Developers Need To Understand That Grinding In An RPG Should Not Be Necessary

The video game world is filled with countless RPGs that require the player to level up and gain experience to progress through the story. This necessity makes the game relatively easier and less fun to enjoy.

We have many examples of titles where you do not have to grind at all and can end the game at level one. This allows the players to have the freedom to play the game however they want. It gives an experience of liberty and control over the game, making it more immersive and appealing. Let’s talk about this in detail.

Titles That Make Grinding An Essential

There are hundreds of video games that require the player to invest time building up their power and stats to progress in the story, as I stated before. This takes out the fun for many players because some people, or veterans in this case, just want to enjoy the game and test their skill with little to no grinding.

Final Fantasy series is a staple for RPGs, and they require a must-have grinding power scaling system. This means you can not progress the story without putting multiple extra hours in the game to get some designated set of skills to beat the next area of the game.

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Another great example of this is the Persona series. If you don’t grind and level up your characters in the games, you will get absolutely stepped even against the normal enemies. Persona series require hours of grinding to beat the dungeons and the bosses in them, and in my opinion, this is something that should not be necessary at all.

Video Games That Do Not Put Emphasis On Grinding

Many titles do exactly the opposite of the aforementioned criteria. Let’s take the Souls series, for example; in any of the Dark Souls titles, the player can beat the game at level one with a level one weapon, too. It’s the same case with Elden Ring, where you absolutely do not have to level up your character or grind in it to beat the game. If you’re good at the game, then leveling up should not be a concern.

Balanced Progression And Skill-Based Combat

Gamers shouldn’t be forced to grind; hence comes the balanced progression. A game should comprise enough leveling up throughout the campaign that the player does not feel the need to grind for countless hours just to beat a boss.

The same goes for skill-based combat video games, as these do not require extreme farming. Sekiro: Shadow Dies Twice is a prime example of a video game that requires no farming at all. It is just pure skill-driven combat that tests the ability and understanding of the player. If you learn the patterns and understand the game, then you do not need to farm or grind and can enjoy the game from the first encounter right till the final boss.

My Opinion On Both Sides Of Spectrum

I believe that a video game should be fair for players to enjoy at level one; however, for some players, this can be difficult. The perfect countermeasure for this scenario is to provide the player with the freedom to do both.

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If you are struggling with some arena, dungeon, enemy, or boss, then you can farm and grind your arms away. If you are a veteran or just good at the game, then you do not need any of this at all. The choice should be up to the player so an experience of freedom is provided.