10 Best RPGs Without Level Scaling

Level scaling can take some of the fantasy out of your power fantasy. Here are some games that don’t bother with it at all!

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There are two philosophies when it comes to building an RPG. The first is level scaling – making enemies and challenges harder to overcome as your party gets stronger. This preserves an intended difficulty and encourages you to learn the game more and unlock more tools before taking on the harder foes.

The other is to eschew level scaling altogether and create a game with clearly defined intended routes, potentially with an element of risk and reward if you can brave the harder challenges before you’re supposed to. Today, we’ll take a look at the games that did this really well.

Rune Factory 4

As far as RPGs go, Rune Factory 4 takes the standard route of unlocking new areas bit by bit, usually tied to your progress in the story. As a result, you don’t really get a chance to delve into the higher-level areas before you’re meant to.

Once you get a bit further into the game, though, this philosophy flies out of the window. It’s all too easy to stumble into Leon Karnak, a very high-level dungeon, and get wrecked by the monsters inside. If you’re a perennial stat grinder, on the other hand, this can be a great way to get some late-game goodies before you’re supposed to.

Baldur’s Gate

Baldur’s Gate gives you quite a lot of places to visit at a very early point in the game, and while you have quests to get on with that give you basic directions, it’s altogether too tempting to go exploring. Beware, however, as this can be a perilous activity.

The game doesn’t pull any punches. If you wander about aimlessly do not be surprised if you get you and your faithful allies destroyed by some roving troll or a pack of over-leveled rogues looking for an easy mark.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

After a very strong example of level scaling being utilized in Dragon Age: Origins, it can come as a shock to find that Dragon Age: Inquisition offers no such room for exploration. If you unlock a late-game area early, you had better be prepared for the challenges it holds.

The dragon fights specifically stand out as incredibly difficult bosses that can be taken on as soon as you reach their roosts, but ones that you won’t be able to defeat until you’re many, many hours further in the game without some serious cheese.

Pokemon Red And Blue

Compared to the Pokemon games of today, Red and Blue are notable for allowing you to take on the region of Kanto at your own leisure. Sure, you were limited quite a lot by HMs, but once you’ve taken on Misty and acquired the HM for Cut, the world is pretty much your oyster.

Gyms three through seven can be taken on in almost any order you wish, and the game will punish anyone who misses out on the intended route through the league. Trainers with higher leveled Pokemon will make your journey difficult and the boss fights will ruin your day unless you know exactly what you’re doing.

Pathfinder: Wrath Of The Righteous

Wrath of the Righteous starts out pretty linearly, giving you somewhat open places to explore but always funneling you towards the goals of the story. In Act Three, however, that all changes. Suddenly, the world is your oyster and you’re free to explore your narrative leads as you wish.

The thing is, with no level-scaling and a huge world to explore, you’re very likely to stumble into an area designed for far higher-level characters than you currently have. A notorious culprit of this is Blackwater, a high-tech area full of powerful enemies with high AC and saving throws. Many a first playthrough has been ground to a halt here.

Digimon World

The first Digimon game for the PS1 does a pretty good job at preventing you from accessing the late-game areas before you’re ready – in fact, a bug in the PAL version of the game meant you couldn’t get to the final boss at all!

But with a bit of crafty know-how, you can strategically unlock some very high-level areas with tough foes far earlier than you should be able to. Fighting the Digimon here provides a great deal of risk but is more efficient for training your partner’s stats and farming quality items.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2

In comparison to its predecessor, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is a bit more open. The list of missions that you’re able to take on at any one point in the story is larger and there are more areas to unlock and explore too.

It’s natural, then, for some very difficult missions to be available far earlier than you’d expect. Some missions are part of quest trees that can ramp up in difficulty quite quickly, such as the missions dealing with Klesta and with the French-named color mages of Clan Cinquleur.

Dark Souls

After the iconic prologue of Dark Souls, you’re dropped into Firelink Shrine. From here, where do you go? The obvious intention is for you to head to Undead Burg, the easiest location in the game filled with fragile hollows and pitiable loot.

Or, you could head down to the Catacombs or to the New Londo Ruins. The enemies you find in Dark Souls don’t change based on how many souls you pump into your character, so your survivability depends on the equipment you find and your raw skill. Thanks to this, Dark Souls is popular with those who enjoy challenge runs, with many opting to not level up at all to get the full, harrowing, Dark Souls experience.

Final Fantasy 12

Final Fantasy 12 is unique among the other titles in the series for being extremely open and non-linear. While the game’s story has but one path, the game’s world opens up tremendously early for those who like to explore, and reaching late-game areas early is an easy task.

In fact, it’s almost downright encouraged thanks to later areas containing very easy access to fantastic loot. With a bit of dedicated farming, you can beat bosses and marks from the Clan Centurio sidequest with the snap of a finger and the setting of a Gambit.

The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind

When asked why they believe Morrowind to be the best game in the Elder Scrolls series, the die-hard fans will inevitably bring up the game’s lack of level-scaling and compare it to the later entries, Oblivion and Skyrim. And it’s true – Morrowind’s implementation of difficulty is fantastic.

It’s totally viable to take the game at your own pace, taking on quests and challenges that match your current level. On the other hand, it’s also possible to dive into difficult dungeons and come out with game-changing pieces of loot – right from the very start of the game. Morrowind rewards those who take risks and is a perfect example of carefully curated difficulty.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/rpgs-without-level-scaling/