Timing, precision and prediction abilities/skills— like in shooting or MOBA games.
Think about a missile or arrow you get to shoot but only have 1 shot, and it’s in darkness/blind (“fog of war”) only off the minimal info you have.
So predict what the opponent is going to do and so you take a “shot” at a combo etc but all of it is skill based where you must aim and be able to adapt if something changes at a millisecond (small window of time).
Almost like chess but now your physical reaction time and “aim” matter as well, not just trying to out think the other Player/Person/NPC. You actually have to “land it”.
Intuitive gameflow. Don't make me waste clicks and mouse movement.
Yeah, not a game mechanic as such, but a question for mechanics is too broad. If you would limit the genre at least. My favorite mechanics in a deck builder are different from my favorite mechanics in a rpg and different from my favorite mechanics in a puzzle game.
Cards: do not lock the deck while displaying animations. That gets boring after 1 minute.
Reading: do not make me click to see the full text.
In general, the interface is more important for me. Like adjustable key bindings and quality of life functions. The actual game mechanics usually are what type he game is. So saying that this and that is my favorite mechanic would just be like saying I like a genre.
Sooo, deckbuilding, I guess would be an answer to your question ;-) And in a way, equiping your character in any rpg is also a sort of equipment loadout building. It is the optimisation aspect, and that is a core aspect of gaming, which also gives game theory it's name. Though that is more math than fun.
Intuitive and simple keybinds, as well as plenty of player feedback. Example: how many functions can the player perform with WASDNM? Or how intuitive can you get with gamepad controls?
As a completely seperate idea, typing as a skill required for the game. For example: see Helldivers reenforcement system. Missile strike: WASSWDS
Minimization of luck elements (some luck can be fine, but only if the player can counter it easily and it doesn't cost them anything), power-ups, and good use of dynamic input. Dynamic input meaning mouse or anything that's not a button.
