-Sigh- Dead Island...

[Kopikatsu]

I'm somewhat upset that Dead Island brought back the very worst of game mechanics (In my opinion). Yes, level scaling.

Interestingly, the enemies get a significant power boost when they're 1, 2, and 3 levels above you. Of course, some inevitably will be, since the ones that start the game as x levels higher will always be at a higher level than you.

This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the levels of the items you got scaled at the same rate. I got killed by a Thug that caught me in a tight space, and randomly respawned literally on the other end of the map in the middle of enemy territory. So, predictably my weapons got worn down pretty good by beating zombies over the head with them. I was forced to scavenge weapons in order to survive. The problem is, the only thing I could find in my immediate area was a level 2 nail hammer. The zombies were scaled to level 11. It literally took me about half of the hammer's durability to kill a single lone zombie. And then I ran into a group of five zombies led by a Thug.

Anyway, for discussion value: How do you feel about level scaling? Any ideas on a better system of allowing enemies to challenge the player? It gets bothersome when you're decked out in glowing legendary armor, but looters in cloth rags and wielding rusty, chipped daggers have more health than you do...

 

[krazykidd]

Soooooo , what you prefer that enemies always be weaker than you and the game becomes L4D on easy mode?

 

[WaywardHaymaker]

I think if you're going to level scale (Where EVERYTHING levels with you), don't really bother including levels at all. Why not just gain a skill point or whatever every time you fill the EXP bar?

 

[NotSoLoneWanderer]

Higher levels and stronger zombies should equal more high level weapons and more frequent ammo spawn.

 

[BlindTom]

If they're going to try and balance the equation like that they should firstly make sure they actually balance it correctly, taking all level associated advantages and disadvantages into account. Secondly they should just remove the levelling mechanic entirely since level scaling renders it completely pointless.

 

[Doclector]

I think if you're going to level scale (Where EVERYTHING levels with you), don't really bother including levels at all. Why not just gain a skill point or whatever every time you fill the EXP bar?

I suppose the levels help to reinforce the idea of getting stronger. More a marker of progress than anything else.

I haven't played the game yet, but level scaling is a little annoying. To work, you have to feel genuinely more powerful, without things actually getting easier. I thought oblivion did it pretty well.

 

[andrat]

Right now I'm around level 24 or 25, I forget. When I join my buddies' games and they're only level 15 or so, I became grateful for level scaling. For one you only get 1exp for killing zombies ranked that low.

For two....I don't know, it's a good enough game let's not change it?

 

[Furioso]

A zombie game should not make certain weapons obsolete...thats just stupid, I'll probably rent the game, but I'm sure that will piss me off

 

[TheKramers]

*Sigh* I wish I could afford Dead Island, I've been looking forward to it forever =(

 

[Kopikatsu]

Soooooo , what you prefer that enemies always be weaker than you and the game becomes L4D on easy mode?

Lol? Not at all. The game has 72-75 different areas and multiple chapters. All the zombies in the game could have varied levels.

Fuck. Yes. I decided to back track to the start point just because why not, I am level 15. Fighting off damn level 15 zombies with a fucking paddle is not fun. I end up just kicking them to the ground and punching them to death.

They need to have different difficulty enemies in different areas. So the starting level zombies will always be ultra weak, at least until you change chapter at which time they can reason it away by them mutating or whatever.

Yeah, I end up kicking most things to death, too. You kind of have to unless you feel like throwing your weapons to stop their charges.

I do like the idea, though. It's what I thought as well.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

I think if you're going to level scale (Where EVERYTHING levels with you), don't really bother including levels at all. Why not just gain a skill point or whatever every time you fill the EXP bar?

Agreed, it made upgrading weapons in Mass Effect 2 pointless for example. What's the point of getting a damage increase if your enemies just get more health?

 

[Rednog]

Yea the scaling is really pissing me off, I'm level 22 and still in the first area and I chose the throwing expert (which is hilariously under-powered and such an ill conceived class) and usually if I die my weapons are stuck in various zombies and when I respawn I lose all those weapons.
And then I'm stuck using absolute garbage which takes like 20 or more blows to down a damn zombie, so I end up just having to just spam the kick button.
It is also frustrating that the zombies scale with you because its like oh I spent almost all of my points in the survival tree, but the zombie's damage seems to scale with my health anyways, so instead of the zombies hitting me for like 1 health when I have 5 bars of health they are hitting me for 2, yay I spent a bunch of points for absolutely nothing. Seriously who on the dev team was dumb enough to be like "Hey let's scale the zombie damage to the player's health?" I mean why do I have such a huge health bar to only have me take a % based damage?

