RPG difficulty

[Takamori]

Yeah, PotD is quite fun even without an optimized party. As for W3, I went with Ranger difficulty but I doubt Supreme Jerk would have made that much of a difference since so much of that game's combat boils down to swiftly executing your enemies before they can get a shot in edgewise.

Yeah its core game flaws, without perma death, the game shoving supplies and how weapon progression works the SJ is just a number tuning and in the end game you will trample it.

 

[vazha]

Hardest available, but I ll try to optimize my party / character to an extent that even the most autistic munchkin would be jealous of.

 

[samuraigaiden]

I used to be in the gimme danger camp, but recently I've realized that A) higher difficulty options are a great reason to replay a game B) many games are only really balanced for Normal difficulty and higher difficulties have shitty balancing problems (damage sponge enemies, too many one hit deaths, etc.).

So nowadays I go with the middle difficulty. What this means is that if the game has 3 difficulty modes I pick the second, if it has 5 I pick the third. If the number of difficulty modes is even I put the one above the middle, for example the third difficulty option out of 4 or the second out of 2.

I tend to ignore what the difficulty is named because that too is something game developers have been fucking up in recent years. From Japanese games that have the difficulty names changed in localization (Nintendo does this all the time) to games that simply do not aptly describe each option. I don't even read the names to avoid unnecessary confusion.

 

[Raghar]

I typically play ironman, and non combat optimized character, thus using higher than normal is suicide.

I typically oscillate between normal and hard, and screaming why didn't they add difficulty between them.

 

[Daemongar]

I agree with most. it all depends on how "difficulty" is implemented. I like novel difficulty scales like in Thief. That higher difficulty actually added to the experience. Not garbage tier difficulty like enemies get 5x hit points and I only do half damage.

I usually play on normal unless there is something interesting about higher difficulty levels or the game is just too little a challenge at normal.

Likes:
* Interesting approaches to difficulty. Enemies use more potions or better enemy AI (target spellcasters first or something, like the player would.)
* Rewards for higher difficulty like added areas or better weapons unlocked, or at a minimum - higher experience
* Difficulty that forces the player to play differently, not just play the same way with longer combat. Seek ways around.

Dislikes
* More of the same enemies with higher levels, hps (enemies dropping out of the sky or appearing out of nowhere)
* Less loot or things costing more
* Combat that just takes forever because of kiting and shooting/stabbing against a hp bar that is 1000% longer.

What I'd like to see is a higher difficulty that would let you do somethings you couldn't do in normal - like slay the king/kill the unkillable. You are playing on elite levels, not some noob plinking. You should be treated as such in-game.

 

[NerevarineKing]

I think it just depends on how the difficulty modes are implemented. I always play on the highest difficulty in Etrian Odyssey because that's the base experience the game is designed around. Other than that, I tend to play on Normal almost every time. I don't think I'm really that great at games, but I manage to scrape by in EO games.

 

[Trashos]

Usually:

1st playthrough: some difficulty that will force me to dive deep into and learn the mechanics. Often next difficulty from Normal.
Later: Highest ironmanable difficulty. Often highest or 2nd highest difficulty.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Normal due to hatred of bullet sponges and hp bloat.

However I prefer the game not to have difficulty levels. It makes it easier for the devs to balance it and give the player the optimal experience.

 

[octavius]

I'd like to see a game where if you click on "Story Mode" you're told "Have you tried reading a book?".

 

[nightmaar]

If isometric RTwP then hard, otherwise normal.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

 

[d1r]

The one difficulty that does not transform enemies into bullet sponges. But I still prefer to play games on Normal - Hard. When it comes to JRPG's, I am more inclined to go even higher.

 

[Tyranicon]

My combat system is unfair, has way too many moving parts, is unnecessarily complicated in some places, does not have a decent tutorial without lots of reading, and routinely kicks my ass even with cheats on.

I can't even test certain combat scenarios without getting party wiped.

That's what I like.

 

[DalekFlay]

I like to be challenged enough I have to pay attention and really explore and understand the systems (buffs, spell weaknesses, etc) without a bunch of frustration. It depends on the game but usually now-a-days that's the difficulty above normal, and that's where I usually start. With Pathfinder I think it was called "challenging" or something like that. With more old school games like Fallout 2 or Arcanum, usually the default it fine.

Sometimes going above default introduces too much enemy HP bloat though, like in Bethesda's games, so I leave those on normal to avoid it and maybe use an enemy damage increase mod.

