Guild Wars 2

Yes, no, why? I would be motivated again been able yo steamroll every mob without problems. Not for farming, maybe to be able to gather without being bothering being attacked, helping newbies complete their events without hassle.

Other games don’t have this artificial barrier and do work so any comment about bots or hindering newbies advance is unreasonable.

The downscaling system is one of the best features in GW2. Since you can’t steamroll mobs in low level areas lvl 80 chars don’t go there to farm stuff and therefor don’t mess with the gameplay éxperience of twinks and new players.

No, not really. Steamrolling stuff is fun for about 2 minutes and then it’s boring. As it is I have some fun in lower zones with a high-level character. That “feeling of being more powerful” is there due to the fact that it puts you a couple levels higher than the area and you have your elite skills, but it’s not so easy that it’s trivial. Still have to worry about getting outnumbered by mobs.

Downscaling is great. I really like it and wish more games had it.

If I want to feel impressive by steam rolling AI creatures I go kill a rat or something.

Rift events outside of the major cities, people were getting reported for ruining the experience of the at level people in the zone… even though that was the easiest way to unlock your other souls, or even participate in events. It was a mess.

Level scaling is awesome… especially with the holiday event going on, it gave new reason to get out into the amazing expansive world they created.

The downscaling system doesn’t really work that well anyway.

Go back to queensdale with your 80 gear, completely annihilate mobs instantly and don’t take much dmg lol.

I find the Lv Scaling does not effect me that much. Once you get your Exotic armour/Weapons you are at a high base stat LV anyway.
So you are still stronger than a Beginner and mobs are slightly easier.

I also like the fact you still have to stay on your toes though.
Dont over agrro cus your go down fast lol

The downscaling is one of the best features of Guild Wars 2. I can play with friends that are not my level with any of my characters without turning the content into a boring instant mass destruction laser show. I can explore zones I missed while leveling without being bored to tears because monsters basically roll over dead as soon as I am in range. Add to that the global currencies gold and karma dont scale too badly, and you have one brilliant addition to the genre (you obviously get worse returns in lower areas then doing Orr, at least its something).

I hate how in other MMOs most content becomes entirely useless and boring even if you go do it just because you outleveled. Truth is the downscaling could be more effective, because at level 80 with rare or better gear and and full traits, the lower zones are too easy even while downleveled. I hope they twiddle with the scaling a bit in the future.

Steamrolling would get boring. No one ever goes to the lowbie zones of WoW to take out candle-stealing kobolds.

Downscaling is great. I still feel overpowered in low level zones but at least there is some risk.

Cancer.9065:

Downscaling is great. I still feel overpowered in low level zones but at least there is some risk.

And you still gain exp.

Edit: That’s a wink emote? Looks like my eye got poked out…

Agreed. The down scaling is great.
You still get Xp, Karma, and Coin from DE’s ( and at a level 80 rate too).
You also get higher level (74ish) drops from many mobs as well.

Artificial Barrier?? I would say it’s a lot more artificial to be able to go into an area filled with dangerous creatures and be able to wipe them all out without raising a sweat.

Imagine doing lower level instances without downscaling. lol

Steamrolling stuff is only fun for a couple of minutes, then it’s a snorefest.

The thing that would take me to lower level zones is if I could actually get similar loot to the high level zones (instead of a pile of lowbie junk and the occasional level 78 white item).

Absolutely! I’d love to KS some newbs lol! ^_^ Seriously, in WoW the motivation was grinding reputation whereas here there’d still be incentive because that’s where low level mats are for leveling secondary professions.

roqoco.4053:

Artificial Barrier?? I would say it’s a lot more artificial to be able to go into an area filled with dangerous creatures and be able to wipe them all out without raising a sweat.

The problem with that logic is those creatures aren’t dangerous to those who are powerful enough. A fighter jet may be dangerous to you, but to Superman it’s no credible threat. If you have the strength/adept enough in magic/whatever then you could handle what you couldn’t before.

nachtnebel.9168:

The downscaling system is one of the best features in GW2. Since you can’t steamroll mobs in low level areas lvl 80 chars don’t go there to farm stuff and therefor don’t mess with the gameplay éxperience of twinks and new players.

but at the same time it leaves many of those area’s rather deserted to level in, while mobs respawn like crazy and event bosses have a zillion hit points…

I like downscaling, even think it’s too weak., but I also think level 80’s should get incentives to go to lower area’s! Not stay out of them… on the contrary.

well since i 1 shot anything sub lvl 50 and not a vet. its not a big deal if i one shot the vets and bosses too.

