Gift of Hedone: Enemy Level Scaling
Added 2025-08-27 23:00:04 +0000 UTCHello you sext deviants,
So, this is going to be a math-centric post, but I wanted to get your thoughts on Region Enemy Scaling.
So, when you starting getting into higher levels older regions become redundant or way way too easy, (for example it is a level 10 region, and you are level 50, so you just squish all the enemies.)
On the other side however, I still want to feel stronger and more powerful than older regions so I'm personally not a fan of the regions scaling with you once you reach the cap (for example, that level 10 region has level 50 enemies) (so you don't ever feel stronger)
So I have worked on a scaling formula where the easier regions will scale, but not as much.
What you are seeing in the image below is what the scaling would look like based on the Highest Party Members Level.
You have examples of the highest player level on the left, and horizontally you have the corresponding highest region enemy levels.
So for example, If you were level 45, the region that was level 10, would have level 34 enemies, and the region that was level 40 would have level 44 enemies.
The idea is that the gap would get bigger from previous regions as you level up, so when you were level 20, there is an 7 level gap in the level 10 region, but by the time you are level 85, that gap is 27.
This gap is also completely open to change, its just the starting point.
This is the formula for my other math lovers:
=IF($B7/C$5>1,(ROUNDDOWN(C$5 + ($B7 - C$5)^$C$2,0)),C$5)
Where the Exponential Cell would effect the level gap
But my question is, what are your thoughts on this kind of scaling, where the enemies do scale with you, but not 1 for 1?
Comments
Thank you so much for your feedback Jacek, you make some very good points, playtesting will be vital for getting the overall feel correct
Jiggly Pixels
2025-08-28 04:55:25 +0000 UTCHey Benji thank you so much for your insight, I completely agree with you, right now its just speculation, playtesting will be pivotal in testing actual playability and enjoyment :)
Jiggly Pixels
2025-08-28 04:54:35 +0000 UTCI prefer the enemies to be set but as the scaling goes, this looks like the best solution. It will probably need a revisit after some tests. Enemies would probably scale linearly while the player's party power is based on level, but also on equipment and any kinds of available skills.
Jacek Zaborowski
2025-08-28 04:09:24 +0000 UTCI like it, but something that I think will need consideration and adjustment at a later stage of development. Power scaling is important to make areas not feel redundant, however this also needs to take in "play feel". What does gameplay feel like at level 1, 10, 50, 100. How do you engage with enemies and how does your combat system work. I love the idea, but I think you should do a play test at a later stage where you have us test the combat at different levels against different levels and then take input from that and adjust the formula to suit
Benji
2025-08-28 02:05:11 +0000 UTC
