Level Scaling: Difference between revisions

Line 13:

== [[FPS]] ==

* ''[[~~Borderlands (Video Game)|~~Borderlands]]'' is similar to the ''[[Dragon Age]]'' example below in that each area has minimum and maximum level, and the enemies you encounter are at your level, or their minimum or maximum. Of course, no one's quite sure how the level scaling for co-op is done.

* ''[[Borderlands]]'' is similar to the ''[[Dragon Age]]'' example below in that each area has minimum and maximum level, and the enemies you encounter are at your level, or their minimum or maximum. Of course, no one's quite sure how the level scaling for co-op is done.

** [[Bonus Boss|Crawmerax]] is also set up to be five levels higher than you, when you meet him. Good luck...

Line 23:

== [[Roguelikes]] ==

* ''[[Nethack]]'' determines enemy level by averaging your level with your current dungeon depth.

* ''[[wikipedia:Beneath Apple Manor|Beneath Apple Manor]]'', which actually predated ''[[Rogue (~~Video~~ ~~Game~~)|Rogue]]'' by two years. Each time you entered a new level the creatures' hit points and damage done were increased to be proportionate to your damage done and hit points, but you could spend [[Experience Points]] to increase your stats at any time. This meant that you started off a level fairly vulnerable to monster attacks but became more powerful over the course of the level, easily defeating monsters at the end.

* ''[[wikipedia:Beneath Apple Manor|Beneath Apple Manor]]'', which actually predated ''[[Rogue (video game)|Rogue]]'' by two years. Each time you entered a new level the creatures' hit points and damage done were increased to be proportionate to your damage done and hit points, but you could spend [[Experience Points]] to increase your stats at any time. This meant that you started off a level fairly vulnerable to monster attacks but became more powerful over the course of the level, easily defeating monsters at the end.

* ''[[ADOM]]'' scales a species' level by the number of that species of monster that's been killed. This means that [[Enemy Summoner|Enemy Summoners]] that create endless swarms of a single weak species (like werejackals which summon hordes of jackals) will lead to that species soon becoming very tough.

** Also, the 'Small Cave' starter dungeon's enemies scale by your level, but in a way that will cause them to ''massively'' outpace you if you don't get through it quickly.

Line 43:

** "Incredibly hard" is something of an understatement. These battles often reached into flat-out [[Unwinnable]] territory, even when you cheated.

* In ''[[The Last Remnant]]'' the enemies do scale to your level(even though you don't technically have one), but have a certain cap when they stop levelling, Special encounters however do not scale and have set statistics.

* In ''[[~~Baldurs~~ Gate]] 2'' the types of random enemies adjusted to match your level. In extreme cases this could lead to fighting through a dungeon of random superpowerful liches to fight the comparatively pathetic ostensible boss.

* In ''[[Baldur's Gate]] 2'' the types of random enemies adjusted to match your level. In extreme cases this could lead to fighting through a dungeon of random superpowerful liches to fight the comparatively pathetic ostensible boss.

* In ''[[Anachronox]]'', enemies would, at certain points, be scaled to match Boots' (the main character) current level. Thus, enemies would get easier to fight in a certain dungeon, then get tough again upon leaving. As Boots is in your party non-stop, this made level-grinding something to avoid, as Boots would surpass his fellows and render them useless against even mooks. The game made an effort to compensate by similarly increasing the levels of characters that fell behind, but didn't do so enough.

* In ''[[~~Marvel Avengers Alliance (Video Game)|~~Marvel Avengers Alliance]]'', regular missions play at a set level, but the enemies in Bonus/Special missions are set at the player character's level, making them difficult (but rewarding) for everyone.

* In ''[[Marvel Avengers Alliance]]'', regular missions play at a set level, but the enemies in Bonus/Special missions are set at the player character's level, making them difficult (but rewarding) for everyone.

== [[Wide Open Sandbox]] ==

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind ~~(Video Game)~~|Morrowind]]'' has this to a limited extent. While foes you'll encounter in caves will always have a fixed level, some creatures on the road will be matched to your level, instead. This, of course, has the advantage of making travel a constant danger.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls III Morrowind|Morrowind]]'' has this to a limited extent. While foes you'll encounter in caves will always have a fixed level, some creatures on the road will be matched to your level, instead. This, of course, has the advantage of making travel a constant danger.

