Motivation after the Level Cap

[Ickis99]

So, what is your experience with the game if you reach the Level Cap of 12 pretty early? In my case it usally means i somehow lose most of my motivation to explore the game further and complete the rest of the sidequests. It´s no problem if you Need to finish 90% of the game to reach it but i heared rumors you can reach it after having barely finished 50% of the sidequests and optional Content.

 

I´m really hyped for this game and i´m still waiting for more patches to enjoy a bug-free adventure but i´m really worried that the Level cap destroys an otherwise supreme rpg.

[kaiki]

Once I hit level cap I continue going on as normal since I've been enjoying the content for itself rather then a means to level. As for when I hit max level, I avoid the bounties and hit max level just as I reach the 2nd large city at the beginning of Act III.

[Luckmann]

...hits rock-bottom.

 

I can't even explain it, really. I enjoy much of the game, but once I've reached the cap, a lot of things just sorta feels useless to do, and I just want the game to end.

 

So, what is your experience with the game if you reach the Level Cap of 12 pretty early? In my case it usally means i somehow lose most of my motivation to explore the game further and complete the rest of the sidequests. It´s no problem if you Need to finish 90% of the game to reach it but i heared rumors you can reach it after having barely finished 50% of the sidequests and optional Content.

 

I´m really hyped for this game and i´m still waiting for more patches to enjoy a bug-free adventure but i´m really worried that the Level cap destroys an otherwise supreme rpg.

 

It's really not the level cap itself that destroys it, but the pacing. You reach it far too early and there's some fundamental issues with how experience is doled out (in droves). With 1.05, it's supposed to be harder to reach level 12 before Act 3, but honestly none of the changes will have a dramatic effect - you'll probably still be overleveled for most of Act 2 and hit level 12 very early on in Act 3.

[Slapstick87]

I only did the first bounties on my first play-through (didn't realize there were more!), so I hit max lvl after doing several quests in the end city. I'm actually HAPPY that we get to max level before the game is over. It's fun to have some time to be awesome and play with your end-game abilities, rather than getting them just in time for the end fight and that's all you get to play around with them.

[Ickis99]

...hits rock-bottom.

 

I can't even explain it, really. I enjoy much of the game, but once I've reached the cap, a lot of things just sorta feels useless to do, and I just want the game to end.

 

I know what you mean.That´s exactly what happened to me in Fallout: New Vegas. It was great fun to explore new locations and gain new perks even though you are already overpowered. But after hitting the cap, i just went straight to main Quest to finish it. Not even the extraordinary Skyrim kept me much longer after i had my Skills at 100.

 

 

Once I hit level cap I continue going on as normal since I've been enjoying the content for itself rather then a means to level. As for when I hit max level, I avoid the bounties and hit max level just as I reach the 2nd large city at the beginning of Act III.

 

What a pity. I really hope a higher Cap is on the list for Patch 1.06.

[Luckmann]

Life's about the journey, not the goal.

[Varana]

What to do when hitting level cap: Go forward to finish the game, and optional content left out is done on the second playthrough.

 

Also, "barely 50%" is typical internet hyperbole.

[Ink Blot]

Yeah, I'd say you're at least 3/4 through the game before you hit the cap, but there's still a significant chunk left. I don't find this too much of an issue, though, as I'd think if you're enjoying the game, you'd be more than motivated to see the end anyway. However, IMO the real issue is, as luckmann noted, you're overleveled starting in act 2.

[Luckmann]

What to do when hitting level cap: Go forward to finish the game, and optional content left out is done on the second playthrough.

 

Also, "barely 50%" is typical internet hyperbole.

 

Barely 50% is typical internet hyperbole, yes, but it's probably 75-80%, which is actually a sizeable chunk of content.

 

Honestly Act 3 could've been bigger. But.. yeah.

[Silent Winter]

I thought I levelled a bit too quickly in the mid-game, but still didn't hit the cap until half-way through Act 3 (so part of Act 2 was too easy but then it caught up a bit again).  Then I avoided the bounties after the first lot gave too much xp - apparently adjusted in 1.05.

