The problem is...

by Xenos , Shores of Time, Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 10:04 (4021 days ago) @ breitzen

I feel like newer games with xp leveling is a big problem, (Maybe rankings in general?) because people can just grind. Reach was the first Halo game I felt like that, H3 had rankings, but it did take skill to reach high rankings, where as Reach and H4 both only require time to reach your visible rank.

This is something that always confounded me. Halo 4 I definitely agree fits what we're talking about because your level did affect gameplay since you couldn't play with certain weapons or abilities until you earned them. Halo Reach though I was always surprised how many people were affected by the leveling system. I personally did not play for the experience, I played because the game was fun and mostly just ignored the experience. Sure I'd use it to buy armor but never played TO GET the armor. I realize that some people still don't like the system because you can't get some of the armor without playing for a really long time, but I still am of the opinion that if you don't enjoy playing the game why are you playing it to earn an item that you only experience in the game (that you don't enjoy)?

To me the line is drawn when these systems directly affect gameplay, like Halo 4 or CoD for example where you can't use a weapon that someone else can because you've only been playing for 20 hours while they've been playing for 80. This has negative impacts because it can create a false idea of "I'm not enjoying the game now, but that's because all I can play with is the Assault Rifle, but when I get the DMR, ooooh man, it's going to SO MUCH FUN!" If you think that about cosmetic items (especially in a first person game, I'm not even sure what to say.