To make every Character Level, Evolving Attack tier, or other such levels worthwhile to aim for, a game creator might give every level a unique benefit. In Skill Scores and Perks terms, instead of every level giving some more skill scores like an improvement to Hit Points or Defense, it's a new Perk every time, like a new type of stat. Maybe the length of a Combo can go on for longer, a new move is unlocked, or they become Immune to Fire, as a few examples.
This may overlap with Tech Tree if each Character Level gives enough 'tree Points to pick something new every level with proper management.
This is more likely to occur the harder it is to gain levels, because in order to present the effort as worthwhile, it has to match the difficulty, and more difficulty means a greater reward is needed, with perks being "new and unique" so they seem greater, avoiding a Power-Up Letdown.
A Rewards Pass might do this by having different rewards at every level instead of having Empty Levels or increasing multiples of the same type of reward every level.
This can overlap with Max-Level Bonus if there's still something different about max level, like giving two perks instead of one.
This is the Opposite Trope of Empty Levels.
Examples:
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Literature
- Apocalypse Parenting: When the Maffiyir participants hit certain thresholds in their gathered Points, they have an opportunity to select another Ability, and that's their only personal method of progression. It's Character Level and Experience Points under a slightly different name. The only other way to improve is Equipment-Based Progression.
Tabletop Games
- 13th Age:
- Gaining a level in any class grants a new feat and allows the character to carry an additional magic item.
- Spellcasting classes gain access to a new spell level every odd-numbered level; on even-numbered levels, they often gain a new slot and their existing slots move to higher levels.
- Fighters alternate between gaining another maneuver and gaining access to higher-level maneuvers; Rogues do similarly with their powers.
- Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition gives a benefit at each character level, which mostly alternates between gaining an additional feat, and obtaining a new or replacement encounter or daily attack power. Some levels may instead grant a paragon path or epic destiny feature instead of an attack power.
- Pathfinder:
- One of the major changes when Pathfinder 1st Edition was adapted from Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition was a deliberate effort to eliminate Empty Levels by ensuring that every class got something new at every level, whether it was a feat or a class feature (an increase in spell slots being considered the bare minimum). Martial and partial-casting classes benefited the most, in an effort to mitigate Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards and diversify build options. This has the side effect of delegitimizing Prestige Classes (a major feature of 3.5E) in favor of archetypes (subclasses) since you miss out on a lot more of the base class's features if you switch. 2nd Edition repeats this, with every class getting new options at every level.
- 1st Edition: Unlike any other Skill, every point of training in Linguistics grants fluency in a new language. This is similar to D&D 3.5's Speak Language skill, but Pathfinder is distinct in also using Linguistics as an overall skill score that can be tested.
- Savage Worlds: The core rules grant Advancements, a.k.a Character Level ups at the game-master's discretion. Advancements can be spent to increase one attribute die or up to two skill dice (one if already greater than or equal to the die for its linked attribute) by one step, purchase an Edge (i.e. perk), eliminate a Minor Hindrance or reduce a Major Hindrance to Minor. The only case where this would result in Empty Levels is if the player chooses to bank an Advancement in order to later have two to spend to eliminate a Major Hindrance (some lack a Minor form).
- Star Wars d20 Saga Edition: Each heroic class alternates between bonus Feats and Talents with each level as the primary means of character advancement. Feats are general bonuses and perks, whereas Talents are chains of unique abilities to specialize within the class. Most Prestige Classes provide more powerful features in place of the bonus feats.
- The One Ring:
- Unlike standard skills and weapon abilities, each point in the core attributes Wisdom and Valor comes with a major character advancement from either a generic or background-specific list. Wisdom grants Virtues that expand the character's capabilities; Valor grants Rewards in the form of new or improved gear.
- Inverted with an adventurer's permanent Shadow Score. Every time it increases, they gain a new and more extreme Flaw (e.g.: "Brutal" or "Thieving") that the Game Master can subsequently invoke against them to represent their worst impulses taking over.
Video Games
- 100% Orange Juice!: While normas (the game's term for levels) merely mark progress to victory and allow more powerful cards to be used in the game's standard ruleset, Co-op mode offers innate stat bonuses to each character class for each norma. The updated version of Bounty Hunt mode also allows players to choose a beneficial perk each time they norma.
- 20 Minutes Till Dawn: Gaining a level gives a choice of one of five randomly chosen upgrades. Most skills are part of a small upgrade tree.
- Monsters in Aethermancer get a new action (on odd-numbered levels) or passive trait (on even-numbered levels) every level. You can choose one of 3 options randomly selected from a pool determined by the monster's type and species.
- Blaster Master Zero and its sequels have the Evolving Weapon "Blaster Rifle", gaining levels with more energy acquired for it. Each distinct level of the weapon which can be freely switched between, has its own effect; while the higher levels generally had greater damage compared to those of lower levels, enemies reacted to each weapon differently. Damage the player takes reduces the weapon's effectiveness, a.k.a levels, as well.
- Crimsonland: Gaining enough experience allows choosing one of five perks, generally being a passive ability.
- Dawn of War II Retribution: Every level a hero gains gives them an ability point to spend, though there's only 10 points to gain and 15 abilities to buy.
