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[Kadin]

Playing through DQ8 on 3DS atm and I'm just enjoying battles as much as I can get. I know that in the long run this could work against me as it makes things a lot easier (and a tad more boring) but these days it seems like I'd rather coast through fights than struggle.

If you're given the chance to just grind endlessly in a game, which do you prefer for the long-term of said game? And are there any games that you prefer to do differently?

 

[eXistor]

I tend to take it slow in most games anyway and I play very methodically, so I'm almost always over-levelled anyway, but I prefer it like that.

 

[Rhaknar]

over

 

[Deadpool_X]

I tend to over level. I grew up in an age where you had to grind in RPGs or you'd be toast, so I still grin out levels. Problem is, in today's RPGs, most of the time that makes me OP.

 

[Kadin]

I tend to take it slow in most games anyway and I play very methodically, so I'm almost always over-levelled anyway, but I prefer it like that.

I think that has a lot to do with it for me as well. As to DQ8 atm, I'm making it a point to walk everywhere to see if there's anything hidden and while I could do my best at times to avoid the mods since they're shown in the world, I choose to just engage them. But I also enjoy taking my time and really trying to see everything which, as you said, leads to being over-leveled.

 

[Stormblessed]

It's best to be on-curve, that's where the interesting decisions are. If you want to coast, isn't it better to just turn the difficulty down?

 

[WeaponKnight]

I preffer to be underlevelled, so I tend to avoid most battles until I start to struggle.

I wish all games had systems like Kingdom Hearts and FFXIII.
In KH you have an ability called EXP Zero that allows you to fight as much as you want, getting money and drops, without any EXP.
FFXIII only has enough enemies to give you enough EXP to get by. Even if you never avoid a battle you still won't be too overlevelled.

 

[callmeCata]

Overlevel in most rpgs, underlevel in soulsborne

 

[enkaisu]

I prefer being on-level because it sucks when you end up steamrolling through a game and lose all challenge and the combat becomes monotonous.

 

[Kadin]

It's best to be on-curve, that's where the interesting decisions are. If you want to coast, isn't it better to just turn the difficulty down?

I find that most games where you level up and can grind it out don't seem to have difficulty levels specifically. I'm sure some do but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

 

[Kneefoil]

In most games slightly over levelled, but in games that are pretty easy anyway, or games that I'm very familiar with, I prefer underlevelled. Playing Pokémon games underlevelled is much more enjoyable to me than other artificially difficult rule sets, like the Nuzlocke challenge.

 

[DPB]

Anything but over-leveled. With the rise of open-world RPGs it seems to be becoming more of a problem that if you do a few sidequests you end up turning the game into a cakewalk.

I remember hitting the level cap in Fallout 3 when I'd barely scratched the surface of the world map, and it made the main quest incredibly easy. When New Vegas came out the first thing I did was download a mod to reduce experience gain.

 

[SolidSnakex]

I always over level. The most recent RPG I played was Digimon Cyber Sleuth. I got three Platinum Numemon with equipped them with three Tactician USB's each and just leveled everything up. If you're in the right spot you can get to level 99 for any Digimon in five or so minutes.

 

[Arulan]

Under-leveled. I find the difficulty-tuning in most games to lean far too much on the easy side, even at higher difficulties. It's also much more rewarding to defeat something like a boss when you're playing at a disadvantage. This is also true of multi-player games where you can finish content with less people than you should be using, or under specific circumstances. Solo-healing certain fights in a 10-man raid (where two is usually optimal, or was when I played WoW) is one such example.

 

[RareFantasy64]

Over. Easily

 

[kswiston]

On level or slightly over if we are talking about RPGs.

 

[Velcro Fly]

I just play naturally. I don't tend to run from every encounter in games. Sometimes that leaves me overleveled.

 

[Milijango]

I'm most comfortable being a bit under because you can always level up if you need it. You can't easily level down.

Of course if the game's combat is garbage then no level is too high.

 

[Creaking]

Under-leveled can be fun, but then you usually catapult yourself back to normality by fighting stuff that rewards high XP.

 

[ironmang]

Over a bit. Especially if the game is punishing on death through long load times or sparse checkpoints. I'm all for a challenge but waiting a minute for loads then walking 5 minutes just isn't for me.

 

[Voliko]

Under, but I like it best when levels don't have a significant impact on the way fights play out.

 

[Dr_Boris_Goltz]

I like being overleveled when it feels like I worked to get to that point.

 

[Menitta]

I once fought Cynthia in Pokemon Platinum underleveled by almost 10 levels. It was one of the most miserable experiences I've had with that game.

If anything, slightly more than on-level.

 

[Seraphis Cain]

I hate being overleveled. I used to hate level-scaling but now I think it's almost a requirement for today's RPGs. Witcher 3 does it the best, as it gives you the option to turn level-scaling on or off.

 

[Deleted member 752119]

Over for the most part. The vast majority of RPGs I'm playing for the story, characters, questing, exploration etc. The combat is my least favorite part of the games most of the time. Especially turn based games.

 

[Chronospherics]

I tend to fight everything that comes my way but in many games, like Disgaea that still leaves you under levelled without doing some extras.

So in those games it's just a matter of preferring to do everything. Sometimes the process to being underlevelled (skipping encounters) makes the game easier rather than harder, so that's not always what I want. For instance if you skip encounters in Pokemon you can still breeze through the game with a small team, and end up missing out on loads of content.

