I don't understand the grinding issue in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

[Kylo Rey]

So i don't understand the grinding issue in this game. Many players are still complaining about this.
I m currently at Lvl 42, and i just had "THAT" sad scene in Athens after meeting Xenia, Hippcrates and the girl in Corinthia.

That Corinthia zone is a 22-25 lvl zone (but in my game, enemies are same lvl as me) . I'm 20 levels above what's necessary in that region, and i'm playing on Hard Difficult.
I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum...
So i can understand that i may have a higher level.
But 20 levels above??? I mean what did some players here to feel a grinding wall in this game??

 

[WillySJ3]

I finished the game last friday, lvl 55, 74 hours, never had the needs to grind for lvl or resources.

It has been discussed a lot in the last few weeks, just a matter of opinion really.

 

[Kylo Rey]

I finished the game last friday, lvl 55, 74 hours, never had the needs to grind for lvl or resources.

It has been discussed a lot in the last few weeks, just a matter of opinion really.

Click to shrink...

I'm at 80h now and i need to take Aspasia to a place after a plague in Athens. I think im far from the end ^^

 

[Cugel]

I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum...

Click to shrink...

A lot of people don't do side content or fetch quests.

 

[Fiery Phoenix]

I have not played Odyssey but I understand that the complaints stem from a combination of burnout and the fact that the game has level-gating.

 

[Euler]

I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum...

Click to shrink...

By doing that, aren't you doing literally all of the possible grinding?

 

[Decarb]

If you did all the side quests and cleared an entire area before entering new area and did the daily quests, obviously you're not going to see the issue with grinding.

 

[Kylo Rey]

I have not played Odyssey but I understand that the complaints stem from a combination of burnout and the fact that the game has level-gating.

Click to shrink...

But how do you complain about this? I know i do every quests but i'm 20 level ABOVE what's recommended. How is it possible to feel a wall by just playing the game?

 

[modiz]

"I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum..."
ummm of course you wouldnt have an issue with the grinding if you grind anyway. not everyone is doing this.

 

[Deleted member 426]

"I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum..."
ummm of course you wouldnt have an issue with the grinding if you grind anyway. not everyone is doing this.

Click to shrink...

Their point is that they're 20 levels above.

 

[Krooner]

The majority of people don't do side content or fetch quests.

Click to shrink...

FTFY

 

[Kylo Rey]

If you did all the side quests and cleared an entire area before entering new area and did the daily quests, obviously you're not going to see the issue with grinding.

Click to shrink...

"I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum..."
ummm of course you wouldnt have an issue with the grinding if you grind anyway. not everyone is doing this.

Click to shrink...

I understand but i'm not 1 or 2 level above but 20.
My question is how it is possible to feel a grinding wall by just playing main quest?

 

[elenarie]

I finished the game with 115 hours in and being level 64. Never was underleveled for a single location I went to.

I guess there are some people that literally ignore everything and only follow a single questline. :)

 

[Alderade]

I remember doing the mains quest with a lvl 30 quest and the next one was like lvl 34.
So yes, there is forced grind.

 

[ffvorax]

The whole complain point was that "side quest" are actually "mandatory quest" to not be underleveled by a mandatory locked system to proceed with the main story... obviously you dont see this problem if you do everything.

 

[RockmanBN]

I like doing side stuff but like said, most people only do the main campaign.

 

[Error 52]

I understand but i'm not 1 or 2 level above but 20.
My question is how it is possible to feel a grinding wall by just playing main quest?

Click to shrink...

There's a lot of side quests in that game.

 

[WhiteNovember]

I think the complains mainly Comes from those, that only played the campaign and ignored the side quests.

 

[King_Moc]

I just did the main missions and the gold coloured side quests and never had an issue with levels.

 

[Budi]

I really can't say for sure, as I'm not quite even half way through yet. But so far I haven't felt any need or push to grind.

I finished the game last friday, lvl 55, 74 hours, never had the needs to grind for lvl or resources.

It has been discussed a lot in the last few weeks, just a matter of opinion really.

Click to shrink...

Not just last few weeks, its' been discussed since the release. This is probably like 5th thread at Era alone about it. And OP has been posting in all of them, so their opinion isn't exactly a surprise.

 

[Good4Squat]

I never had a problem with it either, but then again, I didn't try to rush the main story while ignoring all the side content. Because I actually enjoyed doing the side stuff.

 

[Deleted member 4044]

It's one of those things that is championed by people who didn't play the game and who hate microtransactions as a way to dismiss it.

In reality, t's not an issue at all. One of my favorite games of 2018.

 

[Decarb]

I understand but i'm not 1 or 2 level above but 20.
My question is how it is possible to feel a grinding wall by just playing main quest?

