RPGs where staying low is useful

Key takeaways

• Final Fantasy 8 brings enemies to the player's level, boosting the draw system.
• In Dark Souls, PVP modes benefit from being at a lower level.
• Dragon Quest 7 discourages grinding to prevent class system problems.

Some people like to grind in RPGs to make them stronger for the challenges ahead. However, this is not always the best thing to do. Some games are smart enough to ensure that players can't repeatedly destroy cannon fodder in over-levels.

Sometimes, RPGs punish players for leveling up too much. The reasons for this vary from game to game. This may be at the behest of the developers or as a result of the game's various systems interacting with each other. The following games offer an advantage for staying at the bottom.

1 Final Fantasy 8

Level scaling makes enemies harder than they need to be

Final Fantasy 8 It wasn't the first title in the long-running series to change the leveling system, but it was the first to scale all enemies to the player's level. The advantage in combat doesn't just come from being at a high level. Players must engage with the draw system to power up their characters.

It's an interesting idea, but it strangely ends up being more of a grind than just leveling up. At least in the remaster players can speed up the game time to make drawing from enemies feel like less of a chore. It's a neat idea to avoid traditional level grinding, but it has its own pitfalls. To encourage the draw system to become more powerful as opposed to leveling, enemies not only scale directly to party level but become significantly tougher at higher levels.

Never level up and become obscenely powerful

The The Elder Scrolls The series has always used a level scale. Skyrim It is also but more evenly balanced to offer a smooth challenge at beginner and advanced levels. oblivionHowever, its level is more uncomfortable with scaling.

Enemies increase in strength and health depending on the player's level where their strength and health are greater than that of the main character. Alternatively, players can also do an extreme run where they stay at level one and increase their skills through other means, becoming more powerful than other enemies that stay at level one.

3 Dark spirits

Stay low level for the sake of PVP

May seem like the only reason to stay at the bottom Dark spirits The absurd is for the challenge. However, many players find a reason to stay low through PVP modes. Some players stay low level but earn significantly stronger gear to give themselves a huge advantage when attacking other players.

For those who like to engage with PVP modes, this is definitely a good strategy and a way to annoy newbies who are going through the game for the first time and are still at the beginning of the adventure.

4 The Witcher 3

Just keep getting experience for side quests

The Witcher 3 is huge There are many side quests and secrets off the beaten path that most players will never care to uncover. The game seems to know this and caps experience points if Geralt is above the recommended level.

While some players may be relieved by this, others may get mad at not being rewarded for doing quests. For later players, make sure the quests are at a low enough level to still give a reasonable experience while progressing with the main story. There's no way to have each side quest be low enough to give experience points, but it will allow for more quests than just killing random enemies.

5 Dragon Quest 7

Leveling up too much messes up the class system

Dragon Quest Has very traditional JRPG mechanics, but has a system that encourages players to avoid grinding. Classes level up Dragon Age 7 Depending on how many battles the party is involved in. Once a player reaches a certain level, battles will stop counting towards the area's class level.

Since regular experience points are coming in, this can create a nasty chain effect that prevents classes from developing properly. Dragon Quest 7 Not an easy game either, so people may end up shooting themselves in the foot later in the journey out of necessity.

6 Disco Elysium

Having some points in some attributes is all part of the story

Disco Elysium This is a funny example because of how different RPG's are compared to everything else. There is no combat in the game so leveling and stat placement have nothing to do with surviving through difficult encounters.

Purposefully having low stats in some areas here is just a way to experience the game differently. It can be funny and interesting as well as profitable. Because of this, players are not encouraged to become stronger or smarter in traditional RPG ways.

7 Strategy Ogre: Knights of Lodis

Place the main character at a lower level than the party

Strategy Ogre: Let's stick together The cult classic gets the spotlight as a turn-based strategy game. A lesser-known prequel to the seminal RPG also came out in Game Boy Advance. Enemies and bosses within Strategy Ogre: Knights of Lodis Scale at the hero's level.

It's easy to keep the main character, Alphonse Loher, out of combat and at a lower level than the rest of the party. Do this and the bosses and their enemies will be almost at the hero's level while the rest of the party will be significantly over-leveled, making the game a cakewalk.