Ok, so I played through a fair bit of content until I decided to delete everything to keep my experience fresh on release.
A couple of observations:
Looks like I mixed up the utility value of Mage vs Alchemist. I valued Mage highly, but I think she only provided good utility in the form of multiple Wizard Eye casts. (minimap spell)
Jump is actually Alchemist Spell. The other good utility spell is Torch, which I found on a Valkyr, don't know if Alchemist has it.
My party for this run was:
- MC Fighter, your generic Strength, Speed, Constitution badboy. MC fighter has Counterattack as its special ability. Girl fighter has some weird "Provide cover for her" ability instead. Best setup is dual wield.
- Max, traps are such a big Game Over threat that you need one Rogue or Hunter character with high (can't remember if it's Speed or Luck) stat to trivialize traps. Also great for picking Bronze Locks. Tried using ranged from backline, but dual wield way better.
- Dervish / Blade Dancer dual wield is way too good for this game's action economy
- Fighter with Morning Star - this has medium range and can hit from backline - this is probably the first slot I'll be looking to replace, just picked her for fewer gear restrictions but most of the time was underwhelming
- Valkyrie - can hit from backline - got the LVL 15 one from seaside town. For some reason Valkyries feel better and better with each playthrough. Used to think they were meh in older runs. Some spears suggest they are capable of proccing a hit on entire enemy rank, haven't seen this occur yet. Maybe only works from frontline.
- I don't remember if this one was Priest or Bishop, could appraise items - got some holy staff early in the game, which meant she could spam autos from the backline for ~50 damage. Not bad, but not amazing either. I only rediscovered special abilities towards the end of my playthrough. Initially got her to cure poisons, but I think Valk Purification can do that too.
Party had way too little magic damage and was getting stalled by incorporeal shit like spirits or even backline casters that I couldn't prioritize.
I think difficulty is a bit all over the place. Most annoying enemies are the ones that stall and keep calling for reinforcements. The counter to that is to have race variety in your party so that these enemies get self-CC'd trying to H-animation a girl of compatible race while the rest of your party mows them down.
Played for about 6-7 hours and was surprised how much content I deliberately avoided because I already knew the plot and wanted to keep myself surprised. I think full version of this game can easily provide 30-40 hours of gameplay, probably even more if you take the time to read all cutscenes. (Unless at some point you pick up the pace, party becomes OP and just start blazing through enemies on autoattack)
I am actually intrigued to know how much the dev hasn't shown us already. There is a monster encyclopedia and an equipment museum that acts as a mini "collection" of seen things, but it's possible that the full version may include new entires.
