FEEDBACK PLS: New Soul Chip Spending-points

Do absolutely nothing whatsoever that impacts high level play (Defiant, Challenges) in any way



Enhance the new player experience by giving them something to really visibly earn in between 20XX plays, instead of just item unlocks (which, once you die after the unlock, just go to the pool, offering no "instant" benefit)



Balance the incoming quite-difficult Endgame content with something on the front-end to keep difficulty mostly the same (for Normal/Casual)



Further diversify what players can spend SC on

+2 HP



+2 NRG



Unlocks Dally, a buddy that'll show up at the start of Level 2 to throw you some much needed supplies



Start w/ Primary Weapon chest in level 1



Dally upgrade (also shows up on level 4 to hook you up with better pickups)



+2 HP (again, total of 12 starting HP with both unlocked)



Dally upgrade (also shows up on level 6 with a free minor/moderate Aug)



+2 NRG (again, total of 12 starting NRG)



Dally upgrade (also shows up on level 8 with a strong Aug)



Start w/ Core Aug chest in level 1

Hello!Today, we'd love some community feedback about ingame progression. We know we've been down this road before, but we're considering journeying down it one more time, and we'd love your feedback/thoughts before doing so.Traditionally, 20XX does a fantastic job of snaring folks that "get it" from the get go, but is pretty punishing for folks who don't, and the game doesn't throw them much of a bone to keep them playing long enough to get good. We'd like to address that.Before we talk about what we're thinking about doing, here are our goals (in rough order of importance, descending):To that end, we're considering adding two things to the Soul Shop -- the first because we think the game could use it, and the second because it's a super popular community suggestion.First, an additional branch of the shop that unlocks a small number of permanent upgrades that only apply in Normal and Casual play. They'll having a scaling price range so the first few are easily affordable by new players, but the last ones require the player to at least reach level 7-8 before they become affordable. We're thinking the following upgrades, roughly in order of acquisition:This will definitely make the existing levels 1-8 substantially easier on Normal/Casual. We're not convinced that's a bad thing - keep in mind that when the Endgame hits, the game's going to get way more difficult to complete!So, that's the first bit. Secondly, once all of these have been unlocked, the space will instead be taken by the Undeveloper, who (for a small fee) will remove items from the game pool for next run. We're thinking he'll offer 3 items at a time, and for 1 SC, that item won't spawn next run. There'll also be a machine next to him that, also for 1 SC, will remove the 3 items on offer and replace them with 3 other ones, so you can try to target items you really don't want (but may not succeed, hence the low price).(We might also put the Undeveloper in the current Unlockable Soul Shop spot, instead.)That's what we're thinking. We want to make the game easier to get into for new players, without impacting the veteran 20XX experience.We'd love your thoughts! Thanks, folks.