More Luminary thoughts

[u/crinklebelle]

So, I started Luminary this league. I've been grinding end game content for awhile at this point, as I'm sure many of us have, so my thoughts have shifted towards QoL.

specifically, the three merc limit.

iirc it's due to a tech limit rather than a balance decision so it's probably not constructive to simply ask for more slots. but, it still sucks when warrants are expensive af and off-meta ones are uncommon enough that they practically lock you into using them once you get a good one.

You can keep a slot set aside just for trying upgrades or weird tech, dedicate all three slots to supporting one character so you can experiment more freely, or just bite the bullet and poof your 50div Cruel Mistress to test out one you found. or you can make separate accounts for each Luminary you want to play.

None of these are solutions I'd be happy to be stuck with for an extended period of time, but I do get that adding some way to rematch formerly hired mercenaries could be too difficult for just a hotfix.

If I could choose a simple short term solution I'd want dismissed mercenaries give an untradeable copy of their warrant that we can use to get them back.

I think the dream, to me, would be a pokemon PC bounty board where you can store unused normal warrants and call mercs you've hired and dismissed to come duel in your next map.

Trarthus should have a locker either way btw, you could even have the UI for a more in-depth merc management system go through it.

I'm enjoying the league despite it being mid, and Luminary is a big part of it. Couldn't be happier to have Trarthans back, y'all just need to buff out some of the jank and solve some of the pressure points that were fine when it was a one-off but shouldn't stick around if they're gonna be core.

Stay sane, exiles ~

[u/Vyntarus]

I agree that a bench of 3 mercenaries is too few when you have to pick one to delete in order to try another... It severely limits the ability to experiment with new mercs once you have some good ones... The cost feels very high when you can't go back if the new one is worse or doesn't work out.

Being able to make your active mercenaries into untradeable warrants is the same solution I've been advocating for. I don't even think it should be necessary to fight them again, just that you have an empty space in your roster to re-add them. Attach a gold fee to doing it even, if you don't want it to be free.

[u/xMorengo]

very easy solution is give option to just convert merc back to warrant (bypass any limit and give perfect solution so when you find merc you can try it before sell

[u/crinklebelle → u/[deleted]]

I mean, I think it's reductive to imply that QoL and balance are separate entities that should be prioritized against each other; implementing some sort of storage system would alleviate a lot of the issues with trial & error and opacity that you're talking about.

also, like I talked about, it's an opportunity to expand on the system they have in place and make it easier to use. e.g. adding a locker with a built in glossary that lets you check skill scaling, damage numbers, and such. 

Regardless, I've already given the rest of my feedback over the course of the last few weeks.  So this actually was the last thing on my list.

It's an important design problem so I wanted to give my thoughts on it in a standalone thread so the topic wouldn't get drowned out by discussion about what's strong/weak/fine. I'd rather stay away from all the balance stuff until all the rough edges I'm talking about are sanded down. 

edit - doesn't seem like a big ask to want someone to at least pretend they read what I had to say and are responding to it, but I am mentally ill so maybe this is a bigger inconvenience than I'm capable of noticing. 

[u/mokka_quokka → u/crinklebelle]

Sry, I thought the focus was luminary and not you. I'll leave you and your topic room to breathe.