How hard is the game and is it OK to start in hard mode?

[Antarct1c]

Played Dark Souls a little bit. Dragon's dogma looks really interesting and I'm looking to get into it. I intend to play without a pawn, maybe it will be too easy to start on normal mode? Some people here on forums say it's not too hard of a game overall and you also get more experience w/o pawns.
I don't expect a pleasant park stroll, but I just want to know if you actually can do that or not and maybe some advices if you please.
Thanks in advance.

[lilwing]

Normal is too easy, yes, even for solo play, hard mode may be too hard in the beginning, yet it's more interesting than normal. Also you can't increase difficulty mid-game without resetting story.

[Guh~hey~hey~♫]

Hardmode is only hard early game. You level twice as fast (exp, discipline point and rift crystals) and get way more gold for consummables, new gear and upgrades.
So in the end in hardmode you start rolling over most ennemies earlier than in normal mode....

Also in DDDA hardmode only affect your arisen. Your pawns are always on "normal mode", so they arent affected by its effect.
Hardmode effects are double damage taken, double stamina consumption, halved stagger/knockdown power, but once again, only for the arisen.

You should rather consider hardmode as a "shortcut" start, for an experienced player who want to reroll a character, or a way to unlock the reward for completing it (achievement and gear).

P.S.: That said, I always play in hardmode from the start when making a new character. Normal mode get's boring way too quickly, and hardmode double reward make it obviously twice as rewarding (especially concerning discipline points and rc), but I'm well used to the game mechanics.... That's the first thing you should consider before switching to hardmode (switching to hardmode to play cheap and safe is just spoiling the game).

[Dexter]

In hard mode YOU WILL GET ONE SHOTTED till like 1/3 of the main story, even from basic enemies
Is it worth? Not really, considering You will level up twice as much and it can make game waaaay too easy.
Just play in normal mode and switch if it is too easy

[Antarct1c]

Originally posted by dexter411:

In hard mode YOU WILL GET ONE SHOTTED till like 1/3 of the main story, even from basic enemies
Is it worth? Not really, considering You will level up twice as much and it can make game waaaay too easy.
Just play in normal mode and switch if it is too easy

I don't really understand you. First you say that fast leveling up can make the game way too easy, but then you tell that I should play on normal and switch if it's too easy. So I would need to go from Normal to Easy difficulty or from Normal to Hard? But how will it help if Hard makes it even easier with time?

[zadymek]

If you cleared Dark Souls then you know that with time you can do anything ;)
DDDA will be as hard as you allow it to be. Without Pawns and as a rookie you may have issues here and there at the start.
See, Pawns are your main source of intel on the game mechanics, enemy knowledge, tactics and also they open new ways of fighting enemies. Without them you are left to use good ol' dull trial and error to figure out everything - that includes taking fatal blows from foes you are not prepared for.
And knowledge is power in DDDA.
Also, good luck with overcoming the grind in Dark Arisen DLC without Pawn rents.

As for Hard Mode. It is totally unbalanced: for some classes it's day like everyday and for others is frustrating and endorsing the cheapest of playstyles. It is hard in the name only cause it merely impacts your Stamina consumption (countered with curatives), stagger/knockdown power and damage received (not really a thing in a game all about not getting hit).

Everything else is either left in the same spot or even set in your favor! An oddity rather than a difficulty mode I say.

[Dexter]

Because of the damage calculations in this game, read it. And the new skills You unlock earlier then You "should".
Just play the damn game and switch, sweet lord why am I even on those forums

[Grr. [SG CMD] Majah Lazah]

It's easy even on hard. If you actually want a challenge:

https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma/mods/496?tab=description

https://discordapp.com/invite/kbkPgwJ

[Leoscar]

As far as ennemies one shotting you goes, the warrior class has access to an augment (which you can use on every class once unlocked) that gives a flat damage reduction, that reduction is boosted in hardmode. It is also obtainable as soon as you unlock the class so you won't need to grind.

[Phoenix VII]

As someone who just started my first game on hard mode, there's indeed a learning curve since even the stronger goblins, stronger bandits, and bigger wolves can one shot you for the first 25 or so levels (depending on vocation and gear) with their stronger attacks. That being said, it should be easy enough to avoid being hit as any of the ranged vocations and if you're a Fighter, all your problems end once you get Flesh Skewer since even a normal block (let alone a perfect block) will leave the strongest bandit open to a Flesh Skewer and then you can just finish them off while Cymbal Onslaught is another great move that lets you attack lesser but still dangerous enemies (like wolves) while keeping your guard mostly up. Haven't done an early Hard start with Warrior but I suspect their problems would also end once you get Exodus Slash (the skill has invincibility frames to simulate the first swing batting aside incoming attacks). So yeah, hard mode does encourage you to play more tactically but since you'll be paying more attention to the enemy out of necessity, you'll soon be able to read most of their patterns easy and, before you know it, you'll have the level/gear/both to not get one or two-shotted and then Gransys is your oyster.

