Scaling needs to be looked at

[Daudastund]

I am playing on Veteran, with scaling option for all set on. I just happened to meet a bunch of Woedica cultists in a pyramide. 8 of those guys, the leader 2 skulls, rest 1 skull. It was hell, like really. This is supposed to be lvl 4 area, I was 6! Turned scaling off, I wiped them out. Very unbalanced! I like a challenge, but the scaling in this game is just plain bull****. I wonder how easy Benweth would have been without that. 

[Boeroer]

Whoo calm down! In the end you succeeded, right? Be proud of yourself! No need to risk a stroke now.

Besides the general improvements that come with levels (higher ACC, defenses and so on and higher Power Level which scales all abilites) - some classes/multiclasses gain substancial abilites with a certain level. So sometimes one level up can mean a big difference in power gain because you get that one (or more) very good ability.

Maybe those guys (lots of Steel Garrote Paladins, Priests of Woedica etc.) got some stuff through scaling which was making it substancially harder for you than a few levels might indicate. one point of armor alone can seriously scale up the difficulty because underpenetration is a severe disadvantage that is much worse than the numbers suggest (if you want to know more about that search for "double inversion" mechanics for maluses such as underpenetration, grazing etc.). 

For example if the Paladins got Exalted Endurance and Brand Enemy and the Woedican Priest got Devotions for the Faithful then all of a sudden the fight would be much, much harder just because of those abilities.  

Scaling can only be done with levels. So you could argue this special encounter is not balanced when it comes to scaling and most likely that's correct, but I don't think the scaling in general has a problem (may be it has - but I didn't read much about it since release).

Encouter design was done on normal difficulty with no scaling. Due to the unhomogenous nature of classes and their ability progression there will be certain bumps and spikes. You can't expect the developer to then go and check every enounter in case scaling or difficulty settings make it a bit harder or easier than might be intended. With several difficulty settings and scaling (and god challenges) there are just too many combinations to check.  

I personally would rather pick PotD difficutly than playing Veteran + upscaling. It's more consistent because enemies get flat value increases (flat bonus to defenses, armor etc.) which won't surprise you. But that's just me... 

Edited February 5, 2020 by Boeroer

[thelee]

22 hours ago, Daudastund said:

This is supposed to be lvl 4 area, I was 6!

Wow, the woedica temple is a level 4 area?? Where does that number come from? On PotD+upscaling that final fight is so brutal (garrotes everywhere, an enormous amount of sustain, hard-to-hit paladins) that I don't attempt it until like level 8.

[Boeroer]

I would never touch it at lvl 4, too.