I agree with the rest of the posters, the downscaling is a great feature.

My thought on downscaling… Hmm… As many of you’ve mentioned, 2 minutes tops and then it would be boring…

But I do think they could slightly adjust the downscaling a little.. Like 2-3 more levels so I can get the feeling that I am a little stronger than they are, ‘cause in some occasions, they just wont die even though I’m 40 levels higher… Just my opinion though!

So:
“Downscaling is a good thing, but should be tweaked a little.”

This is something I always found boring in western MMO. Loot being leveled make it so there’s no reason to go in old area. You can get anything from anything as long as it’s the right level. There’s no reason to go in a certain area to get a certain item since everything can drop anything. Archer drop hammer and caster drop bow and whatever. Nothing has to make sense or give you a reason to go somewhere as long as there loot to be had.

If each monster had their own loot table it would be different. People would have to go in certain area to get certain items making every map populated.

If every monster had even 1 unique loot, there would be people in every maps.

i would only go to low level areas to farm for lower materials if i needed to craft something of low level.

but aside of that? not really, it would get boring since i could never die, and being either tank or poweleveler of a friend(s) would become a drag rather quickly, so no, i am thankful that i am downscaled to a challenging, but still superior level above the area foes, and that i can still progress (helped a friend level up two chars, i was like 15 levels ahead when she settled on one, helped my gf level up 5 or 6 chars from 1 to 15, i still gained a level per char of her)

thank you very much for downscaling !

Downscaling is one of the best features of this game.

1. It allows you to enjoy low level content at high level, which opens up the whole world.
2. It helps you look at level as an abstraction which allows you maintain suspension of disbelief which allows you to feel more immersed in the world.
3. It entirely prevents griefing of low level players.

nachtnebel.9168:

The downscaling system is one of the best features in GW2.

Word. Seriously, you can still walk over the first 8 levels or so ah lower areas, but after that yer high end equipment an’ skills start meanin’ less and you start feelin’ the challenge again. I love downleveling because I love explorin’ but most games give ya nothin’ for goin’ back ta old areas … nothin’ at all – not even a good fight. The mechanic means I can still explore the entire world with my main an’ have fun doin’ it.

You come pretty close to steamrolling low level areas as is in optimized lev 80 exotics.

If you have a good amount of toughness, you’re just not going to be in any danger before orr unless you really went out of your way in a lev 60 zone to fight a bunch of things at once and facetank them all. I completed world exploration on a character recently and certainly was never in any hint of danger as I traversed all the mid level zones I didn’t finish up. When I say no hint of danger, I mean “i’ll facetank a veteran and spam 1, he’ll die long before I do”

and that was on a light armor necro. Believe me the extra hps were not needed, an elementalist could do it too.

Agemnon.4608:

roqoco.4053:

Artificial Barrier?? I would say it’s a lot more artificial to be able to go into an area filled with dangerous creatures and be able to wipe them all out without raising a sweat.

The problem with that logic is those creatures aren’t dangerous to those who are powerful enough. A fighter jet may be dangerous to you, but to Superman it’s no credible threat. If you have the strength/adept enough in magic/whatever then you could handle what you couldn’t before.

Like a level 80 wolf is actually so much more powerful than a level 1 wolf? Why? Really, the whole premise of that is totally ridiculous. The fact is that it is levels themselves that are an artificial construct and the idea that you should be able to go back a few levels and fell giants with one blow is something that completely trivialises the effort you made doing the content at level.

nachtnebel.9168:

The downscaling system is one of the best features in GW2. Since you can’t steamroll mobs in low level areas lvl 80 chars don’t go there to farm stuff and therefor don’t mess with the gameplay éxperience of twinks and new players.

Word for word what I was going to say.

Creepy!

roqoco.4053:

Agemnon.4608:

roqoco.4053:

Artificial Barrier?? I would say it’s a lot more artificial to be able to go into an area filled with dangerous creatures and be able to wipe them all out without raising a sweat.

