RPGs that encourage using consumables over hoarding?

[Sinfield]

Black Souls of course, since it uses the Dark Souls system of refilling your HP potion at the campfire.

Note: This might not be the RPG experience you're expecting.

[WhiteShark]

Permadeath and/or inventory wipe solve the problem.
I never had trouble using consumables in good tacticools (units in X-COM are significantly more expensive than consumables).

Yeah, it's this. A really strong character in DCSS (roguelike) may be able to get away with ignoring most consumables, but, to a weak character, every consumable is a godsend, and you wrack your brain on how to make the most of each one. Learning when and where to use consumables is actually quite satisfying. It's fun to breeze through a fight under the effects of several buff potions and then reflect afterward on how dangerous it would have been without.

[Tweed]

2bquitehonestfamalam you should be using your potions in Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale, it's just that most people keep saving them for too long and making difficult battles that much more difficult. If you crank the challenge up then it makes consumables a lot more necessary. You'll be glad to have them in HoF mode.

[Tadeusz]

Consumables often have a problem that they are too weak. Some bonuses like +10% to attack or +10% to fire resistance are just not that interesting or noticeable. I like Morrowind's alchemy system that allows to create overpowered consumables though it has its own problems. Something like bottled Wizardry 8's buffs would be more preferable as they are powerful but not to the extreme.

[wndrbr]

It is easier to decide to use the consumable if you know that there's a reliable way to replenish it later on (either restock at a merchant, not receive and automatic recharge upon resting).

[Tweed]

Consumables in Megaten games depend on which game it is. Sometimes they're indispensable, other times they're only bargaining chips that demons want. In Strange Journey the MC is a glorified dispensing machine for the party.

[Valter]

Consumables in Megaten games depend on which game it is. Sometimes they're indispensable, other times they're only bargaining chips that demons want. In Strange Journey the MC is a glorified dispensing machine for the party.

I hear Soul Hackers 2 did consumables well too. Have yet to play it myself tho.

[J1M]

Games with programmable companions like DAO and presumably FFXII can reduce consumable friction

Programmable Tactics in DAO are okay, but they aren't robust enough to automate anything other than "Use health/mana potion when low on health/mana," consumables-wise.

"Can a robot determine the ideal time to use a greater healing poultice? Can a robot turn the tide of a fight with a scroll of haste?"

"Can you?"

The robot is too eager to use up those items that could be sold at the vendor.

[rusty_shackleford]

A lot of this seems linked to attrition no longer being a thing in RPGs

[Kalarion]

I think Wizardry 8 does a pretty **** good job at this, primarily because the use of consumables is directly tied into skill improvement (and therefore feeds into character advancement, as well as encounter advantage).

Take potions. Alchemists can craft potions, and crafting them is tied to the Alchemy skill (the controller on how fast the Alchemist learns higher level spells). The potions also start out as unidentified. Identifying them is tied to the Artifacts skill (determines whether you can see the stats on an item or not). Each of these skills has a chance of advancing any time you craft and identify! Potions are also worth more than their base components, so they're a source of money once you get the ball rolling. Potions also provide their effects to the same number of people as their base spell. One character drinking a Haste potion hastes the entire party. I like that!

Or take scrolls and amulets. They're tied to the Artifact skill. Using scrolls can increase the Artifacts skill, sweet! Higher Artifacts means higher level scroll use, creating the proper loop of use > power > greater use > greater power. Bishops even receive a bonus to Artifacts use, making them natural scroll gobblers. Training characters' Artifacts skill is also much more difficult when all you have to rely on are high-level items that you'd just have to keep useless in your inventory until your characters can identify them. Consistent scroll and amulet use makes that pain disappear almost entirely. I do wish it were possible for one or more of the arcane caster classes to craft scrolls though.

Or take powders and bombs, they're tied to Throwing & Sling skill. Use of powders and bombs can increase Throwing. Need to raise your Throwing skill in a pinch? Bomb the **** out of the enemy with everything you've got! Watch your skill skyrocket. I've actually been doing this with Myles, he's my assigned bomb-thrower, which is perfect for when I'm waiting to close the gap with enemies. It's really satisfying to feel like you've punished the **** out of the enemy party for staying at range or approaching slowly, especially given Wizardry 8 otherwise feels like charging into melee or sitting in a corner is mandatory.

God I love Wizardry 8.

EDIT: minor correction.

[DemoGraph]

A lot of this seems linked to attrition no longer being a thing in RPGs

This.
Also, a game centered on irreplaceable characters (most of them are) is inherently opposed to attrition mechanics, because it doesn't really provide space for mission failures.

[TKVNC]

Genuinely the Elder Scrolls. Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim all have a solid enough supply of potions, means to get more, and alternative ways to resolve issues that you never feel 'punished' for using potions at the wrong time.

Dragon's Dogma also does a good job of making them feel usable, without punishing you.

[asf]

how am i going to hoard everything if i keep consuming stuff

[Lich]

Infra Arcana

[Acrux]

Two that do this really well, and for reasons others have mentioned:

Golden Krone Hotel - a traditional roguelike where you are expected to use potions and other pickups regularly. The dev has even told people who complain about the difficulty that they should try using items more often.


Sulfur Memories:Alchemist - another roguelike that is completely based on the player creating and using potions in a wide variety of ways

[Tweed]

One problem I observed with consumables in turn-based games is that they often take turns or action points that can be better spent simply killing whatever is attacking you. The same problem can be applied to most buffs and debuffs.

