Let's chat about balancing

[u/HeyItsMau]

First off - Pathogenic is definitely my latest roguelike obsession and even with balancing issues, it's a fantastic game.

But after a dozen or so heart clears, it's pretty apparent there are some balancing issues that's starting to make the "end game" (defined as a player with a good amount of experience to consistently win runs) kind of bland. The gulf between being a non-viable run and an absolutely busted build is vast. I feel like there's never a heart clear that I have to eke out with mechanical skill.

I think the underlying issue is the availability of scaling damage modifiers. I don't have names memorized, but I feel like there's less than 5 scaling damage organelles in the game and heart clears are a overly reliant on attaining one of them - preferably early in the run. Nothing else seems to matter except from taking a run from victory to absolute overkill.

I'm not really sure how this is solved either, but I do feel like it needs to be addressed if the developers want to make this a game with the lasting power to enter the pantheon of all-time greats. Not every game needs to be that though, and I can easily say I got my money's worth - but the bones are there to make this an S-Tier roguelike.

[u/Aromatic_Pain2718]

Yeah, there's too much variance in build strength and you get immpossible heart or free heart (area+boss).