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Meaning of skill ceiling | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

The amount of skill required to master some activity (especially a game or character); the maximum possible skill.

Examples

“Coordinate term: skill floor”
“Chess has an extremely high skill ceiling⁠. Even the best chess-playing programs are constantly being improved.”
“A fighting game with a low skill ceiling will quickly get boring after one masters its mechanics.”
“Among 10 and 11-year-old children, boys' games have a higher 'skill ceiling', and are more competitive and longer-lasting than those of girls.”
“There's an old game design maxim: good games take minutes to learn but a lifetime to master. Another way to say this is "low skill floor, high skill ceiling."”
“The really fantastic thing about this "visible suits" idea is that it would have a negligible effect upon the skill floor – the additional information would not have to be used, whereas its effect on the skill ceiling would be considerable.”
“I think the appeal is the high skill ceiling mixed with ample opportunities for fun lucky shots.”
“However, the beauty of Rocket League as a competitive game and esport is that the skill ceiling is limitless. Take a look at the best goals from last season's World Championship and you'll see what I mean.”
“Designing a game with a high skill ceiling (where players must invest significant time and effort to achieve maximum skill) often results in a game with a relatively high skill floor as well.”
“NRG Apex Legends pro player Brandon 'Ace' Winn explained the inherent pitfalls that come with using a keyboard and mouse as well as a controller, comparing the skill ceilings and floors that the peripherals provide for players.”
“I'm a huge fan of movement glitches (strafe-jumping and ramp-jumping made Quake 2 for me) so I hope CDPR don't patch this out, especially as it's a singleplayer game. It raises the skill ceiling without causing harm, other than perhaps to immersion - but that's already shattered by bugs like pedestrians disappearing when you turn around or, as seen in this video, cars which appear on the horizon then vanish as you draw near.”
“This is another heavy hitter from Nintendo with a sound gameplay loop and a decent skill ceiling.”
“[…] SSX Tricky is the kind of game that makes you feel cool in a number of ways which are all equally important. There's the low skill ceiling - you get to feel cool with very little, and you can invest in your skill and become really good at the game, a feeling I didn't really get to experience in other sports games until then.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.

See also

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