IWD:EE Difficulty options
ComplyOrDie
Member Posts: 41
I'm used to playing on Insane or at least Hard difficulty, however I don't recall from the original IWD (please correct me if I'm wrong and sorry if it's the case) that you got XP bonuses playing on higher difficulties. Is there a way to turn the XP bonuses off? Seems to me that otherwise you will level much faster making the whole thing easier anyway and defeating the point of turning up the difficulty...
0
Comments
Edit: I think this still applies, can anyone confirm?
Anything you do that'll make Core difficulty actually difficult will more likely make Insane even more difficult because the threat of lethal damage is a lot more real.
Monster damage -> half, normal, double
Player experience gain -> half, normal, double
Difficulty of monster groupings (number of monsters basically) -> half, normal and double
Then they could still have HoF as a separate checkbox, like it is now.
EDIT: and increased xp gain means you unlock the tools for avoiding damage sooner on insane difficulty...
But as the player reduces their usage of damage avoidance spells/equipment, Insane can get messy pretty quickly compared to Core.
I want the most challenge I can manage from this game starting with a level one party. I'm unlikely to play it more than once for a long time. The way hard and insane are described make me think it would be harder for a few levels but then I'd have way too many options too early for harder hitting goblins or yuan ti. Does difficulty affect encounters in other ways, and if so, is it simply double the number of enemies for random spawns which with the bonus do would frankly quickly make things easier yet again, or does it improve boss and creature levels. If it does do this, how. If it doesn't, it seems like a very silly difficulty slider that quite possibly makes the game easier in many ways overall (I appreciate not ees introduction but still, please can I change it). As a final question what about heart of fury mode, I was under the impression this also gives massive xp bonuses so would be frustrating as hell for two levels and then same as above. Thanks for all the input.
I would suggest waiting for a character editor, and then making a full party, using the editor to make your entire party have enough XP for lvl 6-8. Put the difficulty on HoW mode, do not give party any gear, and enjoy.
Reason for these settings. HoW mode is by far the definitive difficulty in the game that will make your battles ALL truly epic, even the goblins at the start, the problem with this is though that you cannot start a new game with HoW unless you cheese with summons/etc. By giving your starting party lvls 6-8, they will have enough HP to survive attacks but still won't be overpowered because they wont have the +2 endgame gear, thus providing a challenge without the grief of being 1 shot by goblins outside the gates.
I played through IWD entirely with these settings and I had an immensely enjoyable experience that provided an epic challenge.
I am not sure how well this would work on the IWD EE as the new classes and kits may prove to be different but regardless HoW mode is there and if you plan on using it you really cannot approach it with a party that is level 1.
HoF mode you won't have any issues with it becoming a "joke" simply how it is balanced. Problem with just setting the game on hard or insane is exactly what you are saying, you get more xp so eventually the mobs increased damage/whatever wont matter because of your massive dmg and high AC.
By doing the game on HoF you ensure mobs will always have massive hps, their THACO will always be high enough to hit you unless you plan your buffs appropriately, and because youre not importing items you are avoiding the tediousness of dieing in 1 hit when you only have 8 HP but ensuring long drawn out combat.
Later on in the game mages will be integral to your survival and you will routinely have to buff.
I know the urge to min/max is strong, but why not try it?
::finger hovering over + and - buttons:: Must...resist...urge...to...make...18 STR...18 DEX...18CON...urghh!
Before, I was playing with min-maxed characters, all of whom were multi-classed with fighter. I had the difficulty slider set on hard. The game was boringly easy.
If you min-max your stats and multi-class every character, the game is going to be easy no matter what difficulty setting you use.
If you want a challenge, make every character a pure class, and have no more than one 18 stat on any character. That's how you balance the game - turning up the difficulty slider actually makes the game easier because of experience bonuses. Your multi-class and dual-class munchkins with the game on hard or insane will outlevel and overpower everything by the time you reach Kuldahar. That's a recipe for boredom.
In the original HOF mode was not accessible inside the game for this reason. What you need is a Paladin (Draw Upon Holy Might) a good set of attributes and your set.
In fact, I feel HoF can be quite cheesy in general. It's trivial to get through the Easthaven quests with HoF on, and you get RIDICULOUS amounts of XP basically for free. It does get harder later on, but since you can just turn it off at will it's sooo easy to "abuse" if you're not adhering to strict self-control.
That being said, playing through on HoF CONSISTENTLY is quite the challenge in the early game; or, perhaps, a bit of a grind. The incredibly binary nature of AC makes it a tick too annoying for my taste, you stand there avoiding everything and then they roll a 20 and you die, or nearly die. Makes large packs very prone to random rolls, not sure if like...