Would you be okay with Witcher 4 having only 1 difficulty setting?

[Surma.]

We know how popular Dark Souls franchise is, and they haven't really added any difficulty option. I guess in Sekiro you could choose to take Path of Endurance or something that would make game more difficulty, but besides that, the souls are practically limited only by how long will you want to farm Souls to buy enough levels to get past difficult encounter.

I think there's good reason to make games with no difficulty setting, allowing to better fine tune encounters with how many enemies you face, what enemy is allowed to do and how fast. It would make game easier to balance for different way to play the game, rather than having witchers mostly using physical combat with a spell once the cooldown comes off. In Dark Souls it's easier to specialize in all either Pyromancy, Soul spears or Dexterity or Strength with their all unique ways to engage in combat, while making some encounters little more challenging due to resistances, but not making enemies damage sponges, and this is very important.

You could add the difficulty by playing the same game again (like Dark Souls + Old Diablo 3 did), this type all enemies being scaled as if you started a fresh playthrough close to maximum level, and then even getting new game +7, with harder difficulties offering slightly boosted items or maybe some unique bonuses that you can attach to an armor or sword to a certain cap. Lets say +3 difficulty you can enhance your gear 6 times, and +5 it's upgraded to 20.

What was my point again? Ah yeah, the difficulty setting. Would you be okay with Witcher 4 having only 1 difficulty setting?

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Would you be okay with Witcher 4 having only 1 difficulty setting?

Nope, I won't be ok!
I personally dislike "soul" games... I'm perfectly fine with the difficulty settings in The Witcher 3, everyone can choose the one he prefer.
A player who want to mainly enjoy the story (which is the "strongest" point of CDPR games) can set the difficulty on "Just the Story!". While someone else who really prefer a challenging adventure will go for "death march!".
So I'm totally against the idea of 1 difficulty setting

 

[Surma.]

A player who want to mainly enjoy the story (which is the "strongest" point of CDPR games) can set the difficulty on "Just the Story!"

Aka. Game journalist mode

 

[Draconifors]

Yes, but I would vastly prefer to have multiple difficulty settings.

Multiple difficulties:
CDPR have always included difficulty levels in their RPGs so far, so I don't see why they should change that.

Multiple difficulties is better for catering to more players, especially since, as @LeKill3rFou said, CDPR games tend to be heavy on the story; those who want to focus on the story may well prefer a lower difficulty. People play games for different reasons and prefer different levels of challenge. There are also those who like to start on a lower difficulty and then raise it (either mid-save or on a new save) as they get more experienced with the game.


Both:
The only possible con I can see with multiple difficulties is the additional work it requires.
A single difficulty has the pro of not requiring as much work.


Only one difficulty:
The main downside to only having one difficulty is the aforementioned fact of people having different preferences.

There is also the question of how high or low to set the difficulty. Too high, and it may deter players looking for a more relaxed experience, plus possibly new players. Too low, and it may deter players looking for a more challenging experience, plus possibly new players (less likely with this option, though). Most likely, some will consider the difficulty too low at the same time as others consider it too high and still others just right.

It's always possible for players to increase the game's difficulty by setting rules or restrictions for themselves, but it isn't really possible for players to decrease the game's difficulty on their own. Mods don't count because they are not (fully) available on all platforms.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

Aka. Game journalist mode

Not especially, there are players who play casually and want to enjoy the story more than challenging fights.
Personally, the first time I played TW3, I played in "Story And Sword!" (normal) and it was fine. Since, either I play in "Blood And Broken Bones!" (hard) either on "Death March!" (very hard) depending how I feel and because I'm used to the game.

Generally, the first time I play a game (no matter the game), if it's "too challenging" for my liking, I generally give up... there are plenty of other games to have fun

 

[GrimReaper801]

Aka. Game journalist mode

That reeks of elitism...

100% with @LeKill3rFou on this.

And I say this as a souls game fan. I have played every single one of them since Demon's Souls came out in 2009. Every. Single. One. The really good ones and the very shitty clone attempts. For some reason I like games being incredibly punishing.

