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About this mod
The only enemy level scaling system that makes sense for me. Compatible, customizable, automatic, life-changing :)
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- Permissions and credits
- Changelogs
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THE CONCEPT
The usual enemy scaling is the most annoying feature of the offline single-player games for me. I hate it when my enemies get stronger as soon as I level-up. What's the point of getting experience if it makes your enemies stronger as well? Unleveling the game actually makes things even worse. Yes, you stop "sharing" your progress with your enemies, but is it really a good idea to play a game where you have the most OP advantage: you can get stronger, but your enemies can't? It's like playing a strategy game, where you can develop new technologies, you can improve your cities and armies, you can conquer new territories, but your enemies can't. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Even if in the beginning of the game your enemies are challenging, all you need to do is spend time in the game, and eventually you are going to "outrun" your opponents. Boring.
The Vanilla Scaling System
Advantages: Have hard time finding any.
Disadvantages: "Self-improvement" becomes pointless at some point or even detrimental. You share your progress with your enemies.
The Unleveled Game
Advantages: The absence of the disadvantages from the previous system, challenging early game.
Disadvantages: Boring late game. Spend-time-to-win mechanics. Hard-to-make, often incompatible mods that overhaul almost EVERYTHING to make the game unleveled.
Location-Based Enemy Scaling
Advantages: If it's not too extreme, can be successfully used with the other leveling systems.
Disadvantages: If it's extreme, turns an open-world game into... well, not so open. "You can go there, but not there"
The Time-Based Enemy Scaling System
Advantages:
- Both the early and the late game can be interesting and challenging.
- Like in the PVP games, you and your enemies become stronger independently of each other, but you have the same amount of time, and only your superior gaming skills and strategy will let you outrun, "outfarm", outperform and win the game.
- Time becomes an important resource, which by itself introduces an interesting new game mechanics to the game.
- It makes the game endlessly replayable (If you consider this an advantage)
- Uses the existing game mechanics, doesn't require too much "overhauling". Super-compatible (at least, my implementation of the idea)
- and so on...
Disadvantages:
It's not for people, who just want to spend time in a game, doing nothing. (Not judging anyone. If that's what you want out of your game, good for you! There's nothing wrong with that :)
HOW IT WORKS + HOW TO USE
Most of the mods, like Experience treat the vanilla experience system as a part of the player's progression, treat the XP-gaining as something good, beneficial for the player. I've decided to take the unconventional route and completely untie the XP mechanics from the player (and tie it to time). With my system, leveling up is actually bad for you and good for your enemies. The vanilla player-leveling system becomes solely an enemy-scaling mechanics. Having level 15, for example, tells you nothing about the player's abilities, skills or stats. It only tells you something about the enemies and the rest of the world, not the player. You don't get stats for leveling up. All you get is stronger enemies.
This lets us use the vanilla mechanics, which makes enemies stronger on higher levels, to our advantage. And we don't have to overhaul anything. We don't need to get rid of the leveled lists or something like that. We might just unlevel loot a little bit, nothing more serious.
Simply saying, it means that you can improve your skills and stats without affecting your "player level". The "player level" actually becomes "the world level" or "the value that your enemy difficulty depends on". That's why when you see something like "player level 9" in some game menu, it actually means "world level 9". It has nothing to do with the player now. It's just a value that gets increased over time, independently of your actions, and it makes the NPCs stronger. Sometimes NPCs get stronger right away, sometimes stronger NPCs get added through the leveled list system later, upon cell reset. It all depends on the vanilla mechanics and your mods (like enemy overhauls). My mod doesn't change that stuff.
STEP 1: Install the mod
Install the required mods, install this mod, wait for the MCM-menu to initialize, go to the menu and set it up the way you want.
In Skyrim your overall level depends on the levels of all your skills. My mod unties these things from each other. Also it makes the world level up with time. In the MCM-menu you can choose the time interval in days between level-ups.
Also it gives you the spell with which you can trigger the leveling up whenever you want to. (In case you want to make your own, alternative leveling system)
Leveling up this way doesn't give you stats or perk points. It only makes your enemies stronger (NPCs whose level depends on player's level).
STEP 2: Find alternative ways to gain stats, perks, etc.
There are lots of mods for that. Here are some of them:
- Buy Stats and Perks (LE, SE) - My mod, made with my enemy scaling system in mind. The most compatible, conflict-free way to add stats/attributes, carry weight and movement speed, even if you use other mods that change stats.
