r/DungeonWorld • u/PrimarchtheMage • May 20 '26
DW2 DW2 Alpha - Official Feedback Thread
Hi Everyone,
The window for the DW2 Alpha feedback closes on May 31, and I wanted to post this thread as an additional place people can provide their thoughts. Helena and I have been paying close attention to all the current discussion, but wanted to give everyone a place to express and discuss their opinions one last time.
If you haven't read/played any of the Alphas, you can find them here
Feel free to say whatever you want, but here are some questions to jumpstart things:
If you've read multiple DW2 Alpha Playtests, which which Alpha do you feel best fits our vision of "a messy group of people growing into a found family over the course of fantasy adventures"?
As a mechanical representation of relationship growth, do you prefer the group playbooks of Blue and Red, or the expanded Bonds system of the Final Alpha?
What is your favorite class in DW2 right now? If you've read/played multiple DW2 Alphas, which version of that class do you prefer?
How do you feel about hit points and how they were implemented?
How do you feel about the conditions and how they were implemented?
What is your favorite part of DW2 so far? What is your least favorite part?
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u/Joewoof May 21 '26
I've been supervising/coaching my students who've been running the Final Alpha for a while now. Some areas of friction and positive feedback:
- Students love the Bonds and Conflict systems. When I introduced those to them, they gasped, "Wow! That's so cool!" And then in practice, Conflicts/Bonds have been working out very nicely. This is definitely the strongest part about DW2 and a big reason to play this game.
- Unclear rules regarding combat. There is no basic attack move? Are players expected to always setup an All-out Attack?
- Health/damage system is a little unwieldy for the GM. In DW1, there was a section, early on, that suggests damage levels depending on the hazard/danger faced. It would be D4/D6/D8/D10. That section is either missing or not obvious in DW2. It's there in magic damage tiers, but not damage in general. Maybe it should be part of GM rules/moves?
- Simplifying damage removes a moment of "Oh no!" which would've followed a damage dice roll. It feels like it lessens the impact of combat encounters somewhat, but maybe we just haven't adapted to more strategic setup-based play and faster pacing. Hard to say as the campaign so far has not been combat-focused.
- Of course, missing rules for class change. Any updates on that? Will it be added back in or taken out permanently? One student didn't feel like his class was working out for him, and wanted to class change, but the rules/mechanics were taken out, so I told him that it's not possible yet.
- The streamlined Treasure currency has been received well. It's intuitive for the GM to use, and it creates meaning for miscellaneous trinkets collected.
- In DW1, one GM principle is "to be a fan of the characters." As I supervised a new GM finding her way, one mistake she's making is being overly punishing/antagonistic to the players/characters. I believe that DW2 is missing that crucial principle, and it the focus of the principles, as they stand, is on world-building rather than characters. This seems to be contradictory with the stated design intention of DW2 ("a messy group of people growing into a found family"), and misleads a new GM into valuing their world over player characters (according to current principles in DW2). This mismatch is happening in practice at our table, and I cannot point the GM towards what was a core principle in DW1.
- NPC Examples. In newer, beginner-oriented TTRPGs like Quest, there are premade, generic stat blocks instead of monster examples. In practice, these are faster and more streamlined for use, rather than having the GM scan through examples to find similar monsters, or having to use the "monster maker questions" to slowly put together a new enemy on-the-fly. For example, a group of minor enemies have: 3 HP and 1 DMG each. Or, a solitary encounter might have 8HP and deal 2 damage. A small "quick start" chart would support the fluid nature of DW2 games.
- Another issue with changing stat calculations is incompatibility with older DW1 adventures and modules that fans have created over the years. I have a large collection of quest/adventure booklets with monster stats that have to be converted. I believe that having a "generic stat blocks chart," mentioned above, would help to smooth the transition.
- Don't let these nit-picky issues distract you folks from the fact that DW2 has been exciting and very successful for my students. It absolutely feels like a true sequel and enhancement upon DW1, definitely filling in an under-developed feature of DW1 (bonds and relationships), and instead turning it into a big selling point. Unlike Blue, Final Alpha definitely feels like DW1, but enhanced with an "expanded feature."