What is the point of a difficulty level you can't change mid-campaign?

[Y2Kev]

This is the stupidest thing I've ever seen. Ace Combat 7 makes you pick a difficulty level to start the game and says you can't change it. If you've never played an Ace Combat (I have, but just hear me out), you really have no idea how to calibrate what this means in your head. Say you pick normal and play a few missions. It's too hard. Now you get to replay the entire thing on easy. Say you pick easy. It's not fun because it's too easy. Now you get to replay the entire thing.

To make matters worse, you can actually change difficulty mid-campaign in Ace Combat 6!

What is the point of this feature? It's purely punitive and damaging to people enjoying the product.

Fuck off with this shit.

 

[TheYanger]

I mean...that's how games always used to be. There's a reason they're not now, because as you stated it's dumb as fuck. You have no context. No modern game has any excuse.

 

[WaveBird]

Yeah, I don't usually switch difficulties but I started going through Persona 4 on the Vita after putting it down years ago and decided to just go through easy mode just in case and it's actually a little too easy but I don't want to go through the long prologue again. Still having fun though. I also dislike games with achievements and trophies for difficulties.

 

[Fat4all]

 

[Damn Silly]

I get it for the games that have the "ULTRA HARD DIFFICULTY LOCK IN", usually with some feature for added challenge (permadeath, can only save at certain places), but then when playing those games on any other difficulty, they do allow you to change difficulty.

Otherwise yeah, it's complete nonsense.

 

[AlexBasch]

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All I can read in there is "you're a fucking wimp".

 

[Y2Kev]

I mean...that's how games always used to be. There's a reason they're not now, because as you stated it's dumb as fuck. You have no context. No modern game has any excuse.

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Well I'm totally fine with games that are consistently hard. They're usually balanced to play a certain way and that balance is not as flexible as it is in games with selectors. If you go through the process of building in a selector, why would you lock it? Brain asplode.

 

[Deleted member 47843]

Yep, I hate it. I end up googling whether it's changeable for a lot of games. I have zero patience for games I find too hard, but don't like playing on easy if that's a cakewalk and normal is doable. I seen no reason to not have it changeable in games that allow selectable difficulty. I'm fine with games that are meant to be hard not having difficulty options, but if you are providing options, let people change it whenever. If it disables achievements/trophies etc. I couldn't care less.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

 

[The Mango Sentinel]

I would hope that if a developer does that, they actually designed the playthrough for that difficulty instead of just making enemies do more damage/take more damage and changing it midgame would fuck things up. Not being able to change it after you complete a level would be nonsense though.

 

[Master Chuuster]

I mean, I appreciate having that option, but you're making it sound much more essential than it is.

 

[matrix-cat]

I knew this would be about Ace Combat 7 before I opened the thread. That game is surprisingly hard on Normal, and one of very few games these days where you can't change the difficulty mid-campaign.

Totally agree, OP. It's some bullshit that we should be past by now.

 

[J75]

Yeah i agree. Changing difficulty midway is a godsend for me. Usually i would start a game on normal and bump it down to easy later on when im struggling. Being stuck on one majorly sucks.

And it sucks AC7 is like that. I was mildly interested in the game but it's a pass for me now.

 

[janoGX]

I mean, I appreciate having that option, but you're making it sound much more essential than it is.

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Agreed with this post.

It's a nice add-on. But not a necessity.

 

[Y2Kev]

Agreed with this post.

It's a nice add-on. But not a necessity.

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I don't understand. What do you mean "add on"? The idea is that if you already can select difficulty, why do you have to be locked into that difficulty for the entire game? Why can't you change it after a mission? How is that an add on? If anything, not having it means the developer actively took it away.

 

[Trigonometrize]

Locking it in for an entire campaign is a bad idea... but I think there needs to be some level of barriers to changing the difficulty or punishment for going to easier ones. I don't know necessarily what that looks like and it changes on the format of a specific game, but letting you skip around to anything at any time is not good design. Beating a challenge should not equate to how much you hold out until you're dejected enough to lower the difficulty.

 

[鬼作.]

I probably prefer not being able to change difficulty. It's a set challenge the developers want you to overcome and being able to change difficulty on the fly is actually what makes me think: "what's the point then?"

I also just can't relate because picking normal and thinking a game is too hard basically never happens anyway.

 

[JoeyJungle]

I can understand it for games that balance the entire campaign progression around the difficulty level instead of just how spongy enemies are or how fragile you are. Like if something like the cost for permanent upgrades are tied to difficulty level, then it makes sense since that changes the entire economy of a game.

