Why not increase stat/skill rewards from gaining levels 96/97/98/99. like 10 stats/ 2 skill points, and so on… something to slightly adjust for the time investment. can incentive everyone with 95 & below to come back and play!
and reward pre-existing 96/97/98/99 with respective sum of points
interesting idea 
Increasing the skill cap by 1 for the last 5 levels could also be neat. You’d either have to save up skill points, or max out one skill to 25 by the time you get to 99.
i like op’s idea
2020
It’s a bad idea. It would force people to lvl to 99 to not be at a major disadvantage.
Yeah encouraging more people to achieve 99 would be nice, but not with such major power creep
Very nice idea. (I expanded a bit to include levels 90 and up )
LVL 90 +10 stats +2 skills
LVL 91 +10 stats +2 skills
LVL 92 +15 stats +3 skills
LVL 93 +15 stats +3 skills
LVL 94 +20 stats +4 skills
LVL 95 +20 stats +4 skills
LVL 96 +25 stats +5 skills
LVL 97 +25 stats +5 skills
LVL 98 +30 stats +6 skills
LVL 99 +30 stats +6 skills
This would really help out those synergy intensive builds such as the Frenzy Barbarian, as well as make the arduous grind to 99 worthwhile.
At level 90-99, Providing a progressively increasing 20-30 ( I would actually prefer 40 ) additional skills BEYOND what would be obtained via level alone (10), would allow a lot of builds to be finished out / have full hybrid skill builds ( thus opening character slots to those who like having dedicated characters rather than using Tokens constantly )
If levels at this point take considerably longer to reach, they should provide considerably bigger bonus.
For example, at level 99 a Barbarian would need ( all include 1 maxed mastery)
Receiving the extra skill bonus from 90-99 would also lend itself to other skills being buffed / revised / added, because the buffed skills would provide greater incentives to significantly invest into those skills, as opposed to the standard above examples. For example:
yeah and maybe also add:
LVL 90 +5 allres + Perf Anni
LVL 91 +5 allres + Perf Torch for your class
LVL 92 +5 allres + 5 Vex
LVL 93 +10 allres + 5 Ohm
LVL 94 +10 allres + 5 Lo
LVL 95 +10 allres + 5 Sur
LVL 96 +15 allres + 5 Ber
LVL 97 +25 allres + 5 Jah
LVL 98 +25 allres + 5 Cham
LVL 99 +35 allres + 5 Zod
So we don’t have to care about farming anymore.
But new levels dont provide resistance bonus or runes: only stats and skills.
It would be fun if level 99 unlocked a new level 99-only quest that provided another Anya-esque resist bonus, and perhaps a high rune between Vex and Zod.
I thought “lvl99 was not needed in order to enjoy the game”
Just make lvl 99 give 10 skllpts
10 pts wont make much of a difference as most builds are usually closed at lvl 90
lets add +10 stats and 2 skills per level from level 1. the extra stats means we can easily use points to get enough strength to use sigon’s complete steel at level 6. then we can finally play the game.
It isn’t and that’s good. 95 is easily achieveable and the last 4 lvls aren’t changing much of your build. 10 additional skill points at 99 opens a lot more unbalanced options especially for pvp.
I think the people that already have the incentive to build the late levels should be left to stand alone.
There is prestige for those who are willing to, and have, slogged it out.
I admire their dedication, commitment, achievement.
If some think the grind from 93/95 to 97/99 takes too long, or is too hard… or lacks incentive, then, well, that separates the the pack.
I don’t support dangling carrots for the achievement, the achievement is that in-itself.
As it is, the players chasing higher level know their character will not noticeably become stronger, or have better survive-ability, and yet they challenge themselves anyways.
Self driven warriors.
IMO, the carrot system removes the prestige, and and replaces it with greed.
I want a refund then lol
But the issue with this concept is that most builds are complete by lvl 85-90 no more meaningful skill allocation
I tried to suggest something in the same vein
People got mad lol
but the game shouldnt be balanced around pvp
not to mention that pvpers usually brag about making their own rules
so thats it, just make another rule
thats exactly why this is a good idea
something like 10 more pts wont be that impactful in pve
the problem with a raise for skll hardcap is the fact that builds that already starve for pts would be even more hungry
It should always be balanced about all available modes and communities.
Never heard them brag about having the need to create rules, but without rules it would be a crappy brawl.
You mean like with the removal of stun and fhr? Just stop the crap already. You sound like a sissy that got clapped in pvp.
Every sorc would love the additional points for ES. Hdins would love the spare points for passive res. Summoner necs could really spec into poison. Javas could either stack their passives or add poison or multi. Windy druids could go wild with summons. Bone necs could get meat shields improved…
But adding 10 points at 99 is a PvP change and not a pvm change… so absolutely useless.
If you really need an incentive to grind for 99, add cosmetics or high runes as rewards, but not some PvP unbalanced power creep
Pvp isn’t a game mode
So you agree that the game should have transmog since comminities care about items appearance
So you agree that D2R should have modding assistance because communities revolve around modding the game
i desagree
its clearly that pve is more popular
and as they said, “there is no sacred cow”
but i did
how great d2 pvp community is to the point of making their own rules
not my words
thats a patch
that has nothing to do with a self imposed rule
and none of the above mentioned specs would get a substancial improvement to their run time
this i think should be a good incentive for hitting 99 in ladder
oh god please…
OP is the definition of power creep. Furthermore, why make levels 1-95 1 skill point/5 Stats and the last 4 reward with 2/10? Do the first 95 levels not matter? Where’s the “equitable” treatment? Are you saying you discriminate against lower leveled players? Whatever happened to the prestige of grinding to 99? Are you saying you want to “lower the standards” of D2 gameplay? Reminds me of a certain song honestly
This idea smells and needs to be buried before it gains any more traction. We already get 12 bonus skill points and 15 bonus stats via quests. We don’t need “more” because the grind to 99 is “too hard”. They already watered down the achievement with Terror Zones but this is just a bad idea all around.
power creep is the raise of a ceiling in the game
more skllpts wont raise the dps or tankness ceiling
please refrain from speaking for others, speak only for yourself