OK, uh, well, on my last playthrough, I just realized that I tend to skip buildings when I can. I remember every region used to force you through several buildings, but now they're optional bonuses. Thing is, I don't really see much point in them. The risk-reward ratio is simply too poor. Your character is crafted from (regenerating, but still) wet tissue paper, so one tiny slip-up and that would be that. Every second you spend in a region is potentially fatal (I am still often surprised at how quickly I can go from full health to dead). Buildings offer rewards in the form of equipment, but what's the point in that? There are only a few types of equipment I'd take, for example, those that increase range (fairly useless, but hey, you take what you can get), those that reduce damage, and, if I'm very lucky, those that give extra shots. The tradeoffs for the others are just not worth it (especially the ones that reduce your mobility. The ones that make you take more damage, I can understand, but much of the skill involved in the playing the game goes into movement). So, more often than not, venturing into a building would just be put yourself at a huge risk (especially in cities; those buildings are pretty long) for a reward that you might not even want. And then there's the whole thing about how your health regenerates but the equipment's doesn't. Very skilled players can avoid the damage altogether, but most people would sacrifice a bit of health to kill a bunch of creatures and gain their health back from them. The equipment isn't going to last very long if you play like that.
So, in summary, this means that, for the most part, only the most skillful players would venture into buildings in search of equipment. But then again, if you're already that good, what do you need the equipment for?
I've got a solution, actually: coins. Bring back the old system of scattering coins everywhere, or perhaps having some chests give coins. These actually have a permanent and crucial impact in the game. Scrounging up a few more coins can make the difference between defeat and victory. For example, you could avoid facing monsters from the Deep, lava or tundra biomes in windmills by using those extra coins. You could resolve a tactical impasse that could otherwise have cost you enough turns for you to lose.
So, uh, what do you guys think?
