Ok #gamedev Mastodon. How do you feel about forcing the player to lose a (shortish, let's say less than 5min) fight for story reasons and then unlocking a new mechanic that lets the player win?
I personally feel that it's bad design to have an impossible fight, but on the other hand, it has been done aplenty and, in this case, would kind of make sense.
@arzi I prefer a slightly different method:
Put the player up against a near-impossible fight. Don't force them to lose, force them to grind away 10% of the enemy's health, unprepared. Make them feel like it's a slog, but they're making slow progress. Once they do, give them a reprieve by having them lose by cutscene and then give them the ability.
That way, you continue to build advancement on top of accomplishment.
Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance used this technique to good effect to reveal its Ripper Mode.
@LouisIngenthron Yeah, I'm starting to lean on doing it roughly this way.