The Difference Between Difficulties?

[MerVidiuM]

What's the actual difference?

I know that in tactician there is harder dice rolls, there's more enemies I think and they have more health and damage etc. Is there anything else? And is there any achievements tied to the different difficulties?

[MerVidiuM]

Messaggio originale di Jaggid Edje:

Messaggio originale di MerVidiuM:

What's the actual difference?

I know that in tactician there is harder dice rolls, there's more enemies I think and they have more health and damage etc. Is there anything else? And is there any achievements tied to the different difficulties?

Lots of wrong answers in the thread.

The effects of tactician are:

• Enemies receive +30% health
  
• Enemies get +2 to hit and +2 on saves. They are NOT harder to hit (AC is the same, mostly - there are a very few number of exceptions) unless you are casting a spell at them which gives a saving throw rather than an attack roll.
  
• Enemy AI absolutely is different. It's more about the 'probabilities' of specific tactics than any 'different' tactics. But on tactician they are more likely to focus fire squishies as just one example.
  
• Increased chance of environmental hazards appearing on the battle field (barrels, etc.)
  
• Long rest costs 2x as many supplies
  
• There is NOT more enemies, at all.

Note that enemies are easier to hit on the lowest difficulty, which is probably why some people think they are harder to hit on tactician, but that's simply not the case (other than the saving throw thing and handful of exceptions mentioned above).

These bonuses are easy to verify and see specifically by unpacking and looking at the game files themselves.

Good to know, good answer.

[Dorok]

Messaggio originale di moca loca:

I honestly can't tell the difference between tactician and the beta gameplay difficulty setting.

Dev did com about it at EA first phases, they choose on purpose test the higher difficulty in EA and not offer other difficulty levels in EA so they get the players stats.

But later the com started change implying Tactician was aimed to be very challenging without saying anything about it compared to EA.

If you played to death EA the game can now only be easier/less difficult.

But then BG3 is open to some grinding (nothing infinite), you get yourself tougher fights by making some sooner, or easier fights by ensure cumulate well XP and equipment before facing tougher fights.

[Czartchonn]

There are quite some differences. The AI is much more brutal and will often kill downed players outright. Sometimes they also get extra abilities. Try looking at the Strange Ox in the Grove with both settings - it has some new abilities on Tactician.
Personally I dislike the extra hp and bonus to hit/saves. Luckily there's already a mod that allows you to disable that and enjoy the other additions from Tactician. It's called Tactician Plus. There's also already quite a few mods that reverts the game closer to actual 5E.

[Jondar Korric]

Messaggio originale di ACS36:

VERY little difference. It's not even noticeable.

Enemies have slightly better chance to hit the player.
Player is more likely to miss enemies.

That's it. The AI is not smarter on tactician and still makes many stupid attacks.

Now players that think tactician is hard are probably biased to believe it's hard based on the virtue it's listed as the hardest difficulty. However, if you actually test the difficulty settings you'll notice it's more or less the same challenge.

Enemies don't gain HP. Enemies don't gain special abilities. There are not more enemies. Enemies don't gain levels. Enemies are not smarter or targeting the most vulnerable character.

everything you said is easily verified as false. a good chunk of enemies gain more class levels, alot of them have access to more items and spells, and a good chunk of encounters have more enemies. on top of that the AI does in fact improve its choices, they're more likely to go after lower AC party members unless there's someone already in their face.

[oddball]

Messaggio originale di Dorok:

Messaggio originale di moca loca:

I honestly can't tell the difference between tactician and the beta gameplay difficulty setting.

Dev did com about it at EA first phases, they choose on purpose test the higher difficulty in EA and not offer other difficulty levels in EA so they get the players stats.

But later the com started change implying Tactician was aimed to be very challenging without saying anything about it compared to EA.

If you played to death EA the game can now only be easier/less difficult.

But then BG3 is open to some grinding (nothing infinite), you get yourself tougher fights by making some sooner, or easier fights by ensure cumulate well XP and equipment before facing tougher fights.

ORLY? Beta was on tactician difficulty? Do you have a source?

