Something that bothers me

[VR456]

This isn't actually a genuine concern, but just something that baffled me.
How come more people completed Pantheon of Hallownest than Steel Soul runs?
It just surprised me because compared to PoH, Steel Soul isn't that much of BS. If you've completed the game twice, first time on any percentage, and then on 100/112%, you should be able to do it in SS with no problem. Not to mention the much broaded variety of cheeses avilable, while PoH has none (that aren't effortless).

[🉑 rezno[R].technology]

That's interesting. Maybe more people have a feeling they will die anyway, because they are so used to it, and they are just not interested in doing Steel Soul for this very reason. And because they are initially not even interested, that's why they may be even unaware of how easy it can be with the right approach.

Anyway, I think most people can be just afraid/uncomfortable with the feeling of losing hours of progress much more than only minutes of progress. It's kind of counter-intuitive, because PoH ultimately requires lots of hours of training and repeating. But the difference is it's always one step at a time, and not a one giant leap, which makes it overall easier to swallow.

If someone isn't initially interested in doing Steel Soul, then they will naturally not know about all the ways how to approach it in this game (with even the option of not losing progress).

[VR456]

That's a very good take, but it still shows how silly the situation is. Pantheon of Hallownest gets much more open hate than Steel Soul ever did, and the latter was around for longer, what should've given people an idea on what's truly worse.

[fish]

honestly steel soul just takes more mental effort knowing you cant respawn while pantheon of hallownest is just braindead killing the exact same bosses over and over

[BlueJin91]

When only 2% of the players complete an achievement, it doesn't mean that only 2% are capable of obtaining that achievement. It just means that only 2% cared to do it. Unless they're suffering from a real life handicap, just about anybody is capable of practicing, getting better, and doing those 2% achievements. That's why 4% of players completed Soul and Shade, but only 2.6% of the players got 112%; they don't care. Like wise, the vast majority of low percentage achievements are easy (like Neglect), but the players will only do what they want to do.

Godhome is a different game mode (and the best part of the game, IMO). Steel mode is just the regular game mode, except you lose your save if you die. I guess more players thought Godhome was more worth their time than a game mode that's basically the same.

[🉑 rezno[R].technology]

There are people who don't care about achievements/perfectionism ("I have to do all I can because the developers put it in the achievements") and just do what they want to do and gives them fun.
I myself am often guilty of this, and I am constantly fighting this inner perfectionist.

[VR456]

Originally posted by SteveplayD:

I found it too easy actually...

I know, right? I've even managed to combine it with two other run categories, and did everything under 12 hours, including remaining single-save achievos.

[Hollow Heart]

Some people may not be interested in the game enough to replay it from the beginning. While PoH is something new (it has some new bosses).

[Phirestar]

Originally posted by VR456:

That's a very good take, but it still shows how silly the situation is. Pantheon of Hallownest gets much more open hate than Steel Soul ever did, and the latter was around for longer, what should've given people an idea on what's truly worse.

The difference is that Steel Soul mode is a purely optional challenge that doesn't offer any extra rewards for completing it, whereas there are multiple pieces of content that're exclusively tied to the Pantheons that cannot be seen in any other manner.

Plus Godmaster is significantly more difficult than the base game content, demanding you to be capable of fighting multiple bosses in a row without breaks. That requires that you have far more experience with any of the boss fights than you'd normally need in order to finish the base game. On the flip side, Steel Soul mode is essentially the exact same game as before - you just restart if you die. And you don't have to fight every single boss, even to get the 100% completion achievement, either.

[izyz]

steel soul is more unforgiving than poh because once dead you have to restart the whole thing,which you probably spent atleast 2 hours in it.

to repeat the beginning part again and again and get back to 0 with one(or multiple in a row) careless mistake probably feels less attractive than grinding poh .

[red_sparky dragon_force]

I'm going for the pantheons right now and haven't tried steel soul. I get that it really wouldn't be all too bad but I tend to make mistakes, and mistakes will reset a whole run on steel soul mode, while a bit of practice can get you through the pantheons.

[Odahviing]

I concur, Steel Heart is so much easier than beating PoH.
I guess people beat PoH , get burned out and dont come back. PoH can make you hate the game.

[VR456]

Originally posted by red_sparky dragon_force:

...while a bit of practice can get you through the pantheons.

You can say the exact same about Steel Soul, and you don't even need to practice that much. As I said, beating the game on 100%+ in a regular mode is already enough. Just don't leave it for later. Compare that to PoH's constant practice of bosses you have trouble against before every single run.