Level Scaling was is in FO3
this means that even if you were at say level 10 all enemies would roughly = that even enemies in the first area you start the game out
so again your at level 30 your still facing enemies relative to your level regardless of where you are on the map


In NV that is not the case there are areas on the map where there are high level enemies in place so a level 1 player trying to go to these places would get destroyed

For me sometimes it can be frustrating since I like to explore
a few times I got killed by a horde of enemies even though I did not really go to far out the set course of the main/sub quest areas at the time

Thank god. I'm so glad this game wasn't scaled and I hope none of them are in the future either. I don't like being able to destroy anything that gets in my path at the start of the game just because the devs don't want people to get frustrated. If I'm too weak I come back later and thats good with me.

I like the lessened level scaling. It gives me a sense that my character is becoming more powerful, and I find it fun to run into areas where I might get owned. When I wander somewhere I'm not ready for and get killed or have to run away I just say, "hrm...ok...guess I'll go back later for revenge..."

Level scaling makes games feel homogenized. Areas with enemies of varying difficulty give locations in the game world more character. If I'm out exploring and I spot some baddies I can't take on I just have to sneak by or find a way around. It makes the setting seem more real to me somehow.

It makes things interesting. I wish Bethesda never introduced such rampant scaling to begin with. I loved the feeling I got in Morrowind the first time I found a Daedric ruin, and then promptly began running for my life.

I mean, a little scaling is a good thing, but having everything scaled takes out any semblance of a challenge.

Agreed. Being forced to run away is always good for a cheap thrill and a laugh. Not only that, it can be fun to see what you can get away with at a low level. I like to venture into areas designed for higher level characters and see if I'm a clever enough player to get away with it.

Same, I found Oblivion's level scaling to be a curse on their games, not a blessing.

I prefer to have limits to what my character can do in the game. I think it would be a little stupid to have a level 3 character that can take on a Deathclaw. Some enemies are just supposed to be more dangerous than others.

Edit: I also like the challenge of taking on something that is beyond my limits. For instance I went into Vault 34 at level 9. If it was scaled, it would've been too easy and I probably wouldn't have been able to get the All-American Carbine that early!

I'd go so far as to say it ruined the game. It did for me, anyway. I stopped playing until some of the overhaul mods came out. The loot scaling was even worse. Can't find glass armor at all until you're a certain level, then all of a sudden every bandit and robber in Cyrodiil is wearing it. Horrible.

I hated that in Oblivion I could one-shot enemies with a poisoned bow at level 1 but at level 30 it just made them mad.

I didn't like how weak the enemies were at lower levels either... I just ramped up the difficulty to compensate. Of course the first time I went through an Oblivion gate I was promptly killed (my first playthrough with the game, I had it on the hardest difficulty without knowing it).

bliviongate:

I've been wanting to use that emoticon!

It doesn't work in a open world, remember how caravans getting slaughtered after FO3 introduces the scaling? Also it destroys the impression of the world, everyone running around like a bos elite squad just because you hit a cap.

I like how it is sorry. :celebration:

Why?

Wasn't aware there was scaling in FO3. Never noticed it. The mutants at the DC ruins had the same HP when I was level 10 and then 30.

Word.

Finding some glass or ebony armor in Morrowind was an awesome score. In Oblivion, at high levels; every two-bit hood in the whole stinkin world had some, so who cares?

Lvl scaling is bad bad bad! Just give me some challenges that I can’t fool with until I work my way up in the world.

FO3 did less scaling than Oblivion and that was good.

NV does less than FO3 and that's even better.

I loved Oblivion but it's true, the rampant scaling ruined part of it for me because not only did I never have a real challenge, but weapons changed their worth so vastly in such a short time. It was immersion-breaking to be pulled out of a fantasy world and realize "oh I guess those spawn now that I hit level 16" It felt like the world was changing around me rather than being a persistent universe growing organically.

They introduced it with the broken steel DLC, after you reach lvl 20+ you will encounter stronger enemies. It didn't change the lvl of all factions and ended in a result that a single albino radscorpion could wipe out a entire group of npcs.

Yup yup! :tops:

I absolutely love the occasional side-bar challenge. I like to wander and explore and especially like it when I'm low level and know I can get my a** handed to me around any corner. It adds suspense and an element of fear (even if you have a recent save and know it isn't that big of a deal you still find your heart beating a little faster). For me the best part is sighting an enemy that I have no business messing with and doing the slow sneaking stalk, looking for high ground with a long sight line... Pow! pow pow pow pow pow pow (oh SH**!) pow pow pppppp-ow. thud. WHEW!

Killing a Deathclaw or even a Rad Scorpion at low level is a pretty good feeling. These encounters are why I keep my pockets full of grenades, mines and, on a good day, a stealth boy. Spices things up a bit.

I love it. I like the idea that you can run straight into a horde of either cazadors or deathclaws right outside of Goodsprings.

I really like the fact that up until higher levels there is a distinct possibility that around a new corner there could be a critter you hand you your ass.

I want to have to mentally note places that are not to be looked into until I am far stronger. If I am really curious I'll try and be sneaky and maybe run away when things go sideways.

I didn't have a problem with level scaling

I was able to best Oblivion and FO3 easily despite the level scaling.

I do like the "no level scaling" in F:NV especially sense now I really can't just go anywhere I want. It feels like I have limitations and boundaries that I have to overcome but can't until later.

Exactly, and at the risk of giving the classic fallouts another tounge-bath... it reminds me of sequence-breaking in Fallout 2. In FO3 you could run right to rivet city and bypass chain easily, without even much challenge because if you skirted the areas that spawned super mutants you only faced low-level scaled ghouls and whatnot.

In FO2 you could do it, but you had to brave actual danger.

I like it the way it is now in New Vegas. This was something Marrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3 had wrong. I hope Bethesda learns this, but I doubt it. I also like the SPECIAL system and how you level up far better than Marrowind/Oblivion's systems.

I think the way Borderlands did it is perfect. It's difficult all the way through.

Obviously I'm in the minority responding to the poll, but I liked level scaling in F03. They fine tuned it quite a lot compared to Oblivion and it was much less heavy-handed and obvious. The DC Wasteland wasn't a cake walk for a new character on higher levels of difficulty with the DLCs. I've been squashed by many a Yao Guai, Deathclaw, Super Mutant Overlord/Behemoth, Feral Ghoul Reaver and Enclave Hellfire Trooper. That said, I like the ability to explore most any area of the map and attempt any quest when I wish to. The Deathclaw/Cazador "wall" you first encounter is pretty arbitrary and obvious. Why are they there and not in the other direction? Even the NPCs you encounter can't tell you a good reason because there isn't one. They might as well have place an impassable mountain ridge in that portion of the game. My character is now 21 and getting to the point its not such an issue, but I still prefer the Bethesda method vs. Obsidian.