What leveling system do you prefer?

[Buizel91]

seen as though you just mentioned a levelling system without specifying for which type of game, im gunna go with COD4/MW2 online levelling system =), i gain levels, i unlock stuff =)

works for me, and is much simpler than the Halo 3 system

 

[GundamSentinel]

I like levelling systems where when you reach the ultimate level, you're good at everything. I hate balancing characters for specific roles. FFXII comes to mind.

 

[WestMountain]

I hate the Oblivion leveling because its no use because all enemies and equipment level up with you so theres no idea to look in all those small caves etc. Pokémon leveling is good because then you can actually own enemies.

 

[zenoaugustus]

I actually prefer the leveling system where your level goes down as you gain more experience points. That is one of my preferred leveling systems. I don't like the games where one actually progresses from accomplishing more. Those games are for fools.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

BG2 leveling

 

[ninjapenguin981]

I hate the Oblivion levelling system.

 

[El Poncho]

I like Dragon Age's but I may be in love with that game.

 

[ZeRo5525]

For attributes, Oblivion or something similar. For Techs, and skills use Chrono Trigger's

 

[Axolotl]

Bloodlines had the best XP system for my money.

You get XP for doing quests, nothing else. That removes all grind and encourages different approaches.

 

[KaZZaP]

I like the Oblivion one better actually. It had it's flaws but I just like the idea of by doing somthing a lot you get better at it. Instead of you kill that last bad guy then miraculously learn how to make a new kind of potion.

 

[FetaFrosch]

the idea of killing stuff and getting something from it is nice but i hate the grinding stuff>.<

 

[Zweiblumen]

DDO. Each level split into 5 ranks, 4 of which you get action points for (which you can get various bonuses for, different depending on class and race), each level giving you skill points, possibly a feat or two, and on top of that possibly an ability point. So yeah, it's basically D&D with a little bit extra. And you don't level by killing monster X for Y XP, it's all quests (though admittedly some consist mostly of killing).

 

[The Spectator]

FFX's level system was quite interesting.

 

[TheDoctor455]

I prefer the Dragon Age system.
Now, I know it uses the standard "gain XP... level up" element, but what's nice about it are the actual abilities you gain when you level up. All of the skill trees for all classes are different, and every ability in them works differently from everything else. Which makes leveling up that much more satisfying.

 

[Steppin Razor]

My vote goes to Progression Through Use.

I don't like frivolous XP awards. They're ridiculous.
You have killed a Rat. You gain 25 XP.
That's like,
You have tied your shoes. You gain 50 XP.

That's some pretty epic shoe tying going on there considering that it can sometimes take 3 or 4 sword swings and a fireball in the face to kill some of them rats.

OT: Hmm, it's hard to decide for me. I like the leveling systems in Fallout 3 and Oblivion, I like the systems in the majority of JRPGs and I even like the Junction system from FFVIII. I suppose I'll have to go with Etrian Odyssey's system since I'm playing that at the moment and I quite like it.

 

[Zedzero]

My vote goes to Progression Through Use.

I don't like frivolous XP awards. They're ridiculous.
You have killed a Rat. You gain 25 XP.
That's like,
You have tied your shoes. You gain 50 XP.

This. It's much more advancded and cooler, if I use a pistol alot why shouldn't I get better with use and not just general xp?

 

[Xanadu84]

off the top of my head, I can think of 3 primary leveling systems, which can themselves be hybridized: Level systems (XP, Level up, you gain an increase to stats, some of your choice, some automatic, and certain abilities, some of your choice, some automatic, the options and automatic increases dependent on a class) Tree systems (You gain a set number of points as you advance through the tiers of levels. You choose abilities, and move your way along the tree, higher level skills requiring certain choices in the tree beneath it.), and Point based systems (Rather then levels proper, a set amount of XP grants you points which can be spent on a large pool of skills of various point costs). The best system is dependent on the game. A meaty RPG should have a level system. An action adventure should likely have a tree based system. A shooter should have either a tree or point based system. Generally speaking, of course.

My favorite leveling system is probably in DDO. There is an obscene number of character customization options. Feats, skills, class abilities and attributes all act as sub systems in a truly amazing greater system. Being the d20 system is the greatest reason, but the action point system manages to make the character creation have that much more meat. Tree based systems are difficult for me to decide, but I might have to go with Diablo. Point based systems...well, the new WoD rule systems is truly elegant, and does a great job of re-enforcing the need of role playing. If we were to go for point based systems in Video Games...well, System/Bioshock are very good.

I also see that there's sort of a fourth system, where using a skill increases that skill. Ive never been a huge fan of these. However, I consider them to be a very roundabout point buy system, where you essentially decide where your points are spent by your in game actions.

 

[x0ny]

Borderlands/WoW -> Char Level, Proficiencies, Talent Tree

 

[revjay]

If you were asking do I like level based or skill based progression, I'd go with skill based.