Ever played Pillars of Eternity? Baldur’s gate? What about modern candy-graphics ancient world simulation piece shit like Assassin’s Creed Origins?
Well, I have. And guess what? Their approach to levelling is superior to Larian’s.
Now that I’ve catapulted that little fiery ball of controversy into the maw of the forum monster, I’d like to say a few things that – I think – make a lot of sense.
Having read various forum comments, I feel there’s unrest in the community about the melodramatic approach Larian has taken to levelling. Some modders have wisely tried to correct this, but it shouldn’t be up to modders to note the obvious. There are paid designers on Larian’s team that should have spotted the problem well before launch. And there are paid designers in more crassly generic gaming studios *cough* Ubisoft */cough* that are doing it better than our good standard-rules-don’t-apply amigos at Larian.
So faking wake up!
I’m talking about the stat explosion that occurs per level in this game. What’s the difference between a level 10 and level 15 character in DOS2? One is David, the other – Goliath.
Why?
Even if you look at Assassin’s Creed, the levels and upgrades increment you only marginally. It feels rewarding and natural, but it never feels like you’re exploding into superman. So even lower level enemies can still put up a fight. As they should.
Levelling up should be about gaining cooler, more tactically deeper abilities. It shouldn’t be about gaining an extra 2000 health etc. Pillars and Baldur’s Gate are more enjoyably balanced games, because the stats never explode. Shining Force is also another great example because it’s so similar to DOS2. I think the tiny increases per level (+2, +3 if you’re lucky) were brilliantly staged, and far more impactful than suddenly gaining +1000. And it meant the designers had an easier time coming up with more challenging battles.
Massively bigger stats != a progressive levelling system! I’d like to see a formidable end boss to DOS2 with little more than 300 HP. This would force the designers into coming up with more creative and interesting ‘level up’ perks.
As I say, you always feel like it’s worthwhile levelling things in Assassin’s Creed Origin’s, but it never gets out of hand. It’s genius. Superb design. And the only good thing, bar the artwork, about an otherwise boring game.
Same is true of Pillars and Baldur’s Gate. You never had ridiculous stats in those games, but levelling up felt far more impactful than it does in DOS2. Think about it – a smaller stat increase would create so much more meaning for the player, and would also make the game easier to design towards balanced fun.
No point making it hard on yourselves, lads! Quality over quantity as they say…
I believe in you!
