Support NeoGAF

[kicker]

People usually switch to a lower difficulty if they find a game too challenging. What about the opposite?

I think I remember doing this exactly once, and it was when I started Pillars 2 on normal. The game is way too easy and unbalanced in a few ways, so I ended up restarting the game at a higher difficulty because it would have been boring playing through that way.

Otherwise, I usually stick with whichever difficulty I started with

 

[ReBurn]

Sometimes. Depends on the type of game. For story-driven games it depends on whether the gameplay is better than the story and which one I want to experience more. Repetitive slogs between story sections or stupid puzzle mechanics will make me want to skip as much gameplay as possible, or sometimes just abandon the game. But if the gameplay is better at higher difficulty I will turn it up. For arcade-style or action games I punch it up if I'm bored.

 

[Lasha]

I stick with harder difficulties.

 

[lh032]

I always set to highest difficulty (except for 1 life mode)

im a hardcore gamer.

 

[DosGamer]

Depends on the game. With Sports games... like Fifa, I am constantly changing the difficulty to match my skill level. I go thru spurts of playing really competitively so I ramp it up, but sometimes after my team gets beat in real life, I crank it down and replicate the match to beat the shit out of the team that beat my favorite team. I find myself doing this in all sports games. Its a way to get some redemption...lol

 

[SmokedMeat]

I rarely change difficulty, unless I run into a particularly difficult section/boss. In that case I’ll drop to easy, and switch back afterwards.

 

[kicker]

I always set to highest difficulty (except for 1 life mode)

im a hardcore gamer.

I genuinely forgot some people play this way.
Added to the polls

 

[AV]

Done everything, depends on the game. The Witcher 3 becomes boringly easy after a while, it's one you almost have to crank up.

 

[killatopak]

If the difficulty can't be changed, I usually start on normal or default difficulty.

If the difficulty is changeable I still start at default and go up from there.

For example Skyrim is pretty alright difficulty wise but it's so easy to become overpowered so I change the difficulty higher as I progress the game.

 

[cormack12]

I usually play one higher than the default - generally 'Hard'. I don't think many games scale well after that, it's more a war of attrition or checkpoint farming. If there's a trophy for higher difficulty then I'll usually go up again and see how I feel/what bullshit gets thrown at the player.

 

[Bragr]

Never, it makes it feel like I'm cheating. I rather restart the entire game than switch midway through.

 

[Rubicaant]

Usually depends on the game, some games just feel like they are trying to challenge me to see if i can do it. Like God of War, and actually affects gameplay some. If it's too frustrating and ruining my experience, i'll drop it to the next highest difficulty. Jedi Survivor i started on Grand Master but it was just frustrating me on some encounters, so i went to Jedi Master. It feels too easy, wish there was a another difficulty between those 2.

 

[drotahorror]

Usually highest difficulty. Although with some things like say, Dying Light (which I'm playing right now), I set it to Hard. Nightmare was added with The Following expansion. So I don't usually play added difficulties post launch. An exception is Ghost of Tsushima. I started it on Lethal (added post launch).

Some games break me though, like 2018/2022 God of War, GMGOW was too hard and annoying later in the game.

 

[Toots]

I'm so goddam old that i sometimes start a game at hard (or even normal) difficulty and go down from there
I remember not long ago playing Uncharted 2 remaster and after playing the whole game on normal and dying 5 times against lazarevitch, i just went easy mode and whoop his undying ass
The last game i ever went up (and maybe the only game i did) was Ghost of Tsushima, but that was because lethal mode was more "realistic", and the game is not that hard once you know the timings (of which there's only few).

 

[Roman Empire]

Hardest Difficulty always, unless the hardest is some bullshit like everything being 1-shot or permadeath enabled.

 

[Majukun]

more like i try to look online if i should start on easy or hard, i hate to re-play parts of a game.

but as i get old and have less time to play, i usually just stick to normal difficulty

 

[westman]

I usually start on normal and stick with it until the end. Lowering the difficulty feels like accepting defeat, and that's something I resist. The idea of raising the difficulty while playing rarely occurs to me – I usually get enough challenge from boss fights, and there is some satisfaction in being able to dispatch lesser enemies with ease. It often feels like a game is starting to outstay its welcome towards the ending, and that prolonging fights against run-of-the-mill enemies by increasing the difficulty might be counterproductive in that sense. But I guess it could also have the opposite effect – with more of a challenge throughout, perhaps the game wouldn't feel like it was outstaying its welcome at that point?

I just finished Horizon Forbidden West on normal difficulty, and in retrospect, I think I should perhaps have played in on hard difficulty instead. That's because the combat system had so much more depth than I actually had to use, and a greater challenge might have motivated me to explore it more.

