Spiral Knights - How do you feel about the difficulty of the game overall?

How do you feel about the difficulty of the game overall?

57 replies [Last post]

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 19:36

Takeru

I don't want to whine, but I honestly can't understand the difficulty ramp of the game. I know this has been talked about, but it seems to delve more into the unbalance of the equipment more than anything.
Here's my issue and I'd like to see other player's opinions on the subject.

So Tier 1, fairly basic. Feels pretty good, you've got your basics handled by the time you get midway.
There's nothing especially hard about Tier 1 and the boss, Snarbolax, is rather simple. No enemies spawn in that boss battle and it feels like a fantastic first boss.
So you go on to Tier 2 and everything seems manageable, no problems. You get to the mid-way point, check out the recipes, have a good time. When you first hit Tier 2, you feel the difficulty ramp properly. First levels of Tier 2 are fairly easy and gradually, you get to a good-feeling difficulty by the time you can clear Tier 2. (No boss, just a regular Tier 2 run).
When I first started, I did quite a few runs like this, just Tier 2 over and over. There wasn't much else to do, I had started a couple months after the game first came out. Because here's where the problem starts. The Tier 2 bosses are completely overpowered. There were no Elevator passes back then, so dying once wasn't a big deal, but every death after was terrible.
So I'd take my small group of friends, typically 3 but sometimes 4 of us and run through the Jelly King. The first of the three levels leading to him, not so hard. As you should learn by this point, kiting and shielding are incredibly important. So you're typically able to make it through the first level without much difficulty.
Second level, the difficulty ramps. And it's mostly the little Slimes that sneak up on you, but point aside, at least one or two of us will die once. Doesn't seem like -that- big of a deal, but should we be?
So to make that half of the story short, we make it to the Jelly King and die, die and well. After that, you would be low or out of mist, frustrated and don't want to dip into what little CE you may have saved for crafting.
This was with all 3 or 4* gear and a little over a year ago, I believe.

So we play a little longer but feel frustrated. Roarmulus Twins weren't gonna happen, two of us tried and barely -barely- beat them after wasting all our mist and about 100CE. That certainly never felt like a 'win', when you lose so much. So I get all my gear up to 5* except my shield, thinking the Tier 2 bosses at this point -must- be a cake-walk with almost all 5* Gear and one 4* shield.

Nope. While the rest of my party had mostly 4* and a few pieces of 5* gear, we all still felt like nothing had gotten easier. Everything we gained had no real impact. So thinking about it logically, the game is designed to have different load-outs. Going against Slimes? Have the right resistances. Going against Roarmulus? Have the right resistances.
But can you really enjoy sitting there, grinding and grinding for armor piece after armor piece, getting different load-outs?
Is it worth it?
I'm really asking. I'd like to know what we're doing wrong. See, we'd quit a year ago, frustrated that if we were dying -this- much on Tier 2 with 4* and 5* gear, how would we ever actually BEAT the game?
(I do realize that higher level gear will level down to the Tier you're on, but regardless)
After a few more friends got into the game in the last few months, we decided to try and get back into it. And still, I can't believe how underpowered we all feel.

Now, I've played some Tier 3 myself. While I got to the mid-way point with only a single death and seeing how I could have avoided that death, I felt frustrated that it wasn't worth it in the least. I can do a Tier 2/Latter half Arena and make more Crowns than I did on and of those Tier 3 levels. Why?
Sure, I got more heat than I would have on Tier 2, but why only give that as a reward for my effort?

I'm sure this was annoying to read, as it was pretty ramble-y, but hell am I ever frustrated with this. I really love the feel of this game, I love the art (thank god they put Ian in charge of this game), and I think it -could- be one of the funnest MMO's I've ever played.
If we didn't feel so damn powerless.
I used to play a lot of arcade games, so I get the thought process of 'make things hard, so they have to keep pumping quarters'. I get that. I get the Free-to-Play strategy, although that's usually 'we make money off cosmetic [stuff] and making the game easier to play more often'. Which the elevator pass does as well.
But this? I can't stand this. I can't help but constantly feel like I'm doing something wrong. Does anyone else feel that the difficult ramps up and down in weird and frustrating places?

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 19:47

Dragneel-Wiki

You are probably new here...

