Guild Wars 2

Currently, karma and xp rewards are based on your adjusted level.

My suggestion is that they should scale based on your real level.

Item rewards (loot) already scale based on your real level (you can get level 80 loot in a level 1-15 zone) so this wouldn’t be a precedent as a game mechanic.

Alternately, this could be a feature that is only available at max level, that is, once you’re level 80, you get the same karma/xp rewards for participation, regardless of location/event/zone.
This would allow a max level player a real incentive (or at least, no dis-incentive?) to replay all the content in the game, rather than replaying the same few dynamic events in the same few zones to be efficient.

While I agree it should scale more with higher level characters that are downleveled, I don’t think it should be exactly the same as doing a level 80 event. There’s too high a chance for it to become exploitable. The lower level events happen faster (I think), than level 80 ones, thus people would start farming the lower level ones, which would also impact the players that are that level.

They can already farm the higher level events. It makes no difference where the event is. The events in Malchors, Frostgorge, and Cursed Shore are exactly the same event script code as all the other zones.

If there is an exploitable lower level event, that should be fixed regardless of whether or not the suggestion is implemented.

EDIT: Also, the only impact it would have on lower level players is that there would be more players to play with. There’s no downside to having more players in an event, it just makes it more fun.

1) Scale the drops from chests (it’s a pain to do some of the early puzzles and get. . . lvl 5 blues at 80)

2) They slightly scale – They scale like waypoints. 50 copper turns into 1.2 silver at level 80.

vjek.4270:

Currently, karma and xp rewards are based on your adjusted level.

My suggestion is that they should scale based on your real level.

Item rewards (loot) already scale based on your real level (you can get level 80 loot in a level 1-15 zone) so this wouldn’t be a precedent as a game mechanic.

Alternately, this could be a feature that is only available at max level, that is, once you’re level 80, you get the same karma/xp rewards for participation, regardless of location/event/zone.
This would allow a max level player a real incentive (or at least, no dis-incentive?) to replay all the content in the game, rather than replaying the same few dynamic events in the same few zones to be efficient.

So you are suggestion to get rid of Orr? why would any lvl 80 go there if they can get the same with easier events in easier zones. Being a lot easier is the incentive of low level zones. Going to a lvl 15 zone with full exotic gear and a full skill set (elite skills and all) and a lot better understanding of how to play your character makes the content incredibly easier compared to a normal lvl 15. Thats the incentive.

Im happy this game still gives me some xp/gold/karma for going back and completing the map

Gynxz.4079:

… So you are suggestion to get rid of Orr? …

Nope, my suggestion is to scale Karma & XP based on your real level, rather than your adjusted level.

If there are content issues beyond that, those should be addressed, but are not part of this suggestion. However, players that don’t want to go to Orr can already go to Frostgorge Sound.
More options (being able to go to any zone) to have fun, gain karma, and gain xp, seems like a win-win for everyone.

Eventually, there will be more & different zones available to max level players via expansions. This suggestion simply expands the “max level” content to potentially be the entire game, rather than a few zones, until that time arrives.

vjek.4270:

Gynxz.4079:

… So you are suggestion to get rid of Orr? …

Nope, my suggestion is to scale Karma & XP based on your real level, rather than your adjusted level.

If there are content issues beyond that, those should be addressed, but are not part of this suggestion. However, players that don’t want to go to Orr can already go to Frostgorge Sound.
More options (being able to go to any zone) to have fun, gain karma, and gain xp, seems like a win-win for everyone.

Eventually, there will be more & different zones available to max level players via expansions. This suggestion simply expands the “max level” content to potentially be the entire game, rather than a few zones, until that time arrives.

+1

vjek.4270:

EDIT: Also, the only impact it would have on lower level players is that there would be more players to play with. There’s no downside to having more players in an event, it just makes it more fun.

Except there is a problem. Having too many people means that you aren’t necessarily going to be able to participate as much (ie get bronze when you could have got gold), due to potential zerging, like during the opening week. They would have to up the scaling ceiling on the all the events to compensate.

I think it would be nice to be given a proportional reward based on your actual level, but maybe not to the point where events in lower zones give exactly the same reward as events in higher ones. Downscaling works such that a high-level player with a good build and good gear still has an advantage over at-content-level players, because the downscaling only goes to a few levels above a piece of content.

My experience with lower zones and item drops is that about 50% of my item drops are set to my level and the rest are at the level of the area, so loot certainly doesn’t seem to have parity across all zones. I think this is a reasonable model for event rewards too. Maybe a compromise is in order:

Let’s say as a player’s level increases, so does the minimum event reward’s level – but this figure increases at maybe half the rate of the player’s level. For example, at level 1 a player doing a level 1 event would get a level 1 reward. At level 80 a player doing a level 80 event would get a level 80 reward. The difference is that at level 80, a player doing a level 1 event would get say a level 40 award. A level 40 event would net in this case a level 60 reward, and so on.

This system would provide significantly more incentive to run through lower-level content and to return to areas already completed, as the rewards would be far better than previously, but still discourage using lower content to farm or grind as the rewards still aren’t better than content at the player’s level.

