Do most people really play the hardest difficulty level?

[SonicMage117]

For me, never had a crash on mine but the game tended to currupt saves and quest-breaking bugs galore. I always saw Skyrim and Fallout 4 being touted as some of the buggiest games in recent years in reviews. Is this wrong?

[Silent Winter]

 

Even the mods that fix bugs create bugs according to the feedback. I have 50 hours in Skyrim and 30 in the Special Edition.

 

 

Skyrim is reasonably stable and bug-free if you know how to set it up correctly.  Mods do complicate matters.  My last setup was reasonably stable.  The occasional crash, but nothing too serious.  No bugs that I remember.

 

My last mod list (note: do not attempt to replicate this mod list, it is outdated):

 

+417-Improved Bards - All-in-One

^Skimming through, I read this as "improved beards" and thought that'd be a good mod for Dwarves

Edited March 25, 2018 by Silent Winter

[Boeroer]

 

 

PotD voters are liars.

Please elaborate...

On your "full first game?", I don't believe it's that high. Even for this forum.

I've put 200 hours into the Deadfire beta so far - most of them with PotD as well - and I don't find Deadfire's PotD to be particularly different from PoE's PotD. Why shouldn't I start with PotD when Deadfire comes out? For me it's not very difficult (based on the experience with the beta) for obvious reasons. So why should I start with classic or veteran? Thus I think that calling me a liar is a very strong (and wrong) statement.

 

My hours for PoE are 4800+ - can't say how much of it is actual gaming time. Maybe 3/4th or so.

Edited March 25, 2018 by Boeroer

[JerekKruger]

Yeah, the question was about our first playthrough of Deadfire. For all the people who have played Pillars through multiple times and mastered PotD there why wouldn't they start Deadfire on PotD too?

[Tattyblue]

I would never call anyone here a liar.  But according to global steam achievements

 

Path of the Damned Complete the game on Path of the Damned mode.   0.6%

 

According to information I found  Pillars had about 1.3 million  on Steam.  So about 7,000 give or take beat it on Path of the Damned out of 1.3 million!

 

 

I do understand that those on these forum are the cream of the crop and most likely to be with in that 7000 number, just seems really low overall. And so many people put so much weight on this mode when it seems so few can finish it.

[fgalkin]

There are 25 votes for PotD. Are you saying that it's unlikely that of those 7000 people, 25 are on this forum? 

[JerekKruger]

I do understand that those on these forum are the cream of the crop and most likely to be with in that 7000 number, just seems really low overall. And so many people put so much weight on this mode when it seems so few can finish it.

 

According to steam global achievements only about 10% of owners have even finished Pillars. I doubt that's because they can't so much as they don't have the inclination to do so. Similarly for PotD: with a party I think most players could beat PotD, they just don't want to.

 

And whilst I can't speak for others, I don't put any weight onto completing Pillars on PotD. I don't think less of those who play on normal, or even story mode. Some people play Pillars for the story and the world and other what a challenge (some do both of course): neither group is superior. So I wouldn't say we're the cream of the crop: we're just the unusual few.

[Wormerine]

I do understand that those on these forum are the cream of the crop and most likely to be with in that 7000 number, just seems really low overall. And so many people put so much weight on this mode when it seems so few can finish it.

Do many people put much weight on PotD? Many people here play it because it is the most challenging option, which means it’s the best way to put their builds and strategies to test. Someone like me, who isn’t much into minmaxing, probably won’t spend too much time with beta. It’s natural that a lot of constant feedback comes from players who really dig deep into mechanics, and therefore favour PotD.

 

Obsidian doesn’t put much weight on PoTD. Game is balanced around classic and veteran and that is also a reason why I am sticking to veteran for beta (and probably my first playthrough). However, if certain builds are way too effective on PoTD that is an important feedback, because they will be so much more broken on easier difficulties.

 

Edit: Typos

Edited March 25, 2018 by Wormerine

[anameforobsidian]

My first playthrough won't be on PotD, but all my subsequent ones will.  I like PotD much better than all the other gameplay modes in PE, because of the decline in difficulty around Defiance Bay.  Even following an appropriate playthrough, you'll outlevel content pretty quickly, and levels really matter in PE.  Not only that, but I enjoy the tactical difficulty of increased mobs more than the increased stats of mobs.  When I started playing PotD, I really learned the value of hybrid characters.  That mage in cloth armor is faster, but speed doesn't matter much to the dead.  That pure-tank fighter can take on a dragon with relative ease, but the far more numerous xaurip swarms flow right around him because he can't deliver a real hit.