I also don't get this obsession people have in trying to turn every game into another type of game they like. There are quite a lot of good souls games out there. We don't need CDPR to turn their games into Souls-like games. Not every game with cars needs to be GTA and not every game with swords need to be a souls-like.

It's also very misleading to act as if Souls-like are extremely popular despite their difficulty. Until Elden Ring, they weren't nearly as popular as a game like The Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk 2077. They weren't even in the same neighborhood as both of those games. Elden Ring is also known as the most accessible and easiest of the Souls series out there.

Let people choose their difficulty level. If they don't enjoy getting punished and want to breeze through combat to enjoy the story, which is the main point of CDPR games, let them.

While someone else who really prefer a challenging adventure will go for "death march!".

While I clearly agree with you on not having only a single difficulty level, I wish CDPR's higher difficulties were more difficult. That's clearly the souls-like fan in me talking. CP2077 was almooooost there for me. You can die extremely quickly if you're not careful but I wish there was a mode where combat was just extremely lethal for both you and the enemies.

The problem with CDPR's difficulty options is largely the power curve. In CP2077 you start off fairly weak but power creep is a real thing in this game and you get to a point where everything is just a breeze.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

The problem with CDPR's difficulty options is largely the power curve. In CP2077 you start off fairly weak but power creep is a real thing in this game and you get to a point where everything is just a breeze.

I think it's quite difficult to have a "good curve"

I had the same reflexion on my current pathfinder WOTR playthrough. I started on "hard" which on Owlcat games is pretty hard (no need to talk about "unfair" difficulty^^). At the beginning of the game (Act1), I have to lower down the difficulty for a couple of fights, after 10-15 attempts... it was "too" fustrating. But after Act 2-3, with good skills/perks/stuffs, there is no longer really any issue for me (Yes, I still often get my ass kicked, but I manage to get through fights after just a couple of attempts).
The (very) good point of Owlcat games it's ouside of the "pre-selected" difficulties you can also adjust plenty of difficulty settings, to get the difficulty you want
(my very first playthrough on Kingmaker, I played on easy and it was pretty difficult, because I didn't know what I was doing^^)

 

[GrimReaper801]

I think it's quite difficult to have a "good curve"

I had the same reflexion on my current pathfinder WOTR playthrough. I started on "hard" which on Owlcat games is pretty hard (no need to talk about "unfair" difficulty^^). At the beginning of the game (Act1), I have to lower down the difficulty for a couple of fights, after 10-15 attempts... it was "too" fustrating. But after Act 2-3, with good skills/perks/stuffs, there is no longer really any issue for me (Yes, I still often get my ass kicked, but I manage to get through fights after just a couple of attempts).
The (very) good point of Owlcat games it's ouside of the "pre-selected" difficulties you can also adjust plenty of difficulty settings, to get the difficulty you want
(my very first playthrough on Kingmaker, I played on easy and it was pretty difficult, because I didn't know what I was doing^^)

Agreed, a good difficulty curve is a very difficult thing to achieve.

Owlcat games do suffer from this too. Most RPGs do in fact. Things start off fairly difficult and as you level you get stronger as a character but also better as a player. As your character gets stronger and you as a player gain a better understanding of the mechanics it gets to a point where it's just easy.

Baldur's Gate 3 is one recent game that struck a very good balance in my opinion and a big part of this (in my opinion anyway) is that they didn't allow the player to get too strong. They didn't allow players to reach level 20 which in the neighborhood of god-power level in D&D. When you do that you also have to let enemies reach these same levels of power and at that point it dilutes the experience and makes your progression feel stale. When everyone is overpowered, no one is after all.

CDPR does that in their games. V is clearly a different breed of merc and Geralt is clearly a different breed of witcher. They're both way more powerful than most people, even those that are in the same "category" as them, can ever hope to achieve. That's the power fantasy and most people like it. Heck, I like it too.

My problem is more about the lethality of it all. Witchers are more powerful and tougher than regular humans but they're not immortal. Geralt almost died from a simple pitchfork after all. That's what I want to see at higher difficulties. For us as players and the enemies. A sword going through you should be lethal or at least, nearly fatal every time. Again, only on higher difficulty. I don't condone pushing this kind of punishment on people and it certainly would deter people from playing. Not everyone enjoys this but those of us who do would greatly appreciate this kind of difficulty.