In Dark Souls and the like I will generally scrape by with the minimal level possible, but still cut a path through the enemies ahead of me.

 

[callmeCata]

I like being overleveled when it feels like I worked to get to that point.

This is a good point, finally hitting that level where you are just fucken mopping the floor with random encounters is always satisfying.

 

[HeisenbergWW62]

I tend to overlevel but not necessarily on purpose

 

[alvis.exe]

Ideally, if it's a battle system I enjoy, overlevel early on when you don't have access to the entire skill set, on level later in the game once you unlock everything, then underlevel for post-game fun as you start to really get to understand all the mechanics.

Most of the time though I just end up keeping myself over leveled the whole way through because I don't really care enough to delve deep into the battle system haha.

 

[Steel]

On or under. I never grind, but I don't avoid random/on map battles. Over-leveling is boring.

 

[PerfectFlaw]

I'm not happy unless I'm a walking apocalypse.

 

[Fancolors]

Depends on the game.

Games with interesting combat like Final Fantasy Tactics are really fun to play with underleveled teams. Finding unit combinations that can get past the intentional level is incredibly exciting.

In games like Disgaea where half of the fun comes from ridiculous levels and grinding your way into victory, being overleveled is more fun.

 

[Stuggernaut]

Over, especially if it is an older game I am just trying to experience for fun without any frustration

At the pace I play, I tend to land there regardless.

 

[Crayolan]

I purposely keep myself underleveled in pokemon games. Figuring out how to overcome a huge level difference is really fun for me.

In any other RPG, I don't go out of my way to grind, but I'll take any exp I can get.

 

[Velcro Fly]

I once fought Cynthia in Pokemon Platinum underleveled by almost 10 levels. It was one of the most miserable experiences I've had with that game.

If anything, slightly more than on-level.

Yeah the E4 in Gen 4 sucked in this way. I remember it being awful when I played Pearl when it first came out and it wasn't any better when I played Diamond last year. Platinum for some reason was better. I'm not sure if the E4 was rebalanced or I specifically built my team to handle it but it was hell

 

[TheSpoiler]

I want to walk through shit. Plus I feel like I accomplished something getting to that overleveled status.

Shoutouts to Star Ocean V letting me get that shit going early.

 

[Haunted]

It greatly depends on the game. I loved sneaking around higher level enemies and exploring the world while having to be super cautious because I was underleveled in Xenoblade.

I enjoy being on-level or slightly ahead of the curve in Souls-like games.

In a standard RPG like DQ, I tend to overlevel because the combat feels pretty boring and grindy, so the quicker it's over the better. Also, returning to earlier levels and wrecking enemies that gave you a tough time before is always fun.


It really does depend on the type of game, the combat system, and how integral challenge is to the game's core design.

 

[plidex]

Over.

 

[AgentLampshade]

Slightly over-levelled. I want to hurry through the mobs and have a fun battle against the boss that lets me experiment without eliminating any sense of danger.

 

[Lynx_7]

Actually, on level or slightly under. If the game is versatile/balanced enough to allow for a very underleveled playthrough without resorting to cheap strategies that's great too.
I don't enjoy overleveling too much because at that point battles just become mindless and unfun. When it happens it's due to me doing too many sidequests/exploring.

 

[taco543]

Slow and over level all the way.

 

[Misterhbk]

I prefer to be overleveled. That way, as the main character, I feel like I worked to get stronger than the enemies who thought they had a chance against me. Peons.

 

[cj_iwakura]

For optional bosses, under leveled. I like the challenge. I killed DDS1 and 2s in the early/mid 90s.

 

[NipplesAndToes23]

I try to be on level, but in the Pokemon hacks that never turns out well so I have to use Rare Candy to even the playing field. I do the same thing as you in Dragon Quest, but I'm still end up on level I think. I don't understand how you end up overleveled.

Fuck overleveled in general though because grinding is boring as hell.

 

[DigtialT]

Over, just by force of habit really. I prefer to be under leveled going into a boss fight so that it's actually a challenge.

 

[Kadin]

I don't enjoy overleveling too much because at that point battles just become mindless and unfun. When it happens it's due to me doing too many sidequests/exploring.

And see this is something, as alluded to earlier in another post, that is happening more and more with all the open world games coming out. It's really up to the player to decide how much they want to do and for me, I find it hard to resist doing everything I can even if the result makes me over-leveled. I guess it's the completionist in me but I really try to do just about everything I can which doesn't help.

Maybe I'll have to try a game and specifically go in with the mentality to stick to the appropriate level or a bit under just to experience it with today's games.

 

[MikeyB]

Under level at least for a few hours of the game.

Killing a lich in BG2 when you have no business doing so is fantastic. Yes, I will take that Daystar.

When I am playing power fantasy games, going from feeble to fearsome is the only way to go. Those games work best for me when they strike a balance of giving me enough time to revel in my enemies' hopelessness but not so much that it bores me.

This is why Oblivion's level-dependent monster spawns fail.

 

[Violence Jack]

Over. I like stomping enemies. When I was younger, I definitely preferred on-level since I wasn't in such a rush back then.

 

[Toxi]

I once fought Cynthia in Pokemon Platinum underleveled by almost 10 levels. It was one of the most miserable experiences I've had with that game.

If anything, slightly more than on-level.

I remember doing that. That Garchomp.

 

[Arthimura]

On-level, because games are designed to be played this way.