Difficulty in games.

[SailusGebel]

What is your favorite\preferred difficulty in games? To add to that question, do you like more challenging, hard games or more relaxing ones?

 

[TotallyHuman]

I don't play many games (or any at all lately since the idea of making a steam account makes me retch) but referring to my experience, I was more into the stories anyway. That and style. If the game looked cool it was good enough even if it didn't really have a story (like splatterhouse). Whether it was hard (mafia 1) or easy (ac 2) never mattered to me much.

 

[Corty]

If it's a fair challenge, then good. Like the one in Elden Ring.

If the game hooks me, I am willing to play it on the hardest difficulty. Like Mass Effect. Even if the Insane mode stays true to its name sometimes...

But then there are games like Civilization 6 or Heroes of Might and Magic 2 and 3... where the difficulty means the AI cheats more, more, and even more as you go up in difficulty. Fuck that. Give me the normal/easy mode then. I exceptionally hate when developers think harder difficulty means the AI is cranked up to 11, given unfair advantages next to the fact it overshadows human thinking speed, reflexes, or whatever else.

Same with Skyrim's hardest difficulty... it is not more difficult per se, only every mob has a metrick-fuck-ton of health and it becomes a bore hacking away at them.

So yeah... fully game dependent. At least for me.

 

[Le_ther]

What is your favorite\preferred difficulty in games? To add to that question, do you like more challenging, hard games or more relaxing ones?

Hardcore

1 life but worth the pain.

I prefer permadeath or roguelike mechanics for games as it optimizes creativity and adaptability

 

[AliceShiki]

I generally play on the harder difficulties these days, as normal in most games tend to be a bit too much on the easier side.

It varies though. If I'm playing a genre I'm very used to, I might go to the highest difficulty from the get-go, but on other genres I might actually play on normal (action games in particular are games that I prefer playing on normal, as I'm not super fond of the genre, and the higher difficulties tend to not make the game much more interesting).

And in rare cases, I might play my first run of the game in the highest difficulty while also putting plenty of self-imposed restrictions on my own run because I know that I will steamroll the game if I don't restrict myself... *stares at Super Robot Wars 30*

Oh, and sometimes I also like replaying games that I already cleared, but with a few extra self-imposed restrictions to make the run more fun. I've been meaning to do a Fusionless run of Phantom Brave after I cleared my Failureless run of it, that will be fun~

So, overall, I prefer harder stuff. If a game is too easy, then it ends up being a bit of a bummer to me, usually.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Highest difficulty. Then get help from WeMod. lol

 

[SailusGebel]

I exceptionally hate when developers think harder difficulty means the AI is cranked up to 11, given unfair advantages next to the fact it overshadows human thinking speed, reflexes, or whatever else.

I doubt developers think like that. It's just easier to do, especially in strategy games.

 

[Aaqil]

The fun modes, don't care if it's hard or not,

 

[Cipiteca396]

Normal. Difficulty isn't why I play games. And I get frustrated way too easily.

That said, if I'm familiar with a game and still playing it, I might raise the difficulty.
But only if I'm confident that something outside my control won't ruin it. I can easily beat the highest difficulty AI on one game I play for example, but I often have teammates who overestimate themselves and end up getting stomped for the whole match... So I keep it at normal, so that even if I get weak teammates, I can still just solo the entire enemy team.

Of course, mostly I play games that don't have difficulties at all. That can be frustrating since I end up fighting players way above my level, but it's kinda rewarding to win in a situation like that.

 

[Twin]

I prefer harder games.

Though I don't like games that punishes you for losing, for example permadeath. That seems like a virtual difficulty to me. Doesn't make the actual game any harder by adding such mechanics.

 

[Syringe]

Hard-hardest so long as the AI doesn't cheat (I.e. Spawn with additional bonuses, multipliers, are super aggressive to the player for no reason other than they're the player). No permadeath either (unless it's a rougelike, which are awesome!).

I cannot imagine someone playing Terraria on permadeath mode. The unfair BS of walking 2cm into a cave and getting smacked by a boulder that goes up a slope or getting knocked into a 3km pit by an ice bat, therefore ending the entire save. This would make me want to do it IRL as well.

 

[Corty]

I doubt developers think like that. It's just easier to do, especially in strategy games.

For rts games I may even accept that approach. So okay, fine. But there are genres where it is a BS excuse, like in FPS. For example, FEAR, released in 2005. It still has one of the best AI in an FPS game to this day. After more than 15 years... It is pure lazyness, incompetence and/or corporate greed that developers do when difficulty comes into question.