- The Deus Ex Universe: In Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Adam Jensen gets a single Praxis point with every level-up, which can be used to activate or upgrade augmentations.
- Dex: The skill tracks have multiple tiers each, and upgrading them gives Dex a different upgrade each time, for the most part. The Melee track gives a new attack each time it's leveled.
- Dragon Age: The Player Character and their companions get a point to put into their abilities on every level up (and from Dragon Age II onward, the ability to upgrade existing abilities). In Origins and II, they also gain three points to put into their stats as well.
- The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim: When the Dragonborn levels, they increase their choice of Health, Stamina or Magicka by 10 points, and get a perk point to activate any unlocked perks, or use later when one is unlocked.
- The Fallout series:
- Fire Emblem Engage: Emblems gain a perk for each Bond Level that they reached with their wearer. Every Emblem starts at Level 1 that gives basis sync and inheritable skill (though they can only learn them upon reaching Level 5), engage skills (which cannot be inherited), an Emblem weapon, and Engage attack, and each level grants additional stats when equipping them and skills to utilize and inherit. Each Emblems have generic perks that is shared among each other, like Level 5 allowing the unit to inherit skills from the Emblem, Level 10 granting an additional Emblem weapon, Level 11 granting an additional turn when engaging, Level 15 granting their ultimate Engage weapon, and Level 20 lowers their engage meter by 1 to recharge your Engage quicker.
- Genshin Impact: Every level of a character's Constellation gives a different upgrade to the character. For example, Amber's first two Constellation levels:
- One Arrow to Rule Them All: Fires 2 arrows per Aimed Shot. The second arrow deals 20% of the first arrow's DMG.
- Bunny Triggered: Baron Bunny, new and improved! Hitting Baron Bunny's foot with a fully-charged Aimed Shot manually detonates it.
Explosion via manual detonation deals 200% additional DMG.
- Hay Day gives you new products at each level until 112 (as of September 2024). And since new products are added multiple times each year, this level is likely to go up.
- Heroes of Might and Magic: Every time the hero levels up, they gain one point in one of their four primary statistics (attack, defense, spell power, and knowledge) and a skill that affects their army, spellcasting, and other utilities. They have two options for skills: upgrading their learned skills up to two more times, or learning a new one. Since all heroes have a limited cap in how much skills they can learn, prioritizing which one to learn is very important.
- Hogwarts Legacy: Each new level gives the player a Talent to spend in new perks such as more powerful curses or being able to use Petrificus Totalus on several enemies at once.
- In JumpStart Adventures 6th Grade: Mission Earthquest, winning five "pod points" a.k.a Experience Points earns what's basically a Level-Up Fill-Up, healing all damage sustained by the pod, a.k.a the vehicle the protagonists travel in, and along with that Character Level-like experience, the level up also gives a three-use tool every time.
- Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: The Fateless One gains one non-combat skill point level, as well as three combat skill points every time they gain a level. The latter influences the Destinies available to the player, which provide a set of bonuses on their own as well.
- Monster Sanctuary: When a monster levels up, they gain a skill point that they can allocate to learn a new skill. Every monster has its own skill tree, so it's possible for two monsters of the same species to learn different skills and perform different roles.
- Pizza Hero: Gaining a level gives a choice of one of three toppings, which are either new or an improvement on the existing one. Of the toppings, the pizza can have five toppings that make an attack, and five toppings that provide passive ability.
- Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game: Every level up unlocks a new skill, and other than Level-Up Fill-Up is the only benefit to leveling up. Stats are wholly unaffected by levels.
- Songs of Conquest: As a spiritual successor to Heroes of Might and Magic, it shares a similar leveling system. When you level up, you have three options: upgrading their already learned skills up to two more times, learning a new skill, or upgrading the skill Command to increases the number of troops they can deploy, up to the maximum of 9 troops.
- In Tactical Nexus, every time you level up, you are given a choice of one of several possible perks, with the most common ones being ATK, DEF and HP increases that are directly proportional to your level (i.e. the higher your level, the bigger boost you will get from cashing in a level-up on one of those). Some stages also offer a choice of keys, which may be needed to open doors to progress.
- Vampire Survivors: Gaining a level gives a choice of three, or four if lucky, items to upgrade the character with, with 6 weapon and accessory slots respectively, after which only item upgrades are allowed.
- Warcraft III: Every time a hero gains a level, they gain a skill point which can empower their spells (in some maps/campaigns, especially fanmade ones, you can also give the hero a stat boost instead of their skills), though some spells require the hero to reach level 3/5/6 to be available.
- Warframe: There's two level-up systems that give something good every level:
- The player has five Intrinsics — Tactical, Piloting, Gunnery, Engineering, and Command — that reflect their ability to pilot their Railjack. Each starts at Rank 0 and can be levelled up to Rank 10 by spending Intrinsic Points earned during Railjack missions, and each rank grants the player a new perk.
- The player's Drifter (playable in Duviri) has four Intrinsics — Combat, Riding, Opportunity, and Endurance — that can be levelled up using Intrinsic Points earned while in Duviri. Again, each rank gained in each Intrinsic grants the player a new perk that improves their fighting abilities (or, in the case of Opportunity, grants them additional choices when selecting equipment or Decrees, a.k.a Perks).