b42 - Insane Difficulty Balance

[Dervic]

I tried out playing Insane in b42 again, and it's pretty much playable now, unlike b39-b40 or so.

Just 2 balance issues I've noticed so far:
Rare Doomed - Shadows scale too much and by midgame, they're invincible ESP-aware teleporting backstabbing harbingers of Death.
Rare Solipsist - The Psi shield absorbs ridiculous amounts of damage and the Mind Sear will do enough damage to one-shot you. I don't know how well they scale, but in early game they're absurdly overpowered.

Other than that, Insane seems reasonably balanced in the Tier1. Monsters are dangerous and tough enough, and most rare types and Bosses are pretty much enjoyable.
Also, it's possible for Rare monsters to appear in the first game level, but that's not really that problematic for anyone playing insane.

P.S. - Oh... And Escape from Reknor Insane is a complete nightmare.
P.S.2 - Crystals in the Scintillating Caves will one-shot most level 1 characters, but you can always get out and start somewhere else I guess.

[azrael]

I just had 3 or 4 deaths from Solipsist rares.

The character was named Givemeasolipsist.

ALL I WANT IS TO UNLOCK THEM AND THEY KEEP KILLING MEeeee...

[onyhow]

Half the rares one of my character face are solipsists...those sucks...