The release of Pokemon Sword and Shield’s first-ever DLC, Isle of Armor, had gamers back into the game to experience it anew, thanks to the expansions promised new contents. But not everything about the DLC appears true to its original claims.
Amid the hype with the DLC’s release, many players raised complaints about the game level-scaling system. A feature that was touted as would make players’ experience remain competitive upon reaching the new map. This was under the assumption that many who would be playing the Isle of Armor would do so post-game.
Consequently, it means that players who bring high-level Pokemon in their team would expect to see wild Pokemon at around the same level range. Conversely, players who choose to bring a low-level team could opt to expect the same. Which is indeed likely the case for newcomers who are starting the game with the DLC already in tow.
Broken Mechanics or False Hype
Not only has the game failed to demonstrate what’s expected, but the encounters were also varied among players. Subsequently creating confusion as to what’s really up with the expansion’s seemingly broken level-scaling system.
One user reports encountering wild Pokemon at around level 60 range despite having a team of level 100 Pokemon. Essentially making a course through the Isle of Armor to be a walk in the park.
Meanwhile, another user claims the exact opposite experience. Bringing a low-level Pokemon got him to meet a vastly higher level Pokemon.
Catching their attention, some dataminers from Twitter peeked into Isle of Armor’s codes to see where the error is coming from.
Different Algorithm
As it appears, there is a discrepancy with the algorithm and its originally advertised output. Essentially, the code is not really programmed for the wild Pokemon to truly match against high-level Pokemon from trainers.
As per dataminers, the highest level that wild Pokemon will appear as is anywhere around 60. That’s with the condition that the player is playing the expanded content post-game.
Another interpretation is that the wild Pokemon’s level is also commensurate to the overall number of badges the player has. Meaning, the more badges the player holds, the higher the level each monster will appear in the field. However, there have been conflicting reports that counter this claim.
Right now, it is not entirely clear what is going on. But here’s to hoping that either Nintendo or The Pokemon Company would step in and clarify the issue. Better yet, address the problem altogether and give players the right output to expectation.
Image used courtesy of The Official Pokemon YouTube channel/YouTube Screenshot