Games that make level grinding fun

[Skin]

I'd like to say Dark Souls. Because grinding out a decent total for that key element you've been after is just as rewarding when you know you've been through hell and back. And then strong enough to do it all again, but with a shiny new blade of doom. Doesn't stop every enemy from being able to kick you in the nuts but we live and learn.

But you don't need to grind in Dark Souls..

People have finished the game on level 1 with no armor.

 

[teebeeohh]

grinding is not fun
if it's fun it's leveling
or item farming but grinding specifically means it's not fun and you watch TV on the other screen

 

[Daymo]

Sequence, an indie RPG I picked up in the last steam sale has such a fun combat system that I enjoy doing the same three battles on each level enough times to get all the items. (Seriously buy this game if you like rhythm games or RPGs.)

Edit: What is with people aruging semantics, grinding, leveling and item farming are all so similar that they are interchangable.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I found that the Lord of the Rings, Return of the King game on the PS2 was pretty fun to level grind... although I don't know if it was more of an obsession with getting all the characters to max level (40). The worst part of doing that as well was the fact that after level 20 the characters only got stronger, they didn't have any new moves or bonuses to unlock! And the hobbits were a pain in the ass! They were crap to play as, and they could only play on rubbish levels, they couldn't go on the southern gate level with over 200 enemies like the other characters... The other anoying thing was they all played EXACTLY THE SAME! It was essentially leveling up the same character 4 times! But I did it, just to say I did...! :| Masochistic child, I was!

 

[babinro]

I haven't come across anything yet that has made the act of grinding fun.

Diablo 2 comes close because you're constantly going through the same game over and over again but there is still a clear goal in mind (beat the game on the hardest difficulty). Once that goal is accomplished, I have no incentive to grind for more levels or gear.

Games like Skyrim do a much better job at it, but the pacing is terrible. You frequently level too quickly early on and to level something like Restoration skill is beyond boring in terms of grind. It simultaneously improves and yet worsens the traditional grind experience.

My most tolerable grind experience would have to be Tales of Symphonia simply for the reason that the game has excellent pacing to minimize grind from the get go. Secondly because the combat system is a joy and so grinding is more tolerable.

 

[Fasckira]

If you're finding grinding fun then its not technically grinding anymore, at that point its just you're ideal leveling. Two games recently hit the nail on the head with me; Saints Row 3 and Skyrim. Both had leveling systems but the game was playable regardless of what level you were at.
The key I believe is to make leveling a system where it rewards you for playing, not something you strive to achieve. If I find myself thinking, "I need to kill 50 enemies to get to level 10 in order to get to the next level" then its no longer fun.

 

[Vhite]

Maple Story, so much grinding but it was fun.

 

[lRookiel]

Anything that does not feel like grinding.

For example, if I only have to run everything once to get to the max level, but that will require me to do everything - I am fine. As soon as I start having to double up in missions, or seek out things to do for the express purpose of levelling - its bad.

This. just this.

In skyrim for example you defeat a dungeon, get the loot and the xp, you dont have to go back there. I did read somewhere that dungeons reset after a while but it's no longer necessary to do them unless You want to because it was FUN which should be the more important thing in the first place, rather than needlessly grinding to be able to beat the next big thing -.-

 

[Aurgelmir]

Skyrim. Mainly because you grind by playing the game as it was intended. And most Power Leveling tricks are silly, yet fun.

 

[shimyia]

-"Dungeons of Dredmor" was very fun at start, then it became less fun and more satisfying and went down that road until u die (/or finish the game).

-also WoW was fun grinding with my friends for a while... after 1-2 years it became the most dull thing in the world

-"Torchlight" i guess was kinda fun the first 20 floors. after that i was begging for the ending.

-"Skyrim" is also very grindy but fun and satisfying at the same time. (i played it for about 10 hours... dunno how dull it gets 50 hours in)

-"Fallout: New Vegas" i had spent 40 hours in... i was metagaming: looting and selling EVERYTHING and using the money bug (buying and selling an item for an ammount and buying it back for less)
then i realised how dull it was and was begging for an ending... i skipped through a lot of story content and even destroyed the Brotherhood of Seteel in order to end the story faster.
I guess it's my own fault for making the game dull (by metagaming), the game was a blast though... never spent 40 hours in a singleplayer AAA game before (played FO3... was not as good).

-also did grind a lil bit in "Fable: the Lost Chapters" but that game is not very grindy at all... i just wanted more money so i used the same money bug from FO: NV.

etc...

 

[Sixcess]

I define grinding as slaughtering tons of a particular enemy for no quest related reason, just for the xp or rep or whatever. I don't do it very often as it's usually a sign I've ran out of actual content.

I will do it from time to time in City of Heroes - usually at higher levels when you can ramp the difficulty up to ridiculous levels (like soloing missions with enemy spawns set to 4 players, or 6... or 8...) but that's more to do with seeing how far I can push my character build than anything else. Even then I won't ever step into a 'farm' mission.

