MMORPGs: The Leveling System

Almost every Mmorpg today, free to play or pay to play, has the same system of advancement, and that’s the leveling system. There are so many things wrong with the leveling system that I’m surprised it’s still the standard today. Games like Eve Online and Ultima Online both have unique systems based on skill gain rather than simply “leveling up” to get stronger. Players instead focus on training specific skills and become more proficient at what they character does, rather than just *Ding* I’m stronger now.

The leveling system unbalances dueling and PvP. If you’re a level 30 warrior, theres no way in hell you’re going to beat a level 45 player, even if you have superior equipment, as you probably won’t even hit them, as the level difference tilts the outcome of the fight on the higher level player almost all of the time. Under the standard Mmorpg leveling system, there is no motivation for lower level players to participate in PvP as they will always get destroyed by higher level players. In World of Warcraft, higher level players are free to slaughter lower level players anywhere in the Eve Isk game, which can get frustrating. There is nothing wrong with stronger players killing weaker players, but when that weaker play has absolutely no possible way to defend himself it can ruin the game.

The leveling system promotes grinding. Players will always want to reach the highest possible level and will grind for hundreds of hours to do so, and grinding isn’t fun. Players have the mentality that once they become stronger and reach maximum level they’ll start to have more fun. It’s like working for hundreds of hours with the goal of having fun in the future. Games like MapleStory and Perfect World are notorious for this kind of game play, where players are disillusioned to believe that once they are higher level, they’ll have more fun. The leveling system also allows developers to introduce cheap new additions to their games like “increased level cap” or “faster experience days” rather than actual new content.

Two games that totally reinvented player advancement in MMOs are Eve Online Isk and Ultima Online. Both games have absolutely no leveling. In order to progress in Eve Online, players have to select a skill in order to train and training that particular skill will take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. This sort of progression system allows for players to be able to fully customize and control their character growth, as they’re selecting what to become proficient with, rather than the game controlling their growth. Since players simply can’t be good at everything in Eve Isk, they usually choose to specialize in certain skills, but the fact that there are thousands of ways to build your character’s skills makes Eve Online a unique gaming experience. There Is an obvious drawback to this system though, as players who started playing when the game was first released simply have more skills trained than people starting the game today.