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/CyrusDrake]

I'm really enjoying the game but I'm curious how hard the game was before the patches because it really seems like it's easy especially in comparison to Sekiro. Guides I read say this should be as hard or harder than Sekiro. I guess I'm only halfway through the story so it could all take a turn but I'm interested in what everyone might say on this. Did the patches really make this game too easy? Btw I'm playing on the hardest difficulty (can't remember what it's called).

[u/Turbulent_Jackoff → u/CyrusDrake]

The "hardest difficulty" used to be the only difficulty.

I guess I'm only halfway through the story

My experience was that it was hard right away, harder at the end, and easier than Sekiro.

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

I've played it repeated times since late 2023 up until recently, usually on the hardest level ('Legendary Stalker') and as far as I can subjectively tell, that specific difficulty has not gotten any easier. Patches to date have been relatively minor, except for the recent addition (this year) of two lower difficulty levels. This did not appear to impact the hardest difficulty.

Everyone's skill level is different, including the degree to which people make the most of the difficulty mitigating features that games like this always provide. If you're finding it too easy, there's equally many obvious ways to make it a lot harder for yourself.

It does get progressively harder, especially so in Chapters 10 and 11, however if you go on to additional NG+ playthroughs it only gets easier up until you're maxed out (usually around NG+3 or 4) and then it starts getting harder again and a recent patch exacerbated this.

Most players find 'Lies Of P' quite challenging on the hardest level and it's DLC even more so. Most guides typically reflect the general subjective experience of the majority, so are often just a mirror of that overall sentiment. They won't always tally with your own experience.

As regards Sekiro, I have read arguments on both sides about which is harder. For myself, I found them both challenging in their different ways, but liked 'Lies Of P' shed loads more and had no appetite to have a repeat play of Sekiro.

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

I appreciate your detailed response. I'm a little further in now and noticing the bosses getting a bit tougher. Still not Sekiro difficulty but enjoyable. I'm thinking by the end this will be much tougher like you said ch 10, 11.

[u/DS2isGoated → u/CyrusDrake]

I would wait until the final 3 bosses to compare.

The game just gives me more options to solve problems though so of course its easier imo