I am a huge fan of a slower leveling pace. There will ALWAYS be people who rush to the end game (and sometimes I am one of them), however, if it actually takes a while then for 95% of the playerbase leveling actually means something. Even in Vanilla WoW leveling used to be enjoyable, getting through a zone and taking a long walk or a boat to a new one definitely gave you the sense of adventure. These days that game and many more play like a theme park as people say, you are on rails the entire time rushing through content with flashy spells to get to the end game as soon as possible.
Overall, the game should be built from the ground up where even if you are just level 12, you feel like you are playing the game and enjoying your time doing so.
WarKnight said:WarKnight said:1-20: slow
21-40: slower
41-50: slowest
With some hell levels incorporated and fireworks upon reaching level 50!
Side note off topic. At level 50 I think it would be cool to be able to choose some sort of minor cosmetic upgrade to one's character (not gear).
I totally agree with this.
I was even thinking if you were to dedicate time to just leveling (Not wandering, banking, trading, crafting etc), I was leaning towards a breakdown like this at a mid-optimal rate and if you were to not die (not feasible):
Levels 1-10 - 60 hours
Levels 11-20 - 120 hours
Levels 21-30 - 200 hours
Levels 31-40 - 300 hours
Levels 41-50 - 450 hours
How about I get to choose how fast or slow I level.
can I please get a feature to TURN OFF XP!
If I want to stop leveling and pursue my crafting before I move on, please let me!
This doesn’t affect anyone who wants to barrel on through, but it adds a huge amount of player satisfaction to those who want to slow their roll while still actively playing.
Honestly, it depends on the game.
If I'm playing something that has quality content at every level and the gear acquired is useful for long periods of time I will take my time to enjoy the game. If the gear is easily replaced and out leveled then I usually speed to max level because what is the point and appeal of the mid-game.
If the game is old and all relevant content is in the levels of the new expansion I am probably racing to max level so I can experience it. (The progeny system could be a great solution for level caps in future expansions, depending on its design and implementation.)
If I have friends playing that game, depending on who it is I might race to catch up to the level. At least on one character so we could group together.
I think that one of the issues with most modern MMOs is that players are conditioned and feel forced to rush to max level so they can experience relevant content and more challenging content. The additions of expansions and increased level caps only help to encourage this push this trend. Some games help negate some of this by implementing level scaling for higher level characters in lower level zones, and level scaling the gear that they receive. However, since most of the gear they get will just be replaced from higher raids, I would argue that while this is good for keeping zones relevant until max level once a player hits the max level they quickly become obsolete again.
Grayel said:How about I get to choose how fast or slow I level.
can I please get a feature to TURN OFF XP!
If I want to stop leveling and pursue my crafting before I move on, please let me!
This doesn’t affect anyone who wants to barrel on through, but it adds a huge amount of player satisfaction to those who want to slow their roll while still actively playing.
Personally, I would rather be able to switch my exp from just leveling to go towards some kind of Alternative Advancement system, then I can still feel like I'm making progress even while my leveling is paused.
Of course, the option to turn exp on/off would be an easier feature to add than a whole AA system, so I don't expect to see my wishlist fulfilled, but I can dream while we wait for Pantheon.
I prefer slower leveling. Primarily becuase I am not a raider, so when I hit max level quickly it feels like the game is over. Therefore, I don't play just to reach max level so the leveling speed is almost irrelevant to me. It just gives me more to do.
A while back Joppa posted his thoughts on leveling speed and I got to say that there are going to be people that play this game 18 hours a day. So if you build this game so that a casual person maxes out in 6 months, you're going to have a group of people at max level within a week or two of launch. Just saying.
Kilsin said:What is your preferred levelling pace in MMORPGs, do you race to the end, go with the flow or slow things right down? #MMORPG #communitymatters
Well I'll have to use the new EQ progression servers for a reference. So for the EQ progression servers, everyone knows that game backwards and forward so in that case I usually rush to max just to try and stay ahead of the mass of people leveling up behind you, also usually in a raid guild who wants server first stuff.
Now for Pantheon since most will be new, I am sure I would take more time to explore etc. So I would like leveling to take a while just so when I grind for hours which I am sure I will and I return to town all powerful and everyone else is wearing cloth still, I'll feel special lol.
Hi guys...
I agree with a bunch of people here... if it takes you 2 months to get max lvl that is way to fast... If it takes you 5 years to build the game.. shouldn't it take awhile to lvl up even before the gear grind at the end...Plus I would like for there to be a lot to do at all lvls in the game.... I would like to see lvls go up exponentially....not fast at all.. to develope skills and make bonds with people... it should be a real fight out in the world and especially in dungeons...