In Ace Combat I think they did it just for the trophy challenges or rewards.

 

[Revolsin]

Well the idea behind it is that it's hardcore. Games specifically do this nowadays to make difficulty settings into something to 'prove' by overcoming them.

Another reason for the lock is if the changes between difficulties are drastic, and you'd basically be changing how the entire game works by choosing another difficulty.

 

[Deleted member 9972]

I'm a fan of the idea of letting you lower the difficultly midgame but not raising it. That allows you to keep going if you hit a roadblock without restarting the whole game, but also retains that feeling of accomplishment if you can make it to the end on the highest difficulty.

 

[Jakisthe]

To give players a different sense of how something can play. Dark Souls comes to mind - I know people clamored for an easy mode, but that's simply not the kind of gameplay experience the devs wanted players to have. Some games are just harder like that.

I mean, if you want to extrapolate this question, you could simply ask why players don't have infinite ability to set their own balance. That's just not what devs want.

 

[BeaconofTruth]

More of a game by game thing. Makes sense in games that only tune damage n health across difficulties. Japanese action games do more than that usually, at least stuff like dmc n bayonetta do.

Ace combat I have no context for, but alternatively that game also probably isn't some 40 hour long thing, so as a player it's not the end of the world that you had to restart thing, or play better. Challenge isn't by itself some after thought concept of the art form. It's a pretty important element of the art form.

 

[Zafir]

Also figured this'd probably be about Ace Combat 7, lol.

I rarely ever pick easy, but between the fact that I hadn't played an AC game before and people saying that normal was actually quite difficult I ended up going for it after seeing it pop up on screen saying you can't change your choice mid campaign. I'd rather things be on the easy side and actually be able to complete the game than get to some point where I'm just banging my head against a brick wall trying to finish.

Really annoying design choice.

 

[kirbyfan407]

Not having this option somewhat killed my Kingdom Hearts 1 playthrough, as I got stuck on a boss and really didn't want to start the game over. I'll probably return eventually, but it's hard to work up my motivation again.

It's greatly appreciated when a developer enables this option.

 

[Flame Lord]

I imagine that games like that have more changes than simple x enemy does y more damage now.

 

[JD3Nine]

Not having this option somewhat killed my Kingdom Hearts 1 playthrough, as I got stuck on a boss and really didn't want to start the game over. I'll return eventually. It's greatly appreciated when a developer enables this.

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Haha. I'm dealing with this on the same game right now. These long rpgs that don't let you change difficulty are the worst.

 

[SatelliteOfLove]

Dont let ease become addictions, so when you encounter this after a long break, it doesn't break you.

 

[Deleted member 17952]

It's the other way around. A difficulty option becomes completely meaningless if you can just change it on the fly.

Playing Zone of the Enders 2 on a higher difficulty had me almost tearing my hair off on some points, but it allowed me to:

• improve my gameplay significantly in order to defeat Vic Viper
• change the way I approach the game when I couldn't beat the 3 battleships using a normal approach (I decided to shoot them down with the Vector Cannon instead)

None of the above would have happened were I able to change difficulty on the fly, and it became a much more rewarding experience for it.

 

[onpoint]

I have never changed difficulty mid game, once, in 35 years of playing video games. I never even thought to, except when games ask. And even then, I take it as a slight and it strengthens my resolve to improve my playing.

I'm not saying you're wrong for doing so. I just never considered this as something I, or anyone, could do. This has not changed my personal position on the matter.

I guess... good luck?

 

[Dark_Castle]

You know what, I'm going to disagree slightly here. I understand the convenience of freely switching difficulty, especially if you're faced with a serious roadblock, can't grind your way out, wish to bump the difficulty down to just beat the game.

But if you have that easy way out, I think it also sort of makes difficulty mode rather pointless, BECAUSE you can change at will. It removes commitment, it removes discipline. Take Diablo 3's skill system. You can freely swap with skills and runes, sounds great. But a common criticism it has is how in their chase of freedom and accessibility, Blizzard removes actual investment in creating their build because if you can change so easily, then you're not really creating a build anymore. It can be a hard thing to explain to casual players or outsiders.

I think a good compromise is like how it's done in Fire Emblem and some other games. You can lower the difficulty, but you cannot bump them back up once you do. Semi-permanent choices are important I feel. It's one gripe I actually had with Etrian Odyssey 4. I can switch to easy mode to grind (because who in their right mind would grind in hard). If I can't switch to easy, then I'd grind in Hard, and I would be okay with that because I have committed myself to play on Hard. But no, the game lets you switch difficulty so easily. So I grind with ease, the game becomes a lot easier even when I turn back to hard when exploring dungeon and fighting bosses.

