[Ipad] Experience discord when switching difficulties
Elrandir
Member Posts: 1,664
When switching between difficulties to maximize experience for quests/battles, sometimes the expected XP bonus is not given.
Example: Easthaven goblins give 30 XP instead of 2000+ on HoF setting and/or Story Mode (not sure what they're supposed to give on Story Mode, but it's more than 30)
I'm not entirely sure if this is a result of switching difficulties or if this is simply a bug with the difficulties themselves, as I have sometimes started on Story Mode and gotten less XP than expected, while other times I've started on HoF mode and have gained less XP than expected. This could be two separate bugs, but I haven't done enough tests to be sure. I've noticed these experience discrepancies with six different games, some with a full party, others with only one character.
Also of note, (and I don't mean to be putting a second bug in the same report, but I may be doing it unintentionally since I'm not sure if it's part of the first bug or not) the goblins seem to sometimes take far more hits than they normally do in Story Mode. I can't tell if the game isn't fully switching difficulties or what, but I have the invulnerable effect yet the enemies are as hardy as they are in HoF mode.
I can't imagine this experience problem being terribly detrimental to someone playing on Story Mode, but this could be crippling to a player in HoF mode.
This is easily testable for yourselves simply by creating a new game and fighting the goblins on various different game settings. You can save on the bridge and you should be able to see the strangeness for yourselves.
Just for information's sake, my Ipad is either 3rd or 4th gen, and is currently running 8.1.1. I also have yet to progress past Easthaven in any of my files, so I don't know if this problem persists in future areas, or if it's related to the goblins. I haven't paid any attention to the experience the wolf gives, though I have noticed Story Mode gives 2400 XP (100% more than Core) per quest in this area, while HoF mode gives 1800. (50% more than Core) This may be intended, but I thought I'd mention it so you know as much as possible.
Anyway, this problem isn't causing me any problems (yet), but I thought I'd bring it up.
Edit: After some more playtime, it seems that the big issue here is HoF not working. It gives 100% bonus XP on kills, but not the massive bonus it should. Sometimes Story Mode gives HoF XP for kills, but most of the time it works as it should.
Example: Easthaven goblins give 30 XP instead of 2000+ on HoF setting and/or Story Mode (not sure what they're supposed to give on Story Mode, but it's more than 30)
I'm not entirely sure if this is a result of switching difficulties or if this is simply a bug with the difficulties themselves, as I have sometimes started on Story Mode and gotten less XP than expected, while other times I've started on HoF mode and have gained less XP than expected. This could be two separate bugs, but I haven't done enough tests to be sure. I've noticed these experience discrepancies with six different games, some with a full party, others with only one character.
Also of note, (and I don't mean to be putting a second bug in the same report, but I may be doing it unintentionally since I'm not sure if it's part of the first bug or not) the goblins seem to sometimes take far more hits than they normally do in Story Mode. I can't tell if the game isn't fully switching difficulties or what, but I have the invulnerable effect yet the enemies are as hardy as they are in HoF mode.
I can't imagine this experience problem being terribly detrimental to someone playing on Story Mode, but this could be crippling to a player in HoF mode.
This is easily testable for yourselves simply by creating a new game and fighting the goblins on various different game settings. You can save on the bridge and you should be able to see the strangeness for yourselves.
Just for information's sake, my Ipad is either 3rd or 4th gen, and is currently running 8.1.1. I also have yet to progress past Easthaven in any of my files, so I don't know if this problem persists in future areas, or if it's related to the goblins. I haven't paid any attention to the experience the wolf gives, though I have noticed Story Mode gives 2400 XP (100% more than Core) per quest in this area, while HoF mode gives 1800. (50% more than Core) This may be intended, but I thought I'd mention it so you know as much as possible.
Anyway, this problem isn't causing me any problems (yet), but I thought I'd bring it up.
Edit: After some more playtime, it seems that the big issue here is HoF not working. It gives 100% bonus XP on kills, but not the massive bonus it should. Sometimes Story Mode gives HoF XP for kills, but most of the time it works as it should.
Post edited by Elrandir on
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Comments
@Elrandir: This should be a known issue. The only advice I can give you is to ALWAYS make sure to MANUALLY set your difficulty slider prior to checking the Heart of Fury mode. Ignore the fact that when you check HoF mode it appears to set the difficulty to Insane: This is a misnomer.
While the difficulty slider IS set graphically to Insane, and SOME of the game functions as if the difficulty slider IS set to insane, several HoF and Insane difficulty effects (such as experience and sometimes number of encountered creatures) are NOT set by this automatic adjustment of the difficulty slider.
Advice: First, in the instructions below, make sure that when you switch difficulty for any reason you release the drag of the difficulty mode slider switch to ensure you have actually switched off and then back on to a difficulty, don't just tap/drag the slider to one side then immediately drag it back and assume the difficulty has been switched properly. It may be, but I don't guarantee it. Instead, tap/drag it to a side, release it, then tap/drag it back. This should properly set the difficulty.
Second, I do not guarantee any of the information below is accurate other than following the advice below should ALWAYS get you the desired result. While many of the steps below may be overkill, they are written to guarantee 100% functionality in your intended use of switching difficulty modes.
When Setting the Difficulty to Maximize Experience or on setting HoF mode for a full Play Through:
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Before talking to the quest giver to obtain experience and/or before killing the Mob for XP, or at the star of the game of an HoF playthrough:
Make sure the state of the options interface is as follows before performing steps below:
* HoF Box is Unchecked
* Difficulty slider is NOT on Insane
1) Go into options
2) Drag the Difficulty Slider TO Insane Mode
3) Check the Heart of Fury Box.
This should guarantee the correct Experience Point Values are set by the point you talk to the quest giver/kill the Mob for XP.
If the state is not as I describe above, set it as I describe above, save it, and then come back in and perform the steps I note.
When Setting the Difficulty to Return to a Normal Playing Mode
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When reversing a set to HoF mode for experience gain, do the following:
Make sure the state of the options interface is as follows before performing steps below:
* HoF Box is Checked
* Difficulty slider is set to Insane
1) Uncheck HoF box (this will set the slider difficulty to Core/Medium by default).
2) Move the slider off the "Core/Medium" difficulty.
3) Move the slider to the difficulty of your choice.
The important point here is when unsetting HoF mode do not use the default "medium" difficulty automatically set. If you wish to stay in Core mode, move the difficulty off and then back on to core mode.
When Setting the Difficulty to Change Spawns in a Zone
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Insane Mode/HoF mode changes some of the default encounters in the game by adding creatures to the combats or making those creatures harder. While this is untested, I recommend being safe and following this advice as well since there would seem to be logic behind it. There is advice out there that spawns are calculated AT ZONE ENTRY and that to ENSURE a zone has the right encounters based upon difficulty mode, you need to make sure to set the difficulty mode BEFORE ENTERING THE ZONE FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Subsequent zone loads for a visited zone will come from your saved zone files and not a "default" zone state, thus if you enter a zone for the first time on "core" difficulty, your initial zone save calculates zone encounters at the "core" difficulty. If you then turn on Insane/HoF mode, you may not get the additional creatures in the encounters as you expect.
The best advice in this situation is: Do not change modes if you want an HoF playthrough. It's inadvisable to try to maximize spawns through turning on and off HoF mode. While a useful (hack/cheat/tool/feature, whatever you want to call it) for maximizing experience gains, it is a much less useful or predictable tool for maximizing spawns. Don't use it for such.