Hey there. First I wanted to say that I felt the game is in great shape, and the beta made me feel comfortable enough that I Pre-ordered the game, something I haven't done in a few years.

So, to get to my feedback:

The Tactical Map minigame itself was hard to get a feel for and I guess that once the release occurs, we'll get a better idea of how the seasons will go, the consequences, etc. However during the beta I felt like it was an afterthought to the game itself. I deployed my stuff after a battle, and felt nothing when I did so.

QoL thoughts: In offline mode, I hope that there will still be opportunities for the training/bot matches to be up and running. When servers are down, I'd still like to be able to warm up against the bots.

Speaking of bots, I actually think the bots in this game are well done. They are hype reactive to blocking however and feel like they can be cheesed with Guard Breaks into combos, so if they wised up to guard breaking with a quick counter themselves I think they'd be less cheese-able.

The Warden:

Good class that I feel has a pretty minimal window to their Top Light counter. I honestly played matches without using it, except vs a Kensei.
Their time-to-kill is low compared to the Raider and Kensei as well, but not by much. Truth is they just don't have a great combo setup, and they don't need one.

Raider:

Great class with a lot of map control and when playing them. Greatest weakness is when they miss attacks or are parried as their stamina is easy to blow through. That's fair, but 1v1 they're weakest in a match of strikes. They have to be played around their charges and repositioning players.

Kensei:

Favorite of the three, but not the best of the three. Their time-to-kill in a striking match is great because of their dodge-striking, the headsplitter, and their combo fluidity. Major weaknesses are that they need to work their combos in as any battle that drags out drops their chances of victory down. Their top heavy finisher is predictable so denying that damage is the key to beating them. Otherwise they have great chip damage from the head-splitter and effective cancelling to combos I feel makes them my favorite class.

Conquerer:

Didn't play them enough. Fought against them a few times, and some good guard breaks and cancelling into combos handles them well, but when they guard against you they're extending their time and breathing room. Their best asset is that they can waste your time.

Warlord:

Similar to Conq, but they have great combos and I feel are far more harassing and aggressive.

Nobushi:

Haven't played them. Nothing to say against them too.

PeaceKeeper

Fun feast-or-famine class. Don't have much to say on their fighting style. The Warden and Kensei I feel are their hard counter because PC relies on dodges and deflects.

Berserker:

Great class with a combo style that feels easy to mix up. I feel that their kit feels equally successful in Dominion as much as it in duels/brawl. They also feel fair to fight 1v1 though they shine in 2v2s.

Orochi:

Strong combo class that I honestly hate fighting against because their cancelling-into-combos is brutal.

All classes played feel fine, though I never got a feel for the Nobushi, PC, or Warlord. Fought them all though, mostly fair though I always get a bit miffed when fighting the Orochi and Berserker due to their high damage potential. Still balanced.

I've done most battles without using feats, and the only feats that I've really felt like "ah that's actually good to the kit" are the smoke bombs and the raider's mark. I think access to feats is quite limiting sometimes. When you want to run interference and buy time for your team you're not going to accelerate access to them.

Regarding items and upgrading items:

The beta really just didn't give me a chance to feel the depth of customization, the effects of having certain items or leveling them up.
I am a bit dubious of in-game currency and paying for packs, or rather monetizing this system, but we'll see how it goes.


Overall thoughts: Fun game to play. Felt like a complete package during the beta, and I got bummed that it ended.