What's your favorite RPG Combat and Leveling System?

[Onyx Oblivion]

JRPGs and WRPGs have, like, a billion different combat and leveling systems, with each series generally having their own, or overhauling it for each game.



My vote for best combat:

Grandia Xtreme.

Sure, Xtreme was a dungeon crawler...and the weak link in the series. But I feel it perfected the combat, without having battles drag out as long as Grandia 3, imo. Interuptting attacks and making your opponents times spent charging null and void is AWESOME.



My vote for best leveling system:

Oblivion.

The leveling allows for so many different character types. Offering near limitless replay value. And world leveling offered a decent challenge all the way through. Unless you fucked up your build. Or got to really high levels. I tend to stop and 25-30.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

There. Now it's all RPGs. Because my distinction was rather pointless, seeing as how WRPGs all have their own systems, too. And I wouldn't want anyone to feel left out.

Although...dungeon crawling, loot grabbing Diablo style RPGs all feel very similar...

 

[sephiroth1991]

I like what happens in fallout games, it's more simple and straight forward.

 

[Mikkaddo]

My favorite JRPG is always, without so much as a possible doubt . . .

Legend of Dragoon.

If only for the battle system alone. But it's not at all just that, it goes SO much farther. The dragons themselves, their origin, the other species in the world. Oh and the character development.

This isn't the classic anime paradigm either. In this story the main char an his "childhood friend" START by doing the love/not relationship without ever wanting to admit they really do love each other despite them being the ONLY ONES not willing to admit it. By the end of the first disc the two of them have at least matured enough to admit they care more about each other than friends. And by the middle of the second disc (or end, that disc goes by very quickly) they have gotten to the point of being IN a relationship, and it lasts

Spoiler: major plot point

until She gets mortally wounded by a dragon and is replaced by another new dragoon that no one likes because she's a dick . . .

As for my favorite levling up system, that would hands down be Star Ocean Second Story's system.

You get points for each level, and buy sets of skills that give you more HP/MP, more effect from items, stronger magick, better stats otherwise, additionally much better stats, ability to craft, upped ability to craft, and also a special skill that lowers the ammount of points it takes to gain any other skill.

It was so different, so unique, an so brilliant . . . and also so simple.

 

[Dilapsor]

I'd have to say my absolute favorite RPG system is the SPECIAL system used in Fallout 1 & 2. As much as I love FO3, Bethesda sorta missed the point of the SPECIAL system. I know I'm going to catch tons of flak for this, but I also really like the system in Morrowind as well as Oblivion.

 

[Legion]

I like Fallout 3's, it is simple enough, everything adds something new and they actually tell you properly when you level up.

Mass Effect's bugged me as pretty much every point added on about a couple of % to each statistic and didn't really give anything new. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't tell you when you level up beyond a little writing on the side that gets lost amongst all the combat information given. Seriously, on my first play through I reached level 5 before having realised, as I wasn't aware of what the noise meant.

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

I'll say...that's my biggest gripe with it. It's the reason I don't wanna play it to the end, actually. DEAR GOD! I thought ME1 was simple...

 

[Ken_J]

Fallout 3's leveling system is one of the best, in my opinion. Mainly because every time you level up you feel stronger and unlike in Oblivion it's a lot easier to level up and keep track of your progress.

 

[Abedeus]

Best combat:

Persona 4. Persona 3 was great and P4 improved on everything. Dungeon crawler, where you wander a map looking for next level (or to kill monsters or find chests). To initiate combat, you must make a contact with the enemy. If your character strikes his back, your team gets a bonus round. If you strike enemy's front, normal fight begins where either you or the enemy (if he's a lot stronger than you... or at least faster) start. Enemies can surprise you, too, if you don't attack them, they get a bonus round.

During the fight, it's your typical "find the enemy weakness and exploit the hell out of it" combat, which is unfortunately a double-edged sword. Your enemies can exploit your character's weakness AND THEY WILL DO IT. Most of the fights consist of hitting the weakness on every enemy, knocking them down and performing an All Out Attack (when everyone attacks the lying foes and deals huge damage to everything) or making a Follow-Up attack (one of the teammates will either knock down enemies or kill one enemy, depending who makes the FU attack).

Also, your melee attacks might miss and you might fall, your enemy's attack might miss and he may fall, magic attacks can be dodged (even AoE ones) and you can no longer have party-wide damage repelling spells on (there used to be enemies who Block every single Elemental attack and use that reflecting spell for Physical attacks.... nightmare). It's extremely fluid and if it wasn't for turns, it would feel like a great action game.

Best leveling system:

Diablo 2's system of "just one more level" which sucked you into the game well into 80s.

Okay, seriously now: Oblivion. I adore the way you use skills and attacks to level, and you level to use them. There are a lot of flaws, like you can effortlessly train some abilities by creating a very, very weak spell of opening door, standing before some object of door nature and leave a paperweight on the attack button, come back in 30 minutes. Or toggle crouching and turn on the walking button, get behind an NPC and leave your "run" key on for 30 minutes. Poof, you are now one stealthy bastard.

Also because there are some abilities (like Sneak or Alchemy or Diplomacy) which level your character up, but you aren't getting stronger. Enemies do. It's "fixed" by getting mods that stop enemies from getting levels along with your character and instead having pre-set levels... but that affects the game in some unpleasant ways (like having to travel far, far away to get any good loot, since you no longer meet thieves and bandits with awesome weapons and armor).

Still, it's an incredibly fun system.

