Levels

by Dagoonite, Somewhere in Iowa, lost in a cornfield., Monday, February 25, 2013, 08:30 (4288 days ago) @ Phoenix_9286

One of the things that impressed me the most about Borderlands is that it wasn't absolutely necessary to be in a party the entire time. You could, with a little difficulty and careful choices when leveling up, solo most of the game. Many of the the things that required assistance were optional. But at the same time, you were rewarded for playing with others by better loot.

I don't know if Destiny will have the opportunities to solo things (at least, not at my skill level) but I am excited to find out what exact method they plan on using for the leveling system. I doubt that they'll exactly follow any of the existing systems, instead putting their own take on the whole leveling thing. I also expect that there will be guides to building an uber-soldier within a month of the game shipping.

Leveling isn't a bad thing. It can be argued that it's an easy way to simulate real-world skill progression. I've seen a board use an XP/Leveling systems in order to help its members with bodybuilding, allowing them a way to track their progress and find ways to tweak their method. (Of course, said board catered towards tabletop RPGs, but whatever. It was interesting to see the discussions.)

I can see all sorts of ways that leveling could apply practical but ultimately unnecessary benefits to a game such as this. For example, reducing recoil, speeding up reload times, etc. Not necessary in order to compete, but helpful, useful, and able to give you an edge over others that haven't taken them. Passive boons, in other words.

Of course, they'd probably be glossed over for more active stats, but hey, a guy can hope and wish, right?