 

However, there are some fights, especially boss fights, that I don't want to face in PotD for the first time.  I have never had an easy time with Llengrath on PotD, even after I beat my Ultimate run.  The dragon beneath the keep was brutal on normal my first time, and took me a good hour to beat (this was before expansions, and I hadn't seen the tail lash).  I want to learn the harder optional parts of the game before I make them even harder.  This is doubly true of PE II, which will probably have more build variety.  

[Boeroer]

Thing is: if you post a build that you played on PotD and which worked pretty nicely, the chances that this build will perform well on all other difficulty settings is very high. It doesn't work that well the other way round. That's the main reason I always play on PotD and talk about mechanics/gameplay/viability of builds with PotD in mind.

 

I don't think that a lot of people who intend to play PoE or Deadfire once or maybe twice will play on PotD. I started my first PoE playthrough on normal, too (because I wasn't part of the PoE beta).

[injurai]

Yeah, the question was about our first playthrough of Deadfire. For all the people who have played Pillars through multiple times and mastered PotD there why wouldn't they start Deadfire on PotD too?

 

For some reason I didn't see Deadfire, thought it was about Pillars 1.

[algroth]

So, I think I'm a bit late to the party but I'll just offer my own personal experience on the matter of difficulty and playing Pillars... So, far as I'm concerned I tend to be pretty competitive and usually I find that part of me to shine through brighter in a PvP context than it does in a single-player/PvE environment. With regards to Pillars, I don't personally play the game with the express desire for a challenge or competition, I do so more for the story, the themes, and the interactive/immersive experience with a particular setting and so on. However, at the same time I also believe that a tough challenge can greatly enhance a player's emotional investment with a given story or conflict, by sheer means of forcing the player to share the effort needed to overcome a particular obstacle alongside his character which I think more often than not creates an inherent empathetic link between both; likewise an antagonist who actually takes effort in beating is made all the more menacing in turn, and it helps to lend more perspective on the threat and so on.

 

Obviously experiences vary from player to player as well as playthrough to playthrough - but to give an example, the first time I played through White March I probably didn't have as good an understanding of the game's mechanics and in turn my builds were, to put it lightly, sub-optimal. In response, in a "classic" playthrough I still found myself beaten to a pulp six times over by the first first couple of Eyeless I ran across. But that was great. By the time I beat them I felt an immediate sense of relief, followed only by a greater sense of dread when I learned there were actually *hundreds* of them I'd have to face. That, considering how tough only two of them had been, was daunting, and I could see how such an army would pose a monumental threat to the entire region. That threat made them stick in my mind as a realy commanding antagonist and only added to the stakes of the entire game. My most recent playthrough was nowhere near as memorable in this respect - I played in "veteran" mode this time around, but because I understood the mechanics a lot better this time around I was easily able to defeat the Eyeless on my first try, and in turn the threat was heavily diminished, the rest of the story not as impactful as it had previously been (if still hugely enjoyable, don't get me wrong).

 

At the same time I see a problem with too much of a challenge where the game stops being fun and becomes frustrating instead, where the mechanics begin to take the centre stage over story and setting and thus the game is made more alienating as a consequence. The games I play more competitively I certainly do not feel particularly immersed by - they are less like an artform to me and more like sport. But what is challenging and demanding, and what is overly challenging and demanding, and what simply isn't, is all up to each player as well - I struggled on my first playthrough of Pillars on classic mode but saw people who on their first run made veteran seem like a walk on a park. In the end everyone has different levels which they deem a healthy or acceptable challenge, and what they deem too easy, and even if they aren't specifically tryharding, maybe "veteran" mode *is* too easy for them based on their past experience and Path of the Damned is just what they need. I'm not convinced about it yet myself but I can see how it's something I might wish to try in the future, maybe for the DLC run.

 

And of course not everyone has to play Deadfire for the same reasons I want to play it - I have a friend who's something of an achievements whore and goes into every game on the hardest difficulty required to unlock all achievements, and who only reconsiders following his direct experience with that mode. So I reckon there's any number of reasons to why one might want to play the game on Path of the Damned right away, I don't see why one would necessarily be lying or showing off about it.

Edited March 25, 2018 by algroth

[SonicMage117]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

[George_Truman]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

 

What is the point of playing any game on a harder difficulty? Some people find the extra challenge fun. 

[M4xw0lf]

This has turned out a really dumb thread over large stretches.

Edited March 25, 2018 by M4xw0lf

[Wormerine]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

First of all GoG has achievements if you use galaxy client. Odd question. Did you never play a game before? Most of them have scalable dificulty settings to best fit players preference. What is the reason that people created mods for Baldur's Gate2 to make it more challenging improving on AI and enemy composition?

