Difficulty scaling (Destiny)

by NotTheVacuum, Saturday, October 12, 2013, 07:55 (4061 days ago) @ Kermit

Maybe we're thinking about different kinds of difficulty leveling. My metaphor for this isn't so much Halo as it is Borderlands (specifically, BL2, but I'll come back to why that distinction is important).

In BL2, there are two main factors contributing to difficulty: Character Level (1-72) and Playthrough Mode (Normal, True Vault Hunter, and Ultimate Vault Hunter). Normal and TVHM are weird; levels for enemies are set by area and are permanent (so if you entered an area at level 10, those enemies are always leveled around 10). UVHM is a different (and I think better) model: enemy levels are ALWAYS based on your level (I'm ignoring the recent over-leveling mechanic where you can boost enemy and gear levels without improving base player stats; it's basically more levels). But here's the rub: damage and health scale rapidly based on level, so it's not very long before your 3-level-old gear is no help to you anymore, and your friends 3 levels under you can't really hang with you anymore.

So you see, there's difficulty mode AND player leveling to consider. I think the former is easier to cope with, but the latter is a tricky balancing act. And this is where my preference for BL2 comes in: levels are more meaningful because there's a bigger difference in base health and damage as compared to BL1. A 5 level difference in BL1 between you and your gear was nothing; in Bl2, it's a big deal. In short, no matter what mode you're on, you won't enjoy a 10-level difference between you and your teammate.

If Destiny lands more in the BL2 end of the spectrum and makes each level a bigger step, then levels are more meaningful, but you'll have to make sure you keep up with your fire team. If they tend more toward BL1, the levels will mean less, but it makes keeping pace a lot easier. They've addressed the gear issue by having it level up with you (at least, that's how I understand it) so it's really about base health and damage stats.