We’re deep in playtesting our roguelite right now, and this chart says it all:

Things are steady... until level 9, where deaths skyrocket. That’s when the first boss appears, and most players don’t make it past him.
After that? Deaths drop off almost completely. It's like the rest of the game barely exists for most players. What’s interesting is: we actually find this boss pretty easy, if you know the strategy and have solid movement. We've seen some roguelite veterans doing it first try. But without that knowledge, it’s brutal.

A few things we're considering:

1. Slight difficulty tweaks, though we like that it feels like a true checkpoint.
2. Improving pre-boss build-up : maybe better telegraphing or enemies that teach the mechanics.
3. Leaving it as-is for now and seeing if players naturally learn how to handle it with more runs.

Questions for fellow devs:

• Do you intentionally design early bosses to act as skill checks?
• How do you balance “tough but fair” when most players don’t yet know the strategy?
• Any tips for teaching boss mechanics through gameplay instead of tutorials?

We’re still playtesting, but this spike is too dramatic to ignore. Curious how others approach moments like this in their games.

Now we're wondering: is this a good skill gate, or a rage-quit risk? Would love your thoughts.

Don't forget to playtest your game guys. Can be useful.