Character scaling difficulty
Video game concept
Difficulty and/or type of opponents/challenges scales according to the character level or similar measure of ability.
39
games
12platforms
Alternate name: Character level scaling difficulty

X360 2006-03-24

WIN 2007

XBOX 2002-06-04

X360 2009-10-23

XBOX1 2014-08-26

PSP 2007-08

WIN 2002

WIN 2006-03-20

WIN 2002-05-07

WIN 2010-02-02

WIN 2011-09-09

WIN 2011-10-19
The first video game about Character scaling difficulty was released in 1991.
Blizzard Entertainment, Bethesda Softworks and EA International has published most of these games
This can mean that in sewers as level 1 character you encounter rats that are tough to beat (as stereotypical RPGs have), but when you return there with level 20 character, the rats are either also level 20 and about as hard to beat as they used to be, or are replaced with an opponent that matches your level 20, such as a greater demon. It could also mean that the thieves that rob you on a highway are tough but reasonably thief like characters, but when you reach level 20, they're equipped like epic heroes (the kind you're likely supposed to be).
There is no real realistic way to use level scaling, so it will seem strange no matter how you do it. The least unreal solution is to limit use of level scaling to a very few locations.
There is no real realistic way to use level scaling, so it will seem strange no matter how you do it. The least unreal solution is to limit use of level scaling to a very few locations.