 

[John_Russell]

No I would not like that ..... These are narrative driven games and Dark Souls' narrative is about as deep as a mud puddle. That's OK for a combat focused game but Witcher games are much more than that

 

[Princess_Ciri]

Nah, I prefer difficulty settings. I have friends who really struggle with the fast-paced combat you typically get in RPGs (and that you get in the Witcher), and it means that they lose out on playing the games because they just can't deal with the difficulty.

I really liked how Dragon Age Veilguard even made it possible to switch off dying entirely, so you could be truly bad at the combat and still be able to finish the game. I know some people like to measure their egos by beating difficult games, and that's fine if it brings you enjoyment, you can totally play on the mega impossible difficulty levels (I do so myself, if I enjoy the combat) but I think it's nice when devs put effort into making games accessible for everyone.

Also, as someone who is busy IRL, and sometimes has to take long gaps between when I can play a game, (think 6 months, or a year) then I forget the controls. If that means I can't progress because I've forgotten how to play and the game just murders me over and over again........ I'll just stop playing. If I really like the game I might restart, but generally I just go and play games that are more forgiving.

 

[Toyen]

For me personally, I am someone who prefers to enjoy the story and exploration of the world over difficult or super challenging combat.
I never play games on super hard settings.

 

[CiriusBlack]

I tend to play my games on easy/casual or normal modes. Mostly for just enjoying the story and world, secondly for saving time and my nerves.

Life itself already gives me enough challenges. I want my games to be relaxing and fun. If I _really_ enjoy a game and have already done multiple playthroughs, I might set the difficulty higher if there is nothing else new to do anymore.

 

[tavellone]

The difficulty of the souls series is an integral part of the whole concept, this is not the case in The Witcher, it's usually an extra addition for fans who want it and I think it should be kept that way.

Besides this, the souls games have the majority of their narrative done through optional means, giving the gameplay room to breathe. Having a very difficult soulsesque difficulty would probably make a narrative driven game like The Witcher become incredibly tedious.

Most games nowadays have a dynamic difficulty, even if the game has multiple difficulties to choose from and that is probably the best way to do things; ramping up the difficulty for people who excel and taking it down for those who struggle.

 

[Rawls]

No. Difficulty settings are good design given that different people play RPG games for different reasons. Some are in it for the story, some the challenge, some both.

 

[TeamLucy]

Difficulty settings provide replay value, so no

 

[Draconifors]

Personally, yes, I would, but in general, no, I would not

Difficulty settings are too important not to have, as they make games more appealing to a wider audience. Accessibility is important.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

For me personally, I am someone who prefers to enjoy the story and exploration of the world over difficult or super challenging combat.
I never play games on super hard settings.

I do, but only if I completed the game at least once in "normal" and feel it will manageable and above all, enjoyable. Like currently, I replay TW3 in "death march", but my very first playthrough at release was in normal, I would never have picked up death march for a first run, no way

 

[SigilFey]

From's approach to the Souls-like series was very novel, but it also took quite a while to catch on. I would say that their games are a bit of a novelty in that they're only brutally difficult until you figure out the timing and movesets of different enemies...then you can literally breeze through sections without really paying attention to the screen.

For most games, I would argue that difficulty settings are extremely important. Too much of a risk that if you lock in one and only one difficulty, you'll wind up alienating a large portion of your potential player base right out the gate.

 

[devivre]

I don't play games for the combat, I'm in it for the story (okay and maybe for a game of Gwent). For me the Dark Souls approach is not interesting. However, in rare cases I might replay a game on highest difficulty if I love it (I did that with TW3 and finished it) .

Besides, challenging gameplay has never been the main selling point of this series. So from where I stand, there's no good argument for difficulty restrictions. Also, the older people get the less time they might have to complete a game - because of work, family and other things. And with a series as old as The Witcher you definitely have broader age demographics to consider.

 

[Spockprime]

Only if the one mode is "Custom", and I can change it however I like.