You are getting warmer... Just this bolded part...I mean, if some caves are very hard, that does not restrict you in ANY way...That's how life works (or game for that matter). You are simply too weak to venture in a specific place...It is an intrinsic feature of the world, be it real or game... AND...you still CAN go there...you are just got get served...that's totally legit if you ask me...

Thinking about it more, they could please most players on both sides of this argument by adding a toggle -

Game options
[ x ] Max level dungeons.

Similar to a difficulty slider, but you get better loot.

I'd definitely check it.

I think people forget that they will not be locked out of loot, because the loot drops in the corresponding level ranges.... so you would get the level 45-50 range loot at 45 as you would 50. Does that make you feel better?

Risen had ranges for certain areas as well, so I don't really have a problem with it. What I do want to know is if there's some kind of indicator letting the player know when he's getting in over his head. For example, in Risen, you know that moving off the beaten path is inherently more dangerous, and in Morrowind, NPC's would warn you about entering certain areas.

And why is that not role playing friendly?...If an NPC tells you its dangerous to go somewhere...are you OK with that?

And so it was that Pete Hines answered my original tweet from this morning:

http://twitter.com/#!/OutlanderDF/status/32457949955756032
@DCDeacon help me calm the forums please. Level locked dungeons means entering a level 45-50 dungeon at level 1 it will lock to 45. Right?

http://twitter.com/#!/DCDeacon/status/32557872348930048
@OutlanderDF It means if it's too tough and you leave, when you go back, whatever was there last time will still be there, it won't change.

So, like in Morrowind, if I entered a dungeon, killed some guys, left...came back later when I had leveled up or whatever, the guys I didn't kill are still there. I'm pretty sure this is how it worked in Fallout 3 as well.

At what point did I say anything about "not role playing friendly"? :stare:

Nothing good can come out of implementing 'grinding' as a valid option for game progression in an Elder Scrolls game. Grinding wastes levels on menial tasks, preparing you for an endgame that will be satisfying for all of about 10 endgame hours after which you are left unfulfilled. I hate grinding, that's why I turned down WoW.

Ah, never mind, I probably misinterpreted you...

This is the most worrying aspect of TES 5 for me.... surprised no one is really talking about it

This is something I think Skyrim is doing really well. It gives you a bit of range, so things will still be competitive, but also doesn't bend over to weaklings/punish strong players. I like it.

Well how would you like BGS to treat players who have spent more time crafting a strong character? If the game is fun, then "grinding" your way to a high level should be no issue. If you really have little patience, then maybe you ought to just play the mainquest and move on to a new game? Im sure the MQ will be easy.

Call me a masochist but the reason I play RPGs is so I can suffer in the beginning, but have a grand feeling of accomplishment in the end.

^i can live with this^

so long as its not they get locked at the level you are when you enter

Yeah, the dungeon *locks* itself so if it's too hard you can leave, level up and come back.

Well... i'm happy for one that the enemies won't level together with you, it's always nice to be able to fight and own noobs again. What bothers me a little more though is that every new dungeon you walk into will be a challange. I'd enjoy it more if every dungeon had a set difficulty level, perhaps the farther it is from civilisation the higher the difficulty will be. I'd love to be able to sneak my way into a dungeon that's way beyond my level at risk of my own life, it's all part of the realism factor imo.

Another thing i'm scared about is how npc's will adapt to your level. Will they simply increase in health and equipment? Or will they gain better strategic abilities and perhaps attack you in a group? I'd like a mix myself, i really don't want to see enemies that i have to hit 50 times before they drop to the ground. I'd rather get more intelligent enemies that know how to dodge/block my attacks more effectively so that if you're handy enough with your sword you could take down a lvl 30 when you're only level 10?

Good idea that never really gets done. Usually high difficulty slider means you are weaker and they are stronger, that's it. The only problem is crafting AI is one of the hardest things to do in a game so making 4-5 AI systems for each part of the difficulty would svck.

I was really hoping for no levelling whatsoever. Oblivion's system was horrible. I don't know what they were thinking with that

When I first heard "level locked dungeons" I thought they meant that there would be dungeons I couldn't enter at all until I was a certain level and was instantly against it but now it seems the enemies will just stay a certain level in that dungeon and you can still enter (and get your ass handed to you) so I'm fine with it. Actually, when I think about it I really like it. It reminds me more of Morrowind.

I enjoy the experience of leveling a character, and I absolutely love the variation of skills that can be developed at any time (so that the gameplay never gets old). Grinding is what I consider going in circles trying to kill mobs in the same area repeatedly beyond what anyone would consider fun just to gain a skill or level.

I guess I would say the difference between playing and grinding for me would be:

Playing: Enter dungeon, kill mobs, loot corpses, loot containers, make potions, cast spells, travel to town, sell goods, charm locals, go back out to a dungeon.
Grinding: Wander into wilderness where there are many mobs, kill mobs, kill mobs, kill mobs, kill mobs, kill mobs, enter dungeon, kill mobs, kill mobs, kill mobs, exit dungeon, kill mobs... Usually in hope of collecting 10 bear pelts or 20 ogre teeth.