Click to shrink...

The balance of the game is such that it expects you to do story, couple of side quests, story, couple of side quests and so on. If you hop from story marker to story marker you'll be under leveled, but if you do practically everything to "clean up" the map you'll be over leveled in no time.

 

[Mendrox]

--> does every single sidequest in the game

"I don't understand the grinding issue"

Well some people don't give a shit about the filler sidequests.

 

[Jaaake]

I finished the game with 115 hours in and being level 64. Never was underleveled for a single location I went to.

I guess there are some people that literally ignore everything and only follow a single questline. :)

Click to shrink...

Yuuup.

I remember there was a thread here like a week or so ago complaining about a mission that needed 15,000 of whatever currency (been a while since I played; already forgotten) and used it as an example as to why Odyssey is a grindfest. But like... if they had literally even bothered to do the objectives of said mission, they'd have realised that it gives you three opportunities to earn that amount of currency and more. Instead they chose to just come here and complain about something that isn't an issue at all.

It's all so tiring to read sometimes. Just play the game.

--> does every single sidequest in the game

"I don't understand the grinding issue"

Well some people don't give a shit about the filler sidequests.

Click to shrink...

You don't even need to do every single side quest. Far from it. Did you even play the game?

 

[Nintendo]

I had no problem with it. It was fun doing a couple of side quests between main missions. If anything, I found it harder to not be over leveled. The game has level scaling though so that wasn't a problem neither.

 

[Darkstorne]

The whole complain point was that "side quest" are actually "mandatory quest" to not be underleveled by a mandatory locked system to proceed with the main story... obviously you dont see this problem if you do everything.

Click to shrink...

I think it's sometimes considered an issue because it's not normal for the AC series. But for an RPG it's a very efficient system, that doesn't require grinding at all, and you'll be fine with only doing some of the side quests. Complaining that you can't skip straight to the next core plot point all the time just sounds weird to RPG gamers. "Can't I just skip to the point where I find Ciri already? Why do I need to bother with the Baron and these bog witches? Why did I need to help the mute kid who loves to defecate to the sunrise?"

I also completed all the side content and exploration I could find (other than the procedural stuff, which I always ignored), and had the same issue - so massively over-levelled I could skip ahead to zones that were supposed to be for high end content. But I did the same thing in the Witcher 3 and found I prefer Odyssey's system of levelling up enemies to a couple of levels below you to keep that content at least somewhat interesting. In TW3 I was just one-shotting everything, boss fights lost all sense of challenge and tension, and it marred the gameplay for me.

 

[Patitoloco]

It's one of those things that is championed by people who didn't play the game and who hate microtransactions as a way to dismiss it.

In reality, t's not an issue at all. One of my favorite games of 2018.

Click to shrink...

I don't have a crusade against MTX or even think that this game needed the XP boost that was so infamous at launch, and I still think the grinding in this game is way worse than in Origins, especially towards the end, which required you to have the top level (50, at the moment) to finish it. I don't know if that was changed, but boy it did soured me by the end.

 

[astro]

MMO systems like this have no place in SP games, the only reason they added this was to sell more MTs.

EIther you pay to skip, or you stay in game longer and increase chances of paying something extra.

 

[unicornKnight]

So i don't understand the grinding issue in this game. Many players are still complaining about this.
I m currently at Lvl 42, and i just had "THAT" sad scene in Athens after meeting Xenia, Hippcrates and the girl in Corinthia.

That Corinthia zone is a 22-25 lvl zone (but in my game, enemies are same lvl as me) . I'm 20 levels above what's necessary in that region, and i'm playing on Hard Difficult.
I do every side quests that i find. I don't go in a new region if i didn't cleared the one i'am currently. I do every day the daily quest for orichalcum...
So i can understand that i may have a higher level.
But 20 levels above??? I mean what did some players here to feel a grinding wall in this game??

Click to shrink...

The problem is that there's ton of side content so if you do all of it you end up overleved, if you only focus on the main stuff you end up underleveled. It should be more dynamic or the levels shouldn't make that big difference.

 

[Keldroc]

MMO systems like this have no place in SP games, the only reason they added this was to sell more MTs.

EIther you pay to skip, or you stay in game longer and increase chances of paying something extra.

Click to shrink...

Calling action RPG levels an "MMO system" is a very strange reach. There is no incentive to buy MT stuff in Odyssey at all. I have been overleveled the entire game without even doing every side quest. The level curve is honestly overly generous.

 

[ffvorax]

I think it's sometimes considered an issue because it's not normal for the AC series. But for an RPG it's a very efficient system, that doesn't require grinding at all, and you'll be fine with only doing some of the side quests. Complaining that you can't skip straight to the next core plot point all the time just sounds weird to RPG gamers. "Can't I just skip to the point where I find Ciri already? Why do I need to bother with the Baron and these bog witches? Why did I need to help the mute kid who loves to defecate to the sunrise?"

