Levelling Guide

[color=red][b]For a list of % caps and level numbers and ranks, see Post 2 and onwards.[/b][/color] Levels are measurements of a user's activity on GameSpot. The more active you are, the higher the % increase you will receive towards your level a day. It should be noted however, that EVERY LEVEL HAS A CERTAIN % CAP, WHERE YOUR INCREASE IN % WILL NOT EXCEED THE CAP. Additionally, the % increase you receive towards your level will not take effect immediately. You will have to wait until the site updates itself, meaning you should WAIT FOR AT LEAST 24 HOURS FOR YOUR LEVEL'S % TO INCREASE. Every level is different from each other, in terms of number, rank and % cap. To level up on GameSpot, all you need to do is to spend your time here. The levelling system exists in order to encourage users to come back to the site, and enjoy using it, in whatever way they want. This means there is really no set method of levelling up. Common ways of spending time here include but are not limited to: visiting the forums, posting, reading articles and blogs, watching videos, updating your profile etc. It is factors such as these which contribute towards a user's activity level, and thus, their level itself. Right, so posting must be the fastest way to level up then? It's easy to do and users with high levels have high post counts. NO! POSTING IS NOT THE FASTEST WAY TO LEVEL UP! IT CAN ACTUALLY BE A HINDRANCE TOWARDS LEVELLING UP! Consider this example: User A has a post count of 30,000 and is level 20. User B has a post count of 15,000 and is level 40. How is this possible? How could the user with the lower post count have a higher level? Easy: User B has probably been here for a long time and has not been moderated much. User B in fact probably spends more time than User A. How is this? Again, easy: User B has probably spent more time on each individual topic, perhaps reading all the replies and replying in a more thoughtful manner. User A has probably only read the topic title and gave a short reply that probably doesn't contribute much to the topic. Not only that, but if User A just wants to level up through posting, chances are, they have probably been moderated for spamming. Spamming is basically posting to increase your post count, and often manifests itself in posts that only contain one word, an emoticon, a picture etc that do not contribute to the topic. Spamming goes against [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/misc/tos.html]GameSpot's Terms of Use[/url], which are the community rules that every user must obey when posting. If you are moderated for spamming, it could be a point loss moderation, where you lose % towards your level. As you can see from this example, posting is most definitely not the main way to raise your level. You should only post if you feel you have something that could contribute to the topic. It should not be done to raise your level, but rather depending on whether you want to post or not. Have fun posting. It is a way of socialising on GS, which in my opinion (and probably the opinion of many others), is the best thing about GS. Even then, consider my post count and level. I may not have a high post count, but I've been here for many years now and my level is much higher than users who have a post count that is over four times mine. I spend a lot of my time on GS simply reading topics and articles. I only post when I have something to say, not just for the sake of posting to say something. So, posting is just a way of levelling up. What is it that actually contributes towards your level's %? TIME. If you haven't noticed, I have been saying to spend time on GS to level up. What you spend time doing is up to you. Do what you want. ALTHOUGH, DON'T GET CONFUSED! SPENDING TIME STARING AT THE SAME PAGE FOR AN HOUR IS NOT HOW YOU LEVEL UP! You need to be active. You need to be actively doing something. User A may only spend an hour a day reading topics and posting. That is only doing two things. User B may spend his hour a day reading articles and topics, posting, watching videos, updating his profile etc. THEREFORE, USER B IS IN FACT MORE ACTIVE THAN USER A, AS USER B DOES MORE THINGS IN HIS TIME THAN USER A!

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Levelling rewards Some early levels reward the user with being able to make use of additional features on GameSpot, depending on their membership status ([url=http://uk.gamespot.com/signup/comparisonchart.html]this membership comparison chart[/url] can be useful to determine what features you will start out with, and which features you will need to earn through levelling up) . These levels and their corresponding rewards (assuming you are a Free Registered Member) are: Level 3: Use of HTML and BBCode, plus the ability to post comments and player reviews Level 5: Able to make one poll a day on certain boards Level 6: Able to create a union Level 10: Able to upload videos [b]Posting limits[/b] [url=http://www.gamespot.com/forums/topic/26465036]Based on ArmoredCore55's post on posting limits.[/url] Paid subscribers, Plus and Total Access, are not affected by the posting limits below, which only affect Free Registered users. However, all users are subjected to a posting restriction which does not allow a user to make more than 2 posts within a minute, to guard against spamming, which affects all users regardless of level and membership status. Under Level 10: 100 posts per thread per 24 hours and 300 posts per day Level 11-24: 200 posts per thread per 24 hours and 600 posts per day Level 25 and above: No post limit

