Feedback:User/Volfen/"The Brick Wall"

The Brick Wall (and other ideas)

In an effort to remove some of the ills found in the MMO genre, this is a suggestion to address "leveling" - and the apparent need to continue using this "traditional" form of advancement, as a means to throttle access to content.

Traditionally, as an npc increases upward in level, relative to a player, so does the NPC's power both in damage output, and damage resistance.

Suggestion: rather than restricting players with threat of being crushed, or one-shotted, by higher level npcs, use only a damage resistance modifier, and remove, or scale back, the damage output modifier as level disparity increases.

Invalidate this statement: "A level 20 player can reach a level 40 area, but they won't live long."

Replace it with this statement: "A level 20 player can reach a level 40 area, but they won't be able to kill anything, or complete quests." This creates a brick wall, and the requisite throttling of progress, to maintain the desired questing path, regardless of where the player ends up.

Npcs will still do an average (5 level +/-) variance in damage (as a percentage) vs. player, but the player will do virtually no damage vs high level npc, thus unable to proceed against much higher levels, unless side-kicked with friends, or the inevitable, 'pay as you go' 'runners' of content, or ruiners of content. ..

This suggestion is a small point, but one that is much more in keeping with GW1, and the nature of heroic exploration. This method removes the unnecessary part of the false premise: "a hero is only a hero if the number overhead is high enough". Create a 'stand-off' condition, rather than a "smack-down" condition.

I would also suggest using lore and literal descriptors for levels, if ArenaNet really wants to buck traditional idiocy. Even if it breaks down to eight ranks, each rank having ten levels, or sub-ranks. Private First Class, Private Second, private third class. . . ArenaNet has some of the most creative writers in the industry - make good use of them. Nothing says impersonal like being nothing but a number to most other players, strangers, and the game at large. It also adds depth where none currently exists. See Titles, GW1.

A "Hide Numbers" toggle would also be a welcome feature for those players not interested in 'bean counting', or showing off their leetness.