Here are some end-game strategies that some games use to keep gameplay from being grindy. Or, in other words, to keep it from being a linear progression.Jericho wrote:...
How do games fix this? How do they keep the progression without making it a grind?...
What's the alternative?
Diminishing returns: Things you may have focused on in the early game and where they were most powerful are... no longer so powerful. So, having topped off your "armor" value in the early levels helped your melee character survive a great deal of deadly combat. But, in later levels, it doesn't do quite as much and continuing to stack it is just a waste of your efforts. Further, you have to counter that loss of durability, either by improving another stat, like dps or resistance, or by simply "getting gud."
Gold sink: All that collectible resource stuff, like gold, gems, credits, whatever, in the early game turned out to be a really powerful thing. But, later on, you have to do so much more than you will literally never have an equitable accumulation of wealth. At high levels, you can no longer buy out the entire inventory of "good items" in a village since anything useful for your level is very, very, expensive. BUT, to counter the "time sink grindiness" of "gold farming" a variety of paths are available towards earning whatever currency/expendable items, so play doesn't get too repetitious.
Uber Spell 009 Doesn't Matter Anymore - Mechanics Changes at high level : Building your character around "that one cool item/ability" isn't an option for later levels. Instead, in order to survive, you must incorporate other items/abilities in your character. Magic Reistance, Armor Penetration, Attack Speed, XRay Vision, synergistic abilities or tactics, two-handed weapons, non-combat abilities, etc.. So, in the end game, your character or playstyle will change dramatically and what you consider as you progress will be entirely different than just "poke it with the pointy end."
Cooperative play in games that allow it: Almost always seen in MMOs, players must not just focus on building up their character's strengths, but they must learn how to work with other players to overcome obstacles they could never overcome by themselves. This truly changes the gameplay experience for those players who wish to reach "end game." Sometimes, this isn't a good thing, leaving some players out, however. ("The casualties of Casuals")
"You need a key for that" - Changing gameplay and goals: Games sometimes separate the mark between early and late game by putting in more and more barriers that the player has to overcome that don't involved repetitive grindiness in character development, but involve character gameplay goals directly. So, instead of just running around and stabbing enough stuff so that you eventually kill nine rats, your character has to reach a certain level, then they have to attain a specific item, then they have to collect five keys, then they have to kill three bosses, then they have to build up a certain level of faction or join a certain guild, then they have to kill nine rats again...
In any event, the idea is that one stays away from simple linear progression and "saminess" in gameplay in favor of introducing new challenges and goals for the player to overcome using their knowledge of the game's mechanics. That is extremely important, since a player learning how to manipulate the game due to their knowledge and skill is intrinsic in a player's opinion of how satisfying a gameplay experience it is.