The problem with that logic is those creatures aren’t dangerous to those who are powerful enough. A fighter jet may be dangerous to you, but to Superman it’s no credible threat. If you have the strength/adept enough in magic/whatever then you could handle what you couldn’t before.

Like a level 80 wolf is actually so much more powerful than a level 1 wolf? Why? Really, the whole premise of that is totally ridiculous. The fact is that it is levels themselves that are an artificial construct and the idea that you should be able to go back a few levels and fell giants with one blow is something that completely trivialises the effort you made doing the content at level.

Yeah, it’s a way to gate you off from later content, not a reasonable depiction of power progression in the world. Which is why Destiny’s Edge members who have felled dragons’ champions are the same level as you in your early story missions. Nobody is being Superman here. Going from level 1 to level 80 as a warrior means having a significant edge in fights with the toughest combatants who used to knock you around; it doesn’t mean that you can take all of them down Kill Bill-style with minimal effort as though they’re floppy, 80lb weaklings. Without level scaling one Hammer Shock would kill everyone around you, which would be quite silly.

Downscaling is one of the best features of GW2.
A-Net was originally going to get rid of levels, and i think they should have.

With GW2’s open-world set-up, I think scaling is necessary, otherwise lower levels could (or would be forced to) just stand back and watch helplessly as all the level 80s steamrollered entire areas of landscape.

Mind you, when I return to lower level areas, I do sometimes forget I’m not as strong as I was, and panic as I’m overrun by a group of level 8 wasps.

…Do you not steam roll in low levels? You might have a problem then…

Down-leveling was a great idea. If only it worked as advertised. As it is, the drops are not scaling well, and the higher-levels in lower level zones are very noticeable due to how much damage they are pumping out.

IndigoSundown: I agree with you on that. Either rewards should scale up or waypoint costs should be appropriately downleveled, preferably the former. And although higher level characters with better gear should be somewhat stronger than lowbies they are too strong. A couple times without thinking I’ve used an elite skill during an event that took out an entire wave of mobs, which I’m sure wasn’t fun for everyone else.

Uh… good question. I would visit those areas to harvest specific crafting materials in order to fill up my collectibles tab with a stack of each ingredient, but past that, I would just feel like I’m wasting my gaming time – that is, as long as I have any set goal I want to achieve and work towards. Once I’m all set or want to relax, I would definitely go hang around those areas. Downscaling and event appropriate loot scaling however give me the incentive to spread my alts across the world and keep them there, even if they’re level 80 and fully decked out, waiting for when I’m in the mood to play in these areas.

I would say however that the downscaling of levels could be more aggressive for lvl 80s with exotics in the absolute newbie zones. I recently went to queensdale for fun with my warrior. and in the 1-10 areas I was running around 3 shotting mobs, which is really boring and unfair to level appropriate players doing events. I actively had to hold myself back from attacking too much so the low level guys could have some fun, too. I felt like I’m ruining other’s time if I was playing seriously. So yea, while downscaling is an awesome system, it still needs tweaking in the extreme regions, in my opinion.

No, i would not.

As many said before me, downscaling is one of the best features of the game.

I would say however that the downscaling of levels could be more aggressive for lvl 80s with exotics in the absolute newbie zones. I recently went to queensdale for fun with my warrior. and in the 1-10 areas I was running around 3 shotting mobs, which is really boring and unfair to level appropriate players doing events. I actively had to hold myself back from attacking too much so the low level guys could have some fun, too. I felt like I’m ruining other’s time if I was playing seriously. So yea, while downscaling is an awesome system, it still needs tweaking in the extreme regions, in my opinion.

Agreed.

The artificial barrier is in other games, and not in GW2.
So that orc that shot an arrow in your bottom at level 10 is now unable to hurt you at level 50? Oh, yeah, makes sense… NOT!

Yesterday I was hanging out in Queensdale just running around killing whatever I felt like killing. I am rewarded for that with relevant loot, exp and karma. For once there’s a game that doesn’t punish you for wandering around in low level areas.

There’re pros and cons for down-scaling.

This video explains players find level non-scaling is good.
http://youtu.be/y_34crqMcHg?hd=1

Downscaling is a very clever concept. Its something that you’ll likely see a lot of other MMOs copying in coming years. Makes it very worthwhile to help guildmates as the downscaled helper is still able to have fun rather than snoring through the content.