I just wanted to add.. This is why the game world needs to be huge... so there is always something to do and a place to go.
I honestly like a VERY slow levelling path so long as there is a lot to do. I remember it took me probably almost 2 years to get my first toon to 50 on EQ. Some days, I would log in and hang out in lower level areas to collect meat or things like that for cooking. I sometimes loaded up on fishing gear and just went to different areas of water to see if they had any differences. Or I would just explore. I've always held that since you can't BEAT an MMORPG, why is there a need to rush? I log in truly to experience the world and community with no expectation that ONLY high-end can provide the entertainment I want.
kdavis said:I honestly like a VERY slow levelling path so long as there is a lot to do. I remember it took me probably almost 2 years to get my first toon to 50 on EQ. Some days, I would log in and hang out in lower level areas to collect meat or things like that for cooking. I sometimes loaded up on fishing gear and just went to different areas of water to see if they had any differences. Or I would just explore. I've always held that since you can't BEAT an MMORPG, why is there a need to rush? I log in truly to experience the world and community with no expectation that ONLY high-end can provide the entertainment I want.
This is an example of how MMO's should be played.
I have never used an experience potion. I don’t want to rush my experience. For me the journey is the game. I enjoy the endgame too, because I enjoy it all. I will gather, craft, quest, wander, explore with a purpose. I have ten character builds I will start out with. That will change, but it’s a start.
Kilsin said:What is your preferred levelling pace in MMORPGs, do you race to the end, go with the flow or slow things right down? #MMORPG #communitymatters
Glacial. The end is The End.
MMORPGs beginning to be all about the end game is a big part of what destroyed the genre.
kdavis said:I honestly like a VERY slow levelling path so long as there is a lot to do. I remember it took me probably almost 2 years to get my first toon to 50 on EQ. Some days, I would log in and hang out in lower level areas to collect meat or things like that for cooking. I sometimes loaded up on fishing gear and just went to different areas of water to see if they had any differences. Or I would just explore. I've always held that since you can't BEAT an MMORPG, why is there a need to rush? I log in truly to experience the world and community with no expectation that ONLY high-end can provide the entertainment I want.
Well put kdavis. This is how I hope Pantheon turns out. Those that rush to "End Game" should simply find the end of the game.
I don't care how fast or slow the leveling goes so long as the content is compelling. Grinding a camp for the 5,000 kills I need to get to the next level just to move to the next camp and grind 5,000 more kills does not make a fun game.
The pace should be consistent. It doesn't need to take the same amount of time to go from 9 to 10 as from 49 to 50, but it should be a smooth progression. Hell levels were a mistake (literally, they weren't intended to happen in the first place and were corrected years later when a correction to the way XP was calculated was made), and all they do is grind enthusiasm out of many players.
Let it take me months to get to the vanilla max level. I am totally fine with that. Just make it a journey and not a slog.
You accomplish that by making meaningful pit stops, not simply brick wall bottlenecks.
For example, give me a reason to want to go develop my crafting profession while I level because the skills are useful to me and my friends instead of just once I'm at the end game so I can be the first to charge higher prices to other people for my wares.
My preferred level pace? hmm .. this takes me back to the start of EQ1. The reason for so many memories, communities, and the EC Tunnel being built was because of how long it took to crawl through areas and progress into another area. I remember spending weeks fighting at newb log in nek forest collecting snake skins and wolf pelts to save some cash to buy me some leather armor from those over priced merchants! After exploring I came across a path through the surrounding mountains and found myself in a large open valley. There I ran across orcs, bandits, giant spiders, even a scary griffon. I spent months after school (when someone else wasn't using the dialup internet) slowly working my way up through the ranks of the orc camps until someone invited me to hunt some bandits in the desert with them. barely being strong enough to step foot into the heat of the sands to battle giant scorpions and ruffians I joined them and found myself face to face with the bandit lord Dorn B'Dynn. He had a wicked looking dagger and killed the lot of us a couple times before we finally conquered him! ..
So to me, the slower you make it, the more memorable the story, the adventure, the achievement! Just don't go forgetting the little details that make a slow progress fun day after day. Give us small milestones to reach for, be it defeating a boss, making it through a maze of traps for a possible secret treasure or anything else your genius minds can think of!
I'm true RPG player and I always do everything I can to uncover all the secrets, explore all corners of the world and look in every hole - so I don't like to be rushed, like most MMOs tend to do. The more time it takes to reach highest level the better. Yes we could explore low level zones while fully leveled, but thats not quite the same feeling - hopefully mentoring will help with that a bit.