Let’s talk about the balance of the "Hardcore" and "Terrible" difficulty levels. We're currently receiving a lot of emotional feedback about these two levels. This is our debut as developers, and we’ve been watching streams where we see players opening the game for the first time and immediately diving into the "Terrible" difficulty. And then they crash and burn... We’re just as disappointed in those moments as they are.
We want to explain the essence of these two modes, their features, and how to survive them.
The game doesn't have a straightforward, typical progression where your character simply grows in strength and agility with each run. Progression in Story mode is embedded in exploring the world and events within it. When a hero, like Persival, becomes more familiar with the world, the rewards for events on the map become more powerful. For Bjorn, health elixirs start dropping from enemies, and Vanadis can even skip some battles.
In addition, your classes level up, and you gain new cards that enhance your character, change your build, and alter your playstyle. You also learn the behavior of enemies, study them, and become extremely effective, understanding why each hit happens.
For example, you’ll start attacking the Champion right away to break his armor and reduce his damage. You’ll know that his damage depends on his armor, so you won't be hit with 37x4 anymore.
The "Hardcore" and "Terrible" levels were designed to make the game interesting for well-developed, strong characters. Moreover, "Terrible" is intended for those who have already completed the Challenges mode.
That's because, in addition to knowledge and skills, Challenges also provide:
- Extra HP
- The 4th slot for consumables
- Healing at the camp for Bjorn
- Additional cards
- Additional items
Enhancement of your class's main mechanic upon completing challenges
All of this balances your next experience in "Terrible." Admittedly, it’s our fault for not conveying this information more clearly. We probably should have made it more accessible, just like many other things.
We absolutely didn't expect our brave players to jump straight into "Terrible" without warming up. Maybe we should have locked these modes on the first playthrough for those who haven’t completed the game on the "Normal" level and become more familiar with it. But what's done is done.
The game evolves thanks to your feedback. You are our guide in creating the game. Your bug reports and messages in Discord – we sort, analyze, and use them all.
We also thank you for your patience with bugs and issues. This entire week and the next will be dedicated to fixing all the reported issues from the release. We've already rolled out several fixes and will continue to do so, keeping you informed.
Have great runs!
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