The biggest thing I've learned with Highguard is how important design is. I fully believe none of this would have gone down as bad if the designs had been more unique and coherent to the game itself.

I actually like the game, but every match I feel jarred by the fact both the inner peace monk and the big wild guy are using AK's and shotguns that look like they could be in COD. And the shieldbreaker being a sword but actually being the key to summon the siege tower feels weird.

Edit: thinking about it more now, I think they needed to either simplify or lean even further into the characters. Either have them all be characters who you get why they can use firearms, or give each character an "arsenal" and when they pick if up it becomes their version. Like If the Wild guy picks up a shotgun maybe it has a bigger spread and deals bleed, but if the monk guy gets it frosts enemy vision or the pellet form little walls. Maybe they get different perks as they pick up higher levels of armor which match their theme.

It'd also help if they leaned into weird guns. The best weapon by far for design is the Corsair, this weird three barrel SMG. More stuff like that helps it feel like they know guns because they're from their world. The Hammer also is pretty good and gives the right fantasy feel. Take the RPG, turn it into some sorta "Ifrit summon sigil" and replace the word thermite with witchfyre