Cap level and difficulty of reaching it?

[Laz Man]

I have been getting a real kick out of TFP defending the curve by saying there's no cap. There's a soft cap with massive diminishing returns.

 

Quit beating around the bush. lol

 

As gazz mentioned it is subjective. For example, I may think 1 billion exp to lvl once is just fine while the next guy thinks its overkill. I assume that is one reason they didnt set a low hard cap so players can keep going If they wanted too.

 

Personally for myself, my soft cap level would probably be the point horde nights dont award enough exp to level at least once (while using the learning exlixer).

[Gazz]

I have been getting a real kick out of TFP defending the curve by saying there's no cap. There's a soft cap with massive diminishing returns.

Quit beating around the bush. lol

It is simply false to state that there is a soft cap. No beatings are required.

The rate of increase is the same on level 5 as it is on level 117.

 

A soft cap would mean that the function changes at some point and starts using a different factor. That is not happening.

[e1ghtbit]

Are you getting a 150+ kills on horde night like me? That's a lot of dead zeds. When that becomes unrewarding is when I get bored.

 

Progression in this game has hit a strange snag. I know the goal is to add some longevity to the worlds but all it has done is bored almost all of the players on my server. The only thing that I have left to do is finish my cool subway and I'm done with 7d2d until the next alpha. That loot nerf they did in tandem with the crafting killed my 9 player server. Now it's just me and occasionally the couple who run it. They aren't having fun or progressing in any meaningful way so they gave up. They aren't even half my level yet (i'm creeping up on 70) and they just aren't feeling fun in the slower game.

[e1ghtbit]

It is simply false to state that there is a soft cap. No beatings are required.

The rate of increase is the same on level 5 as it is on level 117.

 

A soft cap would mean that the function changes at some point and starts using a different factor. That is not happening.

 

It's just not possible to hit the actual cap in normal play. The time alone is the soft cap. The non-scaling XP per action adds to that.

[Kalen]

It is simply false to state that there is a soft cap. No beatings are required.

The rate of increase is the same on level 5 as it is on level 117.

 

A soft cap would mean that the function changes at some point and starts using a different factor. That is not happening.

 

Well technically it does change....

 

<!-- XP to complete the current level will cap out at 2^32/2. (lvl 252 in A18) -->

 

It goes from exponential growth to linear growth at level 252.... but yeah, there is no soft cap. There is a hard cap at 300 and an effective cap of whenever you get bored of killing thousands of zombies (for me it's probably going to be around 100-125)

[manni44]

Are you getting a 150+ kills on horde night like me? That's a lot of dead zeds. When that becomes unrewarding is when I get bored.

 

Progression in this game has hit a strange snag. I know the goal is to add some longevity to the worlds but all it has done is bored almost all of the players on my server. The only thing that I have left to do is finish my cool subway and I'm done with 7d2d until the next alpha. That loot nerf they did in tandem with the crafting killed my 9 player server. Now it's just me and occasionally the couple who run it. They aren't having fun or progressing in any meaningful way so they gave up. They aren't even half my level yet (i'm creeping up on 70) and they just aren't feeling fun in the slower game.

 

Not all of us can play 10 hours a day to get some lvl ups. Most ppl might play only 1-3 hours a day or less, those are the ppl getting bored fast because they cant get any progression in the short amount oft time they are able to play

[e1ghtbit]

As I'm getting closer to 70 with over 5k kills I would say I'm pretty bored too. All things considered this is a pretty good Alpha. It's not my favorite in terms of progression but overall it's got a lot of meat to it. It just isn't enough to keep me playing. How long has this alpha been out? A week or two right?

 

-edit-

 

Just checked and it's two weeks. That's about what I got from this game before I got bored. I think I played Alpha 17 about double that. And alpha 16 WAY more. Hopefully some future updates bring my drive back

[Laz Man]

Not all of us can play 10 hours a day to get some lvl ups. Most ppl might play only 1-3 hours a day or less, those are the ppl getting bored fast because they cant get any progression in the short amount oft time they are able to play

 

Dont throw me in that bucket. I play probably less then 10 hours a week and not even close to being bored. (Lvl 25, gs~50, 60 min days, day 25 currently, etc.) 😂

[Laz Man]

It is also worth reiterating that end game development is not finished (quests, bandits, etc.) So people will get through everything quickly yet especially if they pour in alot of hours. This will also depend on your settings. Mileage will vary.

[e1ghtbit]

Well yea it is still in alpha and there is no "endgame" just yet. I'm hoping that dedicated players getting bored and dropping off playing for a while is the kind of feedback they need to flesh the game out. Maybe they'll find a happy middle somewhere on the way.

[HungryZombie]

Maybe the high lvl Trader quests should reward a skill point? From what I understand a T5 clear takes a very long time. I mean the whole point of people wanting to level is to get more skill points? This would be a decent compromise I think.

[e1ghtbit]

I did my first T5 clear quest yesterday and it was for the Apartment building. I started at 18:00 and finished the next day at 8:00. I don't think the apartment building is quite as large as one of the factories though. I expect it to take about an hour to clear through a big POI like that.

