EDIT: Very professional stealth-edit lol, "You deserve it... ". I deserve what? Just cause I am looking for a (triple) challenge, I'm not allowed to give my feedback on how lvl-scaling has negatively impacted these challenges (by increasing its difficulty through RNG)? Or the impact lvl-scaling has on the overall Classic experience I'm looking for? I'm being very reasonable and I get this petty of a "response"? At least put your name to such a clown response.
-- (CLOWN MOD EDIT: "you derserve it /looks down.."); **
TLDR
Forced level scaling of mobs is not fun imo, especially combined with any or all level challenges (Reso+IM+NM). Give us a way to toggle on or off the level scaling of mobs, so both sides on this topic can alter their own gameplay wishes and be a happy gamer
Recently level scaling has been introduced to the 1-20 zones. Judging from Discord's history this seems to have been enabled on and off over the past 3 months. I couldn't find any other info about it other than a small note in the changelogs that level-appropriate green drops have been updated for 1-20 mobs.
Intention & Purpose of Level Scaling?
My question is if this level scaling is intended, and will it expand to higher level brackets? If so, I'm wondering what the purpose of this change is? I can only think of some marginal positive effects, but to me at least it has negatively impacted the game and my motivation to roll a new character.
Note that this comes from someone tackling reso/IM/NM, so its not a few hours breeze through 20 once or twice, I spend a lot of time in these level brackets so this change has a big impact for me.
Personal View on Level Scaling
- 1-20 is simultaneously the most boring and most dangerous combat
Your hero pre-20 won't nearly have a toolkit to deal with a far majority of situations or have access to plenty of fun skills. So it's safe to say not only is your hero still kinda boring, it's also ill-equipped to deal with a variety of scenarios. This makes combat relatively more dangerous to higher levels as there is less plays you can make.
Combine this with level scaled mobs along with level challenges, it creates an extra hurdle to leveling that I've not even opted for myself.
- Disconnect of green quests and on-level mobs
Level scaling also adds a weird disconnect between barely green quests and level scaled mobs (though I belief I saw Dutch mentioning on Discord they were working on this, but not sure).
It's like having to work harder for a quest that provides less rewards. Killing equal level mobs gives you more xp at the cost of spending extra time (its not the most efficient farming mobs on-level vs 1/2/3 lower lvls generally). At the same time quests will give less xp cause they'll turn green/gray quicker, as well as providing worse rewards for more time spent.
- Level scaling means you grow weaker
1 AP/TP at level 10 will make you slightly stronger until you reach 10.5 and the mobs scale with you and you might as well have been a lvl 9 fighting a lvl 9 mob. I don't see how that is fun. What's even the point of leveling up then?
Of course the more abilities you unlock and synergies with talents you get will negate this effect at some point, but again; why make 1-20 a worse experience "leveling up"?
- Challenges exponentially increase difficulty/tediousness of level-scaled mobs
Fighting equal level mob as NM challenge all the way to 20 is NOT fun, and resolute/ironman makes it very punishing if you slip up at any point or fall victim to the RNG of parries.
Death (or alts) for me now means back to the muds of level 1-20 scaling and slogging through it all over again. It makes starting a char feel worse than losing a char to me.
- Level scaling caters to just one group's wishes
I feel this level scaling change caters to one group's wishes (if it even is intentional?), while forcing others to go with it. In reverse, it would be like suddenly removing the 3x XP option from all servers. I imagine this would upset a lot more people than level scaling in (early) zones, but I hope you see my point; it doesn't need to be either/or.
Solution
Neither side on this topic needs to be negatively impacted in their gameplay wishes.
Level scaling doesn't need to be forced on players. Keep it on by default (like 3x XP), sure idm, but give those who want to play in a different way the choice to do so. It's the reason why I've had so much fun on Ascension; the variety and choices of gameplay.
Since non-level scaling was standard up till recently, surely there's a way to toggle it back on at the npc where you pick level challenges?
Hope this will be taken into consideration, loving almost everything else on Ascension so far