I also completed all the side content and exploration I could find (other than the procedural stuff, which I always ignored), and had the same issue - so massively over-levelled I could skip ahead to zones that were supposed to be for high end content. But I did the same thing in the Witcher 3 and found I prefer Odyssey's system of levelling up enemies to a couple of levels below you to keep that content at least somewhat interesting. In TW3 I was just one-shotting everything, boss fights lost all sense of challenge and tension, and it marred the gameplay for me.

Click to shrink...

I partially agree.
I want to be free to do a quest even if i am underleveled. If it is for any other plot choices then ok, but I dont want to be stopped because of my level. Otherwise just put these quest as the main storyline quests... main doesnt mean that every mission has to be crucial for the story, it can also be some "side content" that enanched the experience.
Is the concept to be constricted by a level cap that is annoying.
I usually do side quest so I dont suffer too much about this, but I understand that it is a annoying issue...

 

[OléGunner]

Level 34 here with about 45 hours played. If you do a smattering of side quests and question marks, levelling is fine imo.
You definitely can't mainline the story alone though.

Off topic but the game is just a bit too big imo, I'm reaching burnout at my current play time.
I find it best to play this version of AssCreed in mini chunks; taking breaks for a few days or even weeks.

 

[astro]

Calling action RPG levels an "MMO system" is a very strange reach. There is no incentive to buy MT stuff in Odyssey at all. I have been overleveled the entire game without even doing every side quest. The level curve is honestly overly generous.

Click to shrink...

What?

Locking out the main missions because you're under levelled is an MMO design.

This does two things:

1. Encourages people to pay to skip.
2. Forces you to go back and play filler content to progress, which elongates your time in-game. The more you play, the more chance you sill spend.

This is a shit design, and shouldn't be defended. It doesn't matter if you naturally played a certain way and didn't find it a problem.

Why people get so defensive and shill for these kinds of shitty design practises is baffling.

 

[Austriacus]

Man if people are just plain skipping sidequests they are really missing out, some of them(especially the ones dealing with historical figures like Sokrates) are really cool.

 

[Acorn]

It's dependant on playstyle if you are engaging with the systems as they're introduced you'll be good but if you're critical pathing it or just exploring without much engagement you'll run into some problems.

This is the case for most games tbh but the mt booster make it appear sinister just by its presence.

 

[Deleted member 27751]

Some who were complaining seemed to tackle the game as purely linear path, which probably presented them with a grind due to underlevel nature. By ignoring a good portion of the content in the game be it side content or random encounters etc. it means you are purposefully ignoring content to do just the main mission. That isn't a bad thing, don't get me wrong, but it means that you may come across a grind-like nature for gated quests because you aren't actively participating in the living world.

My partner is currently still tackling the main game and is level 48 and barely close to finishing the mainline quests. It just depends on the path of the player.

 

[Yoday]

People using the word "grinding" to describe side quests is among the most baffling things I've seen come from the gaming community. Grinding is doing the same activity over and over again such as killing enemies in order to level up because you ran out of content to level with.

AC Odyssey does not have a grinding problem, it asks you to do occasional side activities in order to keep pace with the main quests. The same people who made a controversy out of this also complain non stop about DLC and pre-order bonuses, which are inherently side content that you don't need.

 

[Much]

I've only just started my first playthrough, but the levelgating isn't nice. I turned it off for the most part, and am now having a blast! :P

Note that I'm still doing most of the side content, I just like to go wherever I can and easily kill enemies without struggle. I'm glad the game offers the option to toggle it to this way.

 

[astro]

People using the word "grinding" to describe side quests is among the most baffling things I've seen come from the gaming community. Grinding is doing the same activity over and over again such as killing enemies in order to level up because you ran out of content to level with.

AC Odyssey does not have a grinding problem, it asks you to do occasional side activities in order to keep pace with the main quests. The same people who made a controversy out of this also complain non stop about DLC and pre-order bonuses, which are inherently side content that you don't need.

Click to shrink...

It's grinding when you get locked out of a main quest and don't enjoy the side-content. Then you're forced to grind through said content to progress.

There are better ways to go about it, and it smacks of anti-consumer design.

It might not even be a huge issue for many players who naturally do a bunch of side stuff, but at its core it is a bad design and is almost certainly guided by the idea of trying to increase MTs.

 

[Strelok]

It's just weird seein people complain because they have to play sidequests, especially in this game where most of them are pretty good

 

[Deleted member 11421]

--> does every single sidequest in the game

"I don't understand the grinding issue"

Well some people don't give a shit about the filler sidequests.

