Do you feel less incentive to work hard when either of the following are occurring?

[ZedClampet]

1) Loot is improving but by miniscule amounts. That sword/gun you just got does 1 more damage than the last one (see The Division).

or

2) The game has been balanced in such a way that many of the items you are getting and spells you are learning you perceive as useless; for instance this spell from V Rising that puts a shield capable of blocking 27 damage in front of you for two seconds and if you get hit during that time, it heals you for 1.4 health (yes, that's 1 point 4, and your total health is around 500 near the end of the game when you get the spell..

And that's really what made me think of this. V Rising is chock full of things that make me roll my eyes. Getting ready to go fight a boss with over 2000 health? Why, take this Potion of Ferocity that adds plus 4 physical damage. Or take along the best healing potion in the game that heals over time, doesn't let you move while healing, only heals half as much if you are in combat, and if you take any damage it stops working. So, yes, you have to stand perfectly still while this insane boss is firing things at you left and right and calling down meteors from the heavens.

I would much rather you make the bosses harder than to have you give me a bunch of mostly useless potions.

Somehow, I don't really feel less incentive for the unlocks, though, but I'm wondering if others might.

 

[Colif]

I don't play enough games that put me in those 2 positions. I don't play mmo any more, so I don't get parts that add +1 to stats. very often anyway. That sounds very wow to me.

but the answer most go to when making boss harder is add 1 Bazillion hit points to it so it just takes longer to cut through.

 

[technomadic_rony]

The second one reminds me of some of the early weapon balancing in Fallout 76, which are called Leagacy Weapons in the community if I'm not wrong. Tbh early on that game was a complete **** show, I hear it's much more stable now.

 

[Johnway]

i see this alot in end game content. jokes on them, i never play a game to that point tbh. path of exile, getting to the highest level gear is difficult and honestly by tier 16 (if i ever get there) is too tedious and i get negative returns that i stop. So most end game final boss content i never see.

i think when it comes to crafting and mining resources for consumables is something i find very tedious. Especially if its for a dark souls difficulty fight. Terraria i'm looking at you. I cheated my balls off editing save games for stuff and still wasn't enough.

Cosmetics, i barely care for tbh. i can have a look and then make my own decisions. if its better to wait, so be it. i can look like a rank one for a while or just ignore it. Tbh i find the highest gear sets to be a bit boring tbh. i prefer an organic approach of customisation and as long as i don't look like some sort of monster i don't care. hell, for hardened veteran look, i prefer scuffled up/rusting bits and pieces. Whats that? its the starting tier? good. then half the battle won!

 

[mainer]

I really have no incentive to work hard at any time . Sorry, just kidding, but I get what you mean. I really can't remember a game where a weapon upgrade, or loot/purchased weapons of a higher quality offered a miniscule increase in damage. That would include spells or potions as well. The next level of weapon/spell/skill/potion always has felt like a significant increase in power. The further I advance in a game's storyline or world. the low-level varieties of those items may become useless (but not always) and the newer or upgraded ones (such as from crafting) always feel like they make me feel a bit more adept to handle whatever I run into.

I would much rather you make the bosses harder than to have you give me a bunch of mostly useless potions.

when making boss harder is add 1 Bazillion hit points to it so it just takes longer to cut through.

I don't really like boss battles, as many of them seem to include those "bullet sponge" type bosses. Or, bosses that are immune to every spell/weapon/skill you've learned throughout the game. There's a very thin line between fun & challenging or frustration. I think @Brian Boru did a post about boss battles some time ago.

 

[ZedClampet]

I don't really like boss battles, as many of them seem to include those "bullet sponge" type bosses. Or, bosses that are immune to every spell/weapon/skill you've learned throughout the game. There's a very thin line between fun & challenging or frustration. I think @Brian Boru did a post about boss battles some time ago.

V Rising bosses aren't like that, which is what I was talking about. Your average game's bosses are just annoying. V Rising bosses, though, have a rational amount of health and aren't immune to anything.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Well, The Division is certainly a good example on the topic. I got sucked into buying it and the Survival DLC bundled for around $12, but I found it to be an utter waste of time. What tempted me was Ubi offering a free demo on it where you're allowed to play it for X amount of time. I'll never get sucked into Ubi's shenanigans again, the demo didn't reveal the need for endless laboring to get gear sets. Without them you don't stand much of a chance. This type of game is said to follow a "tiered Loot" system, I call it a fantasy shooter. It's full of contrived, unrealistic crap to make you spend a ton of time on it so you'll be less likely to buy product from competitors.

