deep dungeon design, why it works

[Nalien]

I've not had the chance to do much Palace of the Dead, but I'm really loving what I've seen so far... Mostly for the same reasons I love the undersized party option; I enjoy being able to just do stuff how I want to, rather than needing a proper balanced party... All the times I've really enjoyed regular dungeons, have been times something has gone "wrong", a tank leaving at the start of the Vault, and Titan-Egi taking us all the way to the last boss before a replacement shows up, for example... The items also make for a really great addition, it's not quite horizontal progression, but it does make opening chests much more rewarding than anywhere else in the game...

I think my only complaint is that the floors can get quite monotonous... Needs some stronger objectives on the floors, like finding items to open up new paths or killing specific enemies, maybe even sneaking past enemies, though that's difficult with how the progression works... Puzzles would also be nice, just work them like Qarn where working it out nets you additional rewards, messing it up nets you some extra enemies... Secret rooms, perhaps even with secret mini-bosses would be quite nice as well... Give us a bomb bag and let us blow up some walls...