Battle Difficulty Levels?

[PunkSteve]

Hi to all.

This time i'm wondering about the different battle difficulties.
Is a Troublesome battle harder to win than a Difficult battle, & is there a chart/ list of where the different difficulties rank against each other?

Thanks in advance for any & all answers.

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

Puny < Very Easy < Easy < Balanced < Troublesome < Challenging < Difficult < Very Difficult < Titanic < Impossible.

[PunkSteve]

@ Celerity: Ok, cool. Thanks heaps for the info m8.

I've been playing thinking that Troublesome was harder than Difficult. So i've run away from a lot of Random Encounters
Since i've only just hit Lvl.3 with my characters, do u think its worth starting over to get those extra kills/ x.p.?

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

It won't make much of a difference in the long run but I can almost assure you you made mistakes in character creation so you might as well.

[PunkSteve]

I've read a few guides, & took a (Thief, Barbarian, Soldier, Galen Front Rank), Cleric, Mage (Back Rank).
What do u think? Or r u no-mage?

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

That doesn't tell me anything. Weapon picks, stats, skills. That's what determines your success or failure. That and difficulty, you can get away with nearly anything on Casual, but Hardcore will get you rekt if you aren't good.

[PunkSteve]

I'm playing on the lowest difficult.
Well my party is,
1. Thief is shurikens, swords, locks, traps, perception.
2. Barbarian is swords, rage.
3. Soldier is Axes, & the power-up that does extra damage.
4. Galen is, Axes, herbs, & the eat-less-food-terain skill.
5. Cleric is staves, heal wounds, heal bleeding, but guess i'd get all types of healings? Is the Clerics armour spell worth getting?
6. Mage is staves, sparks, meditation (but i read to get only a few pts in meditation), haven't bothered with any other Mage spells yet, i read to lvl.up sparks until i'm lvl.10 or so. Is that right?

Also, with the "safe-spot' in front rank, is that the right side of the screen as i look at it, or as the comp. looks at it?

Thanks again for ur help so far m8.

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

If you're on casual it honestly doesn't matter what you do. The difference between difficulties is massive. Here's the differences between the lowest difficulty and the highest difficulty:

Enemy stats reduced by 60-70%.
Gold pile sizes increased by 300-400%.
Lootable objects have a significantly greater chance of containing loot.
Some items cost 3 times less.
Max food is doubled.
Life and mana gains per level are 4.3 times higher.
The penalties for some types of mistakes are either removed or so weak they might as well be nonexistent.
The scaling on what I consider this game's most iconic feature is virtually zero.

You can still do it if you want but you're honestly missing out if you don't go at least Veteran. I don't suggest Hardcore on your first run, the game is very accurate about this.

[PunkSteve]

So u think play on Veteran, hmmm, maybe i will.
Ok, so if i did change to Veteran, do u think my above mentioned party would hold-up ok, or should i swap the mage for a 2nd cleric or paladin?

Thanks again for the awesome info m8.

[moneytalk18]

Your line-up should still work on Veteran or even on Hardcore. Like what Celerity just said, it will all depends on your Equipment, Skill, Stats, and will also include Strategy (position, movements in battle, etc.)

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

On Veteran any team with its basic framework right will probably work and your basic framework is right. Just... don't ignore Speed. Trust me on this one. I don't use the single target Divine Armor because I can use items in the few instances I need it and in the few instances I need it if I spend 1 round per person buffing I die, but items can be used by anyone so I can buff everyone quickly. I don't use Sparks because Stone Arrow also hits the back row and does physical damage, so it can still be used later when the mage doesn't need a big spell as a cost efficient attack. Sparks will just be replaced by the next best fire spell (at level 7).

[PunkSteve]

Hmm, ok, i knew about Speed being important for everyone. Heaps of guides r saying that.
Good to know i was of the corect thinking concerning Divine Armor. If it was the whole party at later levels it'd b great, but yeh, 1 person per turn, isn't good at all.
So does that mean u leave Sparks at lvl.1? How high would u raise Stone Arrow's lvl.? Is the next best fire spell (lvl.7) the last fire spell or r there more powerfulll fire spells later on?

I might have another look at the skills list as well, so i've got an idea of whats coming.
Thanks again to all for the help.

[Celerity, Executor of Impunity]

Yeah, leave Sparks at 1, max Stone Arrow. Then max Flames (it's not the last fire spell, but is useful enough during some problem areas you'll get your value from it). Then max Fireball. It's still not the last fire spell but there's an even larger gap between it and the last one. And of course max the last one. As for not fire, Blizzard is useful, Coldball is useful, the best cold spell is ok. For lightning normal Lightning is ok, the one that hits 3 targets is really good, and the one that hits 5 is ok. For earth I already mentioned Stone Arrow. Take either Hammer of the Destroyer for pure wounds or Meteor for wounds and a little damage. The 3 target Meteor isn't worth it.

[PunkSteve]

Woah, that looks like my Mage is sorted. I just copied/ pasted/ printed that whole post of Mage info, lol. Thanks heaps.

[Lampros]

Another helpful thread - I was wondering why "troublesome" was easier than excepted! ;)

[alation13]

I enjoy the same party as Lonewolf, but there are some issues with his weapons.
1. give both barbarian and soldier mace/flail
2. make sure that your party is set up in a 4-2 format with gaulen and your thief at the flanks and have the mage and cleric behind glaulen and the thief. This is important for both maximizing damage and minimizing the hits that BOTH your spell casters will take.