Originally posted by lorddrakenwode:

The skill loss thing has a lot of the flavor of the old Nintendo Hard about it, itself drawn from those impossible arcade games designed to efficiently extract quarters from people back in the Before Times. The problem with this whole line is that there are a lot of people interested in the experience of games, who just don't have the time to invest in gradually building up, only to get knocked down, and have to build back up again. For those people who find that satisfying, it absolutely should be an option on the table, but if you confine your game experience exclusively to that mechanism, you unnecessarily alienate a much larger potential player base.

I think a valid compromise would be a highly granular custom settings structure, much like certain mods have played with, where players can highly customize their experience based on what they want, and what their life allows. Hardcore options for the hardcore players, more relaxed options for those less interested in the hardcore experience.

Mistlands is such a disproportionate step up in difficulty, and the penalties for dying in terms of time investment necessary to recover that which is lost, sets one foot of Valheim firmly on either side of that line. I don't think it's a stable arrangement, or healthy for the long-term prospects of the game.

That's a lot of words for basically asking for an easy mode. So much for "brutal survival". SIMS Vikings, here we come.