Click to shrink...

I think a lot of the disagreement is because "grinding" typically means something else, as in repeating the exact same content to level up because there's only so much unique material to experience.

That, and the bigger sidequests in the game are essentially optional main story quests (focusing on key questions and characters) that would've been forced upon the player in an older AC.

 

[Mendrox]

Yuuup.

I remember there was a thread here like a week or so ago complaining about a mission that needed 15,000 of whatever currency (been a while since I played; already forgotten) and used it as an example as to why Odyssey is a grindfest. But like... if they had literally even bothered to do the objectives of said mission, they'd have realised that it gives you three opportunities to earn that amount of currency and more. Instead they chose to just come here and complain about something that isn't an issue at all.

It's all so tiring to read sometimes. Just play the game.


You don't even need to do every single side quest. Far from it. Did you even play the game?

Click to shrink...

Yes I finally did two weeks ago and I was annoyed like with Origins that I couldn't just do the main quest and was forced to undertake sidequests again. With old AC I was able to just play my style by doing only main quests or doing side stuff like I wanted to, but now the game forces me to do these side quests (even if that is not a big amount, but it's still a waste of time for me) to level up. The level scaling option helped a bit with that. I just want another Assassins Creed where I can finish the main story in a few hours. More options for people like you that enjoy the kind of content is welcome to, but don't force it upon your players.

 

[WillySJ3]

Off topic but the game is just a bit too big imo, I'm reaching burnout at my current play time.
I find it best to play this version of AssCreed in mini chunks; taking breaks for a few days or even weeks.

Click to shrink...

It's one of the biggest game I've ever played. I was almost burnout but I started playing another game, very different, just to rest a little of the open world. (It was Tearaway Unfolded btw)

 

[Mr.Branding]

--> does every single sidequest in the game

"I don't understand the grinding issue"

Well some people don't give a shit about the filler sidequests.

Click to shrink...

I agree with this 100%. That and some people don't have the time requirement to play the same boring, repetitive side-quests just to see numbers go up. I'd rather play a better designed videogame with actual level design.

 

[Deleted member 8593]

It's been like 4 months now, people have repeatedly spelled out what the problem is, how game length has ballooned over the years with "side content" being practically mandatory and we still have people going

"That's completely ridiculous, I just don't understand how anyone could be underleveled!"

There's an argument to be made in favour of the Origins/Odyssey template and people certainly seem to be enjoying the new format well enough. But if you still don't understand why someone might not enjoy this whereas they enjoyed the previous games, you don't want to understand.

 

[Noisepurge]

--> does every single sidequest in the game

"I don't understand the grinding issue"

Well some people don't give a shit about the filler sidequests.

Click to shrink...

It's not "filler". I mean filler sidestuff is the daily/weekly bounties and random NPC fetchquests. They are clearly marked as "tasks" or "bounties"

Many actual sidequests are full on content that is as meaty as the "main" quests with many cultist hunts, Atlantis stuff and character development.
I highly recommend doing all quests that are marked under: Character and World.

 

[Kylo Rey]

It's been like 4 months now, people have repeatedly spelled out what the problem is, how game length has ballooned over the years with "side content" being practically mandatory and we still have people going

"That's completely ridiculous, I just don't understand how anyone could be underleveled!"

There's an argument to be made in favour of the Origins/Odyssey template and people certainly seem to be enjoying the new format well enough. But if you still don't understand why someone might not enjoy this whereas they enjoyed the previous games, you don't want to understand.

Click to shrink...

Not that "it's not an assassin's creed game" again pleaaase no....
I was so tired by Syndicate i don't want to go back except if it's Unity style (the best AC game gameplay before the Origins era)

 

[Deleted member 8593]

Not that "it's not an assassin's creed game" again pleaaase no....
I was so tired by Syndicate i don't want to go back except if it's Unity style (the best AC game gameplay before the Origins era)

Click to shrink...

Case in point.

 

[Mendrox]

It's not "filler". I mean filler sidestuff is the daily/weekly bounties and random NPC fetchquests. They are clearly marked as "tasks" or "bounties"

Many actual sidequests are full on content that is as meaty as the "main" quests with many cultist hunts, Atlantis stuff and character development.
I highly recommend doing all quests that are marked under: Character and World.

Click to shrink...

Okay whatever if they are that important they should be main story stuff for me. Everything else is game filler time for me as with every game. It's called side quest for a reason. Witcher 3 also had these sidequests which had great development and all, but the game didn't force me to play them to level up for the main quest.

Edit: I mean it's a great game for many people and I am happy for them, but I miss my old AC style which didn't force me to play more than I had to.