on what difficulty?

I generally play it on normal, only because the first time through I want to get the story out of it, if I like it enough, I play it again on a higher setting. I'm not going thru Mass Effect on Hardcore. Which is quite a bit more challenging than veteran.

i usually play for the story instead of the challenge. Unless easy mode removes content or puzzles.

I go for normal. I want to be taxed a little bit, but I want the content of the story first.

I usually play on Normal/Medium in most cases. It'll depend on various factors. Is this game heavy on storytelling? If this is the case, I'll probably want to progress through the narrative at a steady pace. If the game is more focused on gameplay then story, I'll likely give it a shot on hard.

In Mass Effect 2's case, though, I might start off on Veteran this time around. I've just beat Mass Effect 1 on Hardcore and didn't find it all that difficult. I'll have to see when the time comes.

I did start playing Force Unleashed on its toughest (unlocked) difficulty the first time around. Then beat it again on the highest difficulty possible, unlocked after a play through.

I start on easy to learn the game, and if it isn't fun I go to normal. Usually I stay on easy to blast through the game. I don't play games for the challenge as much as I do the flow. Only games I respect have I ever tried to master on hard. Metal Gear Solid games are about the only ones where I can dance around on any difficulty level.

What class did you run through on Hardcore? I typically play as an Infiltrator, but this time I picked soldier for Hardcore, and I'm getting dominated. Mostly because at this point my squad dies off quickly and I end up fighting 2-10 people alone. (I'm still on the Citadel, before you take the Normandy for yourself.)

After reading through the thread, I guess I usually go for the hardest difficulty on turn based games because I feel like there has to be a way to beat it mathematically, and I can always grind, so why waste the first play-through ploughing?

On average I'll start with Normal, but there are obviously exceptions. With MW2, for example, I know exactly what to expect out of the game having played the previous CoD games, so I started on Veteran(hardest). It really depends on what I expect out of the game. If it's completely new territory, I'll start on Normal usually. If it's something I'm already familiar with, I'll start on harder difficulties.

I always go for normal first. I just figure it's how the game was intended to present itself. It also means that if I plan to go through again on the hardest difficulty (like Veteran on Call of Duty), I have some experience with game mechanics and locations, and it means I'm not getting frustrated if a situation arises where I'm not progressing the story as smoothly as I'd like.

One thing I like about games like the CoD series and Halo is that they give you the option to change the difficulty any time, so if you're just absolutely stuck on a harder difficulty and can't get any further, you can tune it down on your current level and get through it anyway.

On PCs, I do normal. I still struggle with FPS controls on the consoles and I'm usually playing through with someone else (less experienced) on coop so we usually pick easy mode.

We have similar tastes apparently. I usually play an Infiltrator too. (Though mass effect 2 is making this decision tougher)

I'm playing a Soldier > Shock Trooper, with the Electronics extra skill.

I've focused points on :

Assault Rifle
Combat Armor (Heavy Armor at rank 7)
Soldier/Shock Trooper class skill
Electronic skill (Don't care about overload attack, but high shield buff)
Assault Training (Until Fitness is unlocked at rank 5)
Fitness
Specter Class (when unlocked)

Afterwards, point went into Assault Training

No points should go into First Aid and Dialogue skills (while I love these, I thought it would be costly for a ultimate build in Hardcore). First Aid can be handled by team mate (Garrus was my sniper/medic). Note: at level 44 I started putting points in Indimidation since I had all the skills I wanted maxed out. (No points in pistol, shotgun or sniper rifle though)


Essentially, I suggest focusing on survival, and used to all around utility assault rifle. Once you get a million credits and can get your hands on the Specter class assault rifle, you'll be for the long haul.

I can stand in front of a Geth Armature and take a pulse missle dead on and without losing my full shields.

My favorite companions for the Soldier are Garrus and Wrex, though I've had excellent results mixing these two up with Tali and Liara.

Ultimately I've found that playing slower, ensuring that your companions take cover, and making good use of their tech/biotic abilities is key to surviving Hardcore. I've set my AI companions to use defensive skills only.

About Mass Effect:

I'm on my first playthrough, and I'm pretty ridiculously frustrated with it now. I'm an infiltrator with focus on sniper rifles, and apparently that was a bad idea, because nothing dies in one shot, and these tech/biotic enemies (I'm at that first planet with the plant being) are destroying my team single-handidly. I've redone one of the fights about 5 times now, and I'm out of medigels.

Hah! Well then I'm screwed. I like the dialogue, and I'm usually 'the good guy' so this time I've been hammering down on the Renegade dialogue.

I never saw the Spectre AR, where do you get it? C-Sec?

I usually play on normal. I'm not incredibly good at games and I hate to get stuck somewhere.

I pick the almost hardest (or the hardest if it unlocks a harder mode). I play for the story and the challenge. Then afterward I play through on easy for the sidequests and tomfoolery.

Exceptions being MGS games and other games where you can use the same character/inventory/skills after completion. I start those on Normal, then play the harder(est) mode with my badass character.

I had the same problem when I first started playing too. I can say it definately gets better. I advise leveling up both pistols and sniper rifles on an infiltrator. Pistols are not as pathetic as they first appear, and make an excellent weapon when things get up close and personal. Relying solely on the sniper rifle, especially early is going to get you killed. Once you get past the first Citadel portion though, you should start feeling the power of your sniper rifle. Aside from that, remember that an infiltrator uses his tech abilities as a weapon, so make good use of those too.

This guide should be useful



Well you're not screwed, but you definately want to pace yourself between the dialogue skills and the more important ones. In the end you'll just miss out on a few ranks of other skills. A few ranks of Assault Training, Fitness or Electronics for example, wont be too bad. You can make up for some of those with armor/weapon/ammo upgrades. Remember that on certain occasions (getting specter and going up in renegade meter) you'll get free intimidate skills. I got three free ones on my soldier.

