Methods, systems, and apparatuses are described herein for providing an interactive application, such as a video game, with a hierarchy of avatar categories, each having a maximum and minimum progression value. Each avatar category may be associated with one or more avatars, items, and/or other portions of the interactive application. A beginner avatar category may be associated with a minimum progression value greater than an absolute minimum progression value and a maximum progression value lesser than an absolute maximum progression value. A second avatar category may be associated with a minimum and maximum progression value that are, respectively, lower and greater than that of the beginner avatar category. The interactive application may allow a user to select from the beginner avatar category and the second avatar category. An avatar category may be associated with game rewards.