Elden Ring
An open-world action RPG where players spend runes to level up.
Where Elden Ring comes up1 episode or test
Elden Ring made leveling cost more as players progress: level 9 to 10 takes about 10 guards, while level 49 to 50 takes hundreds, so farming weak enemies stops paying. Runes are also lost on death, so risk rises with what a player carries. The lesson: scale progression costs and losses with player wealth so grinding and hoarding stay in check.
- 1Level goes upLevel 9 to 10 takes about 10 guards
- 2Rune cost climbsLevel 49 to 50 takes hundreds
- 3Easy kills stop payingRepeating simple enemies becomes ineffective
- 4Players take bigger risksExplore, fight tougher monsters
From Elden Ring level-up design analysis
What was said about Elden Ring
Elden Ring raises the rune cost of each level to stop farming. Going from level 9 to 10 takes about 10 Limgrave guards, but level 49 to 50 takes hundreds. Because the conversion cost rises in lock step with level, repeating easy kills stops paying.
This works as a negative feedback loop that pulls the system back to a status quo. Players are pushed to explore, fight tougher monsters and take bigger risks. The source says it "makes killing the same simple enemies over and over again incredibly ineffective".
Losing unspent runes on death makes carrying more runes riskier. Unspent runes are lost on death, and later levels need many more runes. Exploring while loaded with runes therefore feels increasingly tense.
The drain makes the danger grow with what the player holds, so the player keeps weighing whether to spend runes now or push on.
How Video Game Economies are Designed
Going from level 9 to 10 takes about 10 guards, but level 49 to 50 takes hundreds, so farming weak enemies stops paying. Runes are lost on death, so danger grows with the runes carried.
Elden Ring raises the rune cost of each level to stop farming. Going from level 9 to 10 takes about 10 Limgrave guards, but level 49 to 50 takes hundreds. Because the conversion cost rises in lock step with level, repeating easy kills stops paying.
This works as a negative feedback loop that pulls the system back to a status quo. Players are pushed to explore, fight tougher monsters and take bigger risks. The source says it "makes killing the same simple enemies over and over again incredibly ineffective".
Losing unspent runes on death makes carrying more runes riskier. Unspent runes are lost on death, and later levels need many more runes. Exploring while loaded with runes therefore feels increasingly tense.
The drain makes the danger grow with what the player holds, so the player keeps weighing whether to spend runes now or push on.
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