How important are progression systems in gaming, and what’s the ideal progression system to you?

While your exact definition may differ, to me, a progression system is any system in a game that allows you to accomplish a goal and gain something that feels rewarding. Plenty of systems falls under this category, and over the years the Diablo series and World of Warcraft have experimented with many different types. WoW has had so many variations on progression systems — many of which were limited to specific expansions and called borrowed power — that it regularly balances several at a time, like Azerite Armor, Corruption, and several others.

With Diablo 4 on the horizon bringing a new talent tree and Paragon system with it, and World of Warcraft recently resurrecting a talent tree system with notable differences from any it’s had before, I think it’s worth considering how these games reward you for playing them. Ultimately that’s all a progression system is — a means for players to feel that playing the game is rewarding and worthwhile in some way. Do these systems have to extend across alts? Should they reward only personal power or is a gear-based system like Diablo 3 or WoW an acceptable way to progress your character?

I personally think the sophisticated progression systems of Diablo 4 sound intriguing, and I’m glad they’re taking steps to make playing the game on a character feel like it was worthwhile even when you switch to another character. But what about you? How should progression systems work in games like these? How much complexity hits the sweet spot verses becoming Azerite Armor 2.o?