Topic

So, What's The Point of Leveling (Now)?

After playing quite extensively for the last two days and gaining about half the IMG I need to make it to another level, it occurs to me: What is the point of leveling up? I know we cannot help but level up, we get IMG for nearly all that we do and the IMG we gain is used/needed to acquire things within the world that we might want. But, why is leveling still part of the game?

In the past, leveling had the bonuses of a reward, plus higher energy and mood. It also had the downsides of more energy needed to teleport and more Currants needed to tithe. Now, it seems as though the only bonus to leveling is the leveling reward itself.

I'm not quite sure if the teleportation costs me more than at my previous level (I've leveled up once since the IMG implementation) and, as far as tithing goes, I have a lower level friend who tithes for me in exchange for things (sexy things... no, not really).

But without the energy tank and mood tank boosts - why do we need to level up at all? I mean, I get that goals are part of any game but is it actually necessary or even to our advantage in some way to do so?

It seems like unless the energy and mood loss tick percentages go down or slow when we level, there is no "value" to leveling now.

I'm not trying to rant here, I'm seriously curious about this. Does anyone have some input for me?

Thanks :)

Posted 7 months ago by foolbunny Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • I like the fact that the level is hidden now.  When it happens, it's a nice surprise, but not something I am trying to accomplish any longer.  (For the record, I've only leveled once since the housing 3 release, so I'm only level 43.)

    There needs to be something like levels for those who need a continuous goal to work towards, but for me de-emphasizing levels is a good thing as it removes that focus and makes it seem like whatever I feel like doing is just as valuable as anything else.

    It will be interesting to see if average hours played per day goes down once the current upheavals are absorbed. Maybe without prominent levels, enough people will lose the incentive to play that they are forced to re-emphasize them.
    Posted 7 months ago by Janitch Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Collecting enough imagination points to purchase the next upgrade is enough incentive for me to play.
    Posted 7 months ago by New Boy Subscriber! | Permalink
  • foolbunny wrote: why do we need to level up at all?

    You don't need to. This game is not about levels. I higher level Glitch is not better in any way than a lower level player. I understand that some people like to have a measure as to how  they are doing  but it is not really how Glitch is intended to function. 

    As a sandbox game Glitch is about enjoying yourself, doing what you want, and not about being better at it than another Glitch
    Posted 7 months ago by IrenicRhonda Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Levels are a status symbol 
    Posted 7 months ago by Polly Nomial Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Um, was there ever really a point?
    Posted 7 months ago by jjbob Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There is deliberately less of a point now than there was before (though we still use them to scale rewards for things like reflecting on icons, etc.)
    Posted 7 months ago by stoot barfield Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Is there a maximum level?  Will players who reach that level still be able to earn imagination?
    Posted 7 months ago by shhexy corin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I think 60 is still the max? Yes, I think they will continually be able to do so, because they will have to for I don't know what yet.
    Posted 7 months ago by Rook Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I've actually been wondering this myself. I was never that concerned with leveling. I only reached my pre-iMG level because of obsessive donating for the Icons. Now I just want the iMG for the upgrades and leveling up, I guess, is just a useless bonus. 
    Posted 7 months ago by Papa Legba Subscriber! | Permalink
  • we still get rewards for levelling.  I hit level 45 a couple of days ago and was rewarded with 1200 favour and 149,000 currants - I was pretty pleased : )

    The main goals for me in this game include levelling (as a long-term gamer that's always been my aim) and now of course IMG (or xp....) because we can now use it!
    Posted 7 months ago by ~Arabesque~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • If I'm meeting someone for the first time, I glance at their level to get an idea of whether they're new to the game or not... If someone at level 20 gives me an awesome stew, I'll say thank you, if someone at level 2 gives me an awesome stew, I'll ask if they really meant to do that.
    Posted 7 months ago by Batsgirl Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I love the fact we can still achieve higher levels, to me earning levels is like the icing on a deliscio..delishus..del..err, super yummy cake. They're like earning a promotion, earning a medal, earning more stripes, even earning a trophy, and we're able to show them off ~because, unlike actual trophies, we carry these ranks/stripes/medals with us wherever we go!
    I'd be sorely disappointed if we lost that completely. I may not be at a super high level (yet), but I earned each and every one I have, and I feel a sense of scilly pride in what I have achieved. =)
    Posted 7 months ago by ~Scilly~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Cool! I appreciate the input and am glad to see that:

    a) I'm not the only one curious about this
    b) there is a wider viewpoint to this than I had thought of before
    c) despite different gameplay practices, the enjoyment is still there for folks

    :)
    Posted 7 months ago by foolbunny Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have completely forgotten about levels, they really do not seem to matter. Before it was because of the conversion, so we got the max amt of img. Now, whatevs.

