LogFAQs > #982830196

adjl posted...

I feel like this can work, but it has to be done very carefully and there need to be a few challenges that have fixed power levels so you have something to anchor your sense of progression. I think BotW and TotK actually did a pretty decent job of it: There's enough static stuff that you will get your ass kicked if you go there too soon and can enjoy steamrolling it if you go there once you've beefed up a bit, but the dynamic scaling offers a lot of freedom for exploring wherever you want instead of having to follow a more rigid zone order imposed by fixed levels.

I've always preferred the Dragon Age method (albeit done by many other games as well). Each area has a specific level range. If you enter that area below that range, enemies are far stronger than you and you'll get your poo pushed in. If you somehow manage to grind past the upper limit of the range, you'll be able to kick everything's teeth in. But when you enter the area and you're in the same range, the area is essentially level-adjusting to you.

(ie, if you enter an area that is set as "10-20", enemies there will be 10 when you're 5, 11 when you're 11, 18 when you're 18, and 20 when you're 35)

It gives you the advantages of fixed-level enemies, while giving you a bit of flexibility via level-adaptation as well. It's the best of both worlds. The key is finding what the range of each area should be, so you can keep the dynamism while also allowing players to region-break (sneaking into areas they shouldn't be in) or grinding their way to godhood (because someone who is willing to overgrind by multiple levels clearly wants the payoff of being able to brutalize enemies). If the range is too high it becomes punishing, if the range is too low it can become too easy for most players.



adjl posted...

That's also helped, though, in that your character growth is directly tied to exploration: You get more health/stamina based on how many shrines you've found and completed, the weapons and armour that you've found, and the items you pick up along the way.

This is similar to the progression you tend to get in systems with "perks". Basically, the enemy level is tied to your level, but they are matching your baseline stats and expectations. But if you pick a perk of some kind every time you level up that gives you additional advantages (like a +2% damage buff, damage resistances, or even stealth/theft/dialogue buffs), it means you are slowly growing beyond the ability of enemies to match you. They get stronger as you get stronger, but you're getting stronger slightly faster (or even exponentially to some degree), so you'll always outpace them and have a sense of improvement.

The problem there is that you have to be sure to balance perks, so you don't get one perk that is basically "must have" with others that are absolute garbage. You also have to make sure you don't set enemy stat growth in a way that makes it worse for players who pick the "wrong" perks. ie, if I play a game and invest in all combat perks I should definitely feel like I'm beating the crap out of enemies more effectively, but if I instead buy nothing but charisma-based dialogue perks, carry weight buffs, exploration buffs, and stealth buffs, I shouldn't feel like combat is getting harder for me because I failed to invest in combat.

Incidentally, charisma-based dialogue perks, carry weight buffs, exploration buffs, and stealth buffs are basically the perks I take 100% of the time in any game that offers me the option. Dragon Age, Fallout, Divinity - I'm almost always the manipulative talker rather than the combat monster. And if a game rewards me for being sneaky as opposed to only giving XP in combat, I will almost always sneak past enemies rather than fight them. Sadly, most games prioritize combat both in terms of stats and rewards.