- SkyShards (LE, SE) - Get perk points by exploring the world.
- Perk Point Awards (SE) - Awards a perk point when you kill a named dragon priest or other unique and difficult enemy.
- Quests Award Perk Points (LE, SE)
- Discover Standing Stones for Perk Points (LE, SE)
- Perk Points Per Skill Levelups (SE isn't working on AE)
- Smooth Attribute Scaling (LE) or Automatic Attribute Advancement (SE) or Skill Based Stats (SE) - scale attributes with the level of skills.
- Stronger by Killing and Endure (LE) - Get stronger by killing your enemies and enduring their strikes.
- Usage-Based Attributes Levelling (LE) or Natural Character Growth and Decay (LE, SE) - gain stats/attributes by using them.
- There are tons of mods that let you trade dragon souls for perks or stats. (Type in the search-bar "soul perk", "dragon souls" or something like that)
STEP 3: Unleveled loot, but leveled enemies (optional)
The perfect situation for the time-based enemy scaling system is when the loot you find in chests, dungeons, etc. is unleveled, but the enemies and their weapons/armor are leveled. There are mods that make both enemies and loot unleveled. Using them, obviously, doesn't make sense with the time-based leveling. So, be aware of this.
Morrowloot (LE, SE) and Morrowloot 4E Edition (LE) should go well with my system, but not the Morrowloot Ultimate, because it makes enemies unleveled.
For myself and for those who are interested, I've made my own mod: Unleveled Loot and Minimalistic Gear (LE, SE), which is made with the time-based scaling in mind. It does everything I need loot-wise.
And what about the enemies? Well, Skyrim uses two ways to scale enemies: some NPCs' level depends on player level directly, some scale through leveled lists, meaning that after the cell resets, instead of a weaker enemies you'll encounter stronger enemies. Of course, there are some nuances. Sometimes there is a cap that doesn't allow some enemies to level up further, etc.
Because my mod doesn't edit enemies, you may want to install some enemy overhauls. My mod is compatible with all of them accept those that de-level enemies completely.
High Level Enemies (LE, SE) (install the scaled version) Makes the enemies scale more, than they scale in the vanilla game. (Highly recommended)
STEP 4: Use the mod
In the MCM-menu pick how many days between level-ups you want to have. When the "days between level-ups" value is 0, level-ups don't happen at all. (Again, "player level" actually means "the value that your enemy difficulty depends on")
Obviously, the more days between level-ups you pick, the slower your enemy difficulty increases.
You can also increase your "player level" at the beginning of your game to increase the initial difficulty (by using the LevelUp spell added by this mod or using the console).
You can also use the LevelUp spell to "punish" yourself for dying or something like that.
That's it! Play and be as fast and as efficient as you can!
COMPATIBILITY
Everything should be compatible, accept mods that de-level enemies completely. My mod doesn't change enemies in any way. It uses the scaling mechanics that is used in your game, with your mod setup, and just ties it to in-game time.
If you have some concerns about my mod being incompatible with something, consider this:
My mod only changes 1 game setting, tracks time and, when necessary, uses a console command "player.setlevel..." to level up. That's it.
If you are able to use the console commands, like the one above, without any problems, then you won't have any problems with my mod as well.
Basically, my mod is just a timer, which sends only one console command. Whatever happens after that, depends only on your settings and mods.
If you want to have both the vanilla and the Time-Based systems, check out this add-on: LE / SE
* * *
My mod doesn't require starting a new game. It's even better - to activate the esp after starting and getting full control over your character.
* * *
With time as a factor you can use waiting as a penalty for dying, getting a bounty, or something like that. Of course, being in jail is also not good for your progression...
* * *
You can find mods that change the fast-travelling speed if you don't want to loose too much time on things like that.
The unpaused game menu mods may complement the experience.
The Encounter Zones Unlocked (LE, SE) prevents Skyrim from freezing the level of Encounter Zones (like dungeons) when they are first visited. (Recommended)
* * *
Adding some IMMERSION: In the face of a new threat (resurrecting dragons and that crazy Dragonborn, running all over the place and doing who knows what) everyone tries to mobilize, become stronger, the creatures rapidly evolve, and the undead become more dangerous because of some side-effect of Alduin's resurrection magic...