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

I'll say...that's my biggest gripe with it. It's the reason I don't wanna play it to the end, actually. DEAR GOD! I thought ME1 was simple...

Insanity says hi.

"I'MMA GONNA HEADSHOT THEM WITH SNIPER RIFLE... wait, I died?"

 

[King Kupofried]

The Shadow Hearts series has a wonderful combat system using the Judgement Ring. It's simple, skill based, not so hard that it is intimidating and can be made easier using items, if desperate it can be made easier than that (but at reduced effectiveness) on the flip-side it can be made hard for increased power. It gives clear and fitting advantages for good effort and it makes you feel like you have a greater sway on the outcome of battle.
For leveling system, I'd say Final Fantasy X's Sphere Grid. I enjoyed it a lot, it was massive, and it gave you a wide number of options and special sphere to get around it if needed, it gave everyone a nice big section of their own unique abilities, through a normal run you might not even entirely fill out their starting section, and if you so desired could come to learn any ability with enough time and effort.

 

[Bobzer77]

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

I'll say...that's my biggest gripe with it. It's the reason I don't wanna play it to the end, actually. DEAR GOD! I thought ME1 was simple...

Same here I lost a lot of interest in that game when I saw how simple they made it, now I'm just dragging myself through it.

My favourite system would probably be a mix between morrowind, kotor and neverwinter nights, I'm not too fussed about combat I just want a huge choice of skills that are actually useful and unique.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

I'll say...that's my biggest gripe with it. It's the reason I don't wanna play it to the end, actually. DEAR GOD! I thought ME1 was simple...

Insanity says hi.

"I'MMA GONNA HEADSHOT THEM WITH SNIPER RIFLE... wait, I died?"

It's just the leveling that's simple. I don't recall us ever saying that game was too easy.

 

[Iron Mal]

I personally liked the old Diablo II way of doing it, you level up, you put five points on your stats and one point on a skill.

Simple, you play longer and you get stronger and can do fancier stuff (we don't need to get bogged down in 'systems' or 'grids' or crap like that).

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

I personally liked the old Diablo II way of doing it, you level up, you put five points on your stats and one point on a skill.

Simple, you play longer and you get stronger and can do fancier stuff (we don't need to get bogged down in 'systems' or 'grids' or crap like that).

I liked it, but seeing it in so many games and variations got old REALLY fast.

 

[Abedeus]

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

I'll say...that's my biggest gripe with it. It's the reason I don't wanna play it to the end, actually. DEAR GOD! I thought ME1 was simple...

Insanity says hi.

"I'MMA GONNA HEADSHOT THEM WITH SNIPER RIFLE... wait, I died?"

It's just the leveling that's simple. I don't recall us ever saying that game was too easy.

Simple doesn't mean easy or bad. I'd prefer not waste time behind the menus and inventory screens and focus on the gameplay and story. The first game was overcomplicated when it came to menus, now you say ME2 is too easy.

We'll have to wait for ME3 to fix EVERYTHING. Because they fixed most of the things in ME2 anyway.

 

[Dapper Ninja]

My preference in combat depends on what sort of RPG I'm playing.

For WRPGs, I usually prefer a KotOR sort of gameplay where battles are in real time, but you can pause and choose your next few attacks, giving the game a more strategic feel.

I like JRPGs to have turn-based combat with good, simple interfaces, like the Persona games. It's a huge pain in the ass to have to deal with the sort of interface that makes you go through about four menus every time you want to do something as simple as a basic attack (looking at you, Final Fantasy XIII).

That's still better than the god-awful attempts at real-time combat that games like Star Ocean IV and Eternal Sonata use, though.

For leveling systems, I like the approach that most WRPGs and Shin Megami Tensei games take - raise a stat or two, maybe pick a new skill or ability, and go back to your game. It really bugs me when you have no say in the way your character evolves or you're presented with a system that only creates the illusion of choice (Final Fantasy XIII again).

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Mass Effect 2 made it more helpful and each add on more useful, but dumbed it down far too much for my liking.

I'll say...that's my biggest gripe with it. It's the reason I don't wanna play it to the end, actually. DEAR GOD! I thought ME1 was simple...

Insanity says hi.

"I'MMA GONNA HEADSHOT THEM WITH SNIPER RIFLE... wait, I died?"

It's just the leveling that's simple. I don't recall us ever saying that game was too easy.

Simple doesn't mean easy or bad. I'd prefer not waste time behind the menus and inventory screens and focus on the gameplay and story. The first game was overcomplicated when it came to menus, now you say ME2 is too easy.

We'll have to wait for ME3 to fix EVERYTHING. Because they fixed most of the things in ME2 anyway.

I NEVER SAID IT WAS TOO EASY! I'd just like a little more depth to character creation that a class choice and a few skill points. Choosing a gun is really null, since the newer guns are pretty much always 100% better than the last one.

 

[C117]

Best combat: Kingdom Hearts II

Best leveling: Mass Effect

 

[Chamale]

I like the combat in, well, I almost want to say Pokemon. To me, this feels like a "true" RPG, where what matters most is the planning and level of your fighters, not reflexes. If we're counting games where twitch-fighting skills count, my vote goes to River City Ransom. BARF!

My favourite levelling system is Fallout 3. I like choosing perks at every level, and my gaming OCD gave me perfect stats by level 30. I hated the levelling in Oblivion, because it encouraged jumping around constantly tapping the "Cast Spell" button.

 

[soren7550]

For WRPGs, I say Mass Effect.

For JRPGs, I say Pokemon.

But then again, I haven't played so many RPGs to really say anything.