The developers of Everspace 2 have made pretty significant changes to level scaling in the recently released Ancient Rifts Update.
Level Scaling Overhaul
Before anything, level scaling is where enemies are either at the same or above the players’ current level. This usually means that enemies become tougher and more challenging to defeat.
That said, players can now “over-level” in the early stages so that they can comfortably get acquainted with what the game has to offer. This is true until they reach Union - the second star system in Everspace 2. Gaining some progress in Union will trigger level scaling, thus making the enemies in Ceto much stronger than when the players started.
Once that is done, players will find that the foes in the beginner area of the game can no longer be killed in one shot and are generally more aggressive than before. However, this increased challenge also has a benefit because players can get more meaningful loot by defeating tougher enemies.
Alternatively, experienced Everspace 2 players might rush to higher-level systems, thinking that they have an edge because of their familiarity with the game. But they must now exercise caution because enemies in later zones will no longer level down. This encourages players to complete side missions, jobs, or even distress calls just to gain enough levels to tackle the much harder content.
Technical Improvements
The Ancient Rifts Update implements some notable technical improvements as well. For one, game saving works twice as fast now and will have minimal impact on performance.
Furthermore, support for AMD FSR v2.1.1 has been added. Enabling this upscaling technology helps improve frame rates while delivering similar or better than native image quality.
- Added new Outlaw units: Outlaw Raider and Outlaw Tormentor
- Added new secondary weapon: Cruise Missiles
- Added new device: Front Shield Generator
- Added new Bomber: Titan
- Added new Gunship: Dominator
- Device Mastery modes can now be previewed
- Added new job types (and job board for Kato)
- Added new unknown signal/distress call types
- Added option to keep audio playing when game is unfocused
- Added new data sub-tab "The Story So Far" to rewatch cinematics and recap the latest story development (mainly placeholder content)
- Overhauled racing activity
- Overhauled ship dealer
- UI: Overhauled ship selector
- UI: Stats tab rework - Added racing stats overview
- Fixed item grades not correctly applied when claiming job renown rewards
- Fixed Daredevil master challenge achievable in lower rarity high-risk areas
- Fixed Renegade Plating not showing correct blueprint progress
- Fixed doing shenanigans via an exploit by not allowing to access photo mode while the ingame menu is opened
- Fixed that after a long playtime it was possible that no valid positions for new job offer locations, unknown signals or high-risk-areas could be found anymore
So, what can you say about the level scaling overhaul?
Everspace 2: Ancient Rifts Update is available on PC.