 

[DraQ]

Usually the hardest difficulty that is not reliant on bullshit (like HP sponges) or some special challenge mechanics.

Normal unless the developer indicates the game was designed around some other difficulty.

Difficulty settings are an abomination that should disappear.

Difficulty settings are the only thing keeping some games from becoming casualfaggotry to the point where it is difficult to die while actively trying.

In general games should be uncompromisingly designed around hardest difficulty with lower difficulty progressively poking player-friendly holes in that design.
A well designed game should not require added bullshit to be hard when you're 1-6 guys against evil empire, awakening evil god or somesuch (even if it's less epic somesuch).
It should require bullshit to be survivable.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Unless the game is retardedly easy, normal for the first playthrough. Maybe hard if there's a meaningful change or some greater tactics to employ.

Can't stand people that have to make a big show and production when they go for the hardest difficulty for their first playthrough. Look how HARDCORE I am, man! I'm going in BLIND! Hardest difficulty! My opinion on this game means more now!

I'm just being a salty little bitch.

 

[almondblight]

Nobody actually plays RPGs on the hardest difficulty available, because usually it entails some sort of extremely annoying challenge.

I used the hardest difficulty for both Dragonfall and Pillars of Eternity the first time I played, and the games weren't difficult but did require at least some thought and had a few tough battles. I can only imagine what the lower difficulties would be like; it seems most of the people here used them and complained that the combat was easy and mindless. Likewise, I'm playing through Starcrawlers now, and if you're not adding difficulty (taking missions several levels higher than you), it becomes mindless. These games have decent systems and combat in them, but if you're playing at the default difficulty you're probably not seeing them.

 

[Reality]

Hardest = Modern games + JRPG + SRPG
Normal for older games - If I had to do a cut-off date - 1992 and earlier

Wizardry 6/7 are mostly what changed my mind because it's a bit of a different game when EVERYTHING is doubled, including Ninja and spellcasters.

TBH for most modern games and JRPG I don't even look for the difficulty, since Normal and Hard are practically the same anyway.. SRPG I ALWAYS go out of my way for hardest because that sub-genre has a consistent problem of spoon feeding on normal mode.

 

[Devastator]

What about playing on normal but making up additonal challenges? Such as "no reload", "pacifict", etc. playthrough, but also playing with a suboptimal character by gimping it intentionally (e.g. 1 IN or 1 AG & 1 EN in Fallout) or just taking what you get (e.g. don't redistribute ability score rolls in 2E D&D) or using a weird party composition (e.g. 6 mages) or equipment (e.g. finish Fallout 1/2 with wearing no more than the iconic leather jacket).

 

[Lacrymas]

Pathfinder: Kingmaker is the only RPG in recent memory whose hardest difficulty mode is bullshit for the sake of bullshit. Other than that, I always go for hardest available because 99.9% of modern RPGs are unplayable below that. Older RPGs have weird relationships with difficulty settings, so I tend to inform myself first before committing to one.

 

[anvi]

Normal, if the game has difficulty levels it probably sucks anyway.

 

[AdolfSatan]

I can't even test certain combat scenarios without getting party wiped.

Spotted Pierre's alt.

 

[Burning Bridges]

Reminds me of when you try to bring people into flight sims. They are excited, ask questions. You send them carefully chosen tutorials. You send them heads-ups when there is the free month on all DCS modules etc. They say they will look at them. 1/2 year later they send you invites play War Thunder with them cause it is "totally amazing".

In all fairness I'm not good either and a bit of a hack. But at least I stick to actual sims.

But the majority of gamers in this regard are behaving like the people who pulled off the stickers from their Rubics cube, or the Yugi-Oh kids who just argue with each other. They want the feeling of mastering something very complex like chess or rpgs but shirk the effort.

 

[Nortar]

Difficulty settings done right:

If it's a turn-based RPG I almost always start on the hardest difficulty.
The exception are D&D based games (yes, Pathfinder falls into this category too)) where I prefer to play as close to the RAW as possible.
I don't replay games once completed, but sometimes I have to restart a couple of hours into the game to change tactics and fine-tune my builds.

 

[Trashos]

I used the hardest difficulty for both Dragonfall and Pillars of Eternity the first time I played, and the games weren't difficult but did require at least some thought and had a few tough battles. I can only imagine what the lower difficulties would be like; it seems most of the people here used them and complained that the combat was easy and mindless.

For base game PoE at least (which I know of), people were complaining that the highest difficulty was too easy. I did not even have to use all the systems to ironman it.