Levelling system overhaul - An idea that would GREATLY improve ESO.

Neizir

ESO is, primarily, a theme park MMO with a linear story and levelling progression. If you go outside where you're supposed to go, you're dead, just like other themepark MMOs and thus making ESO like all the other common rabble. It isn't like the other TES games, where you could go anywhere and everything mainly had the same difficulty level as it scaled with your level and this was what made the series so special. Obviously level scaling in most players' interpretations wouldn't work well in an MMO environment, so I have a brilliant idea that would vastly improve ESO's levelling experience and bring it closer to the traditional Elder Scrolls open world feel.

SUMMARY

Replace the standard levels with things called Difficulty Tiers. Each zone has its own tier and tiers affect the difficulty of monsters and the levels of loot. For example, Bleakrock, the starting prison and Bal Foyen are Tier 1 zones. This means they all have the same difficulty and loot levels which are tuned for starting players.

ISSUES AND THEIR SOLUTIONS

But what if we choose not to go to the starting islands? Then at character creation, make players choose where they want to start off at, either the starting islands or the first faction zone. Say they choose the first faction zone (after the starting islands). they will start off at that zone's specific tier (Tier 2) and continue as normal in that zone. They can go wherever they want in the zone and do all the quests and delves without worry; everything has the same difficulty in that zone! However, to prevent a player outleveling a zone's content, all monsters will be upscaled to the player's tier and they will be placed in their own phase with other players of the same tier.

Each tier has 10 levels in it, except for Tier 1 which has 5. Once you get past Tier level 10 (5 if you're Tier 1) you get into the next difficulty tier and your stats increase. But players' stats don't grow, they merely get a skill point, skill line increases and an attribute point each when leveling up in the same tier. Stats only grow when players reach the next tier, or if they're wearing stat-increasing gear. Tier-outleveling doesn't exist, thanks to the upscaling mentioned above! Players will, of course, still get XP as normal.

So, this system continues as normal. Each zone has its own difficulty tier, including the veteran zones (we'll get to that saucy stuff later.) and PvP.

PVP

PvP unlocks at Tier 2 level 5. In PvP, battle leveling still exists, but it also applies to PvE mobs in Cyrodiil now. It's called the PvP tier. Players will get scaled up to the PvP tier, with their stats varying depending on skills and gear enchantments, as well as potions and food buffs. It's really just the same thing as now in PvP except it applies also to PvE monsters.

VETERAN TIER

Now for the post-level 50 tier. Prepare to wet your pants; this solution will solve every single major problem with veteran leveling once and for all.

When you get past Tier 7 (Coldharbour) and then defeat Molag Bal, you achieve the veteran tier. Now, there's only one of this tier. If you get the jist of my suggestion, you know what this means...

Every single piece of veteran content, including Adventure Zones, veteran questing zones, are all the same difficulty level. With Trials and Veteran Dungeons having their own difficulty levels.

Gone are the days of where you had to grind out 2 faction's worth of quests just to reach endgame. Now once you reach the Veteran Tier, you can do whatever the hell you want! You can still go to the questing zones to get some nice loot, achievements, cosmetic gear, skyshards, lorebooks, storylines and XP.

Yes, there are still 12 levels, but now with my Tier idea it doesn't work in the current sense anymore. The level cap in the veteran tier increases when Zenimax wants it to, and you only get 2 skill points and nothing else, since the whole veteran gameplay pie is the same difficulty across the board.

What do you guys think? I hope you guys at Zenimax read my suggestion and will implement it into the game at some point

Birfreben_Kinghelred

how is this different than what we have?

Neizir

bothnutz wrote: »

how is this different than what we have?

1) Veteran gameplay difficulty is the same across all the veteran content. This means that things like Craglorn and veteran questing zones etc. all have the same difficulty. This means you don't have to grind out the 2 faction zones just to get into endgame. Veteran dungeons' and Trials' mobs have their own difficulties.
2) Each zone's mobs and delves are the same general difficulty. Say a level 3 goes out into the place where level 8 mobs usually are. He'll get mauled. Now with the tier system he won't since it's the same general difficulty.

vyndral13preub18_ESO

Nah. As soon as i saw the word downscale i stepped off the ride. I dont mind mobs upscaling to me. But i hate downscaling with a passion. It takes my progress away from me, for some pseudo sense of difficulty.

HandofBane

I am interested in what you have to say, and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

Awesome ideas, though I can see the implementation being a nightmare as they have to rewrite so much from the ground up.

Neizir

vyndral13preub18_ESO wrote: »

Nah. As soon as i saw the word downscale i stepped off the ride. I dont mind mobs upscaling to me. But i hate downscaling with a passion. It takes my progress away from me, for some pseudo sense of difficulty.

Now that you've mentioned upscaling, I'll edit the post as it does seem like a better idea.