Difficult?

Ugh...

Just don't say this word in front of me...

Know what?

How about you craft 1 Brandish Line, 1 Autogun line, 1 Gigawatt Pulsar Line and Shivermist Buster, Flourish line and Divine Avenger ? Oh! Don't forget the precious Warmaster Rocket Hammer, the Holy Electron Vortex bomb, and the mystical Gran Faust. By the way, Argent Peacemaker and Sentenza are also a delicious dishes on our menu, you should try them.

Difficult...

Oh my god...

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 19:56

Softhead

Dear god.

.....

Must be lag.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:11

Thinslayer

For what it's worth...

It's just the Royal Jelly. I've been playing for well over a year, beaten Vanaduke, Twins, and Snarby countless times, even beaten a Shadow Lair, and still wipe on the Royal Jelly. That's why they had to nerf him that one time. I still think he's too difficult for a T2 run, but he does prepare you for Vanaduke.

For what it's worth, I know exactly what you're saying. RJ just requires a nuke to beat easily.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:21

Takeru

I honestly don't know.

I've no idea, really.
I've got Glacius, Silent NightBlade, Vog Set and Dark Thorn Shield.
Like I said, we'd played for a bit and quit, came back recently.

I agree, we haven't had the grind to get the class of items Dragneel has mentioned, but you're not seeing my point.
When you designate in a game, that you'll need a certain amount of gear to get through A-to-Z, you should be able to do it, not with ease, but with enough difficulty to feel proud of yourself. Not frustrated and having your companions all question whether we're doing something wrong.

My shield should stand up against say, a T3 enemy for more than a single attack. I take a rocket and bam, it's red. Any hit after, it's done.
Sound reasonable?

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:28

Dragneel-Wiki

FYI : This game was nerfed

FYI : This game was nerfed Dramatically because of more newbies asking for that.
.
.
.
If that gear you have and still have problems, I am sorry to say that... but you sir need to revise your strategies and way of playing. With that gear, you can solo Royal Jelly King with ease.

If your lack of skill is because of the long rest, then you will just need more practicing till you get in form again, but I don't think that this is your problem.
And when I listed that gear, I didn't mean them by their 5* counterparts only. I meant all of these crafting lines are OP, and can be used for your own favor.

If you craft these, still die a lot, and hardly manage to finish a level, then I am really really sorry for you. You need to improve and hone your skills.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:31

Luguiru

Roarmulus rockets deal element damage.

The Snarbolax shield has zero natural element defense.

Rockets are overpowered.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:31

Nitef

Too hard.

I can't even solo JK or VANA without 80ce revs.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:44

Hariender

.... RJP run with 80 ce rev.......try talk with jelly and construct i'm sure you can get through it....

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:49

Takeru

@Luguiru

Well, I meant any T3 Rocket takes my shield down, but I get your point.
My point being, how bloody long would I have to grind to get full loadouts for every situation. Unfortunately I have a job and a wife, therefore, a life.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:56

#10

Softhead

We all have lives.

best thing is with experience, is that to learn the enemies, so when avoiding them, it's easier.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 20:58

#11

Eight

I agree. According to

I agree.

According to Dragneel, if I agree with you, it's because my skills are lacking.

Funny, my skills are good enough to have gotten me through every other game and MMO I've ever played.

I enjoy challenging games, I don't want them to be too easy, but this feels less like a fun game and more like a game to see who can get all sets of armor to use against specific monsters. Maybe it's just not my type. :/

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 21:09

#12

Zeddy

You should go back and try to beat Jelly King. I agree he was pretty difficult a year and a half ago, but this has long since ceased to be the case. They nerfed him enormously to the point where wiping on him seems unthinkable.

