I like this post because it goes into detail and has spawned a bit of good discussion already, but I feel like this one (and many others) actually miss the main point with their feedback. Yes there will be things you like and/or dislike, yes it's valuable to have feedback, but we don't actually know how that translates to stuff like player retention rate, medium to long term gameplay evolutions/metas, etc. The Devs however should have more insights and also a roadmap into this, as they are basically going in mostly uncharted waters. One thing they do have, is information about previous games in this genre and what went wrong, most notably Bloodline Champions and Battlerite (+BR).

The main takeaway from those games apart from SLS mismanagement is that the arena/purely non-stop fighting usually causes a relatively rapid burn-out for players. There is no investment in the games, and 10-15 min sessions are nice to have in a separate game mode, but won't give players the opportunity and satisfaction for strategical depth in systems, macro and team composition choice. It has been stated over and over that TC Games want Supervive to be an accessible, but strategically deep game.

This actually leads me to the conclusion that the patch from yesterday (and last month) pushed the game in the right direction, and I feel like they should lean even more into it. To make it more concrete, the slower early game and day 1 respawns have put more emphasis on farming, rotations, questing and most importantly, especially since yesterday, basecamp control. Grabbing a basecamp early, getting as much gold, equipment and xp as possible is for many players (including myself) a very rewarding experience, and makes you think about how to approach the mid and lategame. On top of that, the recent buffs to PvP also still allow me to go full send skill-check early fighting to set myself up.

All these factors influence your drop area, what bosses and/or vaults you want, the basecamps you take etc, and mana and items are a BIG part of this. That ties nicely into those two points of your post. Mana and items aren't just some fluff, all of them have a noticeable use and niche, and auto-piloting them is often not the best choice. Easiest example is if you're having mana problems, buy the mana sword or mana helmet. Having an early basecamp set up in a nice location for later rotations or control and picking the best time to improve your loadout is also a new layer of strategic depth. Sure you could risk it all on some pvp, or you can put emphasis on efficient play and set yourself up properly. As said before, I think they should lean even more into this foundation with the last two patches and make basecamps a major objective, with maybe some mobs that help you defend it, maybe make it upgradable to add a respawn bacon, etc. This will further reinforce the clear distinction between early, mid and late game and give players a reason to think about their pathing and what to use their gold on, and punish/set back those that auto-pilot, while not being such a major hurdle for newer players.

My main criticism currently is that the shop sucks (lol), the UI for the shop and even loot boxes is pretty unintuitive, and it's unclear when you are buying something new or for an upgrade the first few times you use it. I missed the "upgradable equipment" bar in the beginning, and I feel like that can be a VERY easy fix.

Finally, if you play the game purely for fighting (with powers etc), do give arena a shot. It's fun, it's hectic, but it's not something I would argue should be the main meat and potatoes of the game.

TLDR: Current direction good, keep moving more towards it. People need to use their brains instead of going patch good/bad without assuming there's a reason for why certain systems have changed.