Levelling FAQ

[b]Do achievements count towards % increases?[/b] No, achievements are separate from levels. They are earned by meeting certain requirements. Levelling up does not require any specific conditions to be met. [b]At what level do I become a moderator?[/b] Moderators are chosen by GameSpot's administrators, and therefore there is no specific level that a user will become a moderator at. If you are interested in becoming a GameSpot moderator, I would suggest reading [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26088747]the How to Become a Moderator thread[/url]. [b]Can your level decrease?[/b] Yes. If you get moderated, and it happens to be a point loss moderation, your level's % will decrease. You will only get moderated however if you violate the [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/misc/tos.html]Terms of Use[/url], which all GameSpot users must abide by, as they agreed to when they registered on the site. [b]How come the % in my profile is different to what is displayed in my profile summary (located under the Forums tab, where all the forums are listed)?[/b] The % given in your profile is a more accurate representation of your %, because it is calculated to 2 decimal places. However the value displayed in the profile summary is simply rounded off to the nearest whole number. [b]Do users with subscriptions level up faster? What about mods, admins etc?[/b] No. All users level up at the same rate, regardless of whether they are subscribed, a mod, an admin etc.

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% Caps

Below is a list of the % caps for each level. Please bear in mind that the [color=red][b]% caps are merely estimations, not absolute values.[/b][/color] That means [color=red][b]you're not guaranteed to get the certain amount of % towards your level listed here.[/b][/color] I've been assured though that these % caps are mostly accurate and can be used. [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/29176937/levelling-guide---percentage-caps-thread?msg_id=336933332#336933332]Got a problem with the % caps? Got % caps to contribute? Tell us in here![/url] Level 01: 25% or 133% thereafter Level 02: 66% Level 03: 50% Level 04: 31% Level 05: 23% Level 06: (user stays 1 day at level 6, then skips to level 7) Level 07: 11% Level 08: 17% Level 09: 15% Level 10: 13% Level 11: 12% Level 12: 11% Level 13: 10% Level 14: 09% Level 15: 09% Level 16: 08% Level 17: 08% Level 18: 07% Level 19: 07% Level 20: 06% Level 21: 06% Level 22: 06% Level 23: 06% Level 24: 05% Level 25: 05% Level 26: 05% Level 27: 05% Level 28: 05% Level 29: 04% Level 30: 04% Level 31: 04% Level 32: 04% Level 33: 04% Level 34: 04% Level 35: 04% Level 36: 04% Level 37: 03% Level 38: 03% Level 39: 03% Level 40: 03% Level 41: 03% Level 42: 03% Level 43: 03% Level 44: 03% Level 45: 03% Level 46: 05% Level 47: 05% Level 48: 13% Level 49: 03% Level 50: 06% Level 51: 05% Level 52: 04% Level 53: 07% Level 54: 03% Level 55: 12% Level 56: 02% Level 57: 60% Level 58: 02% Level 59: 15% Level 60: 02% Level 61: 06% Level 62: 03% Level 63: 0.46% Level 64: 0.42% Level 65: 02% Level 66: 02% Level 67: 02% Level 68: 02% Level 69: 02% Level 70: 02% Level 71: 0.30%-0.35%