    :)
    Posted 7 months ago by Tibbi Subscriber! | Permalink
  • The only thing I've noticed about levels after the switch is that it's very annoying to level right at the end of the day and since I can't easily see when I'm close to leveling, that unexpected "surprise" isn't necessarily a good one.  (Quick!  Use up a  ton of energy in 2 minutes!)

    This makes me not like having the amount needed to level mostly hidden.  Well not hidden per se, you CAN go check it, but it's not easily visible without effort.
    Posted 7 months ago by Fleep Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have not leveled at all since the housing and imagination changes, and I am ok with that:) I prefer focusing on making food recipes and helping my friends build their homes. I am glad that I don't feel the grind to be at a certain level any longer.
    Posted 7 months ago by Queen Zipporah Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Full energy/mood refill. Probably a good measure of how long you have been playing. Not sure if my energy/mood max levels increase everytime I level-up, since I've only levelled-up once since the conversion.
    Posted 7 months ago by roderick ordonez Subscriber! | Permalink
  • You can see how far to level you are - click your face, it's right up at the top.
    Posted 7 months ago by Buttercup Dawn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Levels are less of a goal now and more of a side-effect of doing activities in the game.  Much better IMO and I hope there isn't a level cap in place so we can really see some ridiculous levels as this game ages.
    Posted 7 months ago by Warrender Subscriber! | Permalink
  • +1 to lifting the cap on levels!
    I like to work on making the next level, but I don't stress over it, still I totally love the 'Whoot! Wunderbar! Congrats! Yay!' we get when we do reach the next level.
    Yes, Warrender, it would be great to see if anyone can make it to level 100 and beyond with this new system we have in place now! =D
    Posted 7 months ago by ~Kaydee~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think higher levels give you more imagination for each qurazy quoin too!
    Posted 7 months ago by >^.^< Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I was leveling for the sake of leveling at first, after the switch, but now I kind of wish the iMG cost of leveling was a little higher. I have an all-consuming addiction to quoin multiplier upgrades, and in my relentless pursuit of more iMG to get more multiplier upgrades to get more iMG (yeah ... ) my level's about to tick over again and my cost to tithe will go up again. I notice the increased tithe more than any increase in shrine payout (Is there one? Really?). I don't feel like qurazy quoin value increases much with higher levels. I haven't done the math, but higher levels feel like a slight penalty for my other excesses.

    If there's a lesson in any of this, I refuse to learn it.  ^_^

    ETA: I learned a small lesson. Maybe. I'm going to actually keep track of some of these things so the next time a thread like this comes up I'm not just sharing my super-subjective perspective. 
    Posted 7 months ago by Aleph Zero Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Yes, the Qurazy Quoins' value grows with the level. As does the tithe (I think). Teleporting cost remains connected with energy tank and stays the same.

    Personally I love the fact that we can level again. It was never my main goal, but still, it is nice. Yay for levelling!
    Posted 7 months ago by Verea Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I like the new img, leveling for me is an act to get img for my upgrades.
    Posted 7 months ago by rosedragon Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Leveling in and of itself isn't that important anymore. As someone mentioned Qurazy Quoin base value goes up (I'm getting around 800 now, used to get like 600 something at level 42 IIRC).

    Tithe cost DOES go up, but as Stoot said the payout is ALSO tied to level, so hopefully one can assume that the increase in price for the tithe is balanced by the increased award. I'm sure Humbabella will check for us somehow at some point ;)

    A casual player will probably not notice something quite so insane, but all the caps for earning imagination are tied to level, or more accurately how much you need to the next level. Crafting an individual item has a cap at 6% of what you need for the next level and donating has a cap at 10% of what you need for the next level. (That being the base value. IE it takes 600,000 to get from 43 -> 44 so you'd be able to donate until you earned 60k every game day until you leveled.)

    Most of it is little things. In all honesty levels are really just nice bonuses. Nothing truly negative is connected to them anymore, so the 150k currants we'll all get for hitting level 45 is probably the biggest reward. They're just to measure your progress :)

    (((Also good for measuring your progress is the Zog's Glitchy Tools website Profile Page. It's the link third from the top. It tells you the number of imagination points you've earned since you began playing, even when it was called exp, and tells you how much you'll have when you reach the next level.)))
    Posted 7 months ago by Liza Throttlebottom Subscriber! | Permalink