Is hard mode genuinely worth it?

[ProjectSeph]

Firstly, I take zero interest in a game that is too easy. I usually play the hard-mode options.
Not as a p!ssing contest, but to make the game feel more rewarding.


BUT ...If a "hard mode" simply means that all enemies become bullet-sponges and have 10x more Hp, then I'm not interested.

As an example, I recently beat The Witcher 3 on Death March (hardest difficulty).
The game wasn't needlessly stupid. And the difficulty felt 'natural'.

Enemies were reasonably powered (as you may expect for their size/power/scenarios), you could still strategize to bring enemies down swiftly, and through it all ...you still managed to feel OP by the end-game.
But if you weren't careful, one cut from a sword could hurt you pretty bad (I do enjoy that sense of realism).

On the opposite side, (as an example) Skyrim; I feel like on the harder settings all it does is allow the enemy to take more damage.
This isn't worthwhile to me at all. Just a time-waster.
I like a hard mode where it makes the battles rewarding. Not where it simply "draws out" every single encounter to tedious levels.

So I wish to ask, from experience, does the Hard mode make Dragon's Dogma more rewarding, or simply tedious?
I know some people recommend to "Beat the game once on normal, then Hard mode for NG+", however, I have no interest in playing most games more than once.

Dark Souls is probably the exception (due to it's unique online-nature).
So for this game, I want to make the most of my one-time-only play through.


Thanks, any input would be fantastic!

[Dauntless]

DD's normal difficulty is very easy if you're experienced with arpgs.

Dragon's Dogma's hard mode is similar to Witcher 3's Death March. Both are hard in the beginning and get much easier past the mid game. By the end of both you're practically unkillable. If you only plan on playing the game once, then go for hard mode.

[radianc3]

Don't know about the difficulty, but i'm pretty sure you will play the game more than once.

[ROFLpl0x]

Hard mode is more rewarding for a while but the game has terrible late/end-game balance issues. You'll eventually become so powerful that hard mode means nothing and you don't even have to follow a build guide to reach this point. Even pawns are over the top powerful. Well built Strider, warrior, and spell-synching sorc pawns can wreck entire rooms full of hard mode mobs all by themselves while you stand and watch.

Hard mode enemies will still hit you really hard but you can kill them within seconds and end game gear set ups can give you 100% immunity to a whole range of critical debilitations. For it to still be fun you've got to handicap yourself by using weaker gear, playing solo, or hiring low level pawns. You can also roll as a mage and just support your pawns. That's fun, too.

[Nova.Strike.9]

Originally posted by ROFLwut?:

For it to still be fun you've got to handicap yourself by using weaker gear, playing solo, or hiring low level pawns. You can also roll as a mage and just support your pawns. That's fun, too.

Did that too in hardmode. It was fun

Lower level pawns or using less useful pawn inclinations also added to challenge. :)

[Huggles the Cat]

Hard mode changes.
*Damage done to the player (Arisen) is 2x. (This does not affect your pawns. Only you.)
*Stamina used with skills is 2x. (This does not affect your pawns. Only you. This does not effect sprinting stamina use.)
*Enemies have increased stagger/knockdown resistance (around 2x).
*Enemies get an additional gold drop, on top of their normal loot drop. (This also increased the type of gold droped to a max value of 10k per gold bag droped.)
*Enemies no longer have a chance to drop Rift Crystals (RC).
Experianced given by defeated enemies is 2x.

Overall, I find hard mode to be the only mod as having use be cautious about skill useage (you can spam skills in normal mode) means you have to be creative and resourcful about skill use, often mixing it up with normal attacks, core skills (use no stamina), walking, jumping, and short sprinting bursts. Because of the 2x damage everything remains threatening to you throughout the entire game. The only draw back is that in early game you'll be one or two shot by most enemies untill you reach level 15 or so (armor and vocation stat growth will vary this level drop-off). Once you finish the main game or get near it's end (likely around level 50-80 on hard mode) you'll be wanting to do that expansion, Bitter Black Isle (BBI). Normaly around those levels the main game's normal enemies are trivial but those found in post game and BBI especialy will return you to enjoying some good combat. The best combat comes after you clear the final boss of BBI. The island's enemy spawns all change into the most difficult monsters and come in large groups and rooms that were previously without monsters and the final boss get's more attacks, more aggressive, and a second form. The main objective of BBI is to test the player's resourcfullness, ability to make a good team and keep adjusting them as needed, and the player's ability to conduct themself in battle. Keep in mind, the gear provided by BBI is extremely over powered when upgraded and should be avoided unless you want the game to be too easy.

[ProjectSeph]

Thanks for all your input!

It's greatly appreciated, as it will avoid me wasting time with restarting characters over and over (due to busy RL schedule), and has helped me decide on playing Hard Mode.

Cheers~

[Amysu]

My text to you all. But on my Germany words: Last die Finger davon, nomal spiel mit einm frustfaktion von 80% weil mann bei den einfachsten Gegner verreckt.. Auch die über mir wo was geposten habe lügen wie die pest. wenn sie es mit witch 3 vergleichen. Es ist zu hart die spiel einstellung und kein geld wert. See You on ohterds Games

[Timber]

In my opinion yes. Dragon's dogma gets easy too fast. The starting point if you start hard mode, including the tutorial, is hell though. But I had a lot more fun starting from hard mode once the tutorial was over. Became more strategic. Only sad thing is the increased durability of monsters but oh well.

[ATXLogan]

Play Jedi fallen order on the hardest difficulty: it’s perfect

[AzgarthX]

Hard difficulty? What are you...nub? If you dont play with the World Difficulty mod then are missing out https://www.nexusmods.com/dragonsdogma/mods/378
It makes hard mode look like easy mode

[Grr. [SG CMD] Majah Lazah]

normal is fantastically unsatisfying.

[Vaygur]

Y'all are answering a 3 year old question.

[ProjectSeph]

Originally posted by Vaygur:

Y'all are answering a 3 year old question.

Haha! Imagine my surprise when I log into Steam and find the notifications ...

"Oh gee! What a swift community XD"

[Asphe]

Yer alive!

-----

But just how to folks find these old threads? Google?

[[R] Nerva]

Originally posted by Asphe:

But just how to folks find these old threads? Google?

That's usually the case. Search engines, and carelessness when it comes to checking time & date stamps on posts.