When this skill is invoked:

Identify the balance domain from the argument.

Read relevant data files from assets/data/ and design/balance/ .

Read the design document for the system being checked from design/gdd/ .

Perform analysis:

For combat balance:

• Calculate DPS for all weapons/abilities at each power tier

• Check time-to-kill at each tier

• Identify any options that dominate all others (strictly better)

• Check if defensive options can create unkillable states

• Verify damage type/resistance interactions are balanced

For economy balance:

• Map all resource faucets and sinks with flow rates

• Project resource accumulation over time

• Check for infinite resource loops

• Verify gold sinks scale with gold generation

• Check if any items are never worth purchasing

For progression balance:

• Plot the XP curve and power curve

• Check for dead zones (no meaningful progression for too long)

• Check for power spikes (sudden jumps in capability)

• Verify content gates align with expected player power

• Check if skip/grind strategies break intended pacing

For loot balance:

• Calculate expected time to acquire each rarity tier

• Check pity timer math

• Verify no loot is strictly useless at any stage

• Check inventory pressure vs acquisition rate

Output the analysis:

Balance Check: [System Name]

Data Sources Analyzed

• [List of files read]

Health Summary: [HEALTHY / CONCERNS / CRITICAL ISSUES]

Outliers Detected

Degenerate Strategies Found

• [Strategy description and why it is problematic]

Progression Analysis

[Graph description or table showing progression curve health]

Recommendations

Values That Need Attention

[Specific values with suggested adjustments and rationale]