 

[Husky]

I've upped the difficulty! I usually start on normal, hard/hardest, sometimes upgrade to hard (or whatever's hardest) after starting on normal.

When I started Far Cry Primal, the game felt a bit off, so I restarted and played with the game's "Survivor Mode." It limited certain defaults, like how much equipment I could carry, and disabled upgrades that were too powerful or weren't lore friendly. It also added a stamina bar (barely drains as you sprint, but it's also spent on fast travel), and disabled the minimap.

I thought playing on hard might enhance the The Witcher 2, but eh, the game still wasn't able to win me over. I love the first and third games so much, just not that second one. I think when I play it again (for a save to import) I might just play on easy so I can breeze through it, or I'll try to find mods to enhance the experience.

 

[Loomy]

Sometimes I switch down to easy just to get through them.

 

[Danjin44]

If I’m familiar with combat system then play them on hard from get go like SMT or Fire Emblem games.

Survival horror I always play them on hardest difficulty, if you don’t struggle on those games then there is no point.

 

[DownLikeBCPowder]

Usually I just start on hard. Every blue moon I have to turn it down, but most of the time it's fine. These days a lot of times "hard" is what "normal" or default used to be.

 

[nikos]

Never. If anything, I'll lower difficulty just to get through the game faster. Too many games to play.

 

[Esca]

I will turn it to easy if I need to but then turn it back to usually normal. When I've gotten a hang of the game I sometimes increase the difficulty when needed as well

 

[STARSBarry]

Start on hardest but drop it depending on how much BS I encounter.

Sometimes games on hard are not a challange, they are simply just unfun to play because there not thinking about balancing but an arbitrary stat increase like +75% enemy damage +40% enemy health. Rather than say improving the AI or changing the enemies you encounter.

This is why Dark Souls having one challenging difficulty is so beloved, because the game has been thought out and designed around that.

I will admit I seem to be turning down difficulty more often these days, and I don't think it's just because my reflexes are going with age.

 

[German Hops]

 

[FearlessBelgian]

Only if the game is boring and too easy on the normal difficulty level... But often it doesn't make much difference to switch to the higher difficulty, the enemies just have more hp's...

 

[March Climber]

I start at maximum difficulty and then go down based on how much BS the game throws at you(such as health pools being way too large, all enemies having one hit kill damage, etc).

If the game is balanced really well, I'll also try to play hardcore modes when available(one life per playthrough).

 

[rofif]

No. I always start at normal and if it's frustrating or grindy, I swithc to easy like in forbidden west.
The last game I played on hardest difficulty was Fear... and with crosshair off too! And that's because the enemies were so smart, it was actually a better experience

 

[Duchess]

I usually stick to Normal. If normal is too easy, though, I'll bump it up, so I don't get bored.

 

[TheDuskwalker]

Usually stick with the difficulty I started with. There is exceptions though, like Ghost of Tsushima I switched to hard.

 

[TLZ]

I usually start hard and stay hard.

 

[Salty Popsicle]

In most games, I like to do my playthroughs at the second-to-hardest difficulty setting. I feel like I'm cheating if I change to an easier difficulty just because I am having trouble with a certain section of the game or encountered a challenging boss.

 

[LaughingStock]

It's a matter of balancing fun/challenge.
Take Everspace 2 as an example. It was too easy on normal. I switched to very hard but that was too annoying. Changed to hard. Perfect challenge.

 

[Fbh]

Nah, I usually play in whatever is above "normal" and that's fine for me in the majority of games.
I like a challenge but generally don't care about those "ultra hard" or whatever modes, at least not on my first playthrough.

The only games I play in normal are most strategy games because I suck at them. Though I remember bumping the difficulty up in the Starcraft 2 campaign as normal was too easy.

 

[Gambit2483]

I'll start with Normal and play through on that setting. However if the game is stupidly easy on its "normal" setting or I feel like I'm up for a challenge then yeah I'll increase the difficulty to hard.

I recently did this with Horizon Forbidden West last year when Normal wasn't giving me enough of a challenge.

 

[GymWolf]

I always start on max difficulty unless it's a genre that i'm bad at.

I'm not super good but i like the challenge, easy games are boring.

 

[Knightime_X]

I wish dynamic difficulty sliders were a thing that you have full control of.

Not enough enemies? Crank it up?
Guns strength doesn't feel right?
Tune it up or down.

Some of the best games play over and over give you multiple options to play however you want

 

[Laieon]

No. I always start at easy/normal, and if anything I'll move the difficulty down. I have absolutely no interest in challenging video games.