I think KH3 won't allow changing difficulty mid-game like past titles right? That will be great.

Edit: Oh yeah DQXI also has stronger enemies mode that you can turn off mid-game if you regret, but not turn back on later. That's good stuff.

 

[shan780]

I find it helps me commit to powering through stuff rather than just turning down the difficulty

 

[Deleted member 4034]

The World Ends With You made changing it's difficulty on the fly a part of the gameplay. Decrease your level for better drops. Increase difficulty for tougher enemies.

Never tweaked difficulty mid game it outside of that.

It's a neat feature, but I don't think it's a simple on off switch for most games.

 

[Mechaplum]

Ace Combat Joint Assault actually has the option to choose difficulty before every mission.

 

[hibikase]

Wait when did you start playing video games OP?

 

[Taco_Human]

This is normal with games OP. You're complaining about basic stuff. It depends on the game, I feel like mid-level difficulty change is a new thing. Feels like a crutch.

 

[Mauricio_Magus]

Options are always good, but honestly I like the challenge of going in with a difficulty and having to finish it on that one.

As someone that usually goes for "Hard" since the beginning, it is frustrating at times but usually really rewarding.

 

[Valkerion]

I mean just play on easy from the start is also an option.

Don't know if its pride that keeps people from it or our "I beat Dark Souls" way of looking at games now, but its weird to see people struggle on the highest or above their level settings. Restart or play better is my thinking usually. Retrying levels isn't some crime and neither is a particular section being difficult.

That said.

I do quite like when RPGs let you change difficulty at any time.

 

[OnanieBomb]

Games that let you change difficulty in the middle are false metal

 

[wondermagenta]

Well the idea behind it is that it's hardcore. Games specifically do this nowadays to make difficulty settings into something to 'prove' by overcoming them.

Another reason for the lock is if the changes between difficulties are drastic, and you'd basically be changing how the entire game works by choosing another difficulty.

Click to shrink...

Came to post this. I'd also argue that games like Acr Combat are short enough to where it really shouldn't be that big of a deal to go back to the start if the selected difficulty is too tough. And in long RPGs those potential roadblocks can usually always be brute forced through with some grinding.

EDIT: on a related note, I just finished Leon's campaign on Hardcore with two ink ribbons left and I'm still high on that adrenaline. RE2 is exactly the kinda game where a mid-campaign difficulty switch just wouldn't work because it's balanced entirely differently.

 

[Hyun Sai]

I think a good compromise is like how it's done in Fire Emblem and some other games. You can lower the difficulty, but you cannot bump them back up once you do. Semi-permanent choices are important I feel. It's one gripe I actually had with Etrian Odyssey 4. I can switch to easy mode to grind (because who in their right mind would grind in hard). If I can't switch to easy, then I'd grind in Hard, and I would be okay with that because I have committed myself to play on Hard. But no, the game lets you switch difficulty so easily. So I grind with ease, the game becomes a lot easier even when I turn back to hard when exploring dungeon and fighting bosses.

Click to shrink...

This is spot on.

I never use this feature as I always felt it was cheating (unless you switches to a harder mode and stays in it).

But to each its own.

 

[Cranster]

For most games difficulty settings effect more than just enemy/player health and damage outputs, it effects anything from enemy and item placement, AI behavior, mission structure, cinematic scenes, ect. So it's not really possible to change difficulty without interrupting the players progress.

 

[Prophane33]

In Ace Combat's defense the easier difficulties of the Campaign are meant to be played first to unlock planes and parts for use on the harder difficulties. Unlocks based on difficulties (such as skins) do not stack either. This is a common game design element in Musou games or Earth Defense Force (though admittedly the latter is much more fluid about changing difficulty mid-campaign) where items/experience gained on lower difficulties are mostly necessary in order to complete higher difficulties.

 

[Dogui]

I don't think this is really a no-brainer situation.

When the difficulty can always be changed, you will be tempted to lower it every time you get a game over. This is something that bothers me a lot more than the opposite.

I don't think there's a right answer to this game design question. Maybe more mainstream stuff should allow the player to change difficulty but niche challenging stuff not. I never played Ace Combat stuff so dunno where the series is at.

 

[matrix-cat]

In Ace Combat's defense the easier difficulties of the Campaign are meant to be played first to unlock planes and parts for use on the harder difficulties. Unlocks based on difficulties (such as skins) do not stack either. This is a common game design element in Musou games or Earth Defense Force (though admittedly the latter is much more fluid about changing difficulty mid-campaign) where items/experience gained on lower difficulties are mostly necessary in order to complete higher difficulties.