Your idea sounds good on paper and I wouldn’t mind a half-way compromise but I don’t like the fact of giving same rewards for simpler/easier.

Ramifications
“I dont need the low level Blood, events should give crated items of your level”
“But I dont want crafting items of my level”
“Lets all go to X zone and do Y event because its the shortest for its reward”

Your idea sounds great “Let us play where we want w/o a penalty”, I just don’t think that a 1 step fix will bring more good than bad.

Another Big problem: “There are 30 level 80’s on my event. Im level 7 with only one weapon skill unlocked on my sword and I cant tag creatures before they kill them all. I keep failing the event or getting bronze.”
OR: “It takes me 40 mins to complete a heart because level 80’s are killing everything for a close by Defend event. They have more/better attacks, speed buffs and understand better how to clear this event.”

GW2 is not supposed to be competitive but when enough people group together to do an event.. it becomes a competition. (see Orr events for reference)

“OR: “It takes me 40 mins to complete a heart because level 80’s are killing everything for a close by Defend event. They have more/better attacks, speed buffs and understand better how to clear this event.””

This is why I honestly think being within attack range (1’200) AND in a combat stance should net you rewards as if you partook in the combat. I can’t tell you how many times I ignore actually killing something to lightly AoE an entire DE since it tags me as “contributing” to everything, while I actually do nothing meaningful to help to event and just hog all the loot.

Yeah, DE contribution issues aren’t part of the suggestion. There are a wide variety of very good ways to fix that problem, and I have every confidence ArenaNet will continue to address that.

I’m only suggesting the karma/xp scaling, no loot adjustments, no drop rate/crafting mats adjustments, or any of that. Just creating an incentive to play the entire game at max level, that’s the main goal of this suggestion.

Put another way, having too many players in low level events (again, after launch) is a great problem to have. It’s a far better problem than what is in place currently, imho.

I thought this was going to be a feature that shipped with the game seeing as they had the whole “Whole Game is Endgame” campaign. Crafting material drops should still be zone based, however equipment drops should scale to character level.

Right now unless you’re going for 100% completion or already done with your karma farming phase, there really is no need to visit a zone outside of Orr which is a bit disheartening.

I don’t get why you people are arguing so much, it already does.

In queensdale at low levels I got around 50 copper for an event I did on my warrior later on and got 1.2 silver for. It doesn’t scale all the way (1.8s in orr) but it scales most of the way.

GADefence.5634:

I don’t get why you people are arguing so much, it already does.

In queensdale at low levels I got around 50 copper for an event I did on my warrior later on and got 1.2 silver for. It doesn’t scale all the way (1.8s in orr) but it scales most of the way.

The karma and XP does not scale. Loot may/does-kinda but isn’t part of this particular suggestion.

“The karma and XP does not scale. Loot may/does-kinda but isn’t part of this particular suggestion.”

I get 250~+ karma from an orr DE.
I get 150~+ karma from a queensdale DE at level 80.
I get 80~+ karma from a queensdale DE at low level.

GADefence.5634:

“The karma and XP does not scale. Loot may/does-kinda but isn’t part of this particular suggestion.”

I get 250~+ karma from an orr DE.
I get 150~+ karma from a queensdale DE at level 80.
I get 80~+ karma from a queensdale DE at low level.

Great, ok. So if you want numbers for the suggestion, here are some numbers.

You currently get:
378 karma at level 80 doing a Penitent Path DE.
You should get:
378 karma at level 80 doing any DE in any zone.
OR
You should get:
340-378 karma at level 80 doing any DE in any zone.

Not less than 340. If the reward is not 90% of the max, people won’t do it (as they don’t, today), so I think that would be an effective incentive.

vjek.4270:

Gynxz.4079:

… So you are suggestion to get rid of Orr? …

Nope, my suggestion is to scale Karma & XP based on your real level, rather than your adjusted level.

If there are content issues beyond that, those should be addressed, but are not part of this suggestion. However, players that don’t want to go to Orr can already go to Frostgorge Sound.
More options (being able to go to any zone) to have fun, gain karma, and gain xp, seems like a win-win for everyone.

Eventually, there will be more & different zones available to max level players via expansions. This suggestion simply expands the “max level” content to potentially be the entire game, rather than a few zones, until that time arrives.

I so totally agree with the OP. In fact I suggested this very thing in an earlier post. Sometimes I feel like going to Orr, other times not. I don’t want to LIVE in Orr however (I don’t, but I know a lot of people farming feel like they are required to).

Might have to tweak the down-leveling a bit to make sure that the really low levels are hard enough for lvl 80 chars — some are really hard, others are stupid easy…so some tweaking should probably happen. But otherwise, yes please!

The reason for it being less is since the enemies are far far weaker. I can solo man group events (especially for 60 or less areas) with my warrior with no issue, I could not do that at 60. The reward downscale is a bit lower (I think I’m exagerating since I remember 220~ karma being my reward and not 150) to match the challenge, and I am accepting of this.

As garraeth mentioned, tweaking the down-leveling would fix that, but thanks for your opinion, GADefence.