One way to keep players invested in the game is to keep them grinding. Most players love to chase levels and achievements.
Well, it seems that might have been what Player First Games was thinking after the studio increased the XP requirement to reach the master rank for each playable character in the cross-over fighting game. The new update effectively doubles the required XP to progress from level 3 through to level 15.
The change was implemented in version 1.03 and according to the patch notes, "we were finding that players could get to level 15 of the mastery track too quickly." The change has made some players unhappy as it will take them much longer to get all their characters to master rank and also level up to unlock abilities.
For a game that emphasizes customizing players with abilities, it seems counter-intuitive.
From a developer standpoint, it makes sense to have players grind longer to max out. The move increases player retention and also spending time with characters improves actual mastery of movesets and combos.
