Start campaign on normal or hard?

[OMG My Profile Name Does Not Fi]

I recently got the Overkill edition for Viktor Vran after playing several ARPGs before such as Diablo 3, Torchlight 1/2 and WK40K. Given this is it reasonable to play this through on hard mode rather than normal for my first character? Or am I likely to hit a difficulty spike later on?

Thanks all!

[Venuminostrates]

I would start on Normal mode. Hard mode starts out very rough because it forces you to play with the hex of tenacity.

[Venuminostrates]

I should also mention that I have seen quite a few new players start on hard mode and enjoy it. I've just seen a few quit it early on. There is a button to go back to normal mode.

[OMG My Profile Name Does Not Fi]

Thanks for the super-fast reply!

I read somewhere that the difficulty is bad until level 7 or so and then plateaus. Is that a fair appraisal as I don't mind a bit of pain at the start. Or would normal mode be reasonable fun//challenging anyway for someone who has completed other ARPGS?

[Venuminostrates]

Level 7 is a pretty good estimate, but it's really rough. It just depends on which gear drops for you, which outfit you picked, and/or which items you prioritize buying. Getting a fast weapon with Vampirism on it early on will make Hard Mode feel easy for a while. But Vampirism starts to lose it's effectiveness in the late 20s / early 30s.

The game also levels up with you to a degree. Not like Oblivion, though. The monsters have break points where they gain new abilities and do a bit more damage. It's not uncommon to see people asking for help around the 30-45 range.

My suggestion: Start in hard mode. If you don't like it, there's an option in your game menu to switch to normal mode. Just know that you can't switch back to hard mode; you'll have to make a new character.

Hard mode is just all hexes enabled permanently with 2 stacks of epic on all monsters. I know this means nothing to you right now, since you haven't played the game, lol.

In short: Hexes in Normal mode can be turned on and off on a whim, and they have special effects that make the game harder, but they reward you with more experience and loot. Epic is a condition that monsters get that makes them have more HP and deal more damage.

[Venuminostrates]

Originally posted by OMG My Profile Name Does Not Fi:

Thanks for the super-fast reply!

And then I take an hour to get back to your follow-up lol

[OMG My Profile Name Does Not Fi]

Originally posted by Venuminostrates:

Originally posted by OMG My Profile Name Does Not Fi:

Thanks for the super-fast reply!

And then I take an hour to get back to your follow-up lol

To be honest it is really nice of you to reply with such a detailed answer.
Thanks again!

[Venuminostrates]