and now the main issue is the "energy" system. instead of that, just go with an action system, as in each character gets 1 action per day instead of a bar that may or may not, based on RNG, fill up enough to actually be used. im getting absolutely shreded in tournaments, and i have to assume its because EVERY time i go in with half stamina because the only way to recover stamina is by leveling up and praying top RNGesus that i got a full recover, or sitting around for 4 days and seemingly falling further behind the enemies in stats.
and really, since you ALREADY only allow 1 action per day per character, the energy system only serves to make everything worse than it should be. i understand the thought process behind including it, but it runs completely counter to everything the game is trying to do.
i wanna like this. i loved swords and sandals and similar games back in the day. but i suspect the main issue here is that youre working on this yourself, and know the calculations personally too well to accurately judge the playability of the game. a good rule of thumb is : youre not dark souls. any mechanics that are outright punishing the player just for being here, should be removed completely. any mechanics that only serve to add tedium, only serve to detract from the game. that is not to say that the grind isnt and cant be fun, but when you have mechanics that actively work against your ability to play the game it changes from grinding to tedium.