Combat system improvements

Combat is a core part of the game, but it still feels rather rough around the edges:

• There are two types of weapons (ranged and melee) with a weak version at the beginning and the possibility to upgrade to a more powerful version later on.

• You are confronted with enemies right from the very start with zombies raiding your tavern and needing to defend yourself against boars, bears and wolves.

• There are a bunch of main quests that require you to engage in combat.

• Orc camps and the order board provide additional incentives for seeking out those combat encounters by offering rare items and cash.

Why does combat feel kind of bland?

It doesn’t feel like there is a lot of room for improving ones combat skills, though. The fighting system in general is quite simple. You smack ‘em, then you dodge. Rinse and repeat. Getting the weapon upgrades feels awesome at first, but it just makes combat more trivial. The musket is even easier to handle than the crossbow because bullets have a completely straight trajectory now, as opposed to crossbow bolts gradually descending after firing them. So aiming becomes a piece of cake and the damage is way higher than before. The sword does about double the damage of the axe so you just kill enemies with fewer hits. The process of killing enemies becomes shorter, but not more interesting.

Ideas for more interesting combat

I would love to experiment with different weapon types. For example, there could be a boomerang that returns after throwing it and can hit multiple enemies at once, a dagger that allows for quick and sneaky blows or even potions that can be thrown in combat to unleash toxic gas or explosions. I could also imagine a simple armor and accessory system where different gear improves different stats like max health, regeneration, movement- and attack speed. There could also be armor or accessories that provide bonuses for working at the tavern (maybe cooking/brewing speed, chance to cook one more of something, intimidating looks to scare off drunk patrons, etc.).

How to obtain these new items?

These weapons and armor pieces could act as special quest rewards, rare drops from enemies or found in chests at orc camps. Another system I would love to see in the game would be to trade with off-duty adventurers that visit your tavern as patrons. Maybe some customers offer to trade a magical weapon or armor piece they found in a dungeon for particularly courteous service. Or maybe the noble patrons that visit from time to time offer great rewards from their royal treasury for outstanding service quality.

I think this has the potential to tie the different aspects of the game together a bit more. Players can try to satisfy their patrons as much as possible to get the chance for rewards that change the way they interact with the world while exploring and running the tavern. And finding new gear while exploring and adventuring yourself allows you to improve your taverns service quality to increase the chance for bigger rewards.

I love the unique blend of genres in this game and I would love to see them interact with each other in a more meaningful way. Keep up the great work!