To put it another way, you don't want The Exam to be the first level. You don't want people reaching for the strategy guide on the first level. That's not what first levels are for. First levels are for reeling people in, and prepping them for The Exam.
The Exam is currently the second level. I'd imagine, in the completed game, it'd be a little before or after the midway point.
(This is the designer speaking now)
Thanks for taking the time to write all of that feedback. I just wanted to say, yes, the game has balance issues, I don't want to sound like I'm defending the game as is. There's some bullshit and RNG stuff in there that we'll sand off as we move forward. (if you see the changelog, the game only gets easier with each update)
I'm not a big fan of easy modes, and if we do add an easy mode it'll be one of the last things we do. I want to do my best to balance just one difficulty until then though.
I'm a big fan of Enter The Gungeon, and most of my roguelike design is inspired from that. I think every level, including level one, should be a mastery test. There's only going to be 3 levels per run, so it would feel like a waste to me if one of them was mindlessly easy. I don't disagree with the sentiment that it might be unbalanced or too hard for a first level due to some skill balancing problems. But I do disagree that it shouldn't be an exam.
Anyways, we'll continue balancing things as we go, and hopefully by the end of all this, it'll be a good game.
-Trongle