I found levelling up to 12 a bit underwhelming since it's not a 'big-step' level (like when you unlock a new spell-level or a cool class ability).  I thought they should've balanced it to make the last level a 'special one' (but maybe they wanted to avoid people levelling up just before the last battle and not playing with their new toys enough )

 

Reaching cap in no way diminishes my drive to keep questing - I'm really enjoying this game and have no desire to rush to the end.

[FlintlockJazz]

Yeah, cap isn't an issue for me, I realised that I would hit the cap before finishing and so decided to stop doing things like going through the Endless Paths (after already clearing nine floors of it) in order to save them for subsequent playthroughs.  And to be honest it wasn't that much I left for subsequent playthroughs and I only just hit level 12 after the last battle it turned out.

Edited May 8, 2015 by FlintlockJazz

[Daevelon83]

I hate level caps... But i understand that for balance reasons sometimes this is needed.

And i think that the only reason why there is an hard level cap is for expansions/sequel.

So i don't complain too much, but i would really like to export/import characters

[Guest]

I hit level 12 shortly after starting Act III. Mostly I was ok with this. The bounties were the culprit in my case and my understanding is that this has been "addressed" in 1.05. The bounties usually have powerful items associated with them and this is my motivation for doing them. With that said, I think there are too many of them. After the 3rd round, I was just about bountied out.

 

As for the rest, I'm glad that I was able to hit the cap early. I hate when I hit that last level just in time to only use my new toys for the end-game boss fight. Also, Act III is supposed to be all about chasing Thaos to ground. I don't want to spend a whole lot of time on optional content.

[Tigranes]

You can use mods for slower XP gain / higher XP requirements, as well.

[Prime-Mover]

So, what is your experience with the game if you reach the Level Cap of 12 pretty early? In my case it usally means i somehow lose most of my motivation to explore the game further and complete the rest of the sidequests. It´s no problem if you Need to finish 90% of the game to reach it but i heared rumors you can reach it after having barely finished 50% of the sidequests and optional Content.

 

I´m really hyped for this game and i´m still waiting for more patches to enjoy a bug-free adventure but i´m really worried that the Level cap destroys an otherwise supreme rpg.

First of all, whether you reach the level cap depends on how much of the content you are exploring (obviously). I never made it past lvl 9 on my first playthrough, but I really just focused on, and enjoyed the main quest/story too much, and wanted to see it develop. So I didn't go out of my way to solve side quests. I also pretty much lost the drive to kill stuff, in part due to the no-xp for kills (kinda) thing, which again got me to focus on story. If you are that kind of player, then you either wont make the cap, or you wont care if you do. 

 

If you however are the kind of gamer that is greatly motivated by lvl'ing up, and seing the character progress in terms of abilities etc., then you'll probably hit the cap (cus that's your goal), and you'll hate when it happens (because it was your primary motivation). 

 

So it really depends on the kind of player you are, or what your main goal and motivation is. 

 

edit: if you are the second kind of player, I'd recommend using the IE mod to adjust xp progression.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Prime-Mover

[dekergus]

i must be different ^^

 

had to run side quests to reach level cap before final boss....

Edited May 8, 2015 by dekergus

[Ink Blot]

If you however are the kind of gamer that is greatly motivated by lvl'ing up, and seing the character progress in terms of abilities etc., then you'll probably hit the cap (cus that's your goal), and you'll hate when it happens (because it was your primary motivation).

I don't quite agree here. What about the player that's not really focused on leveling up, but just really enjoys exploration and completing quests? This is where I fall and I hit the level cap just into act 3, as Achilles did.

 

As a side note, I think it's really weird that you can only complete 3 of the 11 (12?) bounties before entering the third act areas. I'd have expected you'd get at least half of them (of course, this would have made you hit the cap even earlier though, so averall it's a wash I guess).

[LadyCrimson]

I didn't reach the level cap until most of the way through Act3 ... I skipped the 2nd half of the Paths, didn't do all companion quests (don't like swapping in and out a lot) and I didn't finish the last round of bounties. Probably some sidequests I missed as well.

 

I don't have an issue with reaching the cap, but my motivation did wane a lot by Act3 simply because of the combat issues (tedious) so while I could have gone on to do the rest of the stuff before going to the endgame, by then I just wanted to get to the end. I've meant to reload a save to finish anything I didn't complete, but sadly my motivation to plow through more combat still hasn't come back.

