Encounter Scaling
Monsters don't have fixed stat values - they're tuned at the moment they enter a battle. The same Stone Golem archetype appears at level 4 in one fight and level 30 in another, with combat numbers scaled appropriately each time. This page covers how the scaling works and what decides the level of an encounter.
How Encounter Level Is Decided
The level a monster fights at depends on where the encounter is:
In Dungeons
Levels are hand-authored on each monster placement. A dungeon designer sets exactly what level each monster fights at - specific numbers chosen to match the dungeon's difficulty and theme.
- Regular monsters' levels are authored per-placement.
- The boss's level is authored too, and matches the dungeon's "recommended level" ceiling.
Dungeons are hand-crafted content; the scaling is curated rather than automatic.
In Adventure Quests
Levels are computed dynamically at fight-time based on your party:
- Boss levels are locked to your avatar's level at the moment you activated the quest. Levelling up during the timer doesn't change the boss - you can't grind a habit while the journey runs to soften the fight.
- Regular monsters in multi-phase quests are scaled to the actual squad you brought. The system computes a weighted average of your soldier levels with a floor so neither one weak soldier nor one very strong carry soldier completely breaks the balance.
Adventure quest scaling is dynamic because the adventure board is where you engage most often - the system tries to produce fair fights regardless of whether you bring your three strongest soldiers or a less-developed squad.
Why Monsters Scale Against Different References
Not every monster uses the same reference unit for scaling:
- Regular monsters are scaled against a level-matched soldier without equipment. The intent is that a squad of regular monsters is consistently a bit weaker than a squad of your soldiers at the same level - soldier-phase fights are about strategy and composition, not raw stat parity.
- Bosses are scaled against a level-matched avatar with expected equipment for that level. Because the boss fights your avatar directly in a 1-on-1, the comparison needs to be apples-to-apples. The boss assumes you have the gear a typical player has at your level.
This split is why engaging with the equipment system matters for boss fights specifically - see Bosses.
Floor and Ceiling Rules
A few guardrails keep the scaling from producing nonsense:
- Monster levels can't drop below 1. A low-level party doesn't get below-level-1 monsters - the floor clamps to 1.
- The soft-average/floor combination in adventure board multi-phase quests prevents a single weak or strong soldier from dominating the scaling math. One under-levelled soldier doesn't make the whole squad easy; one over-levelled soldier doesn't make the whole squad trivial.
- Boss scaling is based on activation-time level, not the current level. This prevents you from levelling up mid-journey to soften the boss.
Power Scalars
Beyond the base scaling, individual monster placements can carry a power scalar - a per-placement tuning knob that nudges a specific monster's difficulty up or down from its archetype baseline:
- A scalar greater than 1.0 makes the monster tougher ("mini-boss in the middle of the dungeon").
- A scalar less than 1.0 makes it easier ("filler monster to fill out a squad without adding real pressure").
- The default is 1.0 - neutral, follows archetype baseline.
Power scalars are an authoring lever for dungeon designers. Adventure quests don't typically use them - they stick with baseline 1.0 across all placements.
Why Scaling Changes Between Adventure Quests and Dungeons
The two surfaces have different design goals:
- Adventure quests should feel fair regardless of how the player engaged with the game that day. Dynamic scaling matches the fight to your party.
- Dungeons are climactic payoff moments tied to goal completion. Hand-authored levels let designers produce specific, curated difficulty experiences - a particular boss is supposed to feel hard in a specific way.
What Doesn't Scale
A few things to note:
- Monsters don't have XP. They don't level up between battles.
- Monsters don't remember previous encounters. Each battle loads a fresh instance.
- Monsters aren't affected by real-life stats. The real-life zone multipliers apply to the avatar's combat sheet only.