Fair criticism on the perception, it was more intended to be a meta step and key to some puzzles, but those puzzles didn't fit the vibe of "mildly strategic incremental" so it didn't end up makingthe cut.
"Imperfect final form" is definitely designed to be one of the harder fights, the idea being that players would have to strategize with what they have instead of a focused stat.
Regardless, thanks for playing! :)