- #1. #9, and #11 are all knowledge checks, you get better at them as you refine your builds on subsequent playthroughs but your first run will hurt the most. #8 too to some extent, as getting tactical advantage is largely a matter of understanding mob patrol patterns and knowing what skills/items to get.
- Disagree on #2(and, on some level, #6), I'd say the game is still fine on normal. Then again, I may have played too many runs.
- #4 and #5 are arbitrary restrictions that you placed on yourself. And while a case can be made for not obligating players to use the collar, not wanting to rely on luck is akin to not wanting to use drugs or the slime. If you fail because you deliberately handicapped yourself? That's a you problem, not a game problem.
- While #7 somewhat ties into my point about the game having "correct" routes, the fact that progress on the pink path tanks your victory score is a pretty big hint that you're not actually supposed to be carving your way through the pure paths while on a pink run.
- Hermann and Roland basically excluding one another due to how their downsides interact can be pretty healthy for the game so long as it doesn't require both to max out your defeat score. Pink having multiple routes increases replayability, and something like "mostly pure except Roland, and I used SKA on ABC bosses" is one of the more newb-friendly ways to get through the game.
- #10 is similar to #8 if you accept #1, #4, and #5 in the sense that the demon generals don't offer enough leeway for players to beat them without resorting to the collar unless they metagame and don't handicap themselves.
Personally, I think luck currently feels a little underpowered at either end of the graph compared to other non-agility stats. Buffing it to 3% per point of difference or having it cap out at a difference of 15 could be nice.