Guild Wars 2

So I hit 80 a couple weeks ago, and have started working towards 100% map completion as well as helping a friend level up to 80. Once he’s up to speed, we’ll probably start on dungeons, maybe try out WvW seriously for a while. I’m glad that you continue to get experience post-80; It gives a small incentive to doing things like lower level heart quests which would otherwise feel somewhat pointless. But I’ve begun to think about why the level cap is even necessary, and what it would mean to a game like this to set it ridiculously high or get rid of it altogether.

In some of the more ancient online games, there was often no cap or it was so difficult to get for such little reward that no one even bothered grinding towards it. But the grinding mentality hadn’t really set in at the time either, and so players would enjoy the game first and enjoy character progression second. Now that the markets changed, with huge item databases and youtube videos showing you every secret there is to discover, and players focused on grinding to the top and being the best, a leveling model like this wasn’t really possible(and may still not be). But with the way Anet has structured GW2, with a consistent playing experience replacing “end-game” and downscaling to keep it relevant no matter what level you are, that drive to get to the top and be the best has started to fade. Now I’ve found myself wondering, why do we even have the cap at all? If we never hit max level, would players stop and smell the roses more instead of craving end-game so much?

Obviously dungeons and WvW are balanced around level 80, but with scaling it’s not an issue. And things like traits would be silly if we had an infinite amount of them. But if that were dealt with, why couldn’t the number next to our name keep going up? Why can’t i have the feeling that my character is still growing, still progressing, even if it doesn’t mean much? Now obviously in a game like WoW where your level dictates what skills you can use and there is no downscaling for lower level content, a level cap is a necessary evil, to keep players on the same level and keep new content challenging. But in this game, where all content is promised to be difficult no matter what level you are, the cap starts to feel like a dated concept.

Now I’m sure many of you are wondering, if we don’t get traits and we get downscaled anyway, what would be the point? Isn’t level just a useless number? Well, yes and no. We already get the skill point when we “level”, this would just officiate it. The only time it would show to other players are when we idle in Lion’s Arch, but it would at least be something. And there could be interesting/fun perks to leveling, like a level 200 armor set with the stats on-par with 80 gear, only the set looks particularly awesome. And how about ladder rankings, for the super hardcore players who live for the grind? Most of us won’t care about it, but there are folks who live for stuff like that. Possibly achievements and titles.

Well, it’s just something I’ve been thinking about lately. Perhaps there’s some glaring issue I’m missing here or a fine balance in the game that this would upset. Maybe it’s not even possible to have a place like WvW where downscaling and upscaling occur simultaneously. But I think it’s worth considering, and it could be yet another different twist on the genre that just, well, works.

TL;DR: Level caps in this game are potentially unnecessary and removing them could help with the lack of end-game issue without actually creating an end-game, or at least help perpetuate the current 1-80 experience.

edit: apparently isn’t + it = profanity when placed in close proximity

I don’t see the point. It’s just a number, it would change nothing. It’s completely meaningless. There wouldn’t be any more of an endgame than what we already have. I think it is fine as it is. Were it for me we wouldn’t even have levels in this game.

Eochaidh.4106:

I don’t see the point. It’s just a number, it would change nothing. It’s completely meaningless. There wouldn’t be any more of an endgame than what we already have. I think it is fine as it is. Were it for me we wouldn’t even have levels in this game.

I addressed this exact sentiment in my post, but to be fair, it’s already worthless. That’s kind of the point. Turning it into little more than a fun number is similar to removing it altogether, without actually removing it.

Consider what we have is 80+ skill points. If you want to call each new level a level, more power to ya.

Wouldn’t that be pointless? I mean in a month people’s levels would be into the hundreds, in a year it would reach thousands, but when you go to a zone you’d still be down leveled to the zone’s level, so having a super high level would be pointless.

The problem I do see with this is when the expansion comes around. Let’s say they raise the level cap, then people would immediately be down scaled from level 2143 to level 90, but then they can go anywhere in the zone without progressing along with it.

mulch.2586:

Consider what we have is 80+ skill points. If you want to call each new level a level, more power to ya.

That’s pretty much all this is. Throw in a random achievement or two, maybe an aesthetic-only armor set and call it a day.

It seems to be a way to gate content and give a sense of progression.

Azjenco.9425:

Wouldn’t that be pointless? I mean in a month people’s levels would be into the hundreds, in a year it would reach thousands, but when you go to a zone you’d still be down leveled to the zone’s level, so having a super high level would be pointless.

The problem I do see with this is when the expansion comes around. Let’s say they raise the level cap, then people would immediately be down scaled from level 2143 to level 90, but then they can go anywhere in the zone without progressing along with it.

I believe they said they weren’t going to keep raising the cap with expansions(might be wrong here) but the scaling in zones is already done on a per-area basis. I was 80 before I ever set foot in a 70-80 zone and the experience was the same as it would have been, minus the fun little dings.

I think unlimited levels would be awesome and content scales dynamically like Dragon kitten’s villain progression. Like they fight Raditz first, but he’s terribly weak compared to much later villains. Our character, like Goku, Vegita, etc., should increase in power. No, I don’t just mean wear stronger weapons, I mean get stronger.

Is ball kittened out? ( B a-l l) anyways you could just use your skill point count over 80 to describe your level, Like “In Time” where they tell their age as 25 for 5, or 25 for 300, you could be 80 for 5 or 80 for 2147

You can do dungeons VERY successfully at the level them open up to you.
Any of the story modes are pretty doable with a moderatly deccent group.
The explorer modes are substantially more challenging. Those you really need to make sure you gear is up to snuff for your level. ( all greens really makes a difference )
Balanced around level 80….not really.

WvW I may be more inclined to agree with you on the balanced around level 80. You CAN be pretty effective level 30 – 35 + though. At 30 you get your elite skill and 35 access to rare armor/weapons. Properly geared you will fair well. The only thing you do not have access to are exotic gear. The difference is pretty small but across ALL pieces of gear it can add up (not to mention runes ).

Unlimited levels or no leveling at all, the outcome would be pretty much the same. The level is only there so they can stage their content better and prevent people to immediately go to ‘endgame’ zones.

I’m actually not sure what your point is as your experience bar fills up normally, you just hit a cap which is balanced around the trait system. Would it really be better or change anything when you suddenly have 81 levels? Wouldn’t the next thing that people want be ‘higher’ gear?

Also the lvl 200 armor. That’s pretty much what legendaries are. But I agree that there shouldn’t be only weapons. Some really really rare gear would be cool, not everyone is a fan of weapons. I certainly ain’t.

If a level cap didn’t exist, I would be running around with at least 500 beside my name. And in a year’s time, possibly 10k+.

Unsightly and out-of-place, so no thank you.