[algroth]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

 

As I mentioned, a greater challenge makes for a more involving experience as it requires a more active involvement from the player and thus it urges him to invest more (which, in my experience at least, also translates to more empathetic/emotional investment). And again, people find the challenge fun. It's up to each person separately, some enjoy the greater challenge whereas others do not.

[Yosharian]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

 

It's the challenge of playing on the hardest difficulty.  Surely you understand what's appealing about that.

 

Also, once you get used to POTD, the other difficulties are a little too easy.

 

Sure the Steam Achievement is nice, but it's not really the main thing.

[InsaneCommander]

Do you wanna know why people play on PotD? Start a new game on a lower difficult level than you are used to. See how interesting it will be. You can still roleplay a different character, but combat will be ridiculous.

 

Once someone gets used to PotD, hard and below will be boring. It's about the challenge and thinking more carefully on your strategies. Personally, I don't care about achievements, I disabled them on my PotD playthrough because I have a custom party and I like to use the "manage party" command. Then I can do the companion quests without having to go to a tavern or Caed Nua to change characters.

[Elkor_Alish]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

Well, there is Berath's Blessing. That was what compelled me to tackle it all.

 

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/deadfire/updates/256

 

 

edit: Reading it now though, I realize by 'previous playthrough' it refers to playthroughs of Deadire, not Pillars, but at the time I hadn't caught it

Edited March 26, 2018 by Elkor_Alish

[Valmy]

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

 

None. It is a fun thing. Besides it breaks my immersion when the Great Dragon of All Evil goes down without me at least sweating a bit.

 

These games typically take me 100+ hours to finish. I won't do it if it is a boring cake walk.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Valmy

[dukeisaac]

I voted veteran, but it will actually depend how much time i spend on the beta4 (when it comes). By my third playthrough on POE1, i was playing on POTD (and all subsequent ones), so I might jump into it as soon as first in deadfire.

[Karkarov]

I assure you despite forum bragging, the vast majority of players never touch path of the damned, probably not even veteran.  In all games, regardless of genre, most players play at normal settings, because they are playing for fun not to "be challenged".

Edited March 26, 2018 by Karkarov

[SonicMage117]

 

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

What is the point of playing any game on a harder difficulty? Some people find the extra challenge fun.

 

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

First of all GoG has achievements if you use galaxy client. Odd question. Did you never play a game before? Most of them have scalable dificulty settings to best fit players preference. What is the reason that people created mods for Baldur's Gate2 to make it more challenging improving on AI and enemy composition?

 

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

As I mentioned, a greater challenge makes for a more involving experience as it requires a more active involvement from the player and thus it urges him to invest more (which, in my experience at least, also translates to more empathetic/emotional investment). And again, people find the challenge fun. It's up to each person separately, some enjoy the greater challenge whereas others do not.

 

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

It's the challenge of playing on the hardest difficulty. Surely you understand what's appealing about that.

 

Also, once you get used to POTD, the other difficulties are a little too easy.

 

Sure the Steam Achievement is nice, but it's not really the main thing.

 

Besides achievements (which GoG will nt have), what are the real benefits of playing harder difficulties on a game like Pillars & Deadfire? Is it just a pride thing? Or is there an actual reward, like in game items or bonus content that is only unlocked through higher difficulty playthrough?

None. It is a fun thing. Besides it breaks my immersion when the Great Dragon of All Evil goes down without me at least sweating a bit.

 

These games typically take me 100+ hours to finish. I won't do it if it is a boring cake walk.

 

 

 

 

So... Basically it's like I said, I pride thing (I did it). I did not say there's anything wrong with it lmao Okay, so no real benifit at all then. Thanks for all the answers. I do not like cake walks either but I definitely don't want to spend 100 hours on a game. As said before, I have kids ao I don't have that luxury. I love a challenge but nothing absurdly difficult and my backLOG is HUGE. So that's something.

 

Edit: Yes, I too, play games on the more extreme difficulties... Vanquish for example, got my achievement for that. This doesn't have anything to do with me having a problem with harder difficulties, not sure where that came from. I was just wondering what the benefit was for this game when it's so many hours - more of me asking if it's worth it than a "Why would you?" kinda thing. The difference for me is that the games I play on extrene difficulties are short so therefore, less time consuming.

 

Thanks for all the answers

Edited March 26, 2018 by SonicMage117

[ShadySands]

Story mode mostly because I don't like RTWP in general and lessly because I didn't much care for Pillars combat in specific.