Yeah, there is a big flaw with that system though.
During early game, the system works well in most cases because the Runes/Souls are a lot more valued to level up, but during the endgame and when you have a reliable farming spot in the game, Rune/Soul retrieval becomes less important.
I often find myself not caring if I lose my Runes because I just spend a few minutes farming for them later.
I think there are two major risks when dying in Fromsoftware games.
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Losing exploration progress
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Soul/Rune loss
Exploration is a cornerstone of all open world RPG games, especially in areas that won’t give you a rest area for a long time. During most stages of Elden Ring, I am scared of dying because of the enemies respawning and having to run back to my last location.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I like it when bosses don’t make it easy to retrieve runes in their boss arena. It keeps things interesting.
I feel like Fromsoftware pulls off the concept of death. They don’t want the player to avoid dying. They actually encourage it. With how hard the game is, the players need to focus on getting better at the game, not avoiding death at all cost.
This is why I hate permanent death games. What’s the point of playing a game that’s already extremely difficult on top of paying a very heavy price for dying a few times.
I’m not against permanent death itself, but it should not be the only option given the players. It should be like Minecraft hardcore mode, where players are given an option.
I also dislike Minecraft’s system for death. Having all items drop upon death and have them at risk for respawning is incredibly harsh, especially when the player forgets to set their spawn with a bed.
Terraria’s, death system doesn’t have the player drop their items upon death, but their money instead. However, given the limited use of money in that game, I think the punishment is too light.
I just did a lot of yapping