Levelling numbers and ranks

This is a list of all the currently known level numbers and ranks on GameSpot. This list will probably be updated as more levels are revealed as users level up on the site. The rank each level has is in some way related to video games. Depending on how general the name of the rank is, you may find some ranks have several possible references to video games, in which all may not be listed here. [b]Level 1 - Player[/b] - Self-explanatory. [b]Level 2 - Journeyman[/b] - Possibly a reference to the Journeyman Project series for the PC/Mac. [b]Level 3 - Mediator[/b] - Reference to a 1986 spaceship game for the C64 and the NES. [b]Level 4 - Paper Boy[/b] - Name of the cIassic arcade game where you are - yes! - a Paper Boy, delivering the latest news while dodging people and obstacles. [b]Level 5 - Tapper[/b] - A reference to the arcade game by the same name, in which the player had to serve beer quickly to increasingly surly patrons. [b]Level 6 - The Super Spy[/b] - One of the first attempts at a first-person-perspective action game, for the Neo Geo, in which you played as a secret agent charged with infiltrating an enemy base. [b]Level 7 - Sectoid[/b] - A baddie from the X-Com games. [b]Level 8 - Quad Damage[/b] - A power-up in Quake that drastically increased the amount of damage your weapons did. [b]Level 9 - Ikari Warrior[/b] - A cIassic SNK coin-op where you battle your way through guerilla territory, taking on marksmen, combateers and tanks! [b]Level 10 - Phoenix Down[/b] - An item from the Final Fantasy games, used to bring defeated players back to life. [b]Level 11 - Atomic Punk[/b] - An arcade game in which you planted bombs around a maze. I believe this was another name for the Bomberman series. [b]Level 12 - Rad Racer[/b] - Racing game for the NES. Featured a 3-D mode using special glasses. [b]Level 13 - Toobin'[/b] - An arcade and NES (and later Game Boy Color) game focusing on the fascinating world of inner-tube racing. [b]Level 14 - Ring King[/b] - A cl@ssic boxing game for the NES. [b]Level 15 - Nobunaga's Ambition[/b] - A cl@ssic KOEI historical simulation RPG for the NES set in 16th-century feudal Japan, which has been updated recently in online form for the PS2. [b]Level 16 - Magician Lord[/b] - A cl@ssic SNK action-adventure game placing you in the role of a magician lord seeking out eight books of wisdom while fighting off enemies with numerous types of magic. [b]Level 17 - Minus World[/b] - A hidden level from Super Mario Bros. for the NES. [b]Level 18 - Flicky[/b] - A little-known platformer for the Genesis, featuring Flicky, a character first introduced in the Sonic series. [b]Level 19 - Gitaroo Man[/b] - Highly-acclaimed rhythm game for the PS2 which tells the story of U-1 and his jelly-bean-headed talking dog Puma and their quest to save the universe. [b]Level 20 - Metal Slime[/b] - One of the cutest monsters from Dragon Warrior. A royal pain in the butt to beat before they ran away. But oh, the XP if you managed it! [b]Level 21 - Rescue Ranger[/b] - Possibly a reference to the Chip 'n' Dale's Rescue Rangers game on the NES. [b]Level 22 - Blaster Master[/b] - One of the greatest (and hardest) NES games of all time. Game play switched between walking and driving, which was pretty darn cool at the time. [b]Level 23 - Super Bagman[/b] - An arcade game developed by Stern in 1984, in which you played as an escaped convict collecting bags of money from a mine. [b]Level 24 - I Feel Asleep!![/b] - A well-known line from Metal Gear for the NES. Unclear whether it was a typo (I fell asleep!!) or a mistranslation (I feel sleepy!!). [b]Level 25 - Defias Brotherhood[/b] - This is a chain of quests from Gamespot's favorite title of last year, World of Warcraft - can you do them all to get to the final showdown with Edwin van Cleef?

Levelling numbers and ranks (continued)

[b]Level 26 - Cyber-Lip[/b] - A 2D side-scrolling shooter by SNK. Rick & Brook must save the Earth's space colony from the Cyber-Lip, a computer gone mad!! [b]Level 27 - Sheng Long[/b] - In the English version of Street Fighter II, after winning, Ryu said "You must defeat Sheng Long to stand a chance." While the actual reference was to one of Ryu's moves, gamers thought it referred to a person. This was enhanced when EGM made a famous April Fool's joke claiming that Sheng Long was an unlockable boss. [b]Level 28 - Bionic Commando[/b] - cIassic NES game in which you played as a bionic commando who could not jump, but had a nifty extending bionic arm that let you swing from stuff. Truly kick-ass. [b]Level 29 - Radiant Silvergun[/b] - An excellent top-down shooter for the Sega Saturn by Treasure. [b]Level 30 - Wicked Sick![/b] - The award earned in UT2k4 for 30 consecutive frags without a death. [b]Level 31 - Ippon![/b] - A reference to Karate Champ, possibly the first arcade martial-arts game. As a side note, I used to kick ass at that game. That charging bull didn't stand a chance against my mighty spinning back kick. [b]Level 32 - Snake Eater[/b] - The subtitle to the third game in the Metal Gear Solid series. [b]Level 33 - Goombella[/b] - Mario's first ally in Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, she was particularly useful in giving you information about your foes and location. [b]Level 34 - Paramecium[/b] - I believe this is from Forgotten Worlds for the Turbografx-16. At the end of a stage, your character proclaims, "You cannot stop me with paramecium alone!" Apparently it also appeared in Aero Fighters 2 for the NeoGeo. [b]Level 35 - Stitches[/b] - An epic mob in World of Warcraft. [b]Level 36 - Radical Ninja[/b] - It was the subtitle to the old NES game Kid Niki, an old sidescrolling platformer by Irem. [b]Level 37 - Heiankyo Alien[/b] - A Gameboy game in which you had to prevent an alien invasion of the peaceful town of Kyo...by digging holes with a shovel. [b]Level 38 - DJ Boy[/b] - The best side-scrolling roller skating fighter ever to appear on the Sega Genesis. [b]Level 39 - Max Force[/b] - Max's CO power in the excellent Advance Wars games on the GBA. [b]Level 40 - Abobo[/b] - Name of the boss in Double Dragon for the Neo-Geo. [b]Level 41 - Thunder Force[/b] - A series of side-scrolling action games for the Commodore 64, Genesis and Saturn. [b]Level 42 - Karnov[/b] - An arcade game (also on the NES) in which you played as a bald-headed fire-breathing brute. Karnov was a Muslim prince in the original arcade version, but possibly to avoid causing offense to Muslims, he became Jiborav Karnovsky, a Russian circus strongman, for the NES version. [b]Level 43 - Sword of Sodan[/b] - A side-scrolling hack-and-slash for the Sega Genesis. [b]Level 44 - Violence Fight[/b] - A curiously-titled arcade fighting game in which the player chose one of four characters to compete in a series of one-on-one fights. [b]Level 45 - Mishima Zaibatsu[/b] - A fictional Japanese conglomerate from the Tekken series. [b]Level 46 - Mutoid Man[/b] - A boss from the arcade, Smash TV. As the host would say, "Total carnage! I love it!" [b]Level 47 - Jaquio[/b] - The villain from the Ninja Gaiden series for the NES. [b]Level 48 - Mr. Domino[/b] - A reference to No One Can Stop Mr. Domino!, a quirky but cute game for the Playstation. Also featured on some old Gamespot ads. [b]Level 49 - Kidd Thunder !![/b] - A reference to Raiden's "Friendship" move in Mortal Kombat 2, in which he creates a miniature likeness of himself. [b]Level 50 - Strawberry Candy[/b] - One of the voice commands in LifeLine for the PS2.

