Let's make the list of the easiest zones (HARD, PotD)

[b0rsuk]

Many people, myself included, think the game is too easy on higher difficulties once you get the hang of it. We rarely use potions or scrolls. In my current game on Hard I only have one constructed character - my PC Monk, and I haven't run out of camping supplies yet. The limit on Hard is 2. I can count on the fingers of my hand the battles where I actually saw the message about needing to reload. Usually I call it a screw-up if I have a companion knocked out in a fight.

 

Instead of complaining, let's do something constructive. Let's compile a list of zones which are embarrassingly easy. Let's see if there's consensus.

 

Don't list areas which were too easy because you visited them overleveled, or with too many companions.

 

I'll start. (My playthrough is not complete and I made a beeline for 6 companions immediately, so the list is short)

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On my second playthrough (Hard):

 

* Heritage Hill, and I went there as fast as I could. I didn't notice the increase in monster quality or numbers.

* Caed Nua. I just cut through the area like a hot knife through butter.

 

[Raven Darkholme]

Dryford Ruins.

[Vadász]

Anything main quest related actually, but this happens in any RPG without a scaling system.

[Luckmann]

Anything main quest related actually, but this happens in any RPG without a scaling system.

...unfortunately. Honestly I think it'd be better the other way around. :|

[AlphaMagnum]

Please ensure that your game difficulty is functioning correctly. There's an insidious bug where the menu still lists Hard or PotD or whatever but where the in-game enemy density and composition is forced to Easy.

 

Changing menu difficulty options makes no difference and the only solution I could find was deleting saves until I found an unaffected file.

Edited April 17, 2015 by AlphaMagnum

[b0rsuk]

Please ensure that your game difficulty is functioning correctly. There's an insidious bug where the menu still lists Hard or PotD or whatever but where the in-game enemy density and composition is forced to Easy.

 

Changing menu difficulty options makes no difference and the only solution I could find was deleting saves until I found an unaffected file.

 

The cave in Valewood contained a bear AND a young bear, so I assume it worked. Also I didn't remember any shades in the temple of Eothas. I was kindly introduced to them by my first, early stronghold raid: "Shades and lurkers".

 

The Leaden Key ambush (Kana) on the way back from Endless Paths was pathetic. It probably should be, because the party may be wounded without camping supplies left, but still...

[AlphaMagnum]

Shades are indeed present in the Temple of Eothas on Hard. They tore my party a new one until I gave up and hired a lovely Moon Godlike Barbarian to soak some pain and lay the smackdown on those fools.

[Exoduss]

Hard is not hard forget it , remove it from this topic , Hard = Easy+2 enemies , Hard = Normal+1 Enemy , Hard Normal or Easy will be easy for any1 that uses 6 chars in a party . especially when difference between Easy normal and hard is so minimal 

 

On Topic :

 

PoTD Difficulty :

Esternwood (No big groups , weak enemies , Fine Arbalest on a dead Body , doable as early as you want )

Dyrford Crossing Ogre's Cave ( Dyrford is decently hard if you go there early but this cave is not hard , you can talk with ogre to avoid the fight , you can pull all the spiders in whole cave into 1 area and AoE them down , leaving only spider boss lurking alone in the fog of war, and you can 1hit her with blunderbuss+envenomed strike :D )

Madhmr Bridge ( No big groups of enemies , some loot some exp nothing going on here tbh , unless you are a "solo" whore then i hope u get stunlocked by that Xaurip Champion who you cant avoid when entering the map ) 

 

Also : Saying that Caed Nua is easy ... i dunno should try PoTD before talking such things , esp at the time you can get there if you dont gather all the exp possible before it , its not easy .

Edited April 17, 2015 by Exoduss

[Daemonjax]

Hard is not hard forget it , remove it from this topic , Hard = Easy+2 enemies , Hard = Normal+1 Enemy , Hard Normal or Easy will be easy for any1 that uses 6 chars in a party . especially when difference between Easy normal and hard is so minimal 

 

 

I don't think that's entirely accurate.  On hard, some enemies are upgraded into harder types, so it's not always just normal + more of the same.  PoTD is just higher numbers which is a bit lazy (or are there more monster type upgrades on PoTD vs Hard?  Dunno for sure).

 

I think maybe it's a bit too easy to slaughter everyone (kinda reminds me of the bandit camp in fallout 1) in Raedric's keep when you don't really have to in order to progress the quest, giving a significant leg-up on resources for Act II.

 

The main questline feels about right to me.  I'd like the optional content to be harder (with less gold rewards).

Edited April 17, 2015 by Daemonjax

[Exoduss]

Potd has more enemies with higher numbers and they are usualy stronger type than those on hard in same places

[Nadrac]

It would be easier the other way around, game is not that hard on potd, just have 2 tanks get some points in stealth and before most fights have a plan, holding a chokepoint is often the best.

 

Temple of eothas and Caed Nua stands out early, i postponed the temple until i had a 5 man party and even with 5 it was hard, and i had to stop clearing caed nua basement and decided to get more companions, territory east of defiance bay is easy and gives you 3, harder part is saving the girl. Defiance bay gives a lot of xp for no fights or easy fights, with the exception of the lighthouse which is insane. South of defiance bay is easy too with the exception of the drake cave. Endless paths are easy to up to level 9. Bounties are better left for 8-9 or later.

 

I run with companions aside from a custom rogue i only hired for mechanic, and party is halfway to lvl 11, and didn't do any main quest other than talk to them once in the catacombs.

[b0rsuk]

I think the main questline should be much harder on very hard difficulty settings like Potd. On easier ones, it's the path of least resistance because they want the player to be able to finish the game. But no one is going to play his first game on PotD. You're asking for a challenge, so you should have it.

 

On the topic of monster upgrades, on Normal Magran's Fork has a pack of boars. On Hard, there are two bears + delemgan. I think the boars are harder, they are fast and there are so many of them. Area attacks are not exactly optimal, because wounded boars do more damage. By the time you get there it's relatively easy to weaken or slow the bears.

[Ouroboros226]

Good luck soloing the 2 skuldr kings at temple of Eothas at lvl3-4 gg

[Psychevore]

I might be missing something here, but why don't you just play PotD if you think hard is too easy?

 

 

This seems like a no brainer.

[Daemonjax]

I might be missing something here, but why don't you just play PotD if you think hard is too easy?

 

 

This seems like a no brainer.

 

I'd rather mod the game to make hard harder in other ways, and then save potd for next year or whatever when I get the itch to replay it.

 

Hard's pretty close to where I want the game a lot of the time, and where I think it falls short on difficulty potd won't solve (too much exp, class design problems, over-abundance of camping supplies, free rests at inns, over-abundance of coins, etc.).

Edited April 18, 2015 by Daemonjax

[Vadász]

I might be missing something here, but why don't you just play PotD if you think hard is too easy?

 

 

This seems like a no brainer.

 

 

Because, he does not want the whole game to be harder (Ie Caed Nua), just the main quest.

[omgFIREBALLS]

I guess stuff involving shades is scary. I dreaded the first level of the lighthouse with my first PotD/ToI party. I was exhilarated to clear the Temple of Eothas - I didn't get close to that feeling even when completing the game or killing the baddest dragon.

 

But as has been noted, it's easy to get experience, so you tend to outlevel content if you're a completionist. I couldn't really take on every quest and encounter with a level equal to that of the monsters unless I deliberately didn't use my level ups. Still yeah, places with shades. Even if I don't make a point of overleveling them anymore, I still approach them with much caution.