 

[Alm]

I thought The Division got stale relatively quickly and the weapons were one reason I got sick of it. Constant inventory management got to be a chore.

I've never played V Rising but it sounds like an annoying feature having weapons/abilities that aren't worth the button click.

 

[Brian Boru]

I think @Brian Boru did a post about boss battles

You have a great memory for quality content! Not really on-topic for this thread, but fwiw:
Boss Fights—who needs 'em?

I don't play the kinds of games which are probably most prone to what Zed's talking about. From other games:

In Civ6 the Wonders are generally quite underpowered compared to Civ4—I've only played 30-40 hours, but there's only one essential early-game Wonder, the Pyramids. Petra is great for a desert city a while later, and that's about it—there are 4-5 I'll build mid-game if I have nothing better for the city to do, but that's rare. Most are not worth the click afaics.

That's not much of an example, and can't think of any others, so I'll shut up now 👶

 

[Zloth]

I don't remember any games with weak advancement like that.

I have seen plenty of games where the starting armor is pathetic. Sometimes I even throw it out.

 

[Frindis]

I think Diablo 3/PoE did it right. Items might be good even if their stats look bad compared to your level because they can be utilized in your build in one way or another. Even early starter weapons can be very useful in the long run, like the Oni-Goroshi from the unique boss spawn in the PoE beach starting area.

 

[Brian Boru]

early starter weapons … like the Oni-Goroshi

Is that the one you can upgrade to the Omi-Gosh, for a real boost with surprise defense?

 

[Frindis]

@Brian Boru I think so.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHS_GQLgqtM

 

[Colif]

I don't really like boss battles, as many of them seem to include those "bullet sponge" type bosses. Or, bosses that are immune to every spell/weapon/skill you've learned throughout the game. There's a very thin line between fun & challenging or frustration.

i don't either which is funny since i play arpg and diablo is full of boss fights against the sort of bosses you mention in 2nd sentence... or becomes that way at higher levels. I think its cause I don't like dying in games, the survival bonus of sacred and the repair cost of wow have made me want to avoid life threatening positions. I still hated dying in tl2 and in that game, all it cost was money to res in the location you died... though that wasn't always a good idea if you just keep dying. Death feels like failure. In those games, it would start making me think I need to start again to get it right next time.

 

[Pifanjr]

Absolutely and it's why most mobile games are trash, as they all get you to a decent power level in no time at all and then hit the brakes until you fork over ever increasing amounts of money.

A good game shouldn't need good loot to be a good game though. If the gameplay itself is good, it doesn't really matter if the upgrades are almost negligible.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Unfortunat

Absolutely and it's why most mobile games are trash, as they all get you to a decent power level in no time at all and then hit the brakes until you fork over ever increasing amounts of money.

A good game shouldn't need good loot to be a good game though. If the gameplay itself is good, it doesn't really matter if the upgrades are almost negligible.

Unfortunately the Pay to Win design is becoming more acceptable as society declines towards more convenience with these mobile devices. I see cell phones as only having a few true advantageous and beneficial features, but IMO they don't make up for what seems to be mostly just making people more lazy and gullible.

 

[Zloth]

,...IMO they don't make up for what seems to be mostly just making people more lazy and gullible.

I thought that's what TV was for?

 

[Frag Maniac]

I thought that's what TV was for?

Well, the way I see it, a TV is still the same old in home leisure device it's always been, unless of course you stream TV on your mobile device, which makes people less inclined to notice or care about people around them. See where I'm going with this? Let's face it, cell phones are largely responsible for making people less active socially and physically away from home.

 

[Zimbaly]

They both suck more then those pop gummy bear candies and those suck so much. That kind of stuff makes me not want to play or buy certain games. I got better things to with my time and I'd rather have fun then grinding or getting crap spells like that. Give me power and let me smite the sinners!