Also to restate it because it is getting on my nervers, the throwing character sucks. Seriously the thrown weapons only do the same amount of damage as a normal hit, and you're pretty much forced to go for the boomerang skill or you're going to end up throwing all your weapons into 1 zombie and be defenseless. Even with the boomerang skill 50% is kind of crappy, it should be 75% or even higher considering the class is meant to stay at range and chuck his weapons as zombies. It is also a shame that the throwing is kind of under powered in the game, I mean why doesn't me whipping a blade into a zombie's skull do huge amounts of damage, why does it count the same as if I hit the damn thing in the guts or in the arm? The close range classes can beat off limbs for cut damage or get extra damage from hitting the head. But all I get as a the throwing class is that if I throw a blunt object it slowly wears down the zombie's stand up bar.
Why make a throwing expert when throwing isn't a viable combat option?

 

[Kopikatsu]

Yea the scaling is really pissing me off, I'm level 22 and still in the first area and I chose the throwing expert (which is hilariously under-powered and such an ill conceived class) and usually if I die my weapons are stuck in various zombies and when I respawn I lose all those weapons.
And then I'm stuck using absolute garbage which takes like 20 or more blows to down a damn zombie, so I end up just having to just spam the kick button.
It is also frustrating that the zombies scale with you because its like oh I spent almost all of my points in the survival tree, but the zombie's damage seems to scale with my health anyways, so instead of the zombies hitting me for like 1 health when I have 5 bars of health they are hitting me for 2, yay I spent a bunch of points for absolutely nothing.

You think throwing expert is hilariously underpowered? Try Firearms Expert. I've done a TON of quests so far, and I only gun I've gotten was a Revolver with one bullet in it. That I accidentally fired trying to figure out how much ammo it had/how ammo works. (I thought it might be a durability thing)

 

[Rednog]

Yea the scaling is really pissing me off, I'm level 22 and still in the first area and I chose the throwing expert (which is hilariously under-powered and such an ill conceived class) and usually if I die my weapons are stuck in various zombies and when I respawn I lose all those weapons.
And then I'm stuck using absolute garbage which takes like 20 or more blows to down a damn zombie, so I end up just having to just spam the kick button.
It is also frustrating that the zombies scale with you because its like oh I spent almost all of my points in the survival tree, but the zombie's damage seems to scale with my health anyways, so instead of the zombies hitting me for like 1 health when I have 5 bars of health they are hitting me for 2, yay I spent a bunch of points for absolutely nothing.

You think throwing expert is hilariously underpowered? Try Firearms Expert. I've done a TON of quests so far, and I only gun I've gotten was a Revolver with one bullet in it. That I accidentally fired trying to figure out how much ammo it had/how ammo works. (I thought it might be a durability thing)

I found 2 guns so far in the starting area, 1 from the guy up and to the left of the lifegaurd booth, he asks you to fight a thug, get a key, and escort him, I think it was a revolver with 8 bullets. And another one was with a guy in one of the huts who look like he committed suicide in the bathroom and a dead girl in the bed the room before him, it only had like 4 bullets.

But yea, when I was a lower level playing with people any chance I got, the throwing and fire arms expert are really the most ill conceived glasses when compared to the sharp and blunt. I was playing with a guy who ran the sharp girl, and he just stormed into swarms of zombies and went shiv crazy and walked out with maybe 2 hits taken, where the same group for me would take me maybe 5 minutes of running in circles, kiting, picking up my thrown weapons, and kicking up a storm and I'd probably walk out of it with almost no health left.

Curious though, if you fight the thugs and bigger zombies, do shots to the head with guns do massive damage?
Cause I honestly can't fight the thugs at all as the throwing guy. I can run in take a shot with my weapon and jump out, but then my stamina is depleted, and half the time trying the hit and run tactics I just get backhanded away, and by the time I recover the damn thug is right on top of me and sends me flying again before I can move.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Curious though, if you fight the thugs and bigger zombies, do shots to the head with guns do massive damage? Cause I honestly can't fight the thugs at all as the throwing guy. I can run in take a shot with my weapon and jump out, but then my stamina is depleted, and half the time trying the hit and run tactics I just get backhanded away, and by the time I recover the damn thug is right on top of me and sends me flying again before I can move.

No idea. I wasted the one bullet I had.

The best way to take down Thugs that I've found is use the Debilitating Wrench (Gotten from restoring power to the Lighthouse) and break their arms/head, then just beat them to death while circle strifing.

 

[RomanceIsDead]

Dead island is addicting but at the same time frustrating. I keep dieing because old granny zombies are OP. I will hit them with a giant hammer and she will still manage to swing her arms and send me flying 10 feet.

 

[Tryforlive]

i played it 4player coop for the first time we were getting our asses kicked but its just sooooooo addicting

 

[astrav1]

I agree level scaling is terrible and takes away stat building