 

This doesn't mean I don't like the game. I do like the game and had a lot of fun. Combat just wore me out and that's where motivation was lost, for me ... not level caps/lack of experience gain or whatever else.

[Bryy]

This is why cheating gets old after a while. God Mode isn't any fun.

[Ink Blot]

I don't have an issue with reaching the cap, but my motivation did wane a lot by Act3 simply because of the combat issues (tedious) so while I could have gone on to do the rest of the stuff before going to the endgame, by then I just wanted to get to the end. I've meant to reload a save to finish anything I didn't complete, but sadly my motivation to plow through more combat still hasn't come back.

 

This doesn't mean I don't like the game. I do like the game and had a lot of fun. Combat just wore me out and that's where motivation was lost, for me ... not level caps/lack of experience gain or whatever else.

This is similar to how I felt. I was also at the point where I just wanted to finish to see the end. But I also wanted to see how all the quests I encountered ended up playing out. The combat though, was not enjoyable.

[Luckmann]

This is why cheating gets old after a while. God Mode isn't any fun.

 

Which really just brings me back to the pacing issue again. You get overleveled and then it's practically like having God Mode in 9 fights out of 10, even putting aside all other potential issues with combat that might warrant discussion.

[abaris]

...hits rock-bottom.

 

I can't even explain it, really. I enjoy much of the game, but once I've reached the cap, a lot of things just sorta feels useless to do, and I just want the game to end.

 

 

I kind of feel the same. For me playing an rpg has much to do with developing a character or group of characters.

 

I think, the cap should have been set at 14 or 15. That would have been enough for the whole game. More than once I stopped playing when hitting the cap and starting over with a new character or rushing through without doing side quests anymore.

 

Curious how the new nerfed experience system under patch 1.05 pans out. But I fear that the cap will still be reached well before finishing the Twyn Elms Arc.

 

 

I didn't reach the level cap until most of the way through Act3 ... I skipped the 2nd half of the Paths, didn't do all companion quests (don't like swapping in and out a lot) and I didn't finish the last round of bounties. Probably some sidequests I missed as well.

 

But there you have it. I love my completionist runs. And if you do that, the cap is really an issue. It should have been taken into account. As I said, 14 or 15 would have probably been enough.

 

It was much better balanced in Neverwinter Nights II. In my numerous playthroughs of that game I always hit the cap at the very end of the game.

Edited May 8, 2015 by abaris

[Nakia]

The game was the thing for me.  Exploring everything, doing all the quests I could.  Leveling up is important to get prepared for the harder fights/    Common fighting can get boring though if you level up too fast.

[Junker]

I fail to understand why they would go so far as to control your XP gain so adamantly by removing combat XP only to let you break the system by providing an avenue for limitless XP (bounties). By doing this they literally took the best reason to control XP and threw it out the window. It's like they wrestled the gun out of the hands of the mad man, proclaiming themselves the decision maker, the boss, the controller of balance, only to shoot themselves in the foot the next minute.

 

Preventing premature capping should have been the number one reason for controlling XP gain. It should have been a simple system. For example, complete 80 - 100% of the quests in the game (depending on how hardcore they wanted to be, possibly determined by difficulty level) to maximize your level in the game. Bounties, perhaps, might only give XP once that threshold has been met as a means to level up straggling characters you didn't use as much. This would ensure a full, or near full, completion of the game's content before you hit that point where nothing matters. They already took the major step by eliminating combat experience so what the hell happened?

[Hiro Protagonist II]

As a side note, I think it's really weird that you can only complete 3 of the 11 (12?) bounties before entering the third act areas. I'd have expected you'd get at least half of them (of course, this would have made you hit the cap even earlier though, so averall it's a wash I guess).

 

I don't understand why people blame the bounties for hitting the level cap early as you've stated quite correctly here, you can only do 3 of the bounties before you hit Act 3. And when I hit Act 3, I was practically on the cusp of the level cap. I did the rest of the bounties after I hit the level cap.

Edited May 9, 2015 by Hiro Protagonist II