Starfield is the latest RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, taking the studio’s iconic style to interstellar locales in what appears to be Bethesda’s biggest game to date, and its character leveling seems to be equally ambitious. Per the tried and true roleplaying formula, players earn experience for a variety of accomplishments – killing enemies, exploring new places, completing quests, succeeding on skill checks such as persuasion and lockpicking, and much more. The expansive Settled Systems offer plenty of opportunities to level up, but it may actually be impossible to hit Starfield’s level cap.
Bethesda RPGs are no stranger to power creep; while a player character typically starts their adventure scrounging for every item that might be traded for slightly better gear, it’s usually not long before they’re more than capable in a variety of skills. For instance, The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim originally had a level cap of 81, where all skills were maxed out, but the subsequent addition of Legendary skills raised that to level 252. On an even grander scale, Fallout 4 technically doesn’t even have a level cap, but the game crashes after passing level 65,535. Starfield’s level cap may share the Fallout 4 method.
According to Bethesda’s Head of Publishing, Pete Hines (via GamesRadar), Starfield may not have a set level cap. If there is one, Hines says no one at Bethesda has reached it. Theoretically, there is a soft cap once every skill has been acquired, but that may not stop players from continuing to gain levels. Prior to release, it’s known that there are five skill trees – Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech – with each individual skill having ranks of increasing efficacy.
Being able to acquire so many skills in such a wide variety of disciplines bodes well for players that want to see all Starfield has to offer. With Starfield having over 1,000 planets to explore, it’s practically guaranteed that each and every skill will be put to good use multiple times. Although a character will likely start out specializing in a few areas of the skill trees, Starfield seemingly having no level cap means they’ll eventually be able to master every skill. This may help keep the game fresh in its latter parts, where players are able to change their play style as old ones grow stale.
Starfield’s non-existent level cap will also have something of an effect on the narrative, or at least from the player’s point of view. The game’s main story revolves around an organization known as Constellation, which strives to continue the exploration of unknown worlds while much of humankind has grown complacent in its current interstellar society. With the player in control, their character is likely to become a prodigious explorer adept at an impressively wide variety of skills, especially in the game’s latter stages. Meticulously crafting a specialized character brings its own satisfaction, but the breadth of Starfield itself may benefit from the apparent lack of a…
2023-08-27 19:24:03
Post from screenrant.com
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