Level Power Delta — activity floor + asymmetric out/in
Status: Implemented (FS + Demo Lab + docs) · 2026-10-26
Scope: wrong-activity feel without Light ratings; small level band (~1–60).
Out of scope: Gear-score / dual weapon×armor power · replacing CtH or Difficulty resists · locking TBD-017 level cap
Authority: FS-DMG-009 · FS-DMG-002/003/005 · FS-PRD-005 · FS-CMP-006 · FS-PRG-001 · Demo Mod Encounter lab
Locks from review: Options 1 + 3 — full asymmetric out/in keyed primarily to Activity Recommended Level (ARL), with a narrow per-mob MobOffset.
1. Three orthogonal levers
Section titled “1. Three orthogonal levers”| Lever | Owns | Does not own |
|---|---|---|
| ARL + PowerΔ | Damage dealt / taken scalars | Hit chance, resists |
| alvl vs dlvl | ChanceToHit only (FS-DMG-002) | Damage scalars |
| Difficulty | Non-kinetic resist penalty (FS-PRD-005) | Damage scalars |
No dual gear×weapon power product. Character Level is the only power number. Item level / equip gates stay separate.
2. EffectiveDelta
Section titled “2. EffectiveDelta”MobOffset = clamp(dlvl − ARL, −3, +5)EffectiveDelta = (alvl − ARL) + MobOffset- Baseline packs:
dlvl ≈ ARL→ MobOffset 0 → pure activity floor. - Elites / pinnacle packs slightly above ARL sting via MobOffset without rewriting CtH.
- Demo Lab may unpin ARL / alvl / dlvl independently.
Band (until TBD-017): curves tuned for meaningful Δ ≈ ±10 on a ~1–60 character band. Integer-Δ keyed table, not continuous 1800-power %.
3. Asymmetric curve (lab defaults)
Section titled “3. Asymmetric curve (lab defaults)”Nearest-integer knot lookup (v1). Soft overlevel, harsh underlevel. Data-tunable.
| Δ | OutgoingMul | IncomingMul |
|---|---|---|
| ≤ −10 | 0.35 | 1.75 |
| −7 | 0.50 | 1.50 |
| −5 | 0.65 | 1.35 |
| −3 | 0.80 | 1.20 |
| −1 | 0.92 | 1.08 |
| 0 | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| +1 | 1.04 | 0.97 |
| +3 | 1.10 | 0.92 |
| +5 | 1.14 | 0.88 |
| ≥ +8 | 1.15 cap | 0.85 floor |
Rules:
- PvP / Ladder: both muls forced to 1.0 (FS-DMG-007 spirit).
- Story + Progressive MP PvE: muls apply.
- Overlevel never farm-breaks; underlevel at −5 is wrong-zone; −10 is leave.
4. Pipeline hooks
Section titled “4. Pipeline hooks”- Outgoing (FS-DMG-003): after step E (skill multipliers), before crit / on-hit / mitigation — multiply by
OutgoingMul(FS-DMG-009). - Incoming (FS-DMG-005): after Difficulty resist penalty (step 3), before resist clamp — multiply channel damage by
IncomingMulso Apex crater and underlevel glass stack. - Server-authoritative only (FS-ARCH-013).
5. Authorship
Section titled “5. Authorship”Same spirit as Difficulty / monster level:
- Area / sector / dungeon / RAID / Vault / mission row authors
RecommendedLevel(ARL) alongside Difficulty and dlvl policy. - Open-world: ARL = expected sector entry band (not live alvl). FS-CMP-006 “enemy ≈ character” still governs dlvl; ARL is the activity floor for PowerΔ.
- Demo Lab override only; promote-to-data unchanged.
6. UX (minimal)
Section titled “6. UX (minimal)”- Optional map / OmniVisor chip: “Recommended Lv X” when Δ ≤ −3 (amber) / ≤ −7 (red).
- No second “Light” stat on Character I — Character Level remains the single visible progression number.
7. Demo Lab
Section titled “7. Demo Lab”Encounter / difficulty gains:
- Dial:
RecommendedLevel(ARL) - RO: MobOffset · EffectiveDelta · OutgoingPowerMul · IncomingPowerMul
- CtH / Difficulty resist unchanged
Design companion: 2026-10-26-demo-combat-economy-stats-design.md.
8. Acceptance
Section titled “8. Acceptance”- Δ = 0 → OutgoingMul = IncomingMul = 1.00 (feel unchanged).
- Δ = −5 → clear wrong-zone (less out, more in) without relying on resist alone.
- Δ ≥ +8 → soft cap (1.15 / 0.85).
- Apex + underlevel → resist crater × IncomingMul both apply.
- Fireteam: each player uses own alvl vs shared ARL.