So I've been reading about various loot scaling formulas and how the loot is generated.
My question is simple, have I made a big mistake in exploring the world early on rather than doing sections at a time as I get stronger? Am I kind of setting a precedent that all the loot will be on the lower tier of quality for when I eventually head back to do some of those dungeons at higher level?
Please help me understand how this works! Thanks!
I don't think many are probably far enough along, or have been through enough of the content multiple times with different strategies (early explore vs. gradual) to really say for sure.
In the past content has been leveled in Bethesda games, so that as you advance the enemies you encounter will be about the same level difference from you at level ten as they would be if you fought them at level 1. This prevents the lack of fun in simply annihilating everything that would otherwise still be level one. Also, it makes the scale more about gear and spells/abilities you get as you level, to determine your overall power against similar scaled enemies.
Most enemies in the past also have had scale caps. In other words, a mud crab might scale with the player, but they have a cap set at level ten. So, when you are level 1, the crab is level 1. When you are level 10, the same crab is level 10. However, when you are level 20, that same crab will still be level 10. This helps prevent certain enemies that should never level to become uber-powerful.
Also, if I understand Skyrim correctly there are certain "zones" which will always have slightly higher scaling content and tougher enemies. You will have to make that determination as you go along.
Weapons work the same way, in that things you find are generally level appropriate. Something tells me in this game, the top tier gear is going to be from bosses (which past titles were somewhat light on), or from crafting/enchanting your own gear (hello huge new crafting system!)
So, my advice would be, just go as seems natural. If you run into something too tough, maybe fall back and explore another zone for a while, and build up strength. But if you can get there without dying, you won't be let down having been there.
» Fri May 11, 2012 7:18 pm 