Shoot me a friend request, I'll be happy to show you how Roarmulus is done. Roarmulus is a bit special in that the whole run requires thinking and puzzling much more than it requires combat skills. This means that high-level and low-level players are on pretty even ground there and is why I can beat the place as easily in 0* armour and a 3* pepperbox just as well as I could with full 5* everything.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 21:12

#13

Goofio

Once you know the spawn

Once you know the spawn triggers/locations from Royal Jelly Palace, Roarmulus Twins, Firestorm Citadel, danger missions, etc. most levels are quite easy. I would recommend trying these levels solo to help you recognize these spawn points -- that way you're the only person setting the triggers off.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 21:46

#14

The-Worst-Knight

Do you know anything about

Do you know anything about sealed sword, it's short distance sword. It will teach you to use shield(bind shield to mouse). If you are not sure of yourself try guns, longer but safer. Bombs are support tools. Actually i can beat JK or twins in 3* gear without revs, but it will take decent time.
Development plan:
1)Swords(0*)
2)Snarbolax(1*)
3)Guns(2*)
4)Roarmulus Twins(3*)
5)Shields(3*)
6)Jelly King(3*)
7)Vanaduke(4*)
8)Danger missions(5*)
9)Shadow Lair(few 5* sets)

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 22:30

#15

Byas

Old Jelly King aside it's your own fault that you died not the game's. Here's some things:

> Pre-Nerf JK was really too strong for T2 although I liked him. Some insight on why I liked him: I was soloing all the time until met him and got my butt kicked (as I was 2~3* and new to the game), so I got to try parting with strangers and with that I met cool people, trained more and learned more about the game (mainly about how vials are useful, I wouldn't give a damn about them if I hadn't met the pre-nerf JK) we even beat him some times; The side-effect to that was that I grew scared of T3, I though "I can't even solo all T2 bosses... T3 must be hell on Earth, I better train harder" and stood on T2 until I got full 5* (I was able to solo him when I got into 4* but I was afraid and wanted to make sure I was prepared). T3 was relatively easy since I got prepared and those skills come in handy even today.

> Post-Nerf JK is a joke, if you can't beat him just get a better strategy or gear.

> Roarmulus Twins is quite easy, it isn't even related to your equipments since all you need to beat him is timing. Hit the switches on the right time and run to hit him as hard as you can; Repeat it; ???; Profit.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 22:44

#16

Eight

I feel like the point is

I feel like the point is being missed.

You're saying that you feel the difficulty doesn't equal the level, correct? Not just that JK is too hard, right? That's what I'm getting from this, at least.

I CAN beat Jelly King, the problem is just that it's much too hard for its depth. Thinslayer has mentioned that they can beat Vanaduke and still wipe on JK. Ddffcz, I can do danger missions just fine, they're the right amount of challenging and I find them really fun. Jelly King, on the other hand, is just frustrating. Sucks the fun out of it.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 23:08

#17

Djawed

I honestly thought this was

I honestly thought this was gonna be a thread about how easy the game is.

Lemme just say this OP. You are probably not used to games where reward requires experienxe and skill.

I would say if you cant beat the tier 2 bosses even with 5 str gear(are they fully lvled btw?), it proves something i kind of forgot since i mastered the game's mechanics to the extent very little is hard for me in the game, which is that no matter what overpowered gear you have. It will mean nothing without the skill.

In short OP, all you need is patience and practice. It will be rewarded if you are the kind of person who likes games with challenge. If you dont then ill have to be blunt and say quit playing. Ive been there where you are and now i and many others are at tier 3 slashing our way through with not too much effort. Theres even harder optional content which u will love if you progress this way.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 23:09

#18

Tin-Foil-Hat

Feels epic, cant remember a

Feels epic, cant remember a game where i actually had to try in a boss fights and got punished for dying.

Also, the major difference between this game and other MMORPGs, you have more control of your character. The defense based system is what im talking about when i say this, its entirely up to you to properly defend yourself unlike other MMORPGS where (x) person is healing you and you have (z)+(y)+(a) stats that randomly generate when you defend and dont defend yourself. RNG is a terrible system.

If youve ever played a game called "Survival Project", its another MMORPG i used to love before it went Korean only, its very similar to this game. Feel free to look up game play of it. When you are responsible entirely for defending yourself, the game is much more fun and difficult in my opinion.

Mon, 02/18/2013 - 23:52

#19

Poopsie

...

This game is not really reliant to matching resistance. Just look up some videos on youtube, search proto royal jelly, proto twins, tutorials or walkthroughs. You can learn one or two from there. Well, when I was a beginner, this video helps me a ton http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-lhP9q2B3A Hope you could learn something from there too.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 00:02

#20

Byas

> "You're saying that you feel the difficulty doesn't equal the level, correct? Not just that JK is too hard, right? That's what I'm getting from this, at least."