 

[captaincabbage]

Okay, this sounds weird, but Batman Arkham City.

Seriously, every time you level up, you get one upgrade point to spend on a multitude of things, which will spruce your batman up, and this game just makes it really fun to grind.

How does it do it? Why, by letting you foil super-criminals, beat up bad guys and do dastardly puzzles!
I know it's not the most traditional style of grinding, but, hey, shuddup.

 

[Aircross]

I have an unhealthy tolerance to grinding, which is why I avoid playing MMOs.

I managed to get my characters is DQ:IX to level 99 in all classes.

 

[Wolfram23]

Why do you think grinding is almost guaranteed? The last game I grinded anything was WoW, a couple years ago. All the RPGs I've played since have required no grinding. I mean, sure, there's a lot of baddies to kill as you progress, but AFAIK grinding is when you are expressly trying to kill stuff to level up. So yeah, I just let the natural flow of the game take care of my leveling. I wonder why so many people are talking about grinding like it's a synonym for leveling up?

IMO grinding is never fun.

Actually, I just thought about Demon's Souls/Dark Souls. I guess I did a little grinding in Demon's Souls to get shards for weapons. But while in both games you end up grinding a lot, it's not so much that you want to do it as that you keep dying while trying to progress and eventually you have enough souls to level up.

*recaptcha: please? abstanc
lol

 

[spartan231490]

The only game that I ever found grinding to be fun, was pokemon. All others suck. Make me want to shove a shotgun into my gameing device and pull the trigger.

Pokemon? That's debatable.
I've played dang near all of them, but I'd hardly call the grinding in that game 'fun',
It normally consists of; Find spot of grass, walk around several spaces, beat wild pokemon, rinse & repeat.
About the only changes that happens during this process is if you change loctaion, go back to the pokemon centre, or by some rare occurrence find a shiny pokemon.

No, it isn't debatable. I didn't claim that you enjoyed grinding in pokemon. I said that I enjoyed grinding in pokemon. And I do, there is no debate. I enjoy it because of how varied the enemy pokemon are. I also enjoy it because the leveling system is fairly rapid.

 

[Bolt-206]

The only game that I ever found grinding to be fun, was pokemon. All others suck. Make me want to shove a shotgun into my gameing device and pull the trigger.

Pokemon? That's debatable.
I've played dang near all of them, but I'd hardly call the grinding in that game 'fun',
It normally consists of; Find spot of grass, walk around several spaces, beat wild pokemon, rinse & repeat.
About the only changes that happens during this process is if you change loctaion, go back to the pokemon centre, or by some rare occurrence find a shiny pokemon.

No, it isn't debatable. I didn't claim that you enjoyed grinding in pokemon. I said that I enjoyed grinding in pokemon. And I do, there is no debate. I enjoy it because of how varied the enemy pokemon are. I also enjoy it because the leveling system is fairly rapid.

I'd still call this a debate, even if it does become short.
And who's to say I'm not the only who doesn't like grinding in the Pokemon series? And yes, there's just as likely to be a number of people on your side of this.
I did however, find it weird that it's THE ONLY game series you'd enjoy 'grinding' in.

 

[Batou667]

Also, Gears3 does a good job of letting everything you do in the game count towards your level (online, horde, campaign are all included).

Yeah, I agree. The steady stream of unlockable characters, skins and medals really keeps the experience... well, maybe fresh isn't the word, bu it certainly gives you reason to keep playing.

Slightly less good at this is Halo Reach. I think the introduction of Daily and Weekly challenges was a stroke of genius - especially as it encourages players to venture into game modes they wouldn't usually play.

 

[spartan231490]

The only game that I ever found grinding to be fun, was pokemon. All others suck. Make me want to shove a shotgun into my gameing device and pull the trigger.

Pokemon? That's debatable.
I've played dang near all of them, but I'd hardly call the grinding in that game 'fun',
It normally consists of; Find spot of grass, walk around several spaces, beat wild pokemon, rinse & repeat.
About the only changes that happens during this process is if you change loctaion, go back to the pokemon centre, or by some rare occurrence find a shiny pokemon.

No, it isn't debatable. I didn't claim that you enjoyed grinding in pokemon. I said that I enjoyed grinding in pokemon. And I do, there is no debate. I enjoy it because of how varied the enemy pokemon are. I also enjoy it because the leveling system is fairly rapid.

I'd still call this a debate, even if it does become short.
And who's to say I'm not the only who doesn't like grinding in the Pokemon series? And yes, there's just as likely to be a number of people on your side of this.
I did however, find it weird that it's THE ONLY game series you'd enjoy 'grinding' in.

I don't care that you find it odd. Nor did I make any assertion that you were the only who didn't enjoy grinding in pokemon. Nor did I make any assertion that others liked grinding. It is not debatable that I only like grinding in the pokemon series, that's my opinion, deal with it.