Monsters and Memories (Project_N) - Old School Indie MMO

What happens in these scenarios when gear drops, does the newer player have the same access to it as the older players no restrictions? Also are we just talking skill based games where you can level skills 1-100% or something?

Sylas said:

Gear also scales, and obviously it always has. +1 gooder at lvl 10 is +10 gooder at lvl 20 and mathematically they have the exact same impact on your character's gooder percentage.

Level progression is an illusion and it always has been.

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The whole game is an illusion bro… best enjoyed in the first person!

Kill Nagafen at level 1, get Cloak of Flames with 1 AC.

I get what you guys are saying and agree somewhat but it feels pretty soulless and generic lol.

Sythrak said:

What happens in these scenarios when gear drops, does the newer player have the same access to it as the older players no restrictions? Also are we just talking skill based games where you can level skills 1-100% or something?

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Proper scaling systems don't just let level 2s waltz into max-level dungeons and roll on the same loot as veterans. The better implementations build in progression gates that keep things meaningful.

Take gear, for example: newer players might see the same drops, but they don't get the endgame version outright. Either it's scaled to their current progression (so their "epic sword" is a training version until they advance), or it's handled with token systems where the gear you buy matches your tier. You can also make the "real" versions of the epics a lot neater cosmetically as well, to keep loot aspirational for those that care about more than just +gooder. So, your "training" Cloak of Flames eventually reaches the same stats as a real Cloak of Flames, but it won't look as cool as the level 50 version. That way you're participating in the same content as the veterans, but you're not skipping the chase entirely.

Same goes for skills. Scaling doesn't erase the difference between a fresh player and a seasoned one. A newbie might hit for the same relative damage, but they've only got a fireball and a heal in their kit. The veteran has combos, utilities, and synergies that make them more effective. The growth is in breadth and mastery, not just in bigger numbers.

That's the piece that often gets overlooked: scaling done right isn't about flattening progression, it's about letting everyone participate while still giving veterans meaningful advantages. The bad examples (like ESO feeling samey, or WoW's clunky scaling experiments) get all the attention, but the concept itself isn't the problem. The execution is.

Sylas said:

no see that's the ESO way, ie wrong way to do it.

You have to preserve the sense of progression. You can't go fight nagafen at lvl 1. You have to build up to that.

You do the goblins > orcs > gnolls > ogres progression same as any other game. The game scales up to you, not down to you.

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Essentially, Skyrim's system. You will get your butt kicked if you try to go into a vampire den at level 5 but bandits remain a reasonable challenge as high as level 30.

Looks like the purpose of the upcoming stress test is to pack as many people as possible into Night Harbor and see how it holds up. Should be... interesting.