That'd explain why I don't see a difference between beta and tactician difficulty.

IMO it is too easy and needs a difficulty spike, I thought beta was on story difficulty so I only played thru it part way one time and got bored lol

[Elazul]

Messaggio originale di Jaggid Edje:

Messaggio originale di MerVidiuM:

What's the actual difference?

I know that in tactician there is harder dice rolls, there's more enemies I think and they have more health and damage etc. Is there anything else? And is there any achievements tied to the different difficulties?

Lots of wrong answers in the thread.

The effects of tactician are:

• Enemies receive +30% health
  
• Enemies get +2 to hit and +2 on saves. They are NOT harder to hit (AC is the same, mostly - there are a very few number of exceptions) unless you are casting a spell at them which gives a saving throw rather than an attack roll.
  
• Enemy AI absolutely is different. It's more about the 'probabilities' of specific tactics than any 'different' tactics. But on tactician they are more likely to focus fire squishies as just one example. They are also more likely to use their nastier spells and abilities.
  
• Increased chance of environmental hazards appearing on the battle field (barrels, etc.)
  
• Long rest costs 2x as many supplies
  
• There is NOT more enemies, at all.

Note that enemies are easier to hit on the lowest difficulty, which is probably why some people think they are harder to hit on tactician, but that's simply not the case (other than the saving throw thing and handful of exceptions mentioned above).

These bonuses are easy to verify and see specifically by unpacking and looking at the game files themselves.

This is a good answer! Question though does the improvement in AI translate into them pushing you off cliffs more often cause it's cool as heck when I do it, but beyond annoying when it's done to me haha... I've been planning on doing tactician on my second play through.

[Nauct]

Messaggio originale di ACS36:

VERY little difference. It's not even noticeable.

Enemies have slightly better chance to hit the player.
Player is more likely to miss enemies.

That's it. The AI is not smarter on tactician and still makes many stupid attacks.

Now players that think tactician is hard are probably biased to believe it's hard based on the virtue it's listed as the hardest difficulty. However, if you actually test the difficulty settings you'll notice it's more or less the same challenge.

Enemies don't gain HP. Enemies don't gain special abilities. There are not more enemies. Enemies don't gain levels. Enemies are not smarter or targeting the most vulnerable character.

On tactician enemies always will go backlines for weaker characters, I watch people play on normal and the enemies just walk up to the tank like idiots. I've only played on tactician, but from watching normal it seems so different

[Jaggid Edje]

Messaggio originale di Elazul:

This is a good answer! Question though does the improvement in AI translate into them pushing you off cliffs more often cause it's cool as heck when I do it, but beyond annoying when it's done to me haha... I've been planning on doing tactician on my second play through.

I've read that it does, but haven't parsed the AI part of the files myself line by line to confirm.
I will say though that I have now played 1 full playthrough and a bit less than half of a 2nd playthrough and have yet to have an enemy push one of my characters off a cliff. They did use push a few times, but never when it was actually dangerous.

I don't position my characters such that they can be pushed off a cliff though, YMMV.

[Pan Darius Cassandra]

Stat inflation and occassionally an extra spell/ability.

[Dorok]

Messaggio originale di moca loca:

Messaggio originale di Dorok:

Dev did com about it at EA first phases, they choose on purpose test the higher difficulty in EA and not offer other difficulty levels in EA so they get the players stats.

But later the com started change implying Tactician was aimed to be very challenging without saying anything about it compared to EA.

If you played to death EA the game can now only be easier/less difficult.

But then BG3 is open to some grinding (nothing infinite), you get yourself tougher fights by making some sooner, or easier fights by ensure cumulate well XP and equipment before facing tougher fights.

ORLY? Beta was on tactician difficulty? Do you have a source?

Failed find original Early Access sources, but found the either I don't remind well either history has been rewritten, it's medium difficulty that was supposed to be similar to EA.

It's highly suspicious you don't see any difference, did you really replayed EA? If not don't search, that's the reason replay lower a lot a difficulty.

Another trap also is you are making a mostly perfect path progressing very well in XP and equipment, this lowering a lot difficulty, but you wasn't during EA.