Poisons are just decently cheap, so even if you're not a Toxicologist and are buying on-level it could easily turn into nearly half a dozen rolls per enemy per round, and that'd break combat pacing pretty badly.

The main issue I see here is that the process of resolving this (especially with multiple poisons, multiple poison users, or god forbid both) is incredibly tedious.

I'd probably bundle this change into the kits of Toxicologist and *maybe* the Poisoner archetype (or a feat within it) to avoid this.

Game systems incentivise outcomes— P2e is a very mechanical game, and it clamps down on outliers. This incentivises playing from your sheet and having most broad outcomes decided before impact, which can be boring.

This critique doesn't imply that we who enjoy or work within the framework are bad.

3. Least important by far (to me), but still notable, boss difficulty can include its runback; this tool is best wielded if the runback tests the same skills needed in the boss fight, as with Father of the Flame.

2. Room to breathe is important for pacing. Constantly grinding your head against a challenge quickly leads to frustration or indifference, both feelings the game is not trying to evoke. Having space to process what you've learned and consider alternative options keeps engagements intentional.

2. "Runbacks are outdated and bad."

Runbacks provide two or arguably three major benefits to a game's design. I'll list in order of importance.
1. Skill is best progressed with cycles of practice and rest, not with unending participation. In enforcing breaks, you gain skill faster.

lest the game become too easy. It incentivises (and in certain situations, is the sole reason for) proper gameplay, knowledge acruement and execution, rather than bashing into something or rushing through until you get lucky.

1. "Two Masks is Bullshit/Artificial Difficulty/Unfair/etc."

Hollow Knight utilised Two Mask damage far less frequently due to a more limited, more granular healing system. Hornet's ability to rapidly heal 3 masks while anywhere requires a swath of attacks and enemies to be more punishing,

@werbreadsmanga.bsky.social - youtu.be/S0xkQrmjr68 - (an analysis of the healing system and its wider impacts)
The Electric Underground - youtu.be/xvr3WJTWbMQ (a game-wide analysis, though mind the elitist tone in places)

intentional malice towards those playing it are just some, and I figured I'd throw my own hat in the ring as far as singing the game's praises and (hopefully) encouraging those on the fence to enjoy it for what it is. A couple of videos I've enjoyed are linked below, though not exhaustive. Thanks.

and insincere or emotional arguments levied at the game and the team for their astounding work on display. Negatively toned comparisons to Dark Souls 2, repetitions of some assumed "lack of QA testing", unkind charicatures of the developers, and declarations that the entire project is full of

Overall, the game is astounding; I would make very few, minor changes to the game (literally three:
1. rebindable controls
2. additional/more reliable rosary methods to disincentivise pure farming
3. a tool to aid in the finding of missed things)
and it has been quite disquieting to see the backlash

locating secrets (much like their role in the Mist) would be a fitting solution, both narratively and mechanically.

- A parallel critique, but the lack of any kind of "secret finding" tool combined with the game's size and an in-game completion percentage leads to a frustrating feeling of helpless re-treading or devolves into Silksong becoming a "wiki game"; a lategame tool that summons moths to aid in

- The sheer size of the game is starting to wear up against metroidvania design; whenever you gain a new item, or progress a major point in the story, you recontextualise (and should re-explore) most or all of the map, something that causes fatigue in such a large game.