Dark Souls 2 to implement a difficulty setting option?

GameZone writes, " Ever since the announcement of Dark Souls 2, there have been some speculation whether From Software would be making the game a bit more accessible to a broader audience, namely by scaling down the difficulty. However, From stated that wouldn't be the case.

During the latest Beta test which happened this weekend, the servers changed up the difficulty setting about 2/3 of the way in."

[Sly-Lupin]

Probably a good idea, as scaling damage/health would go a long way toward making the game appeal to a broader demographic while retaining the old one, and possibly disincentive cheating.

[Irishguy95]

Agree, I would play it on the intended difficulty but a lower difficulty level would be better for people who just can't handle the pain. Although I do wonder what Dark souls would be like without the actual need to be good at it. It's one of the appeals of the game. Having consequences and being hard are what makes the game so satisfying when you're good at it. You always have the worry on your mind not to mess up. Succeeding is great feeling

[xXBlondieVanHarlowXx]

If it is implemented, i hope players who play on a classic difficulty get more out of the game then people who play on easy. I'd hate to be beat in a PvP match by a guy who has maxed out a character on easy difficulty and has scooped up all of the most powerful weapons because he breezed through the game.

Although, like Irishguy95 above me said, the difficulty is one of the appeals of the game. Gives you a sense of satisfaction when you beat a boss. When you survive a horde by the skin of your teeth. It's a very rewarding game. Would lose a chunk of it's "soul" (LoL) if it added difficulty settings. I wouldn't mind harder difficulty settings though :P

[Irishguy95]

I'm sure they would limit the online to classic mode players. There's no reason to mix them I believe.

[joab777]

I could only agree under 2 conditions...1. Achievement for hardest difficulty and 2. Use this as an opportunity to make an even harder difficulty (not simply ng+ but something unique). And how does ng+ work with an easy difficulty? Or online?

[Roccetarius]

Hopefully this was only for testing purposes, and that the final game won't have a difficulty change.

[brish]

I was in the beta.

"normal" mode in dark souls 2 is more difficult than dark souls. When I saw the message that it switched to hard mode i was shocked.

Prepare to die!

[ZBlacktt]

If they want to sell games they would. We all understand those that want a extreme challenge. But Dev's need and want to sell their creations. Any kind of limitation prevents that. This is why other games have settings.

[SlapHappyJesus]

Don't understand why people would be against this.
Broaden the range of gamers it would appeal to without negatively affecting those looking for the traditional experience.

Whether or not it goes against the soul, if you will, of the game is definitely a point to make. At the end of the day though, it's good for the developer and good for the supporting of the series.

[Philoctetes]

One of the things I love about this franchise is the way the developers pretty much give gamers a choice to either play the game the way it was meant to be played, or don't play it at all. I'm staunchly opposed to a difficulty choice in this game for that reason. I don't want From to sell out casuals.

[ZBlacktt]

Look what happen after Demon's Souls. It was a exclusive for the PS3. It was known for it's difficulty. The development company Atlus went bankrupt and was bought up by Sega Dream Corporation. So people can click disagree all they want here. Be the fact remains, you either get a game that appeals to the masses. Or you get nothing at all in many cases.

[GrimWykydtron]

its not meant for casuals, what makes that game so special is that it treats u as adult with skill and experience in games to back it up, no easy mode, no easy win, no tutorial to tell u how to look around thats what makes Demon Souls and Dark SOuls so special and so fun to play. Its one of a kind game and making it casual friendly will simply ruin that. Its like buying Ferrari and then asking them to cut car power in half and put on some electronic system that limits its top speed to 100 km/h, it simply means its not for you.

[stavrami]

:-(

[SlavisH2]

either way i will play it on the hardest setting! I love a challenge

[JetP0619]

I died way more than i'd like to admit during the beta. But it's all trial and error. Sure it's stupendously hard, but after numerous amount of tries you'll get the grasp of it. No pain, no gain. Dark souls 2 should remain what demon souls has always been. A ridiculously hard game but rewarding and satisfying when youve beaten it. The only time Dark souls beats you is when you give up trying. I'd rather have that same difficulty level during the beta than a downgrade. It is what it is, play the game the way it's intended to. otherwise dont play the game at all.