 

Is that worth a skillpoint? I kind of think so. I would even accept doing a series and earning a skill point. Some way outside of leveling up to earn points would be great IMO.

[jdm311]

Maybe the high lvl Trader quests should reward a skill point? From what I understand a T5 clear takes a very long time. I mean the whole point of people wanting to level is to get more skill points? This would be a decent compromise I think.

 

::stamps with approval::

[Whorhay]

I did my first T5 clear quest yesterday and it was for the Apartment building. I started at 18:00 and finished the next day at 8:00. I don't think the apartment building is quite as large as one of the factories though. I expect it to take about an hour to clear through a big POI like that.

 

Is that worth a skillpoint? I kind of think so. I would even accept doing a series and earning a skill point. Some way outside of leveling up to earn points would be great IMO.

 

Just took me two days/hours of constant play to clear out a Shotgun HQ for the first time. I was looting everything as I went and sneaking everywhere I could to get sleeper kills. I suppose if I went in guns blazing with a lot more ammo, and skipped looting most stuff I could get it done in one game day, maybe. I think a skill point per T5 quest would definitely be a good incentive.

[Laz Man]

I did my first T5 clear quest yesterday and it was for the Apartment building. I started at 18:00 and finished the next day at 8:00. I don't think the apartment building is quite as large as one of the factories though. I expect it to take about an hour to clear through a big POI like that.

 

Is that worth a skillpoint? I kind of think so. I would even accept doing a series and earning a skill point. Some way outside of leveling up to earn points would be great IMO.

 

Clearing will also vary on how much time is spent looting/scavenging. I think it can already be modded to award skill points if the devs dont add it at this time.

 

I've never done a t5 quest yet but as long as the quests are not too common it should be okay.

[e1ghtbit]

They are common. You can take them from the Trader pretty regularly. But you can only do the one at a time and you have to come back to turn in. If t5's are taking a whole real life hour or two we are talking hundreds of hours for extra skill points.

[Laz Man]

They are common. You can take them from the Trader pretty regularly. But you can only do the one at a time and you have to come back to turn in. If t5's are taking a whole real life hour or two we are talking hundreds of hours for extra skill points.

 

I think the tricky balancing part is when the quests should be made available to players. Since t5s quests are supposed to be challenging, they shouldnt show up until a specific GS level imo.

[Scyris]

We hit level 40 something last night and exp has slowed to a crawl, a couple hundred zeds gave almost a level during horde night. Almost. Maxing out a couple attributes seems almost ridiculously hard now.

 

The goal is that by level 40 or 50 you have your basic build locked in it seems to me anyway. My basic build is 6-7 str (I use a cigar for +1 str and 10% barter if I find/craft one), 5 fort, 3 perception for a start. Sledge/shotgun/sex t-rex/miner 69'er skills in str, fort is living off the land and healing factor 3 as well as some into mguns and probally heavy armor. Perception is for salvage ops 3 and lucky looter 3. Int perks are mostly worthless to me, as are most perception and agility perks. Only thing I'd want in agi is handguns as the pistol can hit upwards of 60 damage with a good t6+mods before any perk/book damage bonuses. It also has the most common ammo that stacks the highest.

 

I play on warrior difficulty and so far this build is the most viable i've found. You can skip the perception if you wanted to. Once you get a god pump shotgun and the tube mod to up its clip size, and some perks in the shotgun line, you can 1 shot male ferals with standing headshots, and have a pump shotty with 12-13 round clips. Sledge is by far the best melee weapon followed by clubs, not just for its damage but the fact it knocks down extremly often and a zombie thats knocked down is pretty much a free kill.

 

- - - Updated - - -

 

Clearing will also vary on how much time is spent looting/scavenging. I think it can already be modded to award skill points if the devs dont add it at this time.

 

I've never done a t5 quest yet but as long as the quests are not too common it should be okay.

 

T5 quests are generally in the HUGE poi's like the shamway/shotgun messiah factory and the big hospital, they generally take an hour+ real time to do if its a clear one solo. Depends how you fight, I mostly melee, so that makes it take a bit longer as I have to get close, if I was to use a shotgun instead I could probally shave 30% of the time needed off as I could pop zombies across rooms. Once you unlock t5's you generally get 3 t5's a day and 2 lower tier quests from each trader. T5 Fetch quests are very quick, but they also seem to be the rarest ones to show up. If its a t5 fetch I usually just beeline to the satchel, then beeline to the loot ignoring most zombies along the way.

[SenpaiThatIngnoresYou]

Well yea it is still in alpha and there is no "endgame" just yet. I'm hoping that dedicated players getting bored and dropping off playing for a while is the kind of feedback they need to flesh the game out. Maybe they'll find a happy middle somewhere on the way.

 

I think they are making some damn fine progress. This latest build almost feels like they got the game loop down pat. The perk tree, the skills, the looting, the weapons, and the survival mechanics so far are very fun.

 

The only real problem seems to be end game. Once you finish a few tier 5 quests things start to slow down.