[feedback] Does character level have a point?

I see the problem. Not sure yet if I agree.

But a solution might be that your character slots level up. Instead of specific characters. This way you can exchange for example a human warrior for a dwarven priest at any point if you feel like it.

Isn't that the kind of thing you're looking for Drew?

 

Obviously, behind the scenes there is is an item strength algorithm. In this type of a deck building game though, I think everything is so situational that you have to evaluate each card for use. I would suspect that nobody just puts all of their highest level items on their characters. As an example, my priest uses a level 6 Dueler's Buckler shield because of the role he plays in my party, as opposed to the level 14 Orange Shield which is arguably better (and over twice the level). Another example is with drawbacks. They likely have a negative power influence on cards, yet they can be a positive effect in a deck built around them. I'll stack slow and demonic pain on my eleven priest all day long. Thins the deck and lets me get to the cards I need to get to without actually harming my style of play with him.

As for sorting, I don't see how any of the other sorting mechanisms aren't meaningful. In respect to power, sorting by talents is, while more course grained, a better representation of power in my opinion since they are where the real item trade-offs come into play.

Seems I'm hijacking the thread to be about item levels, which I don't want to do. The question is really about character levels. What value do you feel they serve?

 

I'm on my third set of characters through the campaign, so I feel your pain. However, I do see a few reasons for the design decision.
1. Leveling new characters gives a reason to replay the campaign. Without levels or single player, I'd probably have moved on already.
2. Leveling up other characters makes players try different race/class/equipment mixes. There can be some roadblocks, but my 3 different parties were all very different and it was interesting seeing how they tackled the same challenge.
3. genre
4. fun of leveling
5. grind, to prolong the gaming experience


I might find this painful if multiplayer didn't auto-level the characters. Players who want to grind up multiple characters can, those who don't can skip it. Additionally, letting you buy characters at lvl 10 for a reasonable price also gives more freedom. I wouldn't mind if they added a more expensive option for purchasing higher level characters. Especially when they raise the level cap. All in all, this is the best "free" game I've played.