Nope, I said that about the pre-nerf JK that has already been taken out of the game for a long time. Post-nerf (the JK we have right now) is a joke, just bring poison/fire/curse vials and he's out cold.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 00:05

#21

Takeru

I do feel like some of you

I do feel like some of you missed my overall point, but that's fine. The point was to discuss the games difficulty and attributes to the problem, and some of you even stated how some bosses strength doesn't make sense compared to the level. Eight was the closest one to what I'm talking about. But to one of the above points, you're right, this is unlike any other MMO. Other MMO's have a healer class and larger room for bosses to fight in (Because what the hell is up with the tiny arenas to fight bosses in?). My problem isn't so much that I -cannot- beat these, my problem is they don't scale properly. Sure, some people with high skill are able to defeat Jelly King with 3* gear (apparently, and I imagine it's fine due to scaling of the gear), but that doesn't excuse the fact that a majority have such a hard time with them and end up dying multiple times. Yes, they can be defeated, but I find that the game as a whole doesn't scale it's difficulty properly.
In any case, between my rambling and the missed points, this thread derailed.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 00:58

#22

Byas

> In any case, between my rambling and the missed points, this thread derailed.

People disagreeing with you ≠ People derailing thread. The later means that they are getting out of the topic's theme, but the answers actually have to do with it, it's just that most don't agree with you.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 01:25

#23

Fehzor

I find the game to be fairly plausible to beat. It isn't so hard to get through levels and content, unless I'm simply messing around... which is about half the time. It offers a fair challenge from time to time, although most content is notably casual. I like this.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 01:56

#24

Krakob

0mg JK is OP

srsly
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cmslh1Atb3M

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 03:07

#25

Burq

I miss old JK

I had a similar experience to Byas's; dude kicked my ass so hard it forced me to come up with strategies and learn how to use vials (you HAD to use poison or fire vials, you couldnt outdamage his healing otherwise), party with other people when I normally just solo'd everything (if someone was carrying a Fang of Vog or a DVS, the party became a lot more confident about winning, for instance), made me afraid of T3 so I grinded my first 5* weapon and set in T2 (T3 aint so hard once you get at least 1 piece of armor of each element... well at least till you find shock devilites, THEN you become afraid again), etc. He was so hard that beating him felt awesome, specially when you got to the point you could solo him while still in 3* armor.

One thing that did bother me about old JK was that guns were USELESS against him, it had to be swords or bombs (and bombs were hard since you were going to be rushed by mini-jellies nonstop), thou in the end that made me love the first 5* weapons i got, Gran Faust, still my favorite sword in the game.

New JK is nothing compared to him, old JK was basically a T3 boss that got lost and drunk he ended up stumbling 10 floors above where he should be.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 03:14

#26

Troupe-Forums

I've solo'd JK without taking a hit. All about the right gear and skill.

How I wish there was more challenging PvE content availiable that I didn't have to pay to access

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 03:20

#27

Nexassassin

Let's discuss

Discuss the games difficulty and attributes to the problem

I can do that.

Firstly, overall I think the game's difficulty is so-so. The difficulty seems to be aimed at the casual player. T1 is easy enough to be done by everyone, as is how it's meant to be. T2 for people fresh from T1 who have just received their T2 requirements is well, let's just say has one of the steepest learning gaps in the game and easily slices through newbies (remember your first T2 boss run with ill-experienced randoms?) though it's easy enough to get used to and it's where you really start learning the more advanced techniques. From T2 to T3 isn't as bad but is definitely where the challenge is (for some).

For those who have spent a lot of time in the game however (the not so casual player), pretty much everything isn't so challenging and part of the problem may lie in the mechanics in the game. Currently, the only things a player can do whilst in the clockworks is (care to take a guess?) dodge, shield and attack. There's only one way to dodge, one way to shield and a few ways to attack and it limits what the devs can put in the game and what the players can actually handle (devs can make thing a little harder each time until you get this steep slope where adding small changes makes the game from just doable to Touhou difficult).

But yeah, most of the game's player base are casual players (hopefully) and the game is still fairly new so it shouldn't be a huge concern as of yet (there's still soloing Danger missions to look forward to). It's going to be when the game's maturing and there's a lot of more senior players who are able to do much of the content and crave for more challenges that it's going to really become a concern (how else are they going to keep playing the game without having to resort to the promos every now and then).