It also takes away one of the huge issues in other MMOs where people levelling at different rates are not motivated to help each other. This is one of the really big issues in the likes of WoW etc. One neat sidestep later, we have a better way of doing things.

DS is the best feature of GW2 imo and one that, if removed, would make me quit the game.

I steamroll through any low level zone as it is with my warrior, i rarely go below 90% and that only happens if im fighting with multilple mobs with more than 1 veteran together at the sametime.

If downscaling was removed the only difference id see would be that id kill everything in 1 hit instead of 2-3 lol.

I’m going to have to disagree with OP here. I’ve got 2 level 80 chars and I go to lowbie zones all the time to help/hang out with lower guildies. I’m automatically stronger than everything because I’ve got full exotics so I really just need to be careful with over pulling.

I get the fact you want to be able to pull almost the entire zone and then do one AoE and everything’s dead, but that’s a little lame in my opinion.

I think that if at let’s say level 20 I was able to kill 2 level 20 mobs at the same time easily, at level 80 it would make sense to be able to kill 8 level 20 mobs at the same time easily, which I would say is the case at the very least. Hell I’m sure I could take more than that with my Guardian, I’ve just never been around that many to test it.

Downscaling is one of the best features of Guild Wars 2, yet I feel they could afford to be a little more aggressive with it. My main warrior has exotic Knight’s armour, trinkets and weapons, and I can comfortably stand right next to the fire elemental in Metrica province and not die, all the while dishing out the hurt. I was very happy to discover this when I tried it at random the other day, but it would be nice if there were still some challenge involved.

Still though, it really is fantastic fun to see everyone saying how the fire elemental is trouncing them and that they’re racking up the armor repairs only to swoop in and pound it down, saving the day

First off, Queensdale never really handed me my kitten as a lowbie, so the urge for revenge and payback is just not as strong.

Having said this, I love the downscaling as is. Like many said before me, you are still overpowered, but some stuff is still a challenge. Running into a cave packed with 10 Ice Elementals for instance, or trying a Champion boss alone. If you could steamroll these the fun would quickly be gone, now at least you do not feel out of place in the zone and doing stuff with others still makes sense in that zone.

Mind you, I am a guy who loved revisiting old zones and dungeons in old Everquest and lay waste to Blackburrow with my level 75, just for kicks, or solo some old world boss. However that was another time, in a game that was quit unforgiving at low levels, also with other game mechanics that made it a plus if you could steamroll old content.

To name some:

• You could now obtain (often still useful) loot solo from old Bosses;
• Quick gathering of crafting ingredients by laying waste to an entire zone;
• Factioning made easy by being able to kill hundreds of mobs quickly.

All that does not apply in GW2, not really.

Level-scaling in GW2 isn’t going anywhere, but just for the sake of argument: no, I probably wouldn’t. Low levels offering nothing to a maxed out char was one of the prime reasons I quit WoW.

Nice to have it, but ultimately pointless. Low lvl zones are still a cake walk, but its better than a complete cakewalk. The ONLY reason to go back is to just see it, since the rewards are rather lame, and only if you’re not rolling an alt, since going through the same zones twice feels like a terrible bore, especially if there isn’t anyone around to do DEs with. Revisiting the same vistas is just a grind at that point.

I can’t see how any lvl80 feels any danger what so ever back in a lvl 30 zone, unless they’re AFK. Even then I’ve seen guardians sitting afk with 2 mobs hitting them while their auto heal ticks away just as fast as any damage they’re receiving. Funny actually.

Hearing its the best feature from some people, makes me think they haven’t played many MMOs. Or they’re just explorer types who don’t roll alts. Just saying.

@Josher: farming low level mats for crafting leveling, karma farming, running hearts for weapon/armor skins, world completion. Or just chillin’ and having some fun.

So: not pointless. Or at least no more pointless than any other gaming.

And feeling no danger is easily solved by adding mobs to the brawl, seeing how much you can juggle at the same time.

Level scaling = best thing done in MMOs in years. I love that as I level up I don’t lose earlier content. And it’s fantastic that Anet can introduce “lowbie” dungeons/content and still cater to the 80 crowd.

Downscaling is one of the things that keeps me playing. I will never play another MMORPG that doesn’t have this feature. Going into low levels zones and fighting everything without even taking a point of damage has always been a very stupid game design.