| name | balance-check |
| description | Check game balance — damage formulas, XP curves, drop rates, difficulty scaling. Verifies formulas are explicit and values are in config, not magic numbers. |
/balance-check — Game Balance Verification
Delegate to: game-designer (with systems-designer for formula review)
Steps
1. Identify What to Check
Ask: "Which system or formula are we checking?"
- Default: All tunable systems (combat, progression, economy)
2. Locate Formulas
Search for relevant code:
grep -rn "damage\|XP\|drop\|spawn" src/ --include="*.lua" --include="*.luau"
grep -rn "config\|CONFIG\|Config" src/ReplicatedStorage/
3. Verify Each Formula
Checklist per formula:
4. Simulate the Curve
For each formula, tabulate values across the expected input range:
Damage example:
Level | Base ATK | Weapon | Total Damage (avg)
------|----------|--------|--------------------
1 | 10 | 5 | 15
5 | 20 | 15 | 35
10 | 35 | 30 | 65
20 | 60 | 60 | 120
50 | 150 | 150 | 300
100 | 300 | 300 | 600
XP curve example:
Level | XP to next | Cumulative XP | Hours to reach (at 500 XP/hr)
------|------------|---------------|------------------------------
1 → 2 | 100 | 100 | 0.2
5 → 6 | 500 | 1500 | 3
10 → 11 | 2000 | 9500 | 19
20 → 21 | 10000 | 75000 | 150
50 → 51 | 100000 | 2000000 | 4000
5. Flag Balance Issues
- Too steep: Grind feels unfair (target: fun, not punishing)
- Too shallow: Player outgrows content too fast
- Discontinuities: Sudden difficulty spikes
- Unbounded: Values that can grow infinitely without cap
- Undefined edges: What happens at max level / zero input?
6. Recommend Adjustments
For each issue, propose concrete changes:
Issue: XP curve at level 50 requires 4000 hours
Recommendation: Cap XP requirement at 50000 per level (reduces to 100 hours)
Impact: Whale players won't grind forever; retention curve healthier
7. Generate Balance Report
# Balance Check: [System Name]
## Formulas Reviewed
1. [Formula 1] — status
2. [Formula 2] — status
## Curve Analysis
[Tables showing curves]
## Issues Found
### Critical
1. [Issue with recommendation]
### Important
1. ...
### Minor
1. ...
## Recommendations
1. [Concrete change 1]
2. [Concrete change 2]
## Not Yet Verified
- [Systems that need play testing to confirm balance]
Present the report. Offer to delegate fixes to systems-designer.