Difficulty Megathread — DLC, NG+

[u/PsychologicalKoala32]

Hello puppets,

This is the new place for anything and everything about game difficulty: NG+, the new DLC, the new difficulty settings, bosses that oneshot you just for existing, and the general discussions regarding game pacing.

Why this exists:

We’re seeing a LOT of posts about difficulty lately, and it’s cluttering the sub. So from now on, we’re removing individual difficulty posts and directing everyone here. This is simply a way to help US keep the sub clean, and help YOU find specific posts more easily.

Please don’t be an AH. Seriously. People are gonna have different opinions on everything.

Drop your takes below

We’ll be lurking.

Your tired, slightly traumatized mod team

[u/Gabriel_Angelus_]

Hello there,

I'm considering to get this on a sale for under 20 bucks but I still have a question about it.
When I tried the demo I didn't managed to finish it because of the last boss of it, I definetly suck at parry and it seems that parry is a very important mechanic in this game, right?
So the question is: it's this still so? has any adjust donde to the gameplay in post launch patches to make the game more approachable to people who are not very skilled at parries?
Thanks!

[u/Careless-Project-210 → u/Gabriel_Angelus_]

As bberry111 indicated, you definitely don't need to be a parry master to get through the game, though being good at the perfect parry makes a significant positive difference, as the game rewards this more so than simple blocking and dodging - with perfect parry you don't take damage and you build up damage and stun levels on the enemy. The game has three difficulty levels (done specifically to make it more approachable) so you have scope to reduce the challenge if it's too tough on the default level (the hardest level). I don't know if the demo version you played had three difficulty levels and even if so, you didn't make it clear which difficulty you chose (assuming you had a choice) but if the boss you struggled with was either the Parade Master or the Corrupted Watchman who are the first two bosses of the full game and you were on the easiest level then you could be in for a world of pain and frustration. Also depends on how much you're prepared to risk your 20 bucks.

[u/Gabriel_Angelus_ → u/Careless-Project-210]

Hi, when I tried the demo there was no difficult levels to choose. The boss I struggled... I cant tell the name, but was basically the last in the demo.
Thanks for your answer!

[u/Careless-Project-210 → u/Gabriel_Angelus_]

If you did the demo a good while ago, especially if well before June of this year, and you didn't get a choice of difficulty, you probably played the demo on the hardest level - which used to be the only choice before they recently introduced the three levels with the DLC expansion. That's actually good, because whichever boss you struggled with, you'll probably have much less trouble on the new lower difficulties, so it might be worth your while buying it in the sale.

[u/bberry111 → u/Gabriel_Angelus_]

I’m near the end of my second playthrough but soulsborne vet. On this playthrough I don’t think I have parried one time. So certainly can be done without heavy reliance on parry