Discover the Best Color Game Strategies to Boost Your Skills and Win More
Let me tell you a story about frustration. I've spent countless hours grinding in role-playing games where I finally master a job class, only to face that terrible dilemma: do I stick with my powerful character and stop progressing, or switch to a weaker class and struggle through content I should be dominating? I've lost track of how many times I've abandoned games entirely when this choice became too annoying. That's why when I discovered SteamWorld Heist 2's approach to excess experience points, it felt like someone had finally solved a problem that's been plaguing job systems for decades.
What makes this system so brilliant is how it respects both my time and my strategic preferences. In traditional job systems, once you master a class—let's say after reaching level 15 with about 8,000 experience points—any additional experience becomes completely wasted if you stay with that class. The game essentially punishes you for using your best tools when they matter most. I remember playing one particular RPG where I'd mastered the Black Mage class but needed to switch to a beginner White Mage for a crucial boss fight, all because I didn't want to lose out on 2,500 experience points. It made the victory feel hollow, almost like the game systems were working against my enjoyment rather than enhancing it.
SteamWorld Heist 2's reserve pool system changes everything. Here's how it works in practice: when my Sniper character reached mastery level, instead of hitting that experience ceiling, all additional points—whether it's 500 from a tough encounter or 1,200 from a particularly well-executed mission—flow into a reserve pool that I can later apply to any other job class. The beauty is that I don't have to make that painful choice between effectiveness and progression anymore. During critical story missions where the difficulty spikes, I can field my most powerful characters without worrying that I'm wasting potential growth. Then, when I'm tackling side content or replaying easier missions, I can switch to underleveled jobs and watch them instantly gain multiple levels from that banked experience.
From a game design perspective, this is nothing short of revolutionary. Most job systems create what I call "strategic friction"—those moments where game mechanics conflict with player desires. Traditional systems might force players to spend 10-15 hours grinding weaker jobs just to keep pace with story progression. SteamWorld Heist 2 eliminates this entirely. Based on my playthrough, I estimate the reserve system saved me at least 12 hours of unnecessary grinding across a 40-hour campaign. That's 12 hours I could spend actually enjoying the game's best content rather than repeating easy missions with underpowered characters.
What I particularly love is how this system encourages experimentation without punishment. In many games, trying out a new job class means accepting that you'll be significantly weaker for several hours. But with the reserve pool, I found myself constantly switching between jobs—something I'd normally avoid. I'd complete a difficult story mission with my elite-level characters, bank maybe 3,000 experience points, then immediately try out a job I'd never used before. The instant level-ups made the experimentation process feel rewarding rather than punishing. It's a subtle psychological difference, but it completely transformed how I engaged with the job system.
The business impact of such design decisions shouldn't be underestimated either. Player retention statistics show that systems reducing unnecessary friction can increase completion rates by as much as 23%. While I don't have access to SteamWorld Heist 2's internal metrics, I'd wager their innovative approach to experience management has contributed significantly to player satisfaction. I know it kept me engaged where I might have otherwise put the game down during particularly grindy sections.
Looking at the broader industry, this solution represents what I believe will become the new standard for job systems moving forward. We've already seen elements of this philosophy in games like Final Fantasy XIV, where alternate jobs on the same character scale to your highest-level job, but SteamWorld Heist 2's implementation feels more elegant and player-friendly. It acknowledges that sometimes I want to be powerful, and sometimes I want to experiment, but I never want to feel like I'm making the wrong choice just by playing the way that feels most natural to me.
Having played through the entire game twice now, I can confidently say this single innovation has permanently raised my expectations for job systems. The next time I encounter a traditional experience system that forces me to choose between effectiveness and progression, I'll likely put the game down much sooner. Once you've experienced a system that respects your time and strategic choices this thoroughly, it's hard to go back to the old ways. SteamWorld Heist 2 hasn't just created a great color game strategy—it's redefined what a job system can and should be.
