Do You Like Slow Or Fast Leveling ?

JDis25

Alamonzoro said:

Please Feel Free To Leave A Comment In Comment Section Below 

Do you think leveling is still viable this days ?

Fast Leveling, lots of content + Make your own content PvP

seafirex

Slow leveling But not to a crawl with a system that makes it so that you never run out of things to do. Been god all the time is not fun at all, because there is no challenge in it what so ever. Also game must not be only fix on end game as top level. Because there is no way what so ever that a game will be able to provide you with unlimited content or enough content to satisfy every players or even lot's of them for long. So the leveling content must be equally important in my view. 

Anyways that is what i like in games.

tupodawg999

Axehilt said:

tupodawg999 said:

That was the point of the closed poll - which was starting to hint at bimodal although not enough votes to be sure.

Wasn't the closed poll just a 3-option variant of this poll (with no-leveling added)?  You do realize that wouldn't have given us any impression of the shape of players' expectation, right?

You'd need a poll that had 8+ options, including no-levels and "the amount of mile-markers on my highway doesn't matter, only the gameplay matters", and also a range of leveling times from extremely short to infinite.  Only with a range of options would you start to get an actual distribution of player preferences (and even then, (a) it's a vocal minority and (b) it would be strongly influence if the topic was still named "do you like slow or fast leveling?" as that naturally encourage voters to pick one extreme or the other so you'd want to word it more neutral "How long should leveling take?" and have the poll options be times (with major MMORPGs marked at their respective options, so players have a better idea of how long "4 days" actually is.))

I'm sure someone better versed in scientific surveying could provide even better guidance, but at a minimum we can avoid the obvious fallacy of the implication that the other 3-option poll would've shown us the shape of players' preferences when it definitely wouldn't have.

It would have given an indication whether the distribution was normal or bimodal - obviously.

Axehilt

tupodawg999 said:

It would have given an indication whether the distribution was normal or bimodal - obviously.

To measure bimodal requires three points along the same axis.  Your poll was fast, slow, no-leveling.  The first two options measure speed, but the third doesn't.

So no, it wouldn't have indicated normal or bimodal at all.

ste2000

You need another option...........

3) Very Slow leveling

I am talking about EQ vanilla kinda leveling
When leveling is so slow that you can barely see any progress, you basically stop being obsessed of getting to the next level as fast as possible and you start enjoying the game and playing it as intended.

Boneserino

I play games at my own speed.   If I feel like going fast because there is some carrot dangling that I want, then I will chase it.

If I am enjoying a game that is easy to level fast but I don't wish to get to endgame in a hurry then I will take my time and do things that are fun but do not give me XP.

It doesn't really matter to me if the game is designed as slow or fast.  Just that I enjoy the journey, as people say.   People always seem to want games to tell them how to play.  Play our game slow, and grind.  Play our game fast, and reach endgame where the real game is.  Play our game with groups, because you are incapable of creating them on your own.  

Just take any game and make up your own mind how you are going to play it.

Kyleran

ste2000 said:

You need another option...........

3) Very Slow leveling

I am talking about EQ vanilla kinda leveling
When leveling is so slow that you can barely see any progress, you basically stop being obsessed of getting to the next level as fast as possible and you start enjoying the game and playing it as intended.

I'm willing to be that Lineage 2 leveling when the game was first release was equal to or even slower than EQ.

I was going so slow when I quit after 6 months that by my best estimates it was going to take me almost 2 years to get to level cap.... and then they raised it twice in that time....

ste2000

Kyleran said:

I'm willing to be that Lineage 2 leveling when the game was first release was equal to or even slower than EQ.

I was going so slow when I quit after 6 months that by my best estimates it was going to take me almost 2 years to get to level cap.... and then they raised it twice in that time....

I played Lineage 2 from Beta and I can guarantee EQ was much slower.
I agree that there is a problem of catch up for new players in slow leveling games, but then again when I start playing EQ my Guild mates were already lvl 60.
Yet they would always invite me in groups and Raids though my low level character wasn't contributing in anything at all, but I was having tons of fun regardless, just watching them doing their stuff and learning from them.

That's what MMORPGs should be in my view.
They should be about communities, and they should be about the journey not about the destination.

Soki123

FFXI slow back in the day is what I loved. I felt like I accomplished something back then.

phantomghost

ste2000 said:

Kyleran said:

I'm willing to be that Lineage 2 leveling when the game was first release was equal to or even slower than EQ.

I was going so slow when I quit after 6 months that by my best estimates it was going to take me almost 2 years to get to level cap.... and then they raised it twice in that time....

I played Lineage 2 from Beta and I can guarantee EQ was much slower.
I agree that there is a problem of catch up for new players in slow leveling games, but then again when I start playing EQ my Guild mates were already lvl 60.
Yet they would always invite me in groups and Raids though my low level character wasn't contributing in anything at all, but I was having tons of fun regardless, just watching them doing their stuff and learning from them.

That's what MMORPGs should be in my view.
They should be about communities, and they should be about the journey not about the destination.

Same here, never had an issue catching up.  I started when I was 9 years old  so my playtime was very limited.  Eventually I was able to play more and more, and it took me a very long time to join a high end guild but it was a great journey working my way there.  And as many others did with lower level or lesser equipped players, I also enjoyed helping out people as they progressed.

tupodawg999

Axehilt said:

tupodawg999 said:

It would have given an indication whether the distribution was normal or bimodal - obviously.

To measure bimodal requires three points along the same axis.  Your poll was fast, slow, no-leveling.  The first two options measure speed, but the third doesn't.