Of course, the most immersive thing about my system is this: TIME is a super-valuable resource in life. Now it's valuable in Skyrim too.
MY MODS
TIME-BASED ENEMY SCALING
The only enemy level scaling system that makes sense for me.
Compatible, customizable, automatic, life-changing :)
LE / SE
Add-on: Time-Based & Vanilla Scaling (2 in 1) LE / SE
JESUS IN SKYRIM - One of the most ALIVE Skyrim companions!
Jesus is a fully voiced follower with unique magic,
thousands of comments, responses, taunts, jokes,
religious memes, song parodies etc.
LE / SE
French translation: LE / SE
Traditional Chinese translation: SE
COMBO-ARCHERY
SHOOT + move FORWARD, BACK, LEFT or RIGHT to trigger different effects.
Poison your enemies, stun them, blow them up, etc.
LE / SE
CONVERSELL - Convert and AutoSell
Convert stuff you don't use into stuff you USE or into gold (auto-sell it).
Now you can loot everything and keep your inventory CLEAN at the same time!
LE / SE
BUY STATS AND PERKS
The scripted version:
LE / SE
The non-scripted version:
LE / SE
MY MINIMALISTIC AUTOSAVE MOD
Time-based smart non-distracting auto-saves.
LE / SE
UNLEVELED LOOT AND MINIMALISTIC GEAR
Makes loot minimalistic, scarce and unleveled.
LE / SE
SKYRIM IS DEAD
No! They are all dead! Almost all NPCs are ghosts, and they are after you!
Will you be able to survive and defeat the main bosses?
LE / SE
SPIRIT BREAKER'S CHARGE OF DARKNESS
Deal damage and bash your enemies by charging them!
Break their spirits and their backs!
LE / SE
'ARCHER'S HELL' SERIES
(Enemy mods)
BANDITS
LE SE
CREATURE TWEAKS
LE SE
THE CULT OF SILENCE
LE SE
ZOLUPA CULT
LE SE
SMALLER MODS:
Each Stone of Barenziah Gives a Bonus LE SE
Valuable Ingredients LE SE
Rusty Arrows for Draugrs and Skeletons SE
Choose Your Ultimate Potions LE SE
Summon Micro-Hunters (chaurus drones) LE SE
No More Couriers LE SE
Electrophorus LE SE
The usual enemy scaling is the most annoying feature of the offline single-player games for me. I hate it when my enemies get stronger as soon as I level-up. What's the point of getting experience if it makes your enemies stronger as well? Unleveling the game actually makes things even worse. Yes, you stop "sharing" your progress with your enemies, but is it really a good idea to play a game where you have the most OP advantage: you can get stronger, but your enemies can't? It's like playing a strategy game, where you can develop new technologies, you can improve your cities and armies, you can conquer new territories, but your enemies can't. Doesn't sound like a good idea to me. Even if in the beginning of the game your enemies are challenging, all you need to do is spend time in the game, and eventually you are going to "outrun" your opponents. Boring.
The Vanilla Scaling System
Advantages: Have hard time finding any.
Disadvantages: "Self-improvement" becomes pointless at some point or even detrimental. You share your progress with your enemies.
The Unleveled Game
Advantages: The absence of the disadvantages from the previous system, challenging early game.
Disadvantages: Boring late game. Spend-time-to-win mechanics. Hard-to-make, often incompatible mods that overhaul almost EVERYTHING to make the game unleveled.
Location-Based Enemy Scaling
Advantages: If it's not too extreme, can be successfully used with the other leveling systems.
Disadvantages: If it's extreme, turns an open-world game into... well, not so open. "You can go there, but not there"
The Time-Based Enemy Scaling System
Advantages:
- Both the early and the late game can be interesting and challenging.
- Like in the PVP games, you and your enemies become stronger independently of each other, but you have the same amount of time, and only your superior gaming skills and strategy will let you outrun, "outfarm", outperform and win the game.
- Time becomes an important resource, which by itself introduces an interesting new game mechanics to the game.
- It makes the game endlessly replayable (If you consider this an advantage)
- Uses the existing game mechanics, doesn't require too much "overhauling". Super-compatible (at least, my implementation of the idea)
- and so on...
