No, good game design is about removing all kinds of exploits. Hard, maybe even impossible, to do fully in a game like this, but it should still be the ultimate goal. If people want to use exploits, at least make them *feel* like a cheat by having them use cheat codes/combos (console platform), console commands, or mods.

Yeah, that's not how the system works. it was explained only a few posts ago.

I'd really need to hear the non-summarized description of this leveling system from the article itself before I jump to any conclusions.

fast travel + locking levels will be fun , i imagine there will be lots of video contests like who will lock more dungeons on level 1.

any type of level scaling is fail

Locking a dungeon as the OP suggestion will only limit the loot that you get. It penalises the player with rubbish loot. From what I have read leveling is much less obvious in this game.

You could argue that you should at least have to enter some dungeons before you get to a high level in the first place, unless you simply grind your character for a week before you start playing the game.
But since there are 130 something dungeons in Skyrim, it seems like a pointless "exploit". You'll still be able to find "fresh" dungeons at a high level if you play the game normally.

That being said, I hope that not all dungeons are level-scaled this way.
Playing an over-curious level 5 character without having to run away with your hands the air shouting "omgwtf? whaaaaaaaaah!!!" even once is rather boring.

This is so exploitable. Once you are at a moderately high level as to get the good stuff, you know where to get the good stuff when you are an uber character. Unfortunately, it also makes other sites pointless to return to.

Well at least we know these places respawn enemies, but I wonder if it will be 3 days like in Oblivion.

If a player is going to actively try to exploit the game to make it easier for them, they're going to do it whether you want them to or not.
Let the people who need to go out of their way to make the game uber easy go out of their way to make it uber easy. The only person they're robbing is themselves. Let them worry about design elements that affect players who are actually going to bother to play the game in a manner that it is meant to be played in.

I like this idea, because it makes sense to find a town and explore the region around it, clearing the area before you move on after you've levelled up a few times, but It Doesn't Force You To Do This. You can still wander off if you want to but possibly suffer for it later. The choice is yours.

I actually welcome it. My first experience with an Oblivion gate was such: I tried it at lvl 5 and concluded I just wasn't ready yet, so I went out and did some training. When I came back everything was level-scaled to the point of ridiculous. With this new system, if I decide a dungeon is too tough for me the first time I enter, I can get out and return when I feel I'm strong enough and be pretty sure to find the same level of challenge I left behind. Besides, it is stated that not all dungeons will be level-scaled. I imagine what's meant are MQ dungeons.
As for the opposite exploit, with over 130 dungeons it just won't matter. Whether you explore 10 or 50 dungeons on low level, you'll still have more dungeons left over than you have patience for.

One could call that an exploit, sure. But there will be downsides, too. Worse loot. Lack of challenge. Less sense of satisfaction and accomplishment. A sense of meta-gaming rather than roleplaying.

People can use this as an exploit (if it works the way we think it will,) and if that's what makes them happy, then sure, great. Games are there to be enjoyed. But they will be missing out and depriving themselves of something, too. So I think it balances out.

Oh, that changes everything.

Just take average level of these dungeons and it will be just like the place centric leveling as seen in Morrowind. The up and down will just add a little dynamism and flavor without changing the outcome to Oblivion levels.

That's pretty great. Also the level scaled radiant story missions will let the players to find some content fitting to their levels easily. Good compromise on all levels.

Awesome really. Not the ideal solution: rated areas and rivals trying to conquer better places in full dynamic cycling regardless of player with spawns at borders to mimic refugees and travelers from other provinces , but it will simulate that to some extend.

And I thought they would be locked at your level, how different is that from Oblivion?

um no static levels doesn't belong in a open world game.

You could also grab a crapload of booze in Morrowind at level 1, head to Tel Fyr, one-hit kill Divayth Fyr and loot an almost full set of the ultra rare and powerful Daedric Armor off his body. But that takes the fun out of the game for me, so I just don't do it. It really is as simple as that.

If people want to use these exploits in their games they're only cheating themselves.


... Because?

Morrowind did have level scaling though. But a more sensible kind, where you couldn't walk into a shrine of daedra worshippers at level 1 and kick everyone's ass with ease, or where you have an epic battle with a simple bandit with a ridiculous amount of health because you're level 30.

the best system is a completely unlevelled system. every cave or ruin you go into is a complete mystery and once you have cleaned it out it will be occupied by different level critters next time.

morrowinds was better than oblivions but once you played the game a few times you knew what everything was and it took the mystery out..........that never happened when i was using the TIE and WAC mods for oblivion.

I'd be pretty happy with Fallout: New Vegas's level system. It wasn't perfect but it didn't hold you'r hand any either.

Actually no, we don't know that.



That would still be a form of leveling. Unleveled = static

That also might kind of ruin the main quest. A little.

It wasn't anywhere near perfect. Everything in vanilla morrowind was incredibly easy to tackle for any remotely competent player. I actually prefer the oblivion system, if only because of the huge amount of butthurt it causes in people who can't play well.

Oblivions system was way easier than morrowind ,it presented no challange at any point in the game, besides that it crushed any need for exploration and leveling.. maybe the worst level-scaling I've ever seen honestly. Morrowind's wasn't perfect but it posed a threat to players at lowers level, granted, I'd liked to have more higher level areas, but it blows oblivion's out of the water.

Okay, I wouldn't normally defend Oblivion, the system was flawed, and it did make leveling obsolete.
Still, there was a difficulty slider. Using it was annoying, because your enemies ended up having [censored] amounts of hit points, but it did make the game somewhat challenging. And also, you should consider that the level of challenge depended hugely on what kind of skills you had trained. With my Restoration + acrobatics + athletics + marksman - character, at a difficulty of 75 percent, I was getting my ass handed to me.

Leveling up was never my motivation for dungeon-diving anyway - I just do that out of curiosity and some vague hope of loot.
And glorifying Morrowind is all good, but really the main difference that I found irritating between the two was that in Morrowind you would sometimes find places that were simply too tough for you, and you'd run away, whereas in Oblivion you could take on pretty much anything at any level, which broke the immersion.
comparing the actual challenges of the fights seems silly to me - Morrowind combat system was monotonous and very easily exploitable, the fights in Oblivion were more engaging and fun, and could me made more or less challenging with a little slide bar in a menu...

I don't see how MW's combat system was exploitable, though it might have become monotonous once you were a high enough level. Really though Oblivion's was far more monotonous with everything you fight always being at the same difficulty no matter how strong you got.

From what I heard now though it does now seem that Skyrim will have a good balance between the two but only time will tell if it will work or not.

at level one go open all the dungeons then save then go level up to 50 then come back and OWN all the level 1 monsters.

Wait what?

Then get all low level loot.... good plan...