So no, it wouldn't have indicated normal or bimodal at all.

Yes it does; the axis is effectively "time to level" and the three points are zero, little, lot.

And knowing whether the player distribution on this issue is normal or bimodal speaks to most of the arguments over mmorpg game development.

Axehilt

tupodawg999 said:

Yes it does; the axis is effectively "time to level" and the three points are zero, little, lot.

And knowing whether the player distribution on this issue is normal or bimodal speaks to most of the arguments over mmorpg game development.

Well if you were measuring zero vs. slow leveling being bimodel, that would indeed work.  But it couldn't measure slow vs. fast being bimodel, since you need a low point between two peaks to show that, and there weren't data points at that location in your poll.

Which returns us back to my earlier post where we still need a more poll options to figure out if slow vs. fast leveling is a bimodal player preference.

Crooash

It depends on game and how i like it. How much iam having fun i think. Slow leveling is cool because it takes longer to be better or maximum. But fast leveling is on own way "cool too" for people that dont want spend that much time on leveling. For me: Fast leveling.

Jemcrystal

Fast leveling but leveling skills instead of a char's health & mana.  More skill choices.  There's no reason why there couldn't be over 5000 skills a character could achieve.  Life skills.  Crafting skills.  Social skills.  Weapon, magic, homestead, farming, music, flying, boating, swimming, fishing, stealth, riding, running, painting, sculpting, dancing, exploring.  Keep PvP and PvE separate.

Loke666

Vardahoth said:

I voted in favor of slow leveling.
I think taking at least a year to hit level cap on 5 hours a day gameplay is reasonable. Then it becomes a question of what is offered during the leveling.

I'm surprised to see the votes in favor of slower leveling. All I ever hear about is "I don't have time for that, make me max level so I can move onto the next game", or "what! you're already max level and complaining you have nothing to do? Stop rushing through the content!".

You are misstaking the people here for average casual players, most here love MMOs instead of just viewing it like another game you move past in a few weeks.

I agree that rushing through the content is pointless but even when you take your time you will still be max level in a few weeks. That should be a few months instead of weeks.

Gaendric

There is no general "It should an x amount of time". It totally depends on the target audience.
Personally I prefer slow, but it's not better or worse than any other taste.

Madimorga

Both. If the game world is roomy and interesting and the combat feels right, I don't mind the first character having a slow, challenging run through.  But I am also an incorrigible alt roller. So I want fast leveling for my alts (preferably by clever twinking so I can slaughter my way through the world thanks to a well-heeled main who funds them all).

quix0te

I think the critical questions aren't how fast you level but how much content remains after you level, and what is the quality of the content?  If I zoom through boring content, thats probably better than having to grind through it, but then why play at all.  I don't mind slow leveling as long as I'm kept busy.  It also matters what you get at each level.  If every level has something to look forward to, then I look forward to it.  If most of the levels are just (+5 fists, +3 wits, +4 toughness) with nothing beyond a few extra points, then its not a great game. This is part of what killed Secret World for me.  I LOVED, LOVED the world.  The advancement was good in theory. But after the first two zones, I'd pile up ability points because none of the abilities made me salivate.  There were a few, but they required me to grind through two or four filler abilities.  They also didn't have as much variety in possible decks as they could have.

observer

It really depends on the leveling process.  If it's linear with only questing, I prefer it to be quicker.

umcorian

Axehilt said:

When you ask me whether I prefer highways with frequent mile-markers or infrequent mile-markers, give me an option for "it doesn't matter, as long as the drive is fun."

This.

Give me a game that's fun to play and I'll be happy... even if after 2+ years, I'm still not at max level. 

Or give me a game that's fun to play where I can level cap in an evening and still want to play it. 

Vermillion_Raventhal

No leveling, fast leveling low power ceiling or time based.

Xxerox

I prefer medium leveling if possible,

Or no leveling at all.

I mean, why are there no good no leveling mmorpg games? cmon..

Octagon7711

The best games are the ones you never look at the leveling bar when you play and the 'ding' of making a level comes as a surprise.  Because you're having so much fun playing the content that leveling becomes tertiary. 

mmocurious

@Alamonzoro

Fast leveling all the way, slow leveling doesn't really accomplish anything except to cater to people who have too much time on their hands.  It's not challenging ( do not confuse challenging with time consuming) It's not interesting, slow is never interesting, slow usually = grinding, and grinding is boring.  I think people who like slow leveling need to seek help.

off topic:  How do I get my 15 points?  I've name dropped someone like 3 times now.

VestigeGamer

mmocurious said:

@Alamonzoro

Fast leveling all the way, slow leveling doesn't really accomplish anything except to cater to people who have too much time on their hands.  It's not challenging ( do not confuse challenging with time consuming) It's not interesting, slow is never interesting, slow usually = grinding, and grinding is boring.  I think people who like slow leveling need to seek help.

I think you're confusing things (or maybe Alamonzo was) but "slow leveling" does not necessarily mean "grindy."

For me, slow leveling means more than 1-5 battles between leveling.  I want to get used to any new abilities/spells/weapons.  Try out things.  Find out what works well together and what does not.  Shop and be able to purchase something that may last more than 1-3 levels before getting a better drop.

These do not have to be grindy in order to happen.  Most times, though, that is how it is accomplished.  It's much easier to give less XP than create more content.

There are some single player games where I do not even notice when I level, I am having so much fun I am not "watching my XP bar."  I do not understand why this gets lost in the translation to MMOs.