When I started building the item system for Fear Not., one thing became obvious fast:

in a souls-like, even tiny stat changes can completely alter the flow of combat.

A small bump in movement speed can mean the difference between having to roll away, or simply walking out of an attack. A small damage increase can turn a long fight into a quick execution. Thresholds matter.

Because of that, I split all stats into two types:

1. Threshold-Sensitive Stats

These are stats where small changes have a huge impact — things like health and stamina.

Even +1 stamina can completely change how many actions you can chain together.

I keep these items in the lower tiers, so players can build a stable foundation before grabbing the crazy stuff.

2. Linear Scaling Stats

These scale cleanly — damage, movement speed, etc.

I avoid giving straight buffs here, because they break the game fast.

Instead, these bonuses come with conditions or trade-offs:

“After you get hit, your next attack is faster.”

“Gain movement speed but lose -4 stamina.”

“Deal more damage, but your poise is reduced.”

If a player rushes high-tier items without prepping with enough stamina/health first, they’ll end up with strong effects but barely any ability to act.

And if they build properly, they can create powerful synergies without destroying the combat balance.

The Goal

Let players build wild, interesting item combinations…

without turning the game into a joke or breaking enemy design.

This first wave of items is built around that philosophy — thresholds matter, choices matter, and power always comes with a cost.