I'd say go ahead and give it a try. If it's too difficult you can either switch or buy throwblasts by selling the Ruminator's Monocle that starts in your storage inventory, since throwblasts will one-shot all the enemies that can one-shot you in the early game. And if you find it too easy, there's a couple difficulty mods out there as well.

[Guh~hey~hey~♫]

That's the point.
That's why I said hardmode is a shortcut mode for experienced players to skip low level play when making a new character:
Since most ennemies OHKO you anyway, just go to the place with the hardest ennemies (bbi) and kill a couple bosses with throwblasts (same risk, better reward).
The result will be you'll end up level 80 and overgeared in less than an hour.

You can even push this further and just complete your leveling to 200.
As said above, the game is about avoiding taking damage and offensive stats mostly depends on your weapons. In BBi you find the best gear in the game. Also you level so fast here that you can quickly equip those OP weapons without any handicap. There will be deadly ennemies to face but all you need is to learn their pattern, their weaknesses, how to dodge their attacks and how to counter them (and how to quicksave and reload if you're not too confident).

[Antarct1c]

Thanks to everyone for responses, but I want to also ask: would YOU guys recommend someone who is familiar with genre and ready for "challenge" at the start of the game to start in hard mode? Because it really sounds good to me, in some term even close to Terraria's expert mode which has more difficulty in exchange for less grind. So do I understand correctly that it is indeed ok to start in hard mode even if I never played DD?

[DefiantSauce]

I would not play Hard Mode. It doubles gold and XP gains, but also enemy damage and stamina consumption. A lot of enemies in the early game will kill you in one hit no matter the armor you bring or have available at the moment. The stamina consumption also makes the game a lot more restrictive than it is normally.
I'd recommend playing on Normal, and then taking your NG+ character into Hard Mode. You'll have good gear, but the double damage will ensure that you're still taking decent damage and being engaged. The extra XP gain will allow you to level up additional classes and get experimenting faster, too.

[Guh~hey~hey~♫]

Originally posted by Antarct1c:

Thanks to everyone for responses, but I want to also ask: would YOU guys recommend someone who is familiar with genre and ready for "challenge" at the start of the game to start in hard mode? Because it really sounds good to me, in some term even close to Terraria's expert mode which has more difficulty in exchange for less grind. So do I understand correctly that it is indeed ok to start in hard mode even if I never played DD?

No.
Being familiar with the genre and knowing the specific game mechanics of DDDA are 2 worlds apart. And that's what matters the most here.
I'd say, for a new player, first make a slow playtrough in normal mode, eventually go into new game+ afterward (to complete what you missed).
Then once you get a better grasp of the game mechanics, figure out what kind of character would be the best for you (stats build, spoiler: it will be max stamina), learnt your favorite vocation(s) mechanics, learnt ennemies patterns and weaknesses, etc (yeah there's a lot more)... reroll to make your perfect character and do it in hardmode to shorten the leveling and skip the low level struggle.

Trying hardmode from the get go will be frustrating and will give you very bad reflexes (like staying far from dangerous ennemies, triggering their long range pattern in the process, or relying only on cheese tactics and broken vocations...).

Better save it for when you'll feel very confident.

[DefiantSauce]

Originally posted by Guh~heh~heh~♫:

Originally posted by Antarct1c:

Thanks to everyone for responses, but I want to also ask: would YOU guys recommend someone who is familiar with genre and ready for "challenge" at the start of the game to start in hard mode? Because it really sounds good to me, in some term even close to Terraria's expert mode which has more difficulty in exchange for less grind. So do I understand correctly that it is indeed ok to start in hard mode even if I never played DD?

No.
Being familiar with the genre and knowing the specific game mechanics of DDDA are 2 worlds apart. And that's what matters the most here.
I'd say, for a new player, first make a slow playtrough in normal mode, eventually go into new game+ afterward (to complete what you missed).
Then once you get a better grasp of the game mechanics, figure out what kind of character would be the best for you (stats build, spoiler: it will be max stamina), learnt your favorite vocation(s) mechanics, learnt ennemies patterns and weaknesses, etc (yeah there's a lot more)... reroll to make your perfect character and do it in hardmode to shorten the leveling and skip the low level struggle.

Trying hardmode from the get go will be frustrating and will give you very bad reflexes (like staying far from dangerous ennemies, triggering their long range pattern in the process, or relying only on cheese tactics and broken vocations...).

Better save it for when you'll feel very confident.

You really never need to minmax in this game unless you want to grind the hell out of BBI. You can roll with a wide variety of classes in the early game and still end up with a decent character by the time you hit 100.

[Antarct1c]

Alright at then, normal mode it is. Thanks to everyone.