Last weekend I logged into a City of Heroes rogue server to take my kids for a round of radio missions. I let my son look through my characters first so he could decide which toon I’d bring with him (we wound up with two Masterminds, which was awesome), and he remarked on the fact that I have so many characters in the middle level-band… whereupon I launched into an explanation for leveling curves in MMOs.
See, City of Heroes’ leveling curve is rough, even on rogue servers with double experience. Like a lot of older MMORPGs, it allows you to level pretty quickly early on, but unless you’re cheese-farming some AE missions, the late-game leveling slows waaaaaay down for people playing as intended, as each level takes significantly longer than the one before. There’s a sweet spot in the 30s, as well, when players get their ultimate primary powerset skill and new skills start coming every three levels instead of every two. In short, the mid-30s is when the game starts feeling like a grind.
I much, much prefer flatter leveling curves like Guild Wars 2’s, and I don’t necessarily think the fact that most of Guild Wars 2’s content comes after level 80 is the issue, as Ouroboros ensures you can play most of City of Heroes at the cap too.
Which MMO would you say offers the best leveling curve?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
