[rphln]

Ultimately, what kinds of incentives does having no respecs leads to?

I don't think I've ever really cared about immersion. I like experimenting with stuff. In a long game, having no option to undo whatever I cook up means I'd either a) have to suffer for the rest of the playthrough, b) avoid the janky stuff, or c) end up looking for build spoilers. None of which are particularly fun. Bonus points if the game doesn't really have a lot of replay value in the first place.

(That being said, the only games that I played and truly felt miserable in this regard were MMOs.)

If the game wants to be punishing, give it hard bosses that force me to learn how to play better regardless of my build.

(Though, as mentioned downthread, if it's a short game, no problems. The game is probably designed to be played multiple times anyway.)