** Also, the number of enemies you encounter increases, which means that you'll be attacked almost constantly at higher levels. Worse, you'll be attacked largely by enemies that are not strong enough to provide a challenge, like [[Goddamn Bats|Cliff Racers.]] This might explain Bethesda's decision to take a different approach with ''[[The Elder Scrolls Four|Oblivion]]''

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion ~~(Video Game)~~|Oblivion]]'' is an excellent example of [[Scrappy Mechanic|how not to do]] level scaling. Characters that are not combat-oriented will find that enemies will still scale to their level, as if to emphasize their inability to fight. Characters that ''are'' combat-oriented will find that, eventually, most fights become a mindless slugfest to try to deplete the opponent's massive HP, with no real challenge or risk of death. Enemy equipment also scales up, totally unbalancing the game's economy. And the worst part? Named NPCs do not scale with you, so if you fight through the Siege of Kvatch at level 4 your companions will probably do fine, but if you try it at level 20, They'll get slaughtered. Underleveling often becomes the only way to survive. It's an infamous enough example of level scaling done badly that many people refer to badly implemented level scaling as "Oblivion Syndrome."

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion|Oblivion]]'' is an excellent example of [[Scrappy Mechanic|how not to do]] level scaling. Characters that are not combat-oriented will find that enemies will still scale to their level, as if to emphasize their inability to fight. Characters that ''are'' combat-oriented will find that, eventually, most fights become a mindless slugfest to try to deplete the opponent's massive HP, with no real challenge or risk of death. Enemy equipment also scales up, totally unbalancing the game's economy. And the worst part? Named NPCs do not scale with you, so if you fight through the Siege of Kvatch at level 4 your companions will probably do fine, but if you try it at level 20, They'll get slaughtered. Underleveling often becomes the only way to survive. It's an infamous enough example of level scaling done badly that many people refer to badly implemented level scaling as "Oblivion Syndrome."

* ''[[Fallout 3]]'' proves that Bethesda learned their lesson from Oblivion's screw up. The level scaling is based on your level when you enter an area and is never adjusted again for that area, so in the starting areas, you'll deal with easy enemies, and as you get stronger and go further out, the enemies will also get stronger, but if you back to the beginning areas, you'll be dealing with the weak enemies again.

** In addition, enemies are prebuilt to a certain level and pulled off a list to set what's appropriate. By contrast, ''Oblivion'' uses the same basic enemy at levels 8 and 20, but improves his stats and equipment. ''Fallout'' spawns a level 8 enemy when you enter an area at level 8, and a different level 20 enemy when you enter it at level 20. So you'll be fighting [[Elite Mooks|Enclave Troopers]] in Tesla armor at level 20, instead of Raiders who happen to be wielding Gatling Lasers while ensconced within [[Powered Armor]].

** Raiders get upgrades as well. At level 5 they carry mainly pistols and hunting rifles. At level 20, they're equipped with missile launchers and assault rifles instead.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim ~~(Video Game)~~|Skyrim]]'' has level scaling "like Fallout 3's, not Oblivion's," [[And the Fandom Rejoiced]]. Most enemies simply get replaced by tougher variants in high level areas, while some do directly scale with player level. Random loot also scales. Level-scaling is still not perfect, as it is quite easy to grind non-essential skills and end up facing high level opponents at every newly found area.

* ''[[The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim|Skyrim]]'' has level scaling "like Fallout 3's, not Oblivion's," [[And the Fandom Rejoiced]]. Most enemies simply get replaced by tougher variants in high level areas, while some do directly scale with player level. Random loot also scales. Level-scaling is still not perfect, as it is quite easy to grind non-essential skills and end up facing high level opponents at every newly found area.

** ''[[Critical Miss]]'' demonstrates [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/comics/critical-miss/9245-Skyrim-Tales the imperfections].

* ''[[Dead Island]]'' has scaling similiar to Oblivion. Whatever level you are, the enemies will be. Your health increases, but their damages increases to do roughly the same amount percentage wise. Their health increases, but you can equip stronger weapons to do the same back to them.

== Other Genres ==

* In ''[[Muramasa ~~the~~ Demon Blade]]'', enemies are always scaled to correlate to your level. Even when overleveling, enemies never get any easier. The earlier [[Bonus Dungeon|Demon Trees]] don't fall too far behind when you are dozens of levels above the recommended levels, the bosses get more vicious, and the regular enemies deal more damage and have more hit points.

* In ''[[Muramasa: The Demon Blade]]'', enemies are always scaled to correlate to your level. Even when overleveling, enemies never get any easier. The earlier [[Bonus Dungeon|Demon Trees]] don't fall too far behind when you are dozens of levels above the recommended levels, the bosses get more vicious, and the regular enemies deal more damage and have more hit points.

* ''[[Puzzle Quest]]'' scales all enemies to the same level as your character, except for boss battles.