History Main / LowLevelAdvantage

* ''VideoGame/CaveStory:'' Many players insist that the level 2 Blade is better than the level 3 Blade: it does much more damage per second, provided you SpamAttack from very close. [[note]] This is because the Blade can only have one shot on screen at the time. At level two, the shot disappears once it hits the enemy, but at level three it keeps going, thus lengthening the time between shots.[[/note]]And the Nemesis is a LethalJokeItem that gets worse as you level it up: At level 1 it's one of the most powerful weapons in the game, and at level 3 its status as a weapon is a pure formality. And it levels up from a single experience pick up.

* In ''{{Pokemon}}'', the mons tend to learn moves faster at lower EvolutionaryLevels. Therefore, sometimes it's best to keep them from evolving until they learn their final move, which can be five to 10 levels lower than in the evolved form. Also, Pokemon that evolve using stones, with the exception of Eevee, have a very limited movepool in its evolved forms, so it's better to not evolve them after their previous form has learned all the attacks it needs.

* Since ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' determines invasion and summon matchups by [[CharacterLevel Soul Level]], your ability relative to other players you fight is increased by finding better equipment and spending [[PracticalCurrency Souls]] to upgrade it instead of leveling up. Some {{griefer}}s take this to the extreme, using [[MinimalistRun low-level runs]] and GoodBadBugs to twink insanely powerful late-game weapons and armor for curbstomping people only hours into the game. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' tones this down a bit, as matchups are also based on the total number of souls you've collected.[[note]] Though that system is a bit broken in the other direction as it's quite possible for someone to amass a lot of souls but lose them from dieing, or losing a moderate amount of souls frequently. This would make you have a high value despite being low everywhere else except play time since you never actually used those souls for anything.

* Since ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' and ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' determines invasion and summon matchups by [[CharacterLevel Soul Level]], your ability relative to other players you fight is increased by finding better equipment and spending [[PracticalCurrency Souls]] to upgrade it instead of leveling up. Some {{griefer}}s take this to the extreme, using [[MinimalistRun low-level runs]] and GoodBadBugs to twink insanely powerful late-game weapons and armor for curbstomping people only hours into the game. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' tones this down a bit, as matchups are also based on the total number of souls you've collected.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Knights of the Old Republic}}'', it is advantageous not to level up much on Taris (before you get your Jedi powers) since you get better stat bonuses as a Jedi. This doesn't mean you can't gain XP though; just don't click "level up".
** In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', some people actually take it to themselves to purposely keep Mira at a low level so she gets more Jedi powers.
*** Not just Mira - most of the characters can become Jedi, and Jedi classes are far, far better than non-Jedi classes. Aside from characters who are already Jedi, droids, and Mandalore, everyone can make the switch.

** In the second game, some people actually take it to themselves to purposely keep Mira at a low level so she gets more Jedi powers.

* Since ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' determines invasion and summon matchups by [[CharacterLevel Soul Level]], your ability relative to other players you fight is increased by finding better equipment and spending [[PracticalCurrency Souls]] to upgrade it instead of leveling up. Some {{griefer}}s take this to the extreme, using [[MinimalistRun low-level runs]] and GoodBadBugs to twink insanely powerful late-game weapons and armor for curbstomping people only hours into the game. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' tones this down a bit, as matchups are also based on the total number of souls you've collected.

* Since ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' determines invasion and summon matchups by [[CharacterLevel Soul Level]], your ability relative to other players you fight is increased by spending [[PracticalCurrency Souls]] on weapon and armor upgrade instead of leveling up. Some {{griefer}}s take this to the extreme, using [[MinimalistRun low-level runs]] and GoodBadBugs to twink insanely powerful late-game weapons and armor for curbstomping people only hours into the game. ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' tones this down a bit, as matchups are instead based on the total number of souls you've collected.

* A very general example: In a lot of [=RPGs=], leveling up heals you.

* This is usually not the case in RPG's but in 4th edition if your DM was keeping the game balanced with your level, there was a slight advantage to being a lower level character in that monsters used to scale faster than you could keep up with. However, Wizards of the Coast released the unnamed bonus feats as a patch for the scaling problem before it would have been an issue in most games.