Disadvantages:
It's not for people, who just want to spend time in a game, doing nothing. (Not judging anyone. If that's what you want out of your game, good for you! There's nothing wrong with that :)
HOW IT WORKS + HOW TO USE
Most of the mods, like Experience treat the vanilla experience system as a part of the player's progression, treat the XP-gaining as something good, beneficial for the player. I've decided to take the unconventional route and completely untie the XP mechanics from the player (and tie it to time). With my system, leveling up is actually bad for you and good for your enemies. The vanilla player-leveling system becomes solely an enemy-scaling mechanics. Having level 15, for example, tells you nothing about the player's abilities, skills or stats. It only tells you something about the enemies and the rest of the world, not the player. You don't get stats for leveling up. All you get is stronger enemies.
This lets us use the vanilla mechanics, which makes enemies stronger on higher levels, to our advantage. And we don't have to overhaul anything. We don't need to get rid of the leveled lists or something like that. We might just unlevel loot a little bit, nothing more serious.
Simply saying, it means that you can improve your skills and stats without affecting your "player level". The "player level" actually becomes "the world level" or "the value that your enemy difficulty depends on". That's why when you see something like "player level 9" in some game menu, it actually means "world level 9". It has nothing to do with the player now. It's just a value that gets increased over time, independently of your actions, and it makes the NPCs stronger. Sometimes NPCs get stronger right away, sometimes stronger NPCs get added through the leveled list system later, upon cell reset. It all depends on the vanilla mechanics and your mods (like enemy overhauls). My mod doesn't change that stuff.
STEP 1: Install the mod
Install the required mods, install this mod, wait for the MCM-menu to initialize, go to the menu and set it up the way you want.
In Skyrim your overall level depends on the levels of all your skills. My mod unties these things from each other. Also it makes the world level up with time. In the MCM-menu you can choose the time interval in days between level-ups.
Also it gives you the spell with which you can trigger the leveling up whenever you want to. (In case you want to make your own, alternative leveling system)
Leveling up this way doesn't give you stats or perk points. It only makes your enemies stronger (NPCs whose level depends on player's level).
STEP 2: Find alternative ways to gain stats, perks, etc.
There are lots of mods for that. Here are some of them:
- Buy Stats and Perks (LE, SE) - My mod, made with my enemy scaling system in mind. The most compatible, conflict-free way to add stats/attributes, carry weight and movement speed, even if you use other mods that change stats.
- SkyShards (LE, SE) - Get perk points by exploring the world.
- Perk Point Awards (SE) - Awards a perk point when you kill a named dragon priest or other unique and difficult enemy.
- Quests Award Perk Points (LE, SE)
- Discover Standing Stones for Perk Points (LE, SE)
- Perk Points Per Skill Levelups (SE isn't working on AE)
- Smooth Attribute Scaling (LE) or Automatic Attribute Advancement (SE) or Skill Based Stats (SE) - scale attributes with the level of skills.
- Stronger by Killing and Endure (LE) - Get stronger by killing your enemies and enduring their strikes.
- Usage-Based Attributes Levelling (LE) or Natural Character Growth and Decay (LE, SE) - gain stats/attributes by using them.
- There are tons of mods that let you trade dragon souls for perks or stats. (Type in the search-bar "soul perk", "dragon souls" or something like that)
STEP 3: Unleveled loot, but leveled enemies (optional)
The perfect situation for the time-based enemy scaling system is when the loot you find in chests, dungeons, etc. is unleveled, but the enemies and their weapons/armor are leveled. There are mods that make both enemies and loot unleveled. Using them, obviously, doesn't make sense with the time-based leveling. So, be aware of this.
Morrowloot (LE, SE) and Morrowloot 4E Edition (LE) should go well with my system, but not the Morrowloot Ultimate, because it makes enemies unleveled.
For myself and for those who are interested, I've made my own mod: Unleveled Loot and Minimalistic Gear (LE, SE), which is made with the time-based scaling in mind. It does everything I need loot-wise.
And what about the enemies? Well, Skyrim uses two ways to scale enemies: some NPCs' level depends on player level directly, some scale through leveled lists, meaning that after the cell resets, instead of a weaker enemies you'll encounter stronger enemies. Of course, there are some nuances. Sometimes there is a cap that doesn't allow some enemies to level up further, etc.
Because my mod doesn't edit enemies, you may want to install some enemy overhauls. My mod is compatible with all of them accept those that de-level enemies completely.