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 05:01

#28

Rating

It's posts like these that

It's posts like these that force the Devs to continue to nerf anything and everything...no one likes a challenge, and no one wants to be told they can't kill everything with the 1 equipment set that they use 100% of the time.

I can imagine your problem was going into these fights with either the wrong resistances, wrong damage types, a lack of a coherent plan, or a combination of the 3.

For example:
A 3* party can easily kill JK, and here's all you need: 1 person with a 3* poison bomb, 1 person with a 3* fire bomb, every using shadow damage weapons after hitting JK with status. But wait! Don't stand right on top of him and swing your sword, he does hit for pretty decent damage. Maybe nightblade charge attacks? :O ...BRILLIANT! You say you have a shadow bomb, or the shadow catalyzer? Even BETTER!

(Obviously the strategy changes for RT which you need different damage and resistance types)

/e is sad
/e needs to stay away from General Discussion since the topics are ridiculous

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 05:10

#29

Rpg-Knight

The gap youkai is too lazy.

Implement difficulty levels hint hint Touhou. That way vet's and those who are fresh off the boat can enjoy. Honestly, i'm dying a lot because i'm bored.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 05:25

#30

Shamanalah

my 2 cents

The difficulty is too easy for how powerful you can become with CTR Max and ASI Max

It's easy IMO, even SL are easy but they are not worth the time. Only to craft...

I have not yet seen a challenge but Frozen Heart and C42 in this game... And they are hard challenge but after couple months they get boring...

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 06:31

#31

Lanieu

Some parts can be

Some parts can be frustrating, but difficult? Gosh no.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 08:27

#32

Dr-Storm

...

"So thinking about it logically, the game is designed to have different load-outs. Going against Slimes? Have the right resistances. Going against Roarmulus? Have the right resistances.
But can you really enjoy sitting there, grinding and grinding for armor piece after armor piece, getting different load-outs?
Is it worth it?"

...

not really...usually I only bring my glacius and storm driver...even when fighting 5* gremlins...and I usually play solo...
I don't know about the JK back then but, the new JK can be beaten easily by using any 3* weapon that arn't piercing...and I don't think armor matter much either...oh and roarmulus ...you just have to know the pattern and use any weapon arn't a peircing weapon...

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 10:02

#33

Heavy-Dragon

nope

danger room bullet hells in proto gear on T3 = difficult.

normal gameplay? nah.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 11:07

#34

Njthug

Like anything this game just takes more practice if you keep at it grind a lot more you will become a better player. Many of the players I consider to be very good were horrible at Sk sometime in their sk life span, but all they did was kept grinding and well memorized waves etc n got better.

As far as this game being hard the way I view it:

85% of players in this game are not as skilled (I developed this # by doing many random runs)

15% of players are skillful in the sense (IDC if you can solo vana using 1 hand since honestly to solo something in this game is 2352352352151x's easy) they can carry a group of players to victory. You can have a party of 4 and have 1 skillful player and three unskilled players and well take them to beat Vanna or something like that.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 11:36

#35

Koffin-Kat

That's a matter of opinion

@ Takeru:
Sorry to say that, but seems that the problem is on your end ;)

I was playing on my old char back then in 2011, and sure the bosses were difficult, but the level of difficulty was reasonable.
Me, I kept dying there.
But the people I was with obviously didn't have THAT much of a problem with beating the boss (be it the Royal Jelly, the "Terrible Twin Turrets" or Vanaduke).

So really, it seems to be a matter of how well you can control your knight and how well you know the strategy :)
It's great that this game isn't laughably easy, otherwise it would become boring rather quickly :)

Speaking of which, do you remeber the old Rocket Puppies?
The ones with guided missiles that were nearly impossible do dodge? I wonder if they got nerfed at some point during the time I wasn't playing SK :)

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 12:17

#36

Leafblader

moo @koffin

The rocket puppies are still the same. They are one of the few hard enemies.
All the nerfs since I sarted in early october 2011. Wolvers got their tracking removed and the retrodes beam attack is now very easy to avoid. Retrodes got their health nerfed to that of scuttlebots. Gun puppies can only see the area infront of them. Retrodes and zombies got their swipe slowed down.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 12:34

#37

Takeru

>People disagreeing with you

>People disagreeing with you ≠ People derailing thread. The later means that they are getting out of the topic's theme, but the answers actually have to do with it, it's just that most don't agree with you.

