When does hard mode become manageable?

[Dr. Degenerate]

Normal is too easy but nearly everything in hard mode just one shots me

[Lynfinity]

When you get comfortable with combat, specifically with perfect dodges and dodge cancelling.

You can't get OHKO'd if they can't even touch you.

[bottlefield393]

This game has new game +, you're intended to enjoy the story first, then replay the game on harder diffs. Consider there are tons of quests, chip upgrades and other stuff to discover and keep the experience fresh. Also mods.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by bottlefield393:

This game has new game +, you're intended to enjoy the story first, then replay the game on harder diffs. Consider there are tons of quests, chip upgrades and other stuff to discover and keep the experience fresh. Also mods.

There is no NG+

[bottlefield393]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Originally posted by bottlefield393:

This game has new game +, you're intended to enjoy the story first, then replay the game on harder diffs. Consider there are tons of quests, chip upgrades and other stuff to discover and keep the experience fresh. Also mods.

There is no NG+

Yes there is!
https://nierautomata.wiki.fextralife.com/New+Game+Plus

[TheSeek]

Having access to chapter select is not NG+, and continuing playing after ending A is not NG+ because the game is literally not over yet.
NG+ means starting a completely new game after completing it while keeping all your equipment and stats, but with enemies that are at an increased level compared to yours, which is something that is completely absent in this game..

[bottlefield393]

What if you get all endings up to E, then change diff in the menu and replay the chapters from the beginning?

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by bottlefield393:

What if you get all endings up to E, then change diff in the menu and replay the chapters from the beginning?

Still doesn't count as NG+, as at that point you're free to jump around between chapters, some main quest will be auto completed as soon as you receive them cause you already have the required items, and even if you don't jump around chapters and simply continue from chapter 1, simply increasing difficulty won't do much cause the enemies will be all at low level while you're keeping your high level and you'll still kill everything extremely easily.
If you instead delete your save after ending E, you'll have to start a completely fresh new game without any of your previuous equipment, so it's still not an NG+ but simply a new game.

[bottlefield393]

The enemy levels may stay the same but their stats are massively increased. If you start a game on normal and get damage, then start a new game on hard and get damage from the same enemy, you will notice the damage being doubled or even tripled, resulting in getting 2 shot and getting ending W XD.

[bottlefield393]

Another way to make the game challenging would be to play on normal but not grinding at all, and just going for main quest, resulting in having underleveled character.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by bottlefield393:

The enemy levels may stay the same but their stats are massively increased. If you start a game on normal and get damage, then start a new game on hard and get damage from the same enemy, you will notice the damage being doubled or even tripled, resulting in getting 2 shot and getting ending W XD.

Still won't change that you'll still be, as example, level 50 against enemies that are barely level 5 or 7, and even if they might give you enough damage if they hit you, you'll still be able to one shot them before they even have the chance to attack you.

Originally posted by bottlefield393:

Another way to make the game challenging would be to play on normal but not grinding at all, and just going for main quest, resulting in having underleveled character.

Skipping side quests should be avoided at all costs especially if you also avoid grinding as it will 100% results in being severely underleveled to the point where at some specific story events you won't even be able to deal enough damage to progress or will die too fast without any chance to recover.

[Morton Koopa Jr.]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Having access to chapter select is not NG+, and continuing playing after ending A is not NG+ because the game is literally not over yet.
NG+ means starting a completely new game after completing it while keeping all your equipment and stats, but with enemies that are at an increased level compared to yours, which is something that is completely absent in this game..

You just have a very specific definition of what NG+ means.

[Mako]

NG+ doesnt require buffing enemies. many games have NG+ but dont scale enemies or leave that option up to the player.
Still Automata doesnt reset side content and map remains unforged so its not a proper NG+ but can be used as an alternative.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by Morton Koopa Jr.:

You just have a very specific definition of what NG+ means.

It's a very general definition dictated by what the name implies: it's a "new game", so your progress should be reset and you must start anew, which is something that can't be done here since chapter select is available, both main quests and side quests progress is not reset(completed side quests will be entirely unavailable, and many main quests will autocomplete as soon as you get themdue to you already fulfilling the requirements)...if nothing is new and everyhing progresses on its own, there's nothing new in this "new game".
At the same time, the "plus" implies that there's something added that was not available the first time, which usually is your equipment from the previous game being still available, which while it might seem to be the case here, it's really not, cause the reason you still have all your equipment is not cause you're keeping it from a previous game, it's cause this is still the same game you started.
The combination of "new game" and "plus" sometimes results in scaled up enemies to give a challenge to the player who would be overpowered otherwise, which is again not present here.
Basically, none of the usual definint components of a NG+ is present.

One could argue you could limit yourself and not use chapter select once you go to tchapter
1 and, as example, limiting your haling items supply, or not using chips, or only using one weapon, etc, but these are still self imposed limitations which do not mean an NG+ is available, the same way as putting the same limitations the first time you play to simulate a higher than highest difficulty does not mean an actually higher than highest difficulty exists in the game.

[Morton Koopa Jr.]

Originally posted by TheSeek:

Originally posted by Morton Koopa Jr.:

You just have a very specific definition of what NG+ means.

-a whole lot of unnecessary text-

Again, that's just your perspective, one that you're free to have.

Not all new game + modes match all of your criteria. I'm not gonna bother listing any because you'll just say "well those aren't really ng+".

Oh but one thing

Originally posted by TheSeek:

One could argue you could limit yourself and not use chapter select once you go to tchapter
1 and, as example, limiting your haling items supply, or not using chips, or only using one weapon, etc, but these are still self imposed limitations which do not mean an NG+ is available, the same way as putting the same limitations the first time you play to simulate a higher than highest difficulty does not mean an actually higher than highest difficulty exists in the game.

This is just more drivel. Why are you even suggesting to limit your healing items supply or not using chips or only using one weapon, etc?

You set up your own strawman just to compare it to simulating higher difficulty. I never suggested that NG+ means you shouldn't have any items. Again, that's apparently part of your specific opinion of what NG+ is.

[TheSeek]

Originally posted by Morton Koopa Jr.:

Again, that's just your perspective, one that you're free to have.

New game plus = a new game with additional elements that are unavailable otherwise, that's not my perspective, that's what the name "new game plus" implies, and none of that is available in this game
You only keep your equipments(the hypothetical additional elements) if you don't start a new game, and the moment you do start a new game, there's no additional elements.

Originally posted by Morton Koopa Jr.:

Oh but one thing

Originally posted by TheSeek:

my post

This is just more drivel. Why are you even suggesting to limit your healing items supply or not using chips or only using one weapon, etc?

You set up your own strawman just to compare it to simulating higher difficulty. I never suggested that NG+ means you shouldn't have any items. Again, that's apparently part of your specific opinion of what NG+ is.

Just cause something I said is part of the post i'm replying to you in, it doesn't mean everything i say is 100% exclusively related to what you said.
This is a discussion, so what i say is also part of the general topic that is being discussed, and since others here suggested ways to make your own pseudo NG+, i took the chance to connect what i said in response to you to my own view on those kind of suggestions, being that the player self limiting themselves(in any way, those were just examples of what i saw others often suggest, not my own suggestions) would not mean an NG+ is present.

It'd be a strawman if i was attacking those arguments instead of yours, but i already replied to yours in my post, and simply added something related to what was previously said by others in relation to this topic.
My bad if it seemed that way, but i assure you it wasn't my intention, otherwise i wouldn't have replied directly to what you said.