High Level Enemies (LE, SE) (install the scaled version) Makes the enemies scale more, than they scale in the vanilla game. (Highly recommended)
STEP 4: Use the mod
In the MCM-menu pick how many days between level-ups you want to have. When the "days between level-ups" value is 0, level-ups don't happen at all. (Again, "player level" actually means "the value that your enemy difficulty depends on")
Obviously, the more days between level-ups you pick, the slower your enemy difficulty increases.
You can also increase your "player level" at the beginning of your game to increase the initial difficulty (by using the LevelUp spell added by this mod or using the console).
You can also use the LevelUp spell to "punish" yourself for dying or something like that.
That's it! Play and be as fast and as efficient as you can!
COMPATIBILITY
Everything should be compatible, accept mods that de-level enemies completely. My mod doesn't change enemies in any way. It uses the scaling mechanics that is used in your game, with your mod setup, and just ties it to in-game time.
If you have some concerns about my mod being incompatible with something, consider this:
My mod only changes 1 game setting, tracks time and, when necessary, uses a console command "player.setlevel..." to level up. That's it.
If you are able to use the console commands, like the one above, without any problems, then you won't have any problems with my mod as well.
Basically, my mod is just a timer, which sends only one console command. Whatever happens after that, depends only on your settings and mods.
If you want to have both the vanilla and the Time-Based systems, check out this add-on: LE / SE
* * *
My mod doesn't require starting a new game. It's even better - to activate the esp after starting and getting full control over your character.
* * *
With time as a factor you can use waiting as a penalty for dying, getting a bounty, or something like that. Of course, being in jail is also not good for your progression...
* * *
You can find mods that change the fast-travelling speed if you don't want to loose too much time on things like that.
The unpaused game menu mods may complement the experience.
The Encounter Zones Unlocked (LE, SE) prevents Skyrim from freezing the level of Encounter Zones (like dungeons) when they are first visited. (Recommended)
* * *
Adding some IMMERSION: In the face of a new threat (resurrecting dragons and that crazy Dragonborn, running all over the place and doing who knows what) everyone tries to mobilize, become stronger, the creatures rapidly evolve, and the undead become more dangerous because of some side-effect of Alduin's resurrection magic...
Of course, the most immersive thing about my system is this: TIME is a super-valuable resource in life. Now it's valuable in Skyrim too.
MY MODS
TIME-BASED ENEMY SCALING
The only enemy level scaling system that makes sense for me.
Compatible, customizable, automatic, life-changing :)
LE / SE
Add-on: Time-Based & Vanilla Scaling (2 in 1) LE / SE
JESUS IN SKYRIM - One of the most ALIVE Skyrim companions!
Jesus is a fully voiced follower with unique magic,
thousands of comments, responses, taunts, jokes,
religious memes, song parodies etc.
LE / SE
French translation: LE / SE
Traditional Chinese translation: SE
COMBO-ARCHERY
SHOOT + move FORWARD, BACK, LEFT or RIGHT to trigger different effects.
Poison your enemies, stun them, blow them up, etc.
LE / SE
CONVERSELL - Convert and AutoSell
Convert stuff you don't use into stuff you USE or into gold (auto-sell it).
Now you can loot everything and keep your inventory CLEAN at the same time!
LE / SE
BUY STATS AND PERKS
The scripted version:
LE / SE
The non-scripted version:
LE / SE
MY MINIMALISTIC AUTOSAVE MOD
Time-based smart non-distracting auto-saves.
LE / SE
UNLEVELED LOOT AND MINIMALISTIC GEAR
Makes loot minimalistic, scarce and unleveled.
LE / SE
SKYRIM IS DEAD
No! They are all dead! Almost all NPCs are ghosts, and they are after you!
Will you be able to survive and defeat the main bosses?
LE / SE
SPIRIT BREAKER'S CHARGE OF DARKNESS
Deal damage and bash your enemies by charging them!
Break their spirits and their backs!
LE / SE
'ARCHER'S HELL' SERIES
(Enemy mods)
BANDITS
LE SE
CREATURE TWEAKS
LE SE
THE CULT OF SILENCE
LE SE
ZOLUPA CULT
LE SE
SMALLER MODS:
Each Stone of Barenziah Gives a Bonus LE SE
Valuable Ingredients LE SE
Rusty Arrows for Draugrs and Skeletons SE
Choose Your Ultimate Potions LE SE
Summon Micro-Hunters (chaurus drones) LE SE
No More Couriers LE SE
Electrophorus LE SE