Which difficulty should I go for?

[Chloé]

I've always trouble picking between difficulty levels because their terms are so subjectives. Some games you get crushed if you go anywhere higher than normal the first run. Other games, if you don't pick ''very hard'' right away, it's gonna be easy and boring. What often happen is I play a game for 10 hous and half of the time I restart on an higher difficulty because I get bored.

I'm a veteran player in these types of games who don't mind challenges and dying a couple times. Ive never played this game before. I also enjoy roleplaying a little and pick skills/item/weapon I like over the most opitimal (well to an extent of course).

How is this game difficulty ? Should I go with hard or very hard ?

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

The game difficulties are Casual/Normal, Real/Veteran, Hardcore (with potential Ironman). Don't pick Casual unless you're very bad at video games, because anyone who exercises even a little common sense will find it easy (and ironically, casuals will ragequit it for still being overly difficult). Real is very forgiving of suboptimal choices and newbie experimentation, Hardcore less so. Chances are what will happen with you if you pick Real is you'll restart on Hardcore halfway because it quit being challenging. Of course if you start on Hardcore you might hit a wall as some elements do depend on prior knowledge.

[Eboreus]

Well, I can't agree with this. Being an avid RPG gamer myself (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, Planescape, Pillars of Eternity, all Might & Magic games except the first two and lots of other titles) I started a normal game earlier this year for having an easygoing fun experience - but abandoned it early enough because I noticed that even on the first map I would soon be forced to play it in a very strict and exact way, which wasn't my intention. Now, when it was out for a year I was looking for a more serious game for autumn and winter evenings and I decided to give it a try again on Old School / Veteran, and really, I'm not sure about playing on. After the first explorations every combat is a fight: Trying to learn the enemy, trying to work out some tactics, trying to buy some necessary means like scrolls etc., and finally, after lots of wipe-outs and suddenly having some luck with fails and critical hits, I survive the combat. Even the mushroom woods in the first map are hard enough this way. You must conquer your way through this game with teeth and claws on Veteran. It's going to quit being a challenge? Maybe, becoming a grind instead - which is exactly why I may very well be abandoning it again ...

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

^ This sounds like what happens when you charge in encounters without looking at them first and blindly assuming that everything is level appropriate for you right now. Those groups of 4 giant shrooms? The Ogre? Not something you fight right away. Most of the other hard encounters are very beatable immediately but also very skippable, the large guard groups for example.

I find Hardcore Ironman easy, so I made a mode that makes it look like Casual. The game STILL doesn't require this one dimensional, strict and exact way. So there is absolutely no way it does so on a lower difficulty.

[Eboreus]

Well, the problem is obviously that you need to fight something, else your party won't develop. And the easier random enemies don't come in endless numbers, so soon enough you have to fight the harder ones - or try to leave the map, but it won't get better on the next one ...

[Tycrus1]

Na sorentia is pretty easy compared to the ogre and shrooms after the sporia forest! Those are lv 7-8 party enemies if not higher without a good plan ... Sorentia and the tower after the golden forest is your way and its by all means not that hard at least what i ve seen on veteran. I dont know what those games are which you listed earlier but to me LoX seems not to be a game you enjoy. I think its design and balance is well done except for some small minorities and you probably should practicse a bit more or play casual again.

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

Originally posted by Eboreus:

Well, the problem is obviously that you need to fight something, else your party won't develop. And the easier random enemies don't come in endless numbers, so soon enough you have to fight the harder ones - or try to leave the map, but it won't get better on the next one ...

Yes, something. Not the level 15 hordes of giant shrooms or the level 30 Ogre, but the level 1-6 normal enemies that appear in the first few regions of the game. No, it doesn't show enemy levels until you beat them. But the enemy con system is a level based check and if it says something like "Titanic" or "Impossible"... that generally means stay away.

And if you fight anywhere near all the enemies you actually become overleveled very quickly, so this is literally a problem that only occurs when barely fighting anything, or assuming you can fight absolutely everything when you first see it.

[Eboreus]

Originally posted by Tycrus1:

Na sorentia is pretty easy compared to the ogre and shrooms after the sporia forest!

Maybe so, but the second map I get access to isn't Sorrentia but Nabros ...

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

Read quest dialogs and explore areas throughly. You're missing something.

[Eboreus]

Well, there is another part of the mushroom forest, if you are talking about that. I don't see how to get past the mushroom guards (or the ogre) anytime soon, though. The road to Nabros, on the other hand, is quite obvious, as soon as you can sack the guards ...

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

Then you have not explored Sporia Forest fully. It explicitly explains.

[Eboreus]

Well, fine. In this case I'll simply do Nabros first, at least as far as possible, and then get back to the ogre or the mushrooms. Whatever. In my time as a project manager I would have called it poor level design, though.

[Tegga21]

Originally posted by Eboreus:

Well, fine. In this case I'll simply do Nabros first, at least as far as possible, and then get back to the ogre or the mushrooms. Whatever. In my time as a project manager I would have called it poor level design, though.

The level design is superb. However it is not catered to mindless masses, thus, if you don't explore, read and use a tiny amount of intelligence and problem solving, you'll get the HERP WHY SO HARD syndrome. Fix your brain, the game is fine.

[Tycrus1]

Originally posted by Eboreus:

Well, fine. In this case I'll simply do Nabros first, at least as far as possible, and then get back to the ogre or the mushrooms. Whatever. In my time as a project manager I would have called it poor level design, though.

I dont want to spoil anything to you but there is a way through velegarn to sorentia and you should try to find it. Nabros isnt the 2nd map its the 3rd. It should be fairly easy to gain levels and gold in sorentia. If your not intentionally making things "harder" to force your way through nabros after velegarn its no wonder that you have difficulties there.

[dannyaic]

Yeah....TC don't listen to the Eboreus guy he's a bit misguided on this. Keep at it. Veteran is fine if you have experience in RPG's beforehand and make reasonable choices. I've never played hardcore, (I'm a bit more casual these days haha) so I can't attest to it.

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

Differences between Veteran > Hardcore.

All enemies gain stat bonuses/lose stat penalties.
All heroes gain less life/mana.
You find less gold and loot.
Certain items cost more.
Certain punish mechanics are stronger.
You get more food.