set health at 200

Set health at 25

What's the range for teammates for the Alien Delver burn resistance buff?

Its unlimited I'm p sure, though ig it would be better to be an aura to encourage diver to go out

Small deet, but changing the starting weapon from the handshake might be good

I've never really used the handshake much does it even do much in combat/. can you sell it for alot

It's more for randoms joining in and trolling with it

understandable, and i did have those fears. I'll look for a thematic replacement

Okay, so, last night I did a fairly comprehensive review of the talent trees first 10 unlocks. In general, they follow as:

15% Mission Exp and 15% Bonus Money OR 30% Mission Exp on completion of specific mission(s). This can also be 15% Exp/150 money. - Monster Nest, Escort x2, Becon, Salvage, Personnel Transport, Cargo

80 Exp on completion of Side Mission (Tasks) - Killed two creatures, Fixed 5 Electrical Objects

Crafting unlocks x 3

Activity Buff - Repaired Items Efficiency Increase, Medical Items Last Longer, Instruments

Emergency Buff - Movement Speed When Damaged, Gain Helm on Sub Damage

Passive Buff - Skill Gain, Health, Longer Breath, Movement Speed, More Damage

Complete Mission - Additional Exp on Mission Complete with no Crew Dead

So, looking at your spread of:

Five Passive Buffs - 100% Bleedout Health, 25% Health, 50% Swim, 20 Mechanical/Repair 25% Faster, Flow Resistance

Activity Buff - Hitting a Watcher

80 Exo on completion of Side Mission (Tasks) - UP TO 100 at 20 per.

15% Mission Exp and 15% Bonus Money OR 30% Mission Exp on completion of specific mission(s). This can also be 15% Exp/150 money. - 20% Exp Mining

Crafting x 1

Alien Delver

First I want to say “I Gazed Into The Abyss” is great. It's the second tier, and there is a lot going on with Watcher mechanics already, so this increased complexity with Watcher encounters is very cool.

Alien Delver is the first one I want to look at. I think the bonus to Burn Resistance will help greatly with the Steam Cannon that Fractal Guardians carry, but I would turn the Exp gained to 25%, Captain gets 20%, Security gets 35%, Medical Doctor gets 7.5% for ANY mission completion. Also, the tooltip should read “All crew members take 35% less burn damage. Gain 25% bonus XP when completing an Alien Ruins mission, if all crew members survived. The deaths of assistants do not count.” Consider adding the Scan missions into that as well.

I think the next one is a little more complicated to bring into balance. Pocher is already strong at 100 flat exp cap, but it’s even stronger than the other task based exp gains because it’s also incremental. I think the comparison is to War stories from Security with “Gain 80 bonus XP when completing a mission in which you killed at least 2 creatures.” So, the consideration is 40exp for two kills v 80 exp for two kills. I think the incremental exp gain is a good mechanic, but it invalidates the Security skill. I think knocking it down to four kills, so two more than the Security skill, and cap it at 80. So, the same 20 exp increment, but the cap is the same. This will synergize with the Security skill instead of invalidating it by encouraging Divers to be the first line of defense while Security fends off boarders that have breached the hull.

I think the Exp on Mining is balanced as well and fits the theme.

The rest is just working with the passive buffs and crafting. I combine Tread Water with Flow Resistance and leave them in the second tier but reduce their efficacy. So 50% Flow Resistance and 20% Swim Speed. Compared to other buffs like 50% Breath and 10% Health/50% Melee, this feels more in line. I would also combine Calloused with Core Training, reduce the 25% Health to 10% and give a -10% walk speed reduction. This would further encourage Divers to remain outside the sub while giving them those health boosts they need for combat. Lastly I would remove Hull Maintenance completely and swap that with something more esoteric like crafted oxygen tanks at 1 higher quality or you can craft much cheaper harpoons.

Now you have some space for two more crafting recipes of your choice and another more thematic talent. I liked the exploding flare, maybe a flare harpoon and a harpoon with a weapon light? Or, even just base recipes that fit like the Diving Suit or Scooter etc. For the final talent, consider something that would benefit the crew actively. Maybe, the crew gets a swim speed bonus if you’re holding a harpoon or scooter. Or, the crew gets temporary pressure reduction every time you enter the water.

So, in my mind, you now have Tier 1 - Calloused/Core Training, Excavator, Poacher, Crafting Unlock, and a new talent.

Tier 2 - I Gazed Into The Abyss, Alien Delver, Hydrophobic/TreadWater, and Two Crafting Unlocks.

I'm gonna go over the trees and stuff later, but hope you liked my thoughts.

What if set basic health at 100 but every level up gains 2 max hp it would make like becoming stronger only with time like veteran and set cap for 130? Since then to even earn Such health you need 15 lvl which is around endgame maybe fresh endgame