SERPENTARIUS'S PROFILE

How about leveling via achievements? The gist of it is that you level up after making a benchmark or accomplishing an achievement. For example, if you had a move called "Moonsault" that ignored evasion and you used it on a certain number of enemies with high evasion, you would get a achievement and thus level up. It is very similar to how Team Fortress 2 unlocks weapons.

This method of leveling awards players that understand and know how to apply the mechanics behind their attacks and just know what they are doing in general. It makes leveling much more involving and exciting for the player as opposed to the traditional and monotonous method of just gaining exp until you level up. It will make having max level from merely a representation of how long you've killed the same group of enemies over and over again into something approaching a proof of skill and knowledge.

I also feel that this system is very similar to how skills in real life are tested, the best example being the driver's test. You aren't passed by just driving for an hour straight; you have to show them that you can actually drive by taking turns, parking, signaling, etc. So doing it this way will make leveling indicative of your skill level.

The major disadvantage of making such a system is that it would be much more involving and time consuming to develop and test than a traditional leveling system. It would also demand techniques to have multiple facets and applications to fit multiple achievements around them as well as enemies and bosses. It would just require much more thought and effort on the part of the the designer.

Leveling via achievements will allow for a more dynamic and involving leveling system that rewards smart and experimental gameplay. If a designer wanted to incorporate this into his game, he would have to devote a great deal of time to making it work effectively. The results will make for a much more rewarding game for both player and developer.