Experience value sharing is a mechanism that allows all party members to acquire experience values regardless of whether they are in battle. Many RPGs have some level. In some cases, only current party members are eligible. In some cases, even the entire roster. Its lack or limited implementation is especially noticeable when revisiting older games like Persona 4 and comparing them to newer games like Pokemon His Scarlet and Violet. While it may seem like a minor quality-of-life feature at first, its presence (or lack thereof) can have a huge impact on your game and cause you to play very differently than you would otherwise.
I call it Exp Share. It doesn’t seem to have another widely recognized name. For Pokemon, Experience Shares means that a Pokemon can gain experience without having to participate in battle. So, it started out as an actual item that could be given to individual Pokémon. It was especially useful for raising low-level monsters into regular party members. Exp Share ended up being an item that distributed experience points across the team. Starting with Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu and Let’s Go, Eevee were built into the game as default mechanics rather than items that need to be acquired.
It wasn’t a Pokémon-specific addition, though. Just last year, both Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and One Piece Odyssey offered their own versions of Exp Share. These games feature multiple characters with different abilities so players can try them out. Especially he felt that in Xenoblade 3 it was almost criminal to ignore a hero (his member of the 7th party) when there were so many characters his class to try. All members of the main party stay there, but leveling up each hero individually was a daunting task, even for the most diligent player. Being able to do so opens up opportunities for experimentation and diversity that would otherwise be unacceptable.
Even One Piece Odyssey, the first One Piece RPG created by Bandai Namco, was a much more seamless experience thanks to this mechanic. Instead of worrying about making all characters on the same level, you can use any character you like and progress through the story.
Exp Share seems like a natural and welcome element to any RPG. So when I picked up Persona 4, it was very disappointing that I couldn’t find Exp Share, Persona 4 Golden was ported to the Nintendo Switch earlier this year, but basically in 2012 he is the same as the version released on PlayStation. I didn’t start craving experience share until I recruited her members to her fifth party. In that case, investing in new characters seemed counterintuitive. Because their social links (another part of Persona 4’s complex ecosystem) were far less developed than those of characters I already had. Even if they did, they lacked combat bonuses with veteran members, so adding them to the party felt like a temporary disadvantage.
At first, I was reluctant to experiment because without Exp Share, other party members would fall behind others. However, I realized that I could technically revisit the dungeons and hone every character’s level if I wanted to.
With Exp Share, you don’t have to spend time polishing the levels of characters who aren’t in your main party. In Persona 4, we learned to stop in dungeons more often so that we could play with other characters instead of just relying on the time needed to advance the story. But you’ll have to dive in again to level up your party members. Otherwise, you run the risk of underutilized party members falling behind. Given that Exp Share is built into Persona 5, it seems Altus has finally decided that the old system is also obsolete. payment in installments.
Fire Emblem is one of the few series that does not yet use Exp Share (with a few exceptions like Path of Radiance). Fire Emblem Fates, which works similarly to the latest entry in the franchise, Fire Emblem Engage, also persuaded me to choose carefully how to level up my most important characters. can’t spend. Instead, you’ll have to plan which characters will be in charge of her main missions and which characters will level up in her side quests to keep up with the group. Due to the limited number of side quests available per chapter in Fate, you had only a few chances to level up your character before moving on to the next chapter.
However, I didn’t feel like the game suggested using only a few characters and ignoring the rest because of their type weaknesses. You should use the most effective units in battle. It’s a more conscious decision than Persona 4, and while it doesn’t stop other characters from leveling up, it does force you to grind to do so. Fate (and Fire Emblem in general), on the other hand, encourages players to pick and choose which characters to invest in, as combat is limited. You could even experiment without Exp Share, as you can control a lot of units per battle.
The key word here is “sharpening”. Fighting enemies and repeating dungeons for no other reason than to gain XP sucks. Fate can avoid shattering because quests don’t overlap.Even if you’re fighting the same type of enemy, you’ll appear on a new map with different scenarios. You don’t repeat maps to gain XP, or even have that option. In short, sacrifice what you can experiment with a full cast for a more streamlined experience.
I was still enjoying Persona 4. I liked the new characters and wanted to use them, so I ended up revisiting the dungeon and unlocking social links. However, with Exp Share, I would have had to struggle less and focus on getting the story going. I wish there was at least a more optimal alternative or setup for games without Exp Share, and like Fire Emblem, it’s a deliberate and strategic decision.
Exp Share has become more and more common in RPGs over time. We can’t blame the developers for their inclination to make it easy for players to try out different characters without feeling like they’re repeating the content. I still feel nostalgic whenever a game forces old-fashioned resource management without it. It’s the mechanism that freed me, and I’m certainly grateful for that.
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