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I wish all romhacks were balanced around using no items in battle and then do something like peridot anon where you turn x items into hold items or something. It feels really stupid beating a game because I can send out a bulky mon against a retarded AI that doesn't switch, heal up my entire team, and then beat them when they dont heal at all. Going through a few games right now where the balance is intentionally hard enough to make you want to heal or even need to heal, yet the trainers still don't use items themselves so it feels really cheap when you start doing it and doesn't feel like a satisfying solution to difficulty. I believe a game not balanced around having items leads to much tighter battles and less hollow victories.
For instance, right now I'm one of the anons in here that has been playing emerald rogue, I've gotten close to beating the run and I'm stubborn still selling all my x items and only using healing outside of battle. But I've been reading on the discord that to win in hard mode and brutal mode X items are a requirement. There is no strategy that can beat how onesided the bosses are without item usage, and that really feels sucky. I probably won't ever move on from average difficulty then, because I just don't find it enjoyable to, for example, send out a steel mon on a poison pokemon that will swords dance 3 times before realizing it can't hit me and switch out after I've thrown up 3 x items or healed my team.
I beg romhack creators in this thread, do not balance around items. You can still have items in your game and people can use them in battle if they want to engage with it, think of it as like using a busted summon in elden ring as an "ez mode." But a fight should never be balanced around the person setting up with x items or having access to a shitload of potions. Or if they are, then make the trainers use those items too so it feels less fake and stupid.
