Fair warning in advance. This is mostly a bunch of speculations since OOO doesn't tell us anything. At the same time, it is also a huge rant.

Looking at everything, the direction all the patches and updates so far have gone, I'm starting to understand what OOO's ideal for SK is.

The Arcade is meant to be the main selling point of the game. Whereas Missions are supposed to be a kind of 'tutorial' to give players a starting point, before they can start diving straight into the Arcade.

But that is not how things panned out.

Instead, the majority of players spend their time doing missions and pretty much ignoring he Arcade completely. OOO, as well as some players, see this as a problem.

So OOO tries to rectify this problem, as seen in the gunner update, through Basil. Giving a kind of 'reward' system, for those who brave the clockworks.

However, OOO also wants the Arcade to have some 'social' elements. Getting players to meet and get to know other players, to promote teamwork, and all that jazz.

But the popularity of Basil runs contradicts with their 'social' ideal. When hunting for recipes at Basil, the majority of players opt to choose the easiest possible gate, and then speedrun the stages on solo.

Because unlike OOO, the player's goal is not to meet other players, but to get to Basil.

Sure, in some situations, a random group of people meet together with the common goal of reaching Basil together. But not only is that rare, the extent of such poorly formed relationships usually end the moment the goal is reached. That is, reaching Basil.

Clearly, OOO should've come up with a better incentive to get people to run the clockworks. At the same time, OOO should have realized that the convenience of Missions were a little TOO convenient.

There's also one factor, one that's already pretty obvious, but needs to be said regardless. The ideals of the player does not always coincide with that of the developers.

What do OOO want? A social interaction, followed by a sense of adventure for the players.

What do most players want? Cap out as fast as possible.

A number of players (especially the non-hardcore ones) do not want to grind. They do not want an 'adventure' or to 'discover'. They just want to get as strong as they can, as fast as they can.

Ultimately, compared to missions, that's what the Arcade is. A grind.

If OOO really wants to get players to play the Arcades the way they want, the whole game would need a huge overhaul.

Another thing I'd like to talk about, is the Arsenal.

One of the most obvious things I should say, is that SK is meant to be a game that is very much dependent on the players 'skills'. Grinding will of course make you stronger, but ultimately, if you're not good, then no amount of top-class gear will save you.

Because of that, there is no real way, to play the game defensively. In the scale running between offense and defense, SK leans very heavily towards offense.

Just take a look at the armors. What can be considered as the best armor? Naturally, the plate sets. So Ironmight, Volcanic, and Ancient.

Naturally, since they give such a boost to your defense, they take away a bit of your offense.

But is that really true? Is the defense provided really worth the offense taken?

The answer is no.

Just try comparing an offensive Skolver set with a defensive Ironmight set. Let them both get hit by a Wolver. They both take the same amount of damage.

Sure, the Plate sets are good at handling Trojans, but what's the point of giving you an advantage against a small minority of monsters, if it leaves you so vulnerable to the remaining majority?

Point is, I'm trying to say that there is a huge excess of armors that are ultimately useless. What's the point of having such a wide selection of equipment, if only a select few are worth using?

Aside from that, I wanna talk about playstyles.

There are three weapon types: swords, guns, and bombs.

Swords are supposed to be for DPS, guns are for support, and bombs are for utility.

...Except no.

In the eyes of OOO, people are really supposed to use swords and guns. Bombs are just... there. That's why the bombers are always the ones getting shafted.

Oh no! Bombs are starting to outdamage guns! Nerf.

I mean COME ON.

When people started using shards offensively instead of the way OOO ideally wanted them to get used (as traps), they got nerfed.

But on the other hand, when brandishes started to take the haze bomb's role as status spreaders, did they get nerfed? Nope.

I can't help but see a huge sense of favoritism on OOO's side in regards to the weapons.

Another thing to point out is the starting weapons. The 0* and 1* weapons for both guns and swords are extremely diverse. Whereas in the case for bombs, they only have blast bombs. It's as if OOO is going around telling newbies to not even bother trying to be a bomber.

Just look at the current metagame. Sure guns and swords are finally balanced with each other, but can you honestly tell me that it doesn't look like bombers are getting screwed over?