Guild Wars 2

So it might just be me, but how is it that as a Level 80 hero I am fighting level 81 and 82 enemies? did the level cap go up?

Enemy scaling. There have been enemies as high as level 83 in GW2 since release. The same was true in GW1.

Those enemies are still designed to be killed by level 80 players. They’re just given a higher level so it’s not as easy for the large groups of players that spawn them to faceroll.

It’s just a number, there to intimidate you.

No, it didn’t. They’ve done that since the original Guild Wars. At the end of that the players were still at the level cap of 20 but fighting enemies that were around level 30.

It’s a common way of increasing difficulty in an RPG. By increasing the level of the monsters without increasing your level, they create something that’s extra dangerous and rewarding without being a slog to fight like elites are or simply upping the difficulty without increasing the level, which would reduce your rewards. If they ever do raise the cap, it’s almost certain that the level 80 zones will all reduce your level to 80 to keep the same balance.

Though i hope that never comes to pass.
20 was too low in gw1 but 80 really feels very right.

I believe i’ve seen enemies up to 84, though no 85s yet.