No, it's that I don't think many of you understand my meaning, which is inherently my fault for rambling/not getting my point across.
I'll put it in a better manner then; I think the game doesn't prepare you quite properly enough. I think the game should be longer and have a better ramp to those difficulties. I agree, my skill with a party isn't prominent enough, and we haven't been using vials enough. It's not that we can't defeat these enemies, it's more that I think the games length doesn't properly convey the ramp of difficulty.

You defeat Snarbolax, hit Tier 2, difficulty goes up a little, you hit Royal Jelly and suddenly, the difficulty ramps in a strange way.
Do I think these should be nerfed? Nope. I think the difficulty should ramp properly, with a natural progression. It feels like there should be a Tier in-between, honestly.
(My feelings toward the thread derailing isn't the disagreement, it's towards people just talking about RJK and focusing on how to beat that). My problem is the game needs -more- levels that ramp up in difficulty properly, flowing better. (Although I'm still annoyed how difficult it can be for people who play only a couple hours a night at best, to get multiple 5* gear for different situations, that's just a typical grind of a game I suppose)

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 12:41

#38

Quandasim

this game is about training

its training

random encounters can be dangerous, but if u know the map, monsters property and spawning places, then it is much more easy.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 12:46

#39

Heavy-Dragon

The only thing changing is

The only thing changing is the game's level of tolerance for people that do not armor themselves properly based on the monsters they are fighting. And damage, but that's given.

The missions and arcade level names give clues as to the major types of monsters found within. in t1 they deal pure normal, in T2 split, and T3 they deal pure (insert damage type here). In T1, and T2, Cobalt and other normal type armors will protect somewhat against damage.

When you get to T3, though, if you lack any resistance to the damage given to you, you will take full damage, no exceptions.

That may make it seem harder if you are not properly equipped. in T3, there is no mercy for knights who do not wear shadow defense in undead/fiend stages, etc.

Tue, 02/19/2013 - 22:19

#40

Tantarian

Hahahaha

This game is incredibly easy man, you don't have any idea what a hard game is. Go play some nes games and come back.

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 01:41

#41

Clwnbaby

This Game is easy

This game is SOOO easy. It was easy before all the nerfs but now its ridiculously easy. When I first started playing I thought the game was a little challenging but always fun. Then every noob who joined post Steam launch and after kept bitching about how hard it was and ended up nerfing this game into the stone age. Now it doesn't matter what gear you use or what level it is, if you think this game is hard its because you simply have no video game skills at all. I mean seriously. All you have to do is apply techniques you would use in any video game: study the obvious and repetitive patterns; formulate a plan and a strategy based on said patterns; learn repetitive enemy behavior and spawn behavior as you work your way up to higher levels; (when playing multi-player) work in tandem with other players to quickly and efficiently defeat the enemies using a variety of gear available to cover and compliment each others need for the fight. Notice a common theme? For those who lack half a brain, its repetitive patterns! Honestly by the time you make it to Tier 3, other than a few new attacks that only some of the enemies acquire you should already know how every enemy and spawn works. If you dont, "What the hell have you been doing the whole time!?"

So in short this game is not difficult at all. For those who think it is you either have only been playing a VERY short time or you simply are terrible at video games and cant work out simple problems or notice a basic pattern.

@Tantarian Here Here! Man. Is it just me or does it feel like modern console games are easier than the original NES games? I miss not being able to beat a game for quite a long time, not because I gotta farm or the devs drag it out by taking forever to release content but because its genuinely difficult.

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 02:58

#42

Chirthorpe

Since I just beat the game

Since I just beat the game yesterday I suppose I could contribute my own views here.

As far as difficulty goes, I'd say it's a fairly easy and enjoyable game. In fact, the only parts I would consider 'hard' are the Hall Of heroes missions where it can take weeks to get the next * equipment. But even then, that in itself is only difficult because of the high costs of recipes combined with the CE and Alchemy Costs.