[GrimWykydtron]

shame cod/bf generation will not understand, they want games to be easy and reward them for pressing A all the time. If the game is hard and god forbit makes u try to do somthing other then press A to win its hated for beeing diffrent and oldschool...

[metalgod88]

I'm somewhat against this. If a difficulty setting is implemented, then that means they need to break up the people playing into difficulty settings. What I mean by this is that if you're going to be invaded or summon others, they need to be on the same difficulty setting as you so you aren't getting players that are really easy or extremely difficult to kill.

On the flip side, it does allow new DS players to get acquainted to the DS systems without having to struggle nearly as much and get used to the controls. Also, From Software could probably do some neat little things like throw a higher difficulty level player(invader) at a lower difficulty player every once in a while to challenge the newer player and possibly earn a greater reward for defeating them.

[crazysammy]

I played the network test and was on when the server made the switch. First I have to say that the game on the "standard" difficulty was as hard as Dark Souls is currently.

Once the server made the switch not much felt different tbh, but I didn't experiment with things like item use and other factors that could be changed to add to the difficulty. Like I said though the initial level of challenge was present from the beginning the same as we have come to expect.

[MysticStrummer]

That's fine, but "Normal" had better mean the classic Souls difficulty.

[LoveOfTheGame]

F that, The classic Souls difficulty should be the easiest level.

Imagine the difficulty "Death": You will be lucky to beat the tutorial.

[Swiggins]

Normal will mean classic difficulty.

The Higher Difficulty settings being discussed here are akin to NG+.

Chillax people, they're not going to implement an easy mode.

[thegreatklemba]

i played in the last beta test and the game got def a little bit harder (enemy's took more health off with each hit for one thing i noticed) when they upped the dif. It was not bad and the game wasn't easy to begin with but in a souls game you just be smart and plan every move carefully ,then the game is not that hard at all. PvP is a whole another thing you cant predict what a player will do.A diff change option is not bad but i know some souls fans will flip a the mention of it

[clouds5]

Nonononono. The game should be hard as fuck for the first playthrough. Because (one of) the beauty of Dark Souls was that when you knew what you are doing and LEARNED the right tactics and which weapon to use in which situation and stuff the game was not that hard anymore.

There is more than enough faceroll-slowly-push-one-butto n-to-win games out there. We don't need another one. If you have an easy setting you're just tempted to turn it down a notch if you get stuck. And this is exactly what Dark Soul isnt. It's brutal and hard, and if you get lost you're fucking alone in this dark world with no one to help you. If you take that away where is the sense of achievement that has become so rare with todays games?

[rageus]

The beta test seemed in line with Dark Souls in terms of difficulty however I didn't get very far in the hard mode test.

[rageus]

The difficulty settings are hard and very hard.

[Run_bare]

They better not, it's not broken.

[landhuman]

My concern would be that I would want to play the game according to whatever the original vision was. Dark Souls was just about perfect for me in difficulty - super stressful at times followed by genuine elation after clearing an area.

Say they had three modes - easy/normal/hard - which one would be "original"?

If "normal" was like DS1 I'd just play that, I personally don't need an even more extreme mode buffing enemies and bosses even further, but I'd want to know for sure I'm not accidentally making the game too easy.

Also how would it work with co op?

[Master-H]

Played the beta and it wasn't really that hard, in fact it was easier than Dark Souls, only thing that might make it feel hard is the slower action speed (raising shields and rolling etc) and overall clunky feel this one has.

[Skate-AK]

Actually a really good idea. Should generate more revenue without sacrificing what people love about the Souls series.

[LAWSON72]

I think it would hurt Dark Souls image, which is quite unique and without the challenge it deals on the player it would just be another action/adventure/RPG. The game is not hard to begin with if you get the drake sword then upgrade weapons. I have played 60+ hrs and 90% of the time I played I could kill enemies with 1-3 hits. (Claymore +10, Fire +8 Zeinhander, Lighting spear +3). The game is only a challenge if you dont know how to use the internet and learn as you play. Powerful weapons are a necessity in dark souls and with an easy mode what would be the point of these weapons? I really hope they do not do this because it will no longer be that game known for being different and just another easy RPG. I would be a little sad if I overheard someone saying I played the new Dark souls and it was easy. The game has no story and immersion really is the key factor in the game, and if all you do is hack and slash your way through there will be zero depth when you dont need to worry about a sudden death or possible losses.