** In a related case, leveling up traded pokemon beyond levels supported by your badges will make them disobey you. It isn't nearly enough though: the level they have to be at is so much higher than anything you can meet before acquiring the required badge that they can easily crush anyone even when only making a move every third or four turn.

** In a related case, leveling up traded pokemon beyond levels supported by your badges will make them disobey you. It is a very slight disadvantage generally: they will still crush anything you can meet before acquiring required badge.

** The leveling in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' was a whole element of strategy because the enemies level up with you. The game can be beaten at disgustingly low levels. (There are no-level-up runs.) Despite no-level-up rounds... party members may ''still'' have maxed out stats and Ultimecia will be at a ridiculously low level on her first form.

* In the card game ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'', some of the more powerful monsters will allow low-level characters to retreat without having to make a die roll to successfully run away. [[spoiler:And because it's ''Munchkin'', it's of course quite legal to play a "gain a level" card on a ''rival'' who just so happens to be in that sort of situation...]]

* ''VideoGame/CaveStory:'' Many players insist that the level 2 Blade is better than the level 3 Blade: it does much more damage per second, provided you SpamAttack from very close. And the Nemesis is a LethalJokeItem that gets worse as you level it up: At level 1 it's one of the most powerful weapons in the game, and at level 3 its status as a weapon is a pure formality. And it levels up from a single experience pick up.

* In the card game ''TabletopGame/{{Munchkin}}'', some of the more powerful monsters will allow low-level characters to retreat without having to make a die roll to successfully run away.

** Safer Sephiroth has the highest HP of any FinalFantasy final boss, even [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII those from]] [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII later titles]]! But there's still nothing stopping a player from spamming Knights of the Round.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', enemies don't level with the player, but as the player increases in levels, tougher enemies will spawn more frequently. When the DLC ''Broken Steel'' is added, this will include the [[BossInMookClothing Super Mutant Overlords, Feral Ghoul Reavers, and Albino Radscorpions]], all of which have high durability and damage.

* In ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', enemies all over the game world [[LevelScaling only level up when the player levels up]], but because you activate leveling up by sleeping after gaining a certain amount of experience, it is possible to avoid leveling up by never sleeping. The trick is that while doing so, you can still individually increase skills in such a way that you're over-powered compared to the enemies you fight. Although the game restricts a few things to certain levels, the main quest can indeed be completed at level 2. Combining the increasing monster difficulty with the fact that careful metagaming and {{min max}}ing is ''required'' to avoid a chronic EmptyLevels effect, the game is a lot easier for an insomniac amateur than a well rested expert.

This trope represents {{RPG}}s where there are particular advantages to refraining from LevelGrinding. In {{MMORPG}}s, this feature is known as AntiGrinding. This can exist when there are benefits that are LostForever if you try immediate grinding, but also when there are tactical advantages caused by a level gain. Or when the game uses LevelScaling.

[[quoteright:300:[[VideoGame/TheElderScrolls http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/low-level-advantage_3a_6528.jpg]]]]

* In ''TheElderScrolls [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion IV: Oblivion]]'', enemies all over the game world [[LevelScaling only level up when the player levels up]], but because you activate leveling up by sleeping after gaining a certain amount of experience, it is possible to avoid leveling up by never sleeping. The trick is that while doing so, you can still individually increase skills in such a way that you're over-powered compared to the enemies you fight. Although the game restricts a few things to certain levels, the main quest can indeed be completed at level 2. Combining the increasing monster difficulty with the fact that careful metagaming and {{min max}}ing is ''required'' to avoid a chronic EmptyLevels effect, the game is a lot easier for an insomniac amateur than a well rested expert.

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* ''{{ADOM}}'' has numerous optional quests that are LostForever above a certain level. These include: [[spoiler:killing Kranach (vanishes at level 6), the Pyramid (levels 13 to 16 only), the Minotaur Maze (levels 22 to 27 only), and Keethrax (the druid won't assign it after the unicorn quest)]].