 

[Kamina]

Sure, if it is too easy i raise the difficulty.
Why would i restart?

 

[01011001]

nope, I always start with the highest since most games these days are designed for people that can't use a controller correctly, and very hard is in many games the new normal.
unless the highest is some weird special mode that is completely over the top, then I start with the one below that.

so if anything I might switch to a lower one, but that hasn't really happened yet, except for when I played Nier on 360, because the higher difficulty literally only makes enemies more tanky, and that meant even killing a fucking goat took like 30 seconds... stupid as hell

 

[RoadHazard]

I usually start on Hard, but yes, it has happened that I've started on Normal and pretty soon switched to Hard, most recently with Hogwarts (because people were inexplicably saying the game was plenty challenging on Normal and really hard on Hard, whereas in reality it's stupidly easy on Normal and still pretty damn easy on Hard). Actually I restarted the game on Hard, hadn't gotten very far when I realized my mistake.

I can't really remember doing the opposite, most games are not very difficult. The only exception is when rounding up trophies after beating a game, then I'll sometimes turn the difficulty down just to get it done quicker.

 

[Gambit2483]

nope, I always start with the highest since most games these days are designed for people that can't use a controller correctly, and very hard is in many games the new normal.
unless the highest is some weird special mode that is completely over the top, then I start with the one below that.

so if anything I might switch to a lower one, but that hasn't really happened yet, except for when I played Nier on 360, because the higher difficulty literally only makes enemies more tanky, and that meant even killing a fucking goat took like 30 seconds... stupid as hell

Yea, I've noticed that too. Easy mode nowadays is basically baby mode...and Normal sometimes feels stupid easy.

 

[Fuz]

I would if I'd find the game ridiculously easy and unenjoyable. It never happened though.
The opposite happened though... fuck the last chapter of Pathfinder: Kingmaker.
[Given the choice I usually play on normal]

 

[01011001]

Yea, I've noticed that too. Easy mode nowadays is basically baby mode...and Normal sometimes feels stupid easy.

I watched a friend of mine who told me he didn't like Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart play it on normal (Rebel Agent)... I instantly understood why he didn't like it lol
you can literally just spam your melee attack and win almost all fights, unless the enemies are on a platform you can't reach, at which point you press R2 once and they're gone.

Meanwhile on the hardest mode it's literally Pixar Doom Eternal and hella fun.

I don't even wanna know how it plays on easy

 

[Bartski]

Usually one above the so-called normal but only if I really like the game, that usually means I don't mind failing and repeating sections. But when such a game feels too easy on my first playthrough - it starts pissing me off and breaking my immersion. So I will switch one step harder if I feel this way if that's possible even a couple of chapters in.

If I REALLY like it - the second playthrough / NG+ on the hardest possible.

 

[Gambit2483]

I don't even wanna know how it plays on easy

I have a younger nephew that played this on easy and no...no you do not.

 

[Corian33]

Usually start on normal. Go to hard if it makes the combat more interesting. If all it does is make enemies into bullet sponges, that’s no fun. If it makes the game more skill based, I’m into that. Ghost of Tsushima is a great example. Entirely different game on higher vs lower difficulty. Another would be the Ranger(?) mode in Metro 2033 that makes it easy for you and enemies to die was way more fun than the standard FPS gameplay.

On the other hand, if I just want to get through the story, I’m not ashamed of turning the difficulty down and getting on with it. Pillars 1 was that game for me. Found the combat tedious about halfway through and switched to super easy just so I could continue the story and ignore the combat.

 

[HazukiSensei]

Normal is a lil too easy most of the time. Sometimes the game is worse on normal IMO.

God of war 1-3 for example are amazing on hard.

The enemies feel vicious, but makes kratos seem even more like a monster because the game gives you the tools to handle it.

But god of war ragnarok? When the controls are stiff, camera is like a tank, and the enemies are just sponges...then no harder difficulties actually dont even make it "better" as it should be.

 

[01011001]

Normal is a lil too easy most of the time. Sometimes the game is worse on normal IMO.

God of war 1-3 for example are amazing on hard.

The enemies feel vicious, but makes kratos seem even more like a monster because the game gives you the tools to handle it.

Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal are the same IMO
they become a dance between the player and the enemies at higher difficulties, while on lower ones it's just a bang bang shooty shooty game

But god of war ragnarok? When the controls are stiff, camera is like a tank, and the enemies are just sponges...then no harder difficulties actually dont even make it "better" as it should be.

yeah but you got not much left in that game if you turn it down. at that point it's just a mash R1 game + walking... you're not wrong tho.

 

[Dr.brain64]

Easy diff everytime.