Level Up

In a role-playing video game (RPG), there are usually a couple ways to go about completing the quest you're given to save the world. This type of genre focuses not on reaction speed or play mechanics so much as macro and micro-based strategies in and out of combat. "Macro" refers to how you set up your team of typically medieval-type wanderers. Do you take four wizards, two knights and two wizards, a couple of thieves, or some other arrangement? "Micro" refers to how you command your characters in combat. Do you go for all-out physical damage, lots of magic boosts for fighters, a magical apocalypse in every fight, or some other type of strategy?

The one aspect of RPG's that has survived over twenty years of game development, however, is the idea of leveling. Each character is granted a "level," usually a numerical representation of his or her strength and abilities. A character at level 1 has just started the game; a character at level 70 is usually a death machine. "Leveling" is the intentional development of character levels on behalf of the player. In many RPG's, this refers to spending time wandering around and fighting extra monsters, giving your characters extra experience and thus extra levels to make them stronger.

When it comes to leveling, I believe there are three basic strategies that many players try to follow. These are outlined below and are especially applicable to the "old school" game series, such as Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy:

1. Speed Demon: Blow through the game like you don't have the time to even be playing it in the first place. Never spend time gaining experience points or gold, and avoid the best equipment at all costs. If you're not pushing forward in the plot, you're not having fun. Side quests are just that- optional side quests which should never distract you from the more important journey you're on to save the world.

Pros: This is easily one of the most challenging ways to take on these games, because many of them were designed to incorporate at least some degree of character building. If you get your highs off of being near death constantly and barely squeaking through even the easiest missions, though, this track is for you. As said before, you'll also be avoiding those painful hours of leveling and equipment searching.

Cons: Difficulty in this strategy can approach epic proportions to the point of impossibility. The risks you run, especially toward the end of the game if you haven't done any of the side quests, are sometimes suicidal. You are literally flying by the seat of your pants, casting first-grade fire spells against an ice juggernaut in the final dungeon. Godspeed.

2. Balanced Play: You spend some time leveling up, you get pretty good weapons and armor, you do a couple of side quests, and at the end of the game you find yourself in some danger but not huge amounts of it. This is how many game programmers originally designed their quests: to be played with an eye of character development but without having to spend hours between plot points making sure your characters were top notch warriors.

Pros: If done correctly, can offer an excellent balance of risk and reward. You don't sacrifice hours of your life, but at the same time you can push forward at a fairly good pace without dying every couple of fights.

Cons: Still requires leveling at some points in the game, and still results in you getting thrashed at least once or twice. You also have to spend more time than in the Speed Demon version, but less time than the last option.

3. Level Juggernaught: You live, eat, and breathe leveling. There's nothing you enjoy more than walking around outside each and every castle or fort, getting incrementally stronger and saving up for that sword that gives you a marginal +35 attack instead of +33 like the next cheapest version. Hours and hours of your time pass by as your wizard learns "Death Inferno" before you've even taken on the first dungeon. A side quest is not a side quest but a test of your manhood. You will leave no stone unturned in your hunt for the best weapons, armor, and magic. As a result of this behavior, any team you field in indomitable, and if you pick the optimal team (tank, brawler, healer, blaster)- guess what? The final boss of the game won't be able to scratch your shield. Even those "extra hard" Japanese-only bosses will be little more than a prolonged skirmish.

Pros: You run absolutely no risk. None. Your characters are so overly powerful and well equipped at each point in the game that, by the time you finally move forward in the plot, the regular enemies can't touch you. Hell, a nuclear bomb couldn't touch you by the time you're done. So every time you walk into a dungeon or boss fight, you know the outcome. Swift, undeniable victory.

Cons: As a result of your OCD leveling, there is almost no challenge left in the game at all. If anything, you may become so bored and jaded by that lack of risk that you stop playing the game before the end, because you know you'll destroy everything in your path until the quest is over anyway. Even worse, this type of gameplay can tack on a shitload of hours onto your overall play time ... not just 3-4 hours, but 20-30. Don't you have a life somewhere else?

The reason I've written this blog entry is because I've been thinking about how these strategies are a reflection of a player's overall personality. Some people just blow through things, others spend way to much time on them, and some people know the balance they need to be happy. Looking at this from another perspective, some people run lots of risk in the things they do, while others like to eliminate risk from any decision they make or any venture they pursue.

For as long as I can remember, I've been in one of these distinct classes of strategists in RPG's, and in life. Can you guess which one?

Happy winter break.