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LEVELING UP AND NOT GETTING STAT BOOSTS... HELP?
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rikguenther
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CloseI'm considering doing something different with the way my characters get stronger in the game. I want to eliminate grinding as a way of breezing through the game. I also want to help myself out with balancing.
When your characters level up, traditionally, they gain a multitude of stat increases. If you spend all day leveling up it tends to destroy any level of strategy the creator (myself) had tried to put into place. It also can help with the pacing of game when you don't have to stop and grind when you hit a difficulty spike.
I feel like this can open up some interesting parts in battle too. It can help alleviate the hum-drum of routine battles since you can't rely on your overpowered character and instead have to rely on strategies like taking advantage of your enemies weaknesses and... god forbid... use status magic to round out your weaknesses.
Eqiupment will increase your stats. Weapons, armor and accessories lend to stat increases. Need to do more damage? Equip a more powerful weapon. Enemy doing too much fire damage? Equip an accessory to reduce fire damage. There will also be "seeds" to increase stats too, like single use items to boost your attack a minimal amount.
Herein lies a problem. What purpose is there then, to leveling up? I was thinking about providing HP/MP increases. As you level up you get more stamina/increase your mana pool. This is kind of a weak benefit, but idk.
Long story short, I'm looking for advice from anyone who has experience with a system like this or just some general advice/suggestions. Any ideas how balancing will go with a system like this? Any possible hurdles you can think of? Any questions for parts I inevitably left out?
When your characters level up, traditionally, they gain a multitude of stat increases. If you spend all day leveling up it tends to destroy any level of strategy the creator (myself) had tried to put into place. It also can help with the pacing of game when you don't have to stop and grind when you hit a difficulty spike.
I feel like this can open up some interesting parts in battle too. It can help alleviate the hum-drum of routine battles since you can't rely on your overpowered character and instead have to rely on strategies like taking advantage of your enemies weaknesses and... god forbid... use status magic to round out your weaknesses.
Eqiupment will increase your stats. Weapons, armor and accessories lend to stat increases. Need to do more damage? Equip a more powerful weapon. Enemy doing too much fire damage? Equip an accessory to reduce fire damage. There will also be "seeds" to increase stats too, like single use items to boost your attack a minimal amount.
Herein lies a problem. What purpose is there then, to leveling up? I was thinking about providing HP/MP increases. As you level up you get more stamina/increase your mana pool. This is kind of a weak benefit, but idk.
Long story short, I'm looking for advice from anyone who has experience with a system like this or just some general advice/suggestions. Any ideas how balancing will go with a system like this? Any possible hurdles you can think of? Any questions for parts I inevitably left out?
TheNecromancer
3160
author=rikguenther
Herein lies a problem. What purpose is there then, to leveling up?
Leveling up can give you points that you use to purchase and upgrade skills. It can be a requirement for things; mostly skills, but even other things like quests.
LockeZ
I'd really like to get rid of LockeZ. His play style is way too unpredictable. He's always like this too. If he ran a country, he'd just kill and imprison people at random until crime stopped.
5958
There's a topic in GD&T about this right now, actually.
Miscellaneous random ideas list:
- Levelling provides HP/MP (minimal combat benefit)
- Every piece of equipment requires a specific level to wear (so you can't ignore levelling up, but levelling beyond the point your current equipment requires is useless)
- Levels unlock new dungeons/areas (you can progress forward in the game based on your level, but doing stuff you don't have the equipment for will be quite hard)
- Levels unlock new quests (similar to above)
- Some combination of the above
Miscellaneous random ideas list:
- Levelling provides HP/MP (minimal combat benefit)
- Every piece of equipment requires a specific level to wear (so you can't ignore levelling up, but levelling beyond the point your current equipment requires is useless)
- Levels unlock new dungeons/areas (you can progress forward in the game based on your level, but doing stuff you don't have the equipment for will be quite hard)
- Levels unlock new quests (similar to above)
- Some combination of the above
I thought about implementing something along the lines of equipment requires a specific level. The HP/MP bonus is a given, giving you a visual bonus to your leveling (stats you can actually see) but not so much that strategy in battle can't overcome any minimal bonus imbued from increasing your level.
The only problem I have with leveled equipment is it's kind of an arbitrary restriction placed on the player or even a punishment for not leveling up enough. "But rikguenther, you should balance it so they can afford using the equipment"
That would defeat the entire purpose of the restriction if everything was perfectly balanced like that. I mean, I could put the requirement a level or two above what you SHOULD be at in that particular area but, again, that gives way to going out and grinding to get up to a particular level to use the equipment. I'd rather my game be a grind-free zone.
I do like the idea, don't get me wrong, but I feel like unless implemented PERFECTLY it would tarnish the otherwise pretty good system.
Any other suggestions? I'm going to go check out that other thread for ideas/input.
EDIT:
Also, I forgot to mention that I like this idea too. When you level up you get a point. Points can be spent on upgrades/abilities for your character. The upgrades/abilities aren't mandatory, but they can definitely help the player with the game. Increasing your levels will yield more upgrades which will yield better characters. You don't HAVE to level up to get these bonuses, but it sure can't hurt. I'll think heavily about this idea because it can really help customize your characters and give the player who wants to grind an edge but still not make them OP (as grinding often does) but still leave the player who plays the game at normal pace in a winnable situation too. You can choose your own difficulty, essentially.
The only problem I have with leveled equipment is it's kind of an arbitrary restriction placed on the player or even a punishment for not leveling up enough. "But rikguenther, you should balance it so they can afford using the equipment"
That would defeat the entire purpose of the restriction if everything was perfectly balanced like that. I mean, I could put the requirement a level or two above what you SHOULD be at in that particular area but, again, that gives way to going out and grinding to get up to a particular level to use the equipment. I'd rather my game be a grind-free zone.
I do like the idea, don't get me wrong, but I feel like unless implemented PERFECTLY it would tarnish the otherwise pretty good system.
Any other suggestions? I'm going to go check out that other thread for ideas/input.
EDIT:
author=Link_2112
Leveling up can give you points that you use to purchase and upgrade skills. It can be a requirement for things; mostly skills, but even other things like quests.
Also, I forgot to mention that I like this idea too. When you level up you get a point. Points can be spent on upgrades/abilities for your character. The upgrades/abilities aren't mandatory, but they can definitely help the player with the game. Increasing your levels will yield more upgrades which will yield better characters. You don't HAVE to level up to get these bonuses, but it sure can't hurt. I'll think heavily about this idea because it can really help customize your characters and give the player who wants to grind an edge but still not make them OP (as grinding often does) but still leave the player who plays the game at normal pace in a winnable situation too. You can choose your own difficulty, essentially.
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