As for the Specter gear, it unlocks when you get 1 million credits and the Rich achievement. Then it'll be available from the C-Sec Quartermaster and the Requisition Officer onboard the Normandy.

I didn't bother upgrading any electronics, biotics, or tech. That's why I had Liara and Tali.
I was a mean badass supersoldier all the way. I could snipe fools with my HMWSG Master Shotgun.

If I recall, though, I unlocked some rank or something that allowed me to use minor biotics. I remember making badguys float in the air, then blasting them with the shotgun.

When you play with another class and get sufficient kills or experience with certain abilities, they are unlocked and become available when creating new characters of other (specific) classes. So maybe you tried out vanguard, adept or sentinel, unlocked Lift and then chose that when you played the Soldier. Or you might be thinking of a time you tried vanguard, since lift+shotgun is pretty much their way of killing.

I used electronics for the sole purpose of getting some 200 more shields piling atop my other shields and 700 health, making my shock trooper a walking tank.

Only exception is Demon's Souls, which is ridonkulously hard:D

Jep: You're probably right, I haven't played in like a year and a half.

Normal.

"Congratulations, you got 1,000 of 1,000 Secret Ultraviolet Balloon Dildo Lions! The story hasn't been affected in any way but you just wasted more time playing this game" isn't really worth anything for me, especially now that I finish games once and never touch them again (except for the old classics that I've already turned inside out many times).

This of course stemming from this one time in 1998 when I finished Shadows of the Empire on the Hardest difficulty just so I could see the "good" ending... which was a pile of crap. And you were able to switch the video names and see it without playing anything. Bah!

I generally play almost every game on hardest right away.

With the exception of RPGs maybe.

Generally I feel like most games these days are too easy.

It seems like games used to be harder, or is it just me?

With Mass Effect, I am, and always will be, a pistol man. Pistols are so ridiculously powerful when you level them up. I hardly would change my weapon at the end.

Pistol + Marksman Ability = Baller

Normal or hard, but not hardest. Some games have an even number of difficulty settings, in which case I choose the harder of the middle two.

In games that allow you to change difficult in-game or on a per-mission basis (Thief) I'll often start with the harder level.

They used to be yes, but I read an interesting article yesterday that made a good point. Gaming is fast becoming a narrative experience, to which pacing is very important. By having your players hung up on that one pixel-perfect jumping puzzle, or constantly dying at the hands of the same boss, or starting over, would greatly affect the pacing and flow of the story. Usually, you'll progress much slower on high difficulties. It'll suit some games, like Demon's Souls for example, but a story-driven experience like Uncharted, Mass Effect and others of the sort, might greatly suffer from hindered flow.


One of my biggest issues with harder difficulties in many games, is that they don't make the AI smarter, more cunning. They simply beef up the enemies health to require more shots, and make their attacks stronger. The stronger attacks, I'm fine with. But if I'm skilled enough to get key shots in, I'd for them to count as much, not just chip away at their oversized health pools. Games where the difficulty adds friendly fire, or gives enemies additional abilities, and whatnot, are great.

This. My most recent game is the only one where I wasn't an Infiltrator. The sniper rifles are almost useless if you have your pistol maxed.

yes. and with infiltrator talent you reduce heat buildup + master marksman = better than assault rifle

I totally agree. Those games are rare. Although I must admit I don't play as many as I used to.

I think newer games, without health, are ruining games. Games where all you have to do is hide and wait for the blood or whatever crappy effect they put on the screen to fade away, then run back into battle blasting aimlessly. No skill at all... *Points at Uncharted, inFAMOUS, ect*

I played through MGS2 on European Extreme once.

Silly hard.

I have mixed feelings about that feature myself. On one hand I see why it works, on the other I too find it makes things too easy at times. I think its something they got off Master Chief's recharging armor. (Though at least he still had a health bar XD)


oh god I said something positive about halo... :O

The problem typically with regenerating health games these days is that they supply challenge in higher difficulty settings not by chipping away at the player's HP (no set limit anymore) but adding more moments where you can just instantly die. Seeing that you can just hide and recover, this could mean that you easily fall DEAD because of that ONE grenade you didn't even see coming.

I don't play modern FPS's on hardest settings much anymore because taking baby steps worrying about one-hit-kill nonsense around the corner doesn't provide engaging gameplay. I rather be screwed because of my failure to manage healthpacks and resources rather than not following the game's set pacing.

I usually play through a level or two on normal to make sure I have the hang of it and then go back and play through the game on hard. I usually like the challenge.

I always play easiest first. Just to get used to the game. I generally want some more challenge at some point and increase the difficulty.

Unless I just feel like going around wrecking havoc like I did on my last playthrough of Hitman Blood Money, and then I keep it on easiest the whole time and just raise hell.

I start on Normal, go up from there. I think the only exception is the Hitman series, because I want to essentially sandbox and explore the level before I playthrough as SA.

Normal, it's the way they want me to play it.
Easy if people find it too hard.
Hard for an extra challange.
Stalker I play on whatever is the hardest, but that's the only one.

So if you want to play an easy game, you play on easy, but if you want to play a hard game, you play on hard?

Profound. Thanks for sharing.

Yeah, for once I agree with Steven on something. If I feel like loading a game up and just destroying the **** out of a bunch of people like I'm a terminator, I'll play on easy. If I want to really put forth some effort I'll play on harder settings.

Most of the time I feel like destroying worlds, so I play on easy.

if i want to just kill the **** out of everything i play on the hardest difficulty that lets me use god mode and infinite ammo/magic/cheesegraters