[A Chinese opium den]

Reverse Collapse has a significant amount of your power budget tied into items, a major amount of the unlocks you get through progress will be new consumable items or upgraded versions of previous ones. You can craft every consumable you have access to between missions, a skill tree for upgrading items, and loadouts you will probably be tuning and switching between frequently depending on the layout of maps and if the level is stealth vs loud, defensive vs offensive etc. I don't think the game is possible to beat without using consumables, they're a part of your kit that you're expected/forced to use liberally by design.

[Dorateen]

Also Grimoire, with the usage of food items to replenish character stamina, specifically for crossing water, one of the most dangerous terrain hazards. Good example of consumable application outside of combat and for furthering exploration.

[DemoGraph]

Maybe kinda a good example is Valheim. Food boosts your HP, HP regen and stamina, so is a substitute for leveling. Better food is opened with better tech and biomes. Better food tends to require inputs from several biomes.

[Tadeusz]

Maybe kinda a good example is Valheim.

Potions are quite good there as well. Damage resistance potions are powerful (75% damage reduction) and they are very handy when exploring new biomes. Potions from the witch also provide some neat quality of life improvements (more carry weight, speed increase, faster taming and so on).

[Lich]

One problem I observed with consumables in turn-based games is that they often take turns or action points that can be better spent simply killing whatever is attacking you. The same problem can be applied to most buffs and debuffs.

Making item use a free action—at least once a turn—could work. Item availability should control their long-term use.

[MeatEatingStork]

Sun Haven is a combat-heavy farming sim, but it has a pretty interesting take on this. Some foods permanently increase your stats, so there's an incentive to hunt down and devour as many as possible. Each food falls off fairly quickly, and there's only a little benefit to saving them for combat, but it gets you eating.

Graveyard Keeper is also a chore simulator that likes food, but in that case it's just because every action costs energy and food gives you more. It's clunky, but succeeds at convincing you to eat things.

NuCOM2 does a good job encouraging explosive use by giving them innate armor-stripping abilities. Both items and class abilities are mission-replenished, so there's no reason not to use them up eventually, but clustered enemies, destructible cover, and armored foes give excellent reasons to blow something up now rather than later.

Darkest Dungeon leans into both the attrition and limited inventory angles, encouraging you to bring and then use up consumables to make room for more loot. Knowing you'll just be tossing it anyway is a great incentive to use your bandage now.

Spellforce: Conquest of Eo is a fantasy 4X without any building that uses hex-based squad combat. That leans into the cheaper-than-the-unit angle, because any unit can use any item in your vault (including on neighboring units) and that's often the tipping point between losing a veteran unit and losing a moderately priced healing potion. There's even a crafting class centered around producing consumables instead of more permanent results. It's generally considered the worst one.

[Havitner]

'+10% chance to hit? Yeah, but I might hit without it anyway, so why bother.'
My brain is too silky-smooth to be able to understand complex probability like '70% > 60%'.

Darkest Dungeon leans into both the attrition and limited inventory angles, encouraging you to bring and then use up consumables to make room for more loot. Knowing you'll just be tossing it anyway is a great incentive to use your bandage now.

I forget to use the free dog treats almost every time. Even in boss battles when I'm desperate and they're right there staring me in the face.

DD is notable because using consumables doesn't use an action in a game where the action economy is everything.

[WhiteShark]

'+10% chance to hit? Yeah, but I might hit without it anyway, so why bother.'
My brain is too silky-smooth to be able to understand complex probability like '70% > 60%'.

Having to break out the calculator mid combat to determine if a mechanic even worth using: obviously peak gameplay.

[rusty_shackleford]

Joke's on you, it's +10% chance to hit so now you have a 66% chance to hit

[TKVNC]

'+10% chance to hit? Yeah, but I might hit without it anyway, so why bother.'
My brain is too silky-smooth to be able to understand complex probability like '70% > 60%'.

Having to break out the calculator mid combat to determine if a mechanic even worth using: obviously peak gameplay.

It's the unc way. It's also why turn-based or RTWP are the superior forms of gaming.

[WhiteShark]

'+10% chance to hit? Yeah, but I might hit without it anyway, so why bother.'
My brain is too silky-smooth to be able to understand complex probability like '70% > 60%'.

Having to break out the calculator mid combat to determine if a mechanic even worth using: obviously peak gameplay.

It's the unc way. It's also why turn-based or RTWP are the superior forms of gaming.

Ebonics aside, I do like to run the math if I'm not sure, but the point here is that buff effects from consumables should be so strong, and so obviously strong, that running the math to make sure you're not wasting an action isn't necessary.

[SpellSword]

Potions also provide their effects to the same number of people as their base spell. One character drinking a Haste potion hastes the entire party.

I think that is the first time I've heard of a potion effecting the entire party when one person drinks it. Outside of a main character drinking a potion to trigger a scripted event.

[TKVNC]

Potions also provide their effects to the same number of people as their base spell. One character drinking a Haste potion hastes the entire party.

I think that is the first time I've heard of a potion effecting the entire party when one person drinks it. Outside of a main character drinking a potion to trigger a scripted event.

My favourite was BG3, if you stack the party nice and tight, you can 'throw' a potion, to make it impact everyone.

It's a shame the game is so pozzed, it has a good skeleton in my opinion.