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This should be made clear before you start the game, then. There's nothing to suggest that this is what you're 'meant' to do when starting up AC7.

 

[Lord Arcadio]

Just make it so beating the game at different difficulty levels have their own achievement. So if you play the whole game on hard, you get the achievement for beating the game on hard and all lower difficulty achievements, but if you changed the difficulty to normal at some point, you are locked out of the achievement for hard on that playthrough, but are still eligible for the normal achievement.

Anyone who wants to feel proud that they beat the whole game on hard won't change the difficulty. When they brag to their friends, they'll have the receipts.

 

[TheYanger]

I don't think this is really a no-brainer situation.

When the difficulty can always be changed, you will be tempted to lower it every time you get a game over. This is something that bothers me a lot more than the opposite.

I don't think there's a right answer to this game design question. Maybe more mainstream stuff should allow the player to change difficulty but niche challenging stuff not. I never played Ace Combat stuff so dunno where the series is at.

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Learn some self control?

There's no way for you to know how hard a game is until you play it, making the distinction BEFORE you play it completely meaningless. It's completely arbitrary to begin with.

 

[Dogui]

Learn some self control?

There's no way for you to know how hard a game is until you play it, making the distinction BEFORE you play it completely meaningless. It's completely arbitrary to begin with.

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"Learn some self control" to play a game is more valid than "Learn to play the game"?

People simply doesn't get niche stuff to play without previous context. Maybe more than half of the games released recently doesn't even have difficulty options, how does someone purchase a game like this without knowing if it will be too hard?

If a game is meant to be challenging, the option to turn the difficulty down halfway breaks the entire proposed experience. It's not a matter of self control, difficulty in the context of some games also brings immersion, and the experience is not as legit if there's a "make everything easier" button at your side.

I'm not defending this decision specifically in Ace Combat 7, since i don't know shit about the game or the series, but for some games it is the best one to take.

 

[TheYanger]

"Learn some self control" to play a game is more valid than "Learn to play the game"?

People simply doesn't get niche stuff to play without previous context. Maybe more than half of the games released recently doesn't even have difficulty options, how does someone purchase a game like this without knowing if it will be too hard?

If a game is meant to be challenging, the option to turn the difficulty down halfway breaks the entire proposed experience. It's not a matter of self control, difficulty in the context of some games also brings immersion, and the experience is not as legit if there's a "make everything easier" button at your side.

I'm not defending this decision specifically in Ace Combat 7, since i don't know shit about the game or the series, but for some games it is the best one to take.

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This argument is so faulty. Yes, it is absolutely more valid, especially since you're showing your bias with your simple phrasing of 'learn to play the game'

It has nothing to do with learning to play the game, it's a GAME it has to do with enjoyment. Nobody knows what is going to be fun to them until they try it, if you think the experience is not as 'legit' because you could lower the level I'm not sure what to say to you: It doesn't change it, you could have lowered it at the beginning and you didn't, but somehow because you can later, it's this huge temptation? Why? Why are you so tempted to lower it later but not at the start if you're the kind of person that is that weak willed about a challenge? Why should everyone else be fucked over because of that?

Again, these distinctions are 100% arbitrary, so there's no context anyone can have going on. If you're being tempted to lower it, it PROBABLY means you picked too high a difficulty to begin with as well, and you should.

 

[khamakazee]

I can understand it for games that balance the entire campaign progression around the difficulty level instead of just how spongy enemies are or how fragile you are. Like if something like the cost for permanent upgrades are tied to difficulty level, then it makes sense since that changes the entire economy of a game.

In Ace Combat I think they did it just for the trophy challenges or rewards.

Click to shrink...

This sounds very plausible. Now that games have Trophies and stuff it would make sense to lock the entire game.

 

[Stoze]

I can understand it for games that balance the entire campaign progression around the difficulty level instead of just how spongy enemies are or how fragile you are. Like if something like the cost for permanent upgrades are tied to difficulty level, then it makes sense since that changes the entire economy of a game.

In Ace Combat I think they did it just for the trophy challenges or rewards.

Click to shrink...

Yep, or if item placement and scarcity is completely different or something. Otherwise I'd like to see on the fly difficulty change implemented in every game possible and for devs to be as upfront and detailed as can be when it comes to the description of each mode.

It would also be great if we got more custom difficulty modes where we could adjust individual parameters like in Invisible Inc. or Dishonored 2.