Other than that, difficulty can only be down to each individual player; one person may think that all Jelly levels are hard, while I find them easy. I find Fiends to be a nusience that I always need help with, while others make short work of them. It's all down to perspective, and weaponry.

T1 and 2 were most certainly the easiest as they should be, and I personally really felt the curve in T3. Especially when I was stuck with those shadow-based missions. But again, that's because of my own arsenal.

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 04:47

#43

Dragneel-Wiki

I didn't get it at beginning, but now I do.

Please people, try to elaborate with the poster.
.
.
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He is saying that the game jumps from an easy, joy-ride difficulty, to the dangerous, hard Tier 2 bosses. We didn't get it at beginning due to the lack of details, but the OP meant to say that the scaling of levels is wrong. Let's divide the difficulty levels to 10 levels, it would be like this ( According to the OP, not me. )

Tier 1 : Difficulty = 1
Tier 1 Boss : Difficulty = 3
-
Tier 2 : Difficulty = 3
Tier 2 Bosses : Difficulty = 6
-
Tier 3 : Difficulty = 5-8
Tier 3 Boss : Difficulty = 10

I think that's what the OP meant to say, hope I didn't misunderstood again. As you can see, the scale is flawed. Difficulty builds up very fast at Tier 2 Bosses where fresh T2 players can't handle things well, and side to the reviving solution, which makes them poorer and poorer.

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 06:16

#44

Koffin-Kat

@ Leafblader

Yeah, I noticed that Alpha Wolvers are now much easier to deal with.

And retrodes, ah yeah, I remember those buggers! Sometimes, they could be such a pain in the back :D
It's a shame they got nerfed, though... :X

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 06:42

#45

Angelobianca

heres the deal

u go on a jk run with 5* stuff yet u fail....
you see the clockwork is designed so that each tier has its limits so if u do say 250 damage with a weapon on t3 stratum 6 ull to a bit less on statum 5 and when u go for t2 with t3 gear ull do just 10% more damage than the corresponding 3* item. same is true for armors (only exceptions are statuses)

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 06:43

#46

Angelobianca

heres the deal

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 09:52

#47

Softhead

...Wut?

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 10:05

#48

Gzilla

Currently Burning through Tokyo

What I got out of this is you want t2 to become t3 practically? Or are you complaining about JK? Either way practice makes perfect. Keep running something and it's WAY easier later. Things were WAY tougher before all of the nerfs OOO put through.

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 10:09

#49

Raptorsevens

Roarmulus twins hard? I have

Roarmulus twins hard?
I have solo'd them plenty of times without getting hit, the twins, unlike all other bosses, don't even TARGET you. They just repeat the same attacks over and over again. The scuttlebots who spawn ABORT THEIR ATTACKS WHEN HIT, and constantly get destroyed by rockets. Moreso, those little fences next to the twins BLOCK EVERY SINGLE ATTACK THEY DO except airstrikes. Basically it's not a boss, it's a minigame.

Now the jelly king I can understand. Why? Because he heals himself and he has a crapton of minions. I have solo'd him but usually I had to revive once and I have failed on him as well. With the right gear they should be much easier but even getting ONE piece of gear for those guys takes an incredible amount of effort.

Snarby? Doesn't heal, doesn't have minions, predictable attacks. Basically you stand in the middle while shielding and hit the bell now and then.

Vana? Not played the guy yet, I need one more 4-star piece.

Anyhow, so far it's like OOO isn't trying to bring difficulty into the game by making enemies difficult, but by SPAMMING ENEMIES AT YOU.

Wed, 02/20/2013 - 10:17

#50

Lieutenant-Ledo

I'm an old school player but

I'm an old school player but believe me the difficulty of the game is way too easy. It takes time. I've taken breaks from this game alot and they nerfed the bosses plenty of times. If you think they are hard now, they were much more of a pain back then.

Every single boss in this game is solo-able. Just hacking and slashing won't cut it. The only difficulty I see that players might struggle with is Shadow Lairs, and prestige mainly because it requires crowd control. On a side note, this game wasn't meant to be played by yourself. They give you that option though for you loners. This game is meant to play with other people and socialize so that word could spread and so that the community could grow.

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How do you feel about the difficulty of the game overall?