Maxing out is when you are able to reach the highest level possible in a game. Every ability that you could possibly use is learned, and every stat has reached the point where it cannot go any higher for that particular character. This is a goal that some gamers go for, while others might feel it's a waste of time to try to get.
The primary way to max out is to find a place where monsters respawn and fight until you are finished. Some games do not offer this option though. What if there are no respawning enemies, and you have completed each quest and have yet to max out, now what? This might not sound like that much of a big deal, but I found out recently that it's actually a potential issue that can lead to incredibly annoying situations.
What if there was a certain task you wanted to complete in a video game that requires you to have a certain stat reach a certain value? If your characters cannot max out in this particular game, you might end up learning the hard way that you will not be able to complete that task during this run, leaving you forced with the option of starting over. Even the best games out there are a chore to get through all over again if you are forced to replay due to messing up on one or two little things. Being able to max out will completely eliminate such issues.
On the other side of the coin, the potential to max out raises the issue of your characters becoming too powerful, decreasing the difficulty of the game. Also, if everyone can learn every skill, then it makes the replay value go down. Playing as different people that have different advantages makes another run more entertaining. If everyone had every skill in the run you just completed, it's nowhere near as fun to do it all again.
So we have two sides to this issue. Should games allow you to max out or not? Maxing out allows you to be able to learn every skill and reach the caps for all stats, but it also diminishes replay value some as well as providing lower difficulty if all playable heroes unleash the best abilities on an endgame string of bosses. Even a middle ground poses problems of its own. If your hero must defeat every single enemy in every single quest to be able to max out, due to no monster respawns, then if you accidentally have someone die during a fight, there goes his/her chance at maxing out to learn the abilities you needed.
I personally am in favor of maxing out. It does not have to be done for those that do not like it. Characters usually have certain skills they are better at, even if it's a game where everyone can learn everything. Those who don't want a broken party can simply let everyone only learn skills under their expertise. That way if they have a sidequest they would like to do but have no desire to play the entire game again to do it, they will be able to learn the necessary skills to be able to complete such a quest. If the game does not let you max out, then you're stuck if you didn't learn all the right stuff along the way, and have to start all over again or abandon that quest alltogether. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that having to abandon a quest when I just don't have time to play the whole game again is one of the most frustrating things in the world to a gamer.
Where do you stand on this issue? Should games allow you to max out, why or why not?
Have you ever had an issue where you needed to be able to max out so you could complete a quest without having to start over? If so feel free to share what happened.
The other day I was playing Dragon Age. Check the spoiler tag for what inspired me to make this thread, since there is a huge spoiler for that game in it.
The bad news is, I have to replay the game in order to complete that quest the way I wanted to originally. The good news is, I have an excuse now to play the game as an evil character, I can still get the results I want as long as I have the right amount of ranks in certain stats. I don't have the time to do it anytime soon though, and that's extremely frustrating.
I've shared my experience with maxing out and lack thereof, let's hear from the rest of you.
The primary way to max out is to find a place where monsters respawn and fight until you are finished. Some games do not offer this option though. What if there are no respawning enemies, and you have completed each quest and have yet to max out, now what? This might not sound like that much of a big deal, but I found out recently that it's actually a potential issue that can lead to incredibly annoying situations.
What if there was a certain task you wanted to complete in a video game that requires you to have a certain stat reach a certain value? If your characters cannot max out in this particular game, you might end up learning the hard way that you will not be able to complete that task during this run, leaving you forced with the option of starting over. Even the best games out there are a chore to get through all over again if you are forced to replay due to messing up on one or two little things. Being able to max out will completely eliminate such issues.
On the other side of the coin, the potential to max out raises the issue of your characters becoming too powerful, decreasing the difficulty of the game. Also, if everyone can learn every skill, then it makes the replay value go down. Playing as different people that have different advantages makes another run more entertaining. If everyone had every skill in the run you just completed, it's nowhere near as fun to do it all again.
So we have two sides to this issue. Should games allow you to max out or not? Maxing out allows you to be able to learn every skill and reach the caps for all stats, but it also diminishes replay value some as well as providing lower difficulty if all playable heroes unleash the best abilities on an endgame string of bosses. Even a middle ground poses problems of its own. If your hero must defeat every single enemy in every single quest to be able to max out, due to no monster respawns, then if you accidentally have someone die during a fight, there goes his/her chance at maxing out to learn the abilities you needed.
I personally am in favor of maxing out. It does not have to be done for those that do not like it. Characters usually have certain skills they are better at, even if it's a game where everyone can learn everything. Those who don't want a broken party can simply let everyone only learn skills under their expertise. That way if they have a sidequest they would like to do but have no desire to play the entire game again to do it, they will be able to learn the necessary skills to be able to complete such a quest. If the game does not let you max out, then you're stuck if you didn't learn all the right stuff along the way, and have to start all over again or abandon that quest alltogether. I'm sure I speak for many when I say that having to abandon a quest when I just don't have time to play the whole game again is one of the most frustrating things in the world to a gamer.
Where do you stand on this issue? Should games allow you to max out, why or why not?
Have you ever had an issue where you needed to be able to max out so you could complete a quest without having to start over? If so feel free to share what happened.
The other day I was playing Dragon Age. Check the spoiler tag for what inspired me to make this thread, since there is a huge spoiler for that game in it.
I wanted to marry Anora since I already had a file where Allistair is king. I was a male human noble, the only option that you can be king as. I play through the whole game again and get to where you rescue Anora. When I propose to her, she turned me down. I thought you just had to be a male human noble. It turns out you need high levels in coercion, I only had the basic first level in it. I have to replay the entire game now because there are not enough side quests left to get me the 9 levels I need in order to obtain the necessary ranks in coercion, I had picked other stats along the way and thought it didn't matter, I had heard you just needed to be a male human noble and that was it. Wrong.
The bad news is, I have to replay the game in order to complete that quest the way I wanted to originally. The good news is, I have an excuse now to play the game as an evil character, I can still get the results I want as long as I have the right amount of ranks in certain stats. I don't have the time to do it anytime soon though, and that's extremely frustrating.
I've shared my experience with maxing out and lack thereof, let's hear from the rest of you.