Then there are racing games where the AI on harder difficulties drive like a macihne. Literally. Like in Forza. They do not make mistakes. They are Elon's dream of a tesla on steroids. Or in some games they simply ignore your presence and ram you like they are in a demolition derby yet you didn't load up FlatOut... And then the rubber banding effect like in most NFS titles... and I could go on a way longer rant than neccesary.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

Seriously though, I play with highest difficulty in RTS games, then slowly choke my AI enemies out of their supply routes...sending small armies to conduct raids, perform assault missions, or just plain leave them isolated then send reinforcements for that pure, non-sensical, RTS side-action.

(Before destroying the enemy bases through various means.)

 

[SailusGebel]

For rts games I may even accept that approach. So okay, fine. But there are genres where it is a BS excuse, like in FPS. For example, FEAR, released in 2005. It still has one of the best AI in an FPS game to this day. After more than 15 years... It is pure lazyness, incompetence and/or corporate greed that developers do when difficulty comes into question.

Then there are racing games where the AI on harder difficulties drive like a macihne. Literally. Like in Forza. They do not make mistakes. They are Elon's dream of a tesla on steroids. Or in some games they simply ignore your presence and ram you like they are in a demolition derby yet you didn't load up FlatOut... And then the rubber banding effect like in most NFS titles... and I could go on a way longer rant than neccesary.

I agree.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

Properly adjustable difficulty level that doesn't just changing the number, like "enemy health bar" or "enemy damage rate".

The best example is car racing game with manual or automatic. Automatic is easy for beginners, but not flexible enough in gear change. While manual is harder, even more with clutch, but you can accelerate faster, reach top speed faster and slow down faster.

Or a fighting character that's is either easy to use or hard to use.

Or maybe in strategy games the enemy can use unorthodox and hard to predict movement like actual player ?

Or even learn player rmovement and make adjustments of attack based on it ?

Either way, it's always better that just increasing from 100 health bar to 200 health bar.

 

[Mephi]

The difficulty matters less to me than an enjoyable experience. Good story, good graphics, good music, good game play. If its hard as hell, but they made it so that its a FUN time overcoming the challenge, I enjoy it. If its more of a grind, then I hate it.

 

[georgelee5786]

I usually play games on medium/normal, but I do set it to hard every now and again. I prefer hard games

 

[Corty]

Seriously though, I play with highest difficulty in RTS games, then slowly choke my AI enemies out of their supply routes...sending small armies to conduct raids, perform assault missions, or just plain leave them isolated then send reinforcements for that pure, non-sensical, RTS side-action.

(Before destroying the enemy bases through various means.)

No need to dunk so hard on people like me who are a bit more simple, okay? I have struggles in normal difficulty with CiV6 and with most of the Total War titles... the last RTS I was good at was maybe Cossacks. The original one. And some Hungarian games like:

Imperium Galactica 2
Haegemonia
SWINE
Codename Panzer
War Front: Turning Point

Damn... Now you made me remember all the old RTS games I loved to play when growing up... and probably suck at them now.

 

[Deleted member 54065]

No need to dunk so hard on people like me who are a bit more simple, okay? I have struggles in normal difficulty with CiV6 and with most of the Total War titles... the last RTS I was good at was maybe Cossacks. The original one. And some Hungarian games like:

Imperium Galactica 2
Haegemonia
SWINE
Codename Panzer
War Front: Turning Point

Damn... Now you made me remember all the old RTS games I loved to play when growing up... and probably suck at them now.

CiV6? Total War? I took inspiration from those games in creating my character's tactics.

Especially fighting tactics from Rome, Barbarian Invasion, Medieval 1 and 2, Shogun 1 and 2, Empire and Napoleon. (Got to love those battles where I hold off superior armies on choke points like bridges or fjords).

Also got into playing 4x like Stellaris, HoI4, EU4, Vicky 2, CK III, City Skylines. (And send small armies/fleets to defend strategic areas, while delaying reinforcements )

My main FPS is L4D2, and that space ninja online game.

Any case, I'm just a casual player. I use cheat engines often, since ya know...I prefer to play at a leisurely pace. If I'm up for the challenge, then it's the time when I turn off WeMod and choke my AI enemies.

Err...as for the classics, I still play Red Alert 2 and Girls' Love Revenge and C&C Generals (including Zero Hour).

 

[Anon2024]

When I was younger I loved difficult games. I always wanted the hardest difficulty setting, but that was because I was poor and can’t afford everything I wanted.

Now with a huge backlog, I like games that give an invincibility mode. Last “difficult game” I played was Elden Ring, which wasn’t really difficult but tedious and felt like it was wasting my time having to constantly run back to the bosses room while I learned the pattern.

When I can’t afford many games, this is good because it keeps me occupied for less money, now it’s just annoying and I don’t have the drive to be a completionist like I did in the past.

I personally prefer games with assist mode and infinite health now. That way I can learn patterns without having to run back and retry the boss over and over.