt. a lot of ability descriptions certainly do need changing. and the combat log certainly needs a lot of bug fixes but in a game like this, no tutorial will ever be perfect especially in a game that is constantly updating. A middle ground needs to be found.
I'd rework them into something like the sleketons spawing on the tips of an AoE 3 or something along those lines, with the relocation order for when the spaces are occupied. Things would have to be reworked into 4 or 8 spawns, but that's hardly a high price. Maybe the tips and the center square for 5.
Ref randomness: the level of randomness provided by certain spells and effects feels about right to me. I work it into the tactics. Knowing where a relocate will hit makes one plan differently to hoping for a good Dark Rising. The descriptions and precision on abilities and interactions could be significantly better. The dev's might want to post video tutorials in the style of the boardgame series 'Watch It Played'. Complex and precise is fun. Complex and imprecise is frustrating.
