First, it should be expected that only certain kinds of builds have access to certain points. You shouldn’t be able to invade the palace with any build just because you want to explore. If you are used to do this in other games, that’s your problem.
This is a made up rule.
Second, these complaints don’t affected the main game in any way since you are able to finish your main quests without problems – unless, of course, you spread your skill points too thin like a newbie.
The game cannot be finished with a jack-of-all-trades character and it's not properly advertising the fact that you have to play it with a class system mentality.
This means that once you started with some skills then you have to put points on those skills until the end of the game (probably - I didn't finish it). Trying to experiment or deviate from your "class-corridor" will result in failure.
Third, most of these complaints are arbitrary because the gated locations are accessible to different builds. Instead, what really happens is this. The player spent all his general skill points on combat skills or one skill. He can’t explore some site. Frustration hits, time to go to the internet to bitch about the game. You will find people on the Codex complaining that is impossible to reach the center of the abyss, when the reality is that you have lots of different ways to get there. I listed them
here. You can check. And the same thing holds for the other sites. You prove to players with all the information that what they are saying cannot be the case, but they ignore the information, because they don't want skill checks, they want traditional design. Players talk out of their hats because they are not used to this kind of thing. It’s a childish behavior because the game allows you to explore, make mistakes and try different things. You can explain and list one thousand ways to infiltrate the place and they will keep moaning. Is pure arrogance.
Your argument reeks with dishonesty: the multitude of the choices you are describing are actually close to
ONE because they are based on your character stats which are the same for most part of the game.
The only one that can be blamed of arrogance is the developer.
Fourth, the game allows you to make plenty of mistakes and move forward. If you don’t notice this is because you are too afraid or traumatized by failures. Let me give you one of the many examples in Teron. If you try to critical strike Esbenus, but fail, they will throw you on the ground and hit you. You will lose permanently 2 or 3 HPs, but you also receive a bonus in your dodge skill. I don’t know about you, but at this point in the game a free bonus in dodge is a huge advantage. In fact, is always an advantage, and that’s why I always choose to fail in this in order to receive this benefit. I can guarantee you that most players that fail in this skill check moaned about bad gameplay without even bother to read the description of the game event. There are plenty of similar interesting “fuck ups” that allow the player to move forward.
Good quest design. I like how it sounds but I wonder if it's a common occurrence in the game.
Fifth, I don’t know if make any sense to say that informed decisions would prevent you all kinds of death and dangers, but I do know that AoD telegraphs a lot of the dangers to players. Players are blind to this because they are used to common cRPG tropes and prejudices. The game practically telegraphs you the risks you take by helping an unknown damsel in distress in an obscure street or an excuse deal with a strange fellow (*coug* Miltiades *cough). It’s obvious that they are trouble. What most players do? They go ahead clicking to explore and die in all kinds of indignant ways, and then start complaining about gameplay. Now, ask yourself. The game is designed to punish you for making stupid decisions based on generic cRPG tropes. Players fall in these traps. This is not bad design because it’s working exactly as intended. If I try to explain to some dude that can’t beat Miltiades toughs that he is not supposed to if he is not strong enough and that he have the option to turn around and run, he will feel insulted. I wonder where he got this mistaken idea that he is supposed to know in advance all the dangers without thinking, beat all the fights with a crappy build and never run away because that is what cowards do. Probably from generic borderline popamole traditional design.
AoD teleports but it doesn't telegraph shit. Stop lying.
The game is designed to punish you and that's about it. There is no informed decision making involved.
So players hate the subversion of poorly thinking tropes because they are prejudiced. They will dismiss all the amazing things the game offers, from the believable characters to the hundreds of interesting scenarios, because they feel personally insulted and overwhelmed. You may complain but others feel rejoice in the fact that someone is finally abandoning the hundredth copy of generic FedEx quest design and making more believable quests. You feel frustrated by gated content while others will feel challenged and will feel rewarded from beating that dam skill check. Do you this is not challenge? Yes, it is, because it takes a kind of person with perseverance and obstinacy to achieve the right build. Do you think this is not rewarding? Not, it is, because you know that most people won’t access that particular content. The other day I find a new death screen that was hilarious. That's awesome because after hundreds of hours there are hidden details I didn't know. That's good stuff. The game is so rich in details and you guys dismissing the game based “I don’t want to reload” dogmatic thinking.
Nope. There are only two ways to beat the skill-checks: (1) trial-and-error approach and (2) meta-gaming.
Even a complete moron can do it with enough time or resolve but I guess it's pointless to explain to you why this shit is not appealing to a lot of people.
