There's something to be said for having NPC encounters consistently at the difficulty envisioned by the area author, and for high-end ranking to be consistently challenging. We've made a lot of changes that have made the player vs. environment aspect of the game much easier-- Edges stand out, but examples abound.

Also, I do like that this change disproportionately benefits newer/intermediate players at the expense of veterans. Being a veteran on a game of our complexity already comes with massive advantages, and narrowing that gap is appealing.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com