Difficulty report : This is more subjective than most of what I post, but I know you're (J Chance) working on balance, so I figured you should know.
I'm 19 retirement perks in. Some of my skills are in the mid-high teens in late game, and all are at least in the double digits. I've got a fully Shock modified, leveled Big One hammer, and fully Composited noise reduction armor, with a combat skill around 12.
It seems impossible to go through a Rep 120 or Rep 200 or Rep Infinite mission task without at least a single Security Sweep hitting. Because of cost increases, keeping player character skill over double the threat level becomes untenable at this point. Post Legacy I could probably do it - doubling my effective time, or income, could let me boost skills or tools/cyborgification up there. But on the first pre Legacy, post Incorporation cycle, it's either 20+ perks deep or borderline impossible. Occasionally I can just squeak one out if the Mercenary list has been kind and a prioritized skill is where the enemy happens to be weak.
At 5+ steps to a mission, combat seems inevitable, given the above. Again, post Legacy that might be different, and with the benefit of the Community tab it might be possible.
At Rep 200, I'm seeing multiple combatants at a time with one-shot-kill armor penetrating weapons or Frontline Breach armor, which is bulky enough to overwhelm even armor-defeating weapon builds. I'm spending multiple stamina-boosting Perks on modding my weapons and armor to perfection, and maybe a third of the cash I'm pulling in on upgrading them, and I'm barely scratching Rep 200 combatants. This is probably too hard.
