Monday, 30th May 2016, 11:12 by Quazifuji
Personally, I like the current system. I'd even like Jiyva to be added to the regular Temple god pool, or at least make Jiyva overflow altars much more common or even guaranteed.
Ultimately, it comes down to this: While improvising is often optimal in DCSS, and frequently very fun, sometimes I just want to play the game a certain way for whatever reason. Maybe I want to try to get a win with Pakellas, or I'm just in the mood to play a Ru character, or whatever. And making a character with a specific god in mind and playing for 15 minutes only to discover that the god's not available that game, and being forced to choose between playing a character that isn't the one I wanted to play or Ctrl+Qing just isn't fun.
I think the current overflow altar system still rewards being open to a wider variety of gods. Waiting until D9 to get the exact god you wanted is almost never optimal, and picking the first useful altar you find frequently is. And if there were a movement to make waiting a bit more dangerous - maybe reduce the number of altars in the temple, and make it so more games have at least a few gods that don't show up until level 8 or 9, would be fine. I wouldn't even object to the Temple being removed altogether, and the altars just scattered roughly evenly through D2-D9. I like some gods being more convenient than others. But I also really like the idea of every god being guaranteed as an option by D9 (besides Jiyva, but like said, I dislike Jiyva's unavailability). If a player wants a specific god strongly enough that they'll wait until D9 to get them when they could have taken a perfectly strong god on D2 or D3, they should be allowed to get that god.