The Tool Desk
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What makes an RPG progression system feel good?
Progression is more than a rising level or a larger damage number. It gives the player decisions about what a character can do next, how that character approaches challenges, and whether growth comes from deliberate planning or from play itself.
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The systems below use distinct advancement loops: selecting abilities, allocating points, improving skills through use, or gaining experience through equipped skills and gear. Comparing them is most useful when asking what choices they support—not which one is universally best.
1. Baldur’s Gate 3 makes character choices shape encounters
Larian describes Baldur’s Gate 3 as an expansive, cinematic, player-driven RPG based on D&D 5e. During character creation, players choose options including race, class, cantrips, skills, and abilities; the game also offers a range of races and subclasses. Those decisions establish different tools and approaches for handling encounters, rather than simply defining a character’s appearance. Larian Studios’ FAQ and its official game overview describe the game’s D&D basis and character options.
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#1 Best Overall
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The appeal is the connection between build and play: character choices help determine which solutions and tactics are available. The game draws on tabletop rules, but a player does not need the tabletop rulebook to play it.
2. Diablo II turns skill trees into a plan
Diablo II makes specialization visible. Each class has skills arranged in trees, and leveling provides skill and attribute points to allocate. Some powerful skills sit higher in a tree, so a player may need to invest in prerequisites and decide whether to spend now or save points for a later unlock. Blizzard’s skill reference documents the class trees, while its character guide explains level-up point allocation.
This structure rewards a build with a direction. It is less about freely changing into anything at any moment and more about committing points toward a specialization, with the trade-off that early investments shape which options become available later.
3. The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind makes practice part of growth
In The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, skills improve through successful use, training, or reading certain books. Bethesda also notes that raising a skill takes longer as the skill becomes more advanced. The result is a progression loop in which a character’s repeated activities can become part of how that character develops: using a skill is not only a way to solve an immediate problem, but also one route to improving it. Bethesda’s support explanation of skill increases describes these mechanics.
That use-based design differs from choosing every improvement from a level-up menu. It links advancement to practice, while the increasing time required at higher skill levels makes continued growth less immediate.
Rank #2
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4. Fallout 4 separates broad attributes from Perks
Fallout 4 uses experience-based leveling and pairs seven broad S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes—Strength, Perception, Endurance, Charisma, Intelligence, Agility, and Luck—with Perks that have multiple ranks. Bethesda describes the Perks as smaller trees, so players plan both a character’s underlying strengths and the narrower abilities those strengths can support. Its Fallout 4 leveling guide explains the XP-based system, attributes, and Perks.
Bethesda contrasts this approach with Skyrim’s skill-based progression. In Fallout 4, advancement is therefore especially legible as build planning: broad attribute choices and specific Perk investments combine to define what the character is good at.
5. The Elder Scrolls Online rewards what you bring into play
The Elder Scrolls Online ties skill progression to both experience and equipment choices. Experience from world events advances skills, and equipped skills, weapons, and armor earn XP more quickly, according to ESO Support’s skill-leveling guidance.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThat gives loadout choices a progression role: what a player equips is not only a toolkit for the current activity, but can also influence which skills develop faster. The documented mechanic establishes how advancement works; it does not establish whether players generally find this approach more or less enjoyable than other systems.
6. World of Warcraft links Hero Talents to specialization
World of Warcraft adds another layer to class identity with Hero Talents, talent trees attached to class specializations. In Blizzard’s 2024 description of the system, players select one Hero Talent tree for their specialization and earn Hero Talent points through levels 71–80. The structure lets a player deepen a chosen specialization through a dedicated set of talents. See Blizzard’s Hero Talents overview for the system as described in 2024.
Rank #3
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Because World of Warcraft is an actively updated online game, talent systems can change. The level range and mechanics above describe Blizzard’s dated overview rather than a guarantee that every detail remains current in a later live build.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.7. Dungeons & Dragons makes progression part of the campaign
This is the tabletop entry, not a video game. Dungeons & Dragons treats character building as a foundation for a campaign: choices shape the character and can also affect how that character’s story unfolds. D&D Beyond’s character-building guide explains this relationship between building a character and participating in a campaign.
That makes D&D a useful comparison point for video-game RPGs. Progression is not only a sequence of mechanics; it can be a framework for expressing who a character is and how they fit into a shared story.
How the seven progression systems differ
| RPG | How growth is directed | What the player’s choices emphasize |
|---|---|---|
| Baldur’s Gate 3 | Character creation and class choices, with a D&D 5e basis | Different tools and approaches for encounters |
| Diablo II | Level-up skill and attribute point allocation through class trees | Planned specialization and investment toward higher-tier skills |
| Morrowind | Successful skill use, training, or reading certain books | Growth connected to practiced activities |
| Fallout 4 | XP-based leveling, seven S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes, and multi-rank Perks | Build planning across broad attributes and narrower abilities |
| The Elder Scrolls Online | Experience from world events, with equipped skills, weapons, and armor earning XP more quickly | Progression choices tied to the active loadout |
| World of Warcraft | Hero Talent trees linked to specializations; Blizzard’s 2024 overview describes points earned through levels 71–80 | Further specialization within an online class system |
| Dungeons & Dragons | Character building within a tabletop campaign | Connecting character choices with role-playing and story |
Which system suits the way you like to play?
- Choose for tactical options and character identity: Baldur’s Gate 3 connects character creation and class choices to the approaches available in encounters.
- Choose for advance planning: Diablo II makes skill-tree investment and specialization central to building a character.
- Choose for growth through repeated actions: Morrowind improves skills through successful use, training, and certain books.
- Choose for explicit build construction: Fallout 4 combines broad S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes with multi-rank Perks.
- Choose for a progression loop tied to loadout: The Elder Scrolls Online gives equipped skills, weapons, and armor a role in earning XP more quickly.
- Choose for an additional specialization layer: World of Warcraft’s Hero Talents add a specialization-linked tree, with live details subject to updates.
- Choose for tabletop character-and-story building: Dungeons & Dragons places character choices within a campaign shared with other players.
Why these systems stand out
There is no single definition of a perfect progression system. These examples show different strengths: visible investment paths, improvement through practice, deliberate attribute-and-ability planning, loadouts that feed advancement, or character choices that support role-playing. The strongest fit depends on whether you want to plan a build, let play shape it, or use advancement to express a character’s identity.
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