I would say the huge reason people worry about horizontal progression is that MMO's generally suck outside of progression. One reason the genre never grew because outside of getting stuff the potential of the genre is ignore.
Depends on how low stat gap is implemented. You're right that 500 hp to 2000 or 50k doesn't really matter. The numbers don't matter, its the experience that does. Which is why i claim low stat gap doesn't work(also why we see so little of it).
Very few people will be satisfied taking the same amount of time or even nearly the same amount of time to kill the same level 1 skeleton when they're at max level that they did when they first opened the game. This is what i mean by low stat gap does not work in mmos. For a low stat gap, at least the one Eldurian was proposing would mean that you would still struggle against beginner intro mobs even at max level.
"Struggle" seems to be a pretty strong twisting of my words. Essentially if we are talking a 500% increase in character effectiveness, it should be equally difficult for a single veteran player to do a 5 man dungeon for newbs as it would be for 5 newbies to do that same dungeon. Assuming equal levels of player skill (Which hopefully is NOT the case).
So a veteran character would feel heroic. Low level mobs would be pretty easy to them, but they would not be immortal. Get in too far over your head and play badly enough and you can still die.
You act this is a problem but I would submit to you, how often do you go back and do content you are overleveled for? For me the answer is almost never. And the reason it's almost never is precisely because of the stat gap. I don't find one shotting mobs who's attacks I parry 100% of engaging. I find it boring.
Take away my immortality and the content I skipped at a lower level is something I may go do if it's good content. Take away my immortality and I will enjoy playing alongside my low level friends as a max level character. Take away my immortality, and I'll actually be able to feel and enjoy the rewards of being a high level character instead of being segregated into high level content 100% of the time where my character does not feel extraordinary in any way.
Because you can't tell me you go back to low level areas on your max level character, one shot everything, and that stays entertaining for more than 5 minutes.
I'm sorry but if in the progress of me playing an MMO and i start from the bottom fighting giant rats and wolves and work my way up to slaying giant fucking dragons and world ending gods, if a misplaced sneeze of mine doesn't kill that giant rat then i would feel(and the market does too) that it would be pointless to even play the game.
As for your question of how often i go back and do content i'm overleveled for. Quite often, though varies depending on the game. A lot of games force you to go back and do old content you outleveled for dailies, sometimes I do it to grind items for money making purposes(getting transmog in wow, getting rare gear drops in BDO), sometimes I do it to power level friends(BDO), sometimes I do it to farm mounts/pets/achievements(just about every game ever, but mainly wow). Honestly, there's a ton of practical reasons for going back to low level areas in mmorpgs as a max level character.
You claim going back to low level areas on a max level character isn't entertaining for more than 5 minutes, yet ignore that yes, that is entertaining for some people. They wouldn't solely do such activity, but it is in fact entertaining. Large part of why ARPGs are so popular is because they make you feel insanely powerful and you feel and experience that growth as you level up by slaughtering hordes and hordes of fodder enemies that only gets easier/faster the stronger you get. People like progression. They crave it. They like to see themselves getting stronger.
I can remember all the times when lvl 60's would go back to Stranglethorn Vale and terrorize the fresh lvl 30-40s that were just trying to quest in peace. Was it difficult or a challenge for them? Hell no, they'd kill you in one shot half the time. But it was insanely entertaining to them, and i can assure you they would get enjoyment out of that for much longer than "5 minutes".
@Ikcin - Just kill anyone with a variant on "Sephiroth" as their name. You may or may not find him but honestly anyone with such a name deserves it either way. XD
@Sephiroso - The market has absolutely shown that current MMOs are not to their liking by leaving MMOs in droves while dropping hundreds of millions on titles that promise to change it. Almost all of which promise a smaller power gap and are doing away with DBZ leveling.
50s camping 30s is straight griefing and a very undesirable behavior. Many 30s leave the game due to such behavior. Promoting such behavior in games is straight stupidity.
If you enjoy doing 1000 damage to 10 health NPCs with auto attacks you must be the only person I've met who does. For everyone else it's like putting in cheat codes that make you invincible. Fun for a few minutes but gets incredibly boring incredibly fast. The vast majority gamers desire a challenge which is why PVP games are so much more popular than PVE ones outside the MMO industry.
The reason they aren't also the most popular inside the MMO industry is precisely because of the 50s camping 30s scenario. The current MMO industry caters to bottom feeders who can't feel powerful anywhere else. Those players will always have WoW. No reason to sink the entire genre to cater to them.
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As for your question of how often i go back and do content i'm overleveled for. Quite often, though varies depending on the game. A lot of games force you to go back and do old content you outleveled for dailies, sometimes I do it to grind items for money making purposes(getting transmog in wow, getting rare gear drops in BDO), sometimes I do it to power level friends(BDO), sometimes I do it to farm mounts/pets/achievements(just about every game ever, but mainly wow). Honestly, there's a ton of practical reasons for going back to low level areas in mmorpgs as a max level character.
You claim going back to low level areas on a max level character isn't entertaining for more than 5 minutes, yet ignore that yes, that is entertaining for some people. They wouldn't solely do such activity, but it is in fact entertaining. Large part of why ARPGs are so popular is because they make you feel insanely powerful and you feel and experience that growth as you level up by slaughtering hordes and hordes of fodder enemies that only gets easier/faster the stronger you get. People like progression. They crave it. They like to see themselves getting stronger.
I can remember all the times when lvl 60's would go back to Stranglethorn Vale and terrorize the fresh lvl 30-40s that were just trying to quest in peace. Was it difficult or a challenge for them? Hell no, they'd kill you in one shot half the time. But it was insanely entertaining to them, and i can assure you they would get enjoyment out of that for much longer than "5 minutes".
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!
@Sephiroso - The market has absolutely shown that current MMOs are not to their liking by leaving MMOs in droves while dropping hundreds of millions on titles that promise to change it. Almost all of which promise a smaller power gap and are doing away with DBZ leveling.
50s camping 30s is straight griefing and a very undesirable behavior. Many 30s leave the game due to such behavior. Promoting such behavior in games is straight stupidity.
If you enjoy doing 1000 damage to 10 health NPCs with auto attacks you must be the only person I've met who does. For everyone else it's like putting in cheat codes that make you invincible. Fun for a few minutes but gets incredibly boring incredibly fast. The vast majority gamers desire a challenge which is why PVP games are so much more popular than PVE ones outside the MMO industry.
The reason they aren't also the most popular inside the MMO industry is precisely because of the 50s camping 30s scenario. The current MMO industry caters to bottom feeders who can't feel powerful anywhere else. Those players will always have WoW. No reason to sink the entire genre to cater to them.
Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!