minmay wrote:Could someone explain how god gifts are currently problematic? I don't see what's wrong with them and I get the feeling I'm missing something obvious.
Apart from what acvar mentions, there is also this feeling of grinding "one more gift". This is most pronounced with Okawaru, who has this habit of dishing out mundane robes, and you'll keep going until he sends down the randart gear you always wanted.
So the issues are these: if you got what you wanted (possible with Okawaru once you have a nice set, or even clearer with Sif Muna), then you'll turn from the god but keep the gifts (i.e. you used the god as an item generator). If you don't get those items you want, you'll feel you have to grind the god a little more until they appear. Both of these are not satisfactory.
I think it's much less a problem when consumables are given. That's why I don't have a problem with Nemelex, although that god is overpowered -- the decks mechanic is not inherently responsible, in my opinion. Regarding non-consumable gifts, one option would be to have the god take them back after rejection, but that's not ideal either. My plan for Okawaru keeps the item gifts, but has them start temporarily, and let the player work for keeping them:
https://crawl.develz.org/wiki/doku.php?id=dcss:brainstorm:god:okawaru#dpegvolatile_piety