Levelling numbers and ranks (continued)

[b]Level 51 - Alien Hominid[/b] - A 2D side-scrolling shooter developed by The Behemoth that made the transition to consoles after starting its life as a web-based action game. [b]Level 52 - Spoony Bard[/b] - A rather odd insult from Final Fantasy IV. Spoony is a real word, meaning foolishly sentimental, but I can't imagine what thesaurus the translators used to come up with it when they were localizing FF4. [b]Level 53 - Zenny[/b] - Currency used to buy weapons and upgrades in Mega Man Legends 1 and 2 for the Playstation [b]Level 54 - Simon Says Bleed[/b] - From Demolition Man for the 3D0. [b]Level 55 - Rise from your Grave[/b] - The famous line said by the Greek God, Zeus, in the Sega Genesis, Altered Beast, which allows you to "rise from your grave" to start the game. [b]Level 56 - Mr.X[/b] - The main villain in Mega Man 6. [b]Level 57 - Karateka[/b] - Karateka is a 1984 computer game by Jordan Mechner, the creator of Prince of Persia. [b]Level 58 - Death=Adder[/b] - A dictator that serves as the antagonist in the arcade and console game Golden Axe. The correct reference to him is "Death Adder". [b]Level 59 - Virtual Hustler[/b] - A dealer of goods that appear in various MMO games, such as Ultima Online. [b]Level 60 - Master Chief[/b] - The main character in the Halo series for the Xbox and PC, who helps the Marine Corps fight against a race of aliens called the Covenant. [b]Level 61 - Mr. Big[/b] - A boss character from the SNK fighting games for the Neo Geo (Art of Fighting). [b]Level 62 - Stylish Crazy Action[/b] - A message you get by doing combos in Devil May Cry for the PS2 [b]Level 63 - Big Smoke[/b] - Member of the Grove Street gang in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. [b]Level 64 - Easter Egg[/b] - a hidden "surprise" of sorts put intentionally into a game, movie or program. [b]Level 65 - You're Winner ![/b] - Message you get when you win a race in Big Rigs [b]Level 66 - Secret Cow Level[/b] - A mysterious rumor from Diablo I, the "Secret Cow Level", the level became a reality in Diablo II. [b]Level 67 - I Am Error[/b] - Zelda II: The Adventure of Link - what one of the characters introduces himself as: "I am Error"[QUOTE="MAILER_DAEMON"]..."Error" is actually how the guy's name was supposed to be. The introduction of "I am error" would have made more sense if they'd translated Bagu's name correctly... it was supposed to be "Bug." The characters are pallete swaps, but the joke was supposed to be that Bug and Error each help you progress in the game somehow.[/QUOTE] [b]Level 68 - Song of Nephilim[/b] - This was pyramid-shaped space station that was one of the major causes of the Miltian Conflict in Xenosaga for the PS2 [b]Level 69 - Bad Dude[/b] - Is taken from the 1988 2D beat 'em up game "Bad Dudes Vs. DragonNinja", released in the US as "Bad Dudes". Released on various platforms. [b]Level 70 - The Boss[/b] - a character from MGS3, The Boss (aka The Joy) is the founder and leader of the Cobra unit. [b]Level 71 - Castle Crasher[/b] - a Beat 'em up console video game released for the Xbox 360 in 2008 [b]Level 72 - King of All Cosmos[/b] - a character from the Katamari series, who gives the player tasks to complete Credit to [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/users/2ndWonder]2ndWonder[/url] for informing me that the [url=http://uk.gamespot.com/users/Staff]Staff[/url] account was the first to reach this level!

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