| name | balance-check |
| description | Analyzes game balance data files, formulas, and configuration to identify outliers, broken progressions, degenerate strategies, and economy imbalances. Use after modifying any balance-related data or design. |
Balance Check
This is the Codex-adapted version of the original workflow. Use only .codex/ runtime assets when following it.
Arguments: [system-name|path-to-data-file]
When this skill is invoked:
-
Identify the balance domain from the argument.
-
Read relevant data files from assets/data/ and design/balance/.
-
Read the design document for the system being checked from design/gdd/.
-
Perform analysis:
For combat balance:
- Calculate DPS for all weapons/abilities at each power tier
- Check time-to-kill at each tier
- Identify any options that dominate all others (strictly better)
- Check if defensive options can create unkillable states
- Verify damage type/resistance interactions are balanced
For economy balance:
- Map all resource faucets and sinks with flow rates
- Project resource accumulation over time
- Check for infinite resource loops
- Verify gold sinks scale with gold generation
- Check if any items are never worth purchasing
For progression balance:
- Plot the XP curve and power curve
- Check for dead zones (no meaningful progression for too long)
- Check for power spikes (sudden jumps in capability)
- Verify content gates align with expected player power
- Check if skip/grind strategies break intended pacing
For loot balance:
- Calculate expected time to acquire each rarity tier
- Check pity timer math
- Verify no loot is strictly useless at any stage
- Check inventory pressure vs acquisition rate
-
Output the analysis:
## Balance Check: [System Name]
### Data Sources Analyzed
- [List of files read]
### Health Summary: [HEALTHY / CONCERNS / CRITICAL ISSUES]
### Outliers Detected
| Item/Value | Expected Range | Actual | Issue |
|-----------|---------------|--------|-------|
### Degenerate Strategies Found
- [Strategy description and why it is problematic]
### Progression Analysis
[Graph description or table showing progression curve health]
### Recommendations
| Priority | Issue | Suggested Fix | Impact |
|----------|-------|--------------|--------|
### Values That Need Attention
[Specific values with suggested adjustments and rationale]