You just got scal'd!

In case you did not get my clever pun, this post is about scaling, regarding both enemies and loot.

I recently received en e-mail (fancy new technology,) wherein I was asked about loot scaling and to answer that, I also had to explain a bit about scaling in general.

Morrowind had no real level scaling, apart from some quantity of certain items during looting, but it isn't really worth mentioning. Oblivion, on the other hand, had a clear scaling factor: When you gain a level, your loot and your enemies level with you, resulting in pure hate from some players that didn't feel like they were getting any stronger, which is an important element in a fantasy RPG.

Bethesda listens and made an alternative at the likes of what they did in Fallout, making different zones that lock to the level you are currently in when you first enter them and with some pre-set zones as well - Many fear that it'll fuck everything up and that we might accidentally lock up all the zones in a low level - It is however, not as simple as that.

As with Susan Boyle, there lies more beneath the questionable front. Zones actually have a level interval, or a level minimum, which it can't go beneath - Say for instance that minimum was lvl. 12, then even if you visited in level 6, then it wouldn't be lowered beneath that, but it would be set to the minimum. This is where we get to the looting.

The rewards you find in dungeons, as well as quest rewards, are scaled not after level, but difficulty. So say if you entered mentioned dungeon in level 6, then it would be rather difficult to get through, resulting in greater rewards than you would have gotten if it was scaled to you exact level. Although this is the system, there are some pre-set loot and quest-rewards that won't change, regardless of [censored] size and challenge level.

A final thing to mention: There is also something called Epic loot, which you can find anywhere, at any level, at any time. I assume that it is some sort of collection of unique items, like those you get from the Daedric Princes, but I am just guessing. I'd trust my guessing though, that's how I got through elementary school, after all.