Discussion on Difficulty

[LunarWind]

So I've played through the campaign fifteen times now. I have used every combination of weapons in every fight of every stage, I have exclusively used guns, I have exclusively used melee. I am fairly certain I have experienced everything the demo has to offer.

The above being said, I find it disappointing that I routinely run through both campaigns on Hard with zero deaths AND without using 'fury mode'. Is this just because I've played so much? Is this because I'm a serious gamer? Are other people finding this game too easy on the hardest setting?

What I honestly propose:
There needs to be a "1st Company" or "Emperors Finest" difficulty that makes you remember why humanity barely holds it's borders in 40K lore. I want nobs that do 99% of my health in a single hit, requiring pristine life to survive their charge. I want more regular flanking and weaving from melee boyz while they close to melee. I want better use of cover and more consistent shooting from shoota boyz. I want just a few more grenades putting craters in the landscape. The ammo count for player weapons seems about right, maybe a bit high, and the health/damage of regular boyz seems good on hard.

What I wish would happen (But is un-reasonable):
There to be a "Hammer of the Emperor" difficulty. For those of you not versed in 40K lore, the Hammer of the Emperor is the Imperial Guard. I want to play as a poor bloody guardsman who dies from 2 hits in melee or a handful at ranged, and who can't even survive a mean glance from a nob. I want an infinite ammo las-gun that requires around 6-7 shots to down an ork and the only melee is a bayonet stab. I want to fall in love with grenades because they're my only hope for survival. I want to die a LOT.

Thoughts? Comments?
Would you like this to be in the game? Is it a reasonable request?
And for the second suggestion, would you even play as a guardsman?

[Aargh!]

Well, after playing through the same short demo fifteen times, it would be strange if you didn't get good at it. :p And chances are that the demo levels are very early in the game, with the more difficult enemies (Chaos Marines) showing up in the later levels.

But yeah, I do agree that the demo is too easy. That's expected on Easy, and forgiveable on Normal, but I'd expect more from Hard.

My main issue is that in most situations it's too easy to get your health back after taking a few hits. Either the health gain from execution moves needs to be adjusted way down on Hard, to at most half of what it is in the demo, or some measure needs to be taken to prevent spamming it (possibly a cooldown, or it gives less health if you use it too quickly, or something like that).

"Guardsman mode" sounds like an awesome challenge and I'd certainly give it a try, but if the difference between the SMurf and the Guardsman is accurate to fluff I doubt I'm skilled enough to complete the game like that.

[Kexin]

Really? I'm getting my ♥♥♥ kicked in the demo, how do you regain health and theres a gun that shoot glowing thingies, how do you do active them?

Oh it seems like a fun game but I'll be renting it for my PS3 instead since the graphics is so console friendly. Plus this seems like a play it then forget it type of FPS, fun single player campaign but thats it.

[aerundel]

You have to be careful on Hard mode to avoid using Executions when you're being fired on my shootas. It doesn't matter how well you manage the orks around you when there's one going full-auto 20 feet away and you can't even move. Notable examples are fighting the first horde on/down the ramp instead of back near the drawbridge (the lone shoota takes potshots at you the whole time), and then in the phase right before the 2 Nobs come out in the final battle (when all the shootas are around). I can see lots of fights like that go bad on Hard. Maybe not if you play the same encounters *15 times each*, but that's hardly a proper judgement for the game at this juncture.

[thyco1]

Im wondering how different the game will be when we start facing Chaos, im not a warhammer fan (i detest table top games and pen and paper games) but from my understanding Chaos Space marines are like equal space marines.

[dr_ogen]

how do you regain healthexecute some orks and theres a gun that shoot glowing thingies, how do you do active them? reload the gun

[Roast Beef]

I made the decision to play the demo on hard from the get go. I am constantly getting my ♥♥♥ kicked. When I'm melee fighting I wish I had a joypad but when I'm shooting I'm glad I've got my mouse.

[aerundel]

I find it's easier to just swing my view around with the mouse while in melee than to shoot with a gamepad. This works effectively in Batman: AA as well - spinning your view around so any direction you attack ends up being in front of you, more or less. It also makes your cape fly around a lot more in a cool way, but I digress. The problem with the gamepad is that while you CAN melee more effectively in 360 degrees, once you try to take aim with a gun you automatically face wherever the camera's looking. The difference is that you probably barely touched the right analog stick while in melee, so you could end up needing to turn a full 180 before shooting something.

So basically, if you're having trouble in melee with the mouse, try turning the camera more because it'll let you compensate for the fixed 8 directions WASD provides.

[thenightisdark]

I played though the Demo with my gamepad with auto aim turned on like a good console player (but with the graphics on max) and loved the melee combat. Shooting sucked.

Unplugged my game pad (no toggle in game? So 1990 game design) and tried it the right way with keyboard and mouse. Harder melee combat, and suddenly I can take the head off an ork at 500 paces.

I want to be able to shoot with the mouse, but switch to gamepad for melee! Make it happen! :)

I am going to use the game pad to play when I mostly want to take ork faces off with a chainsword. If I want to be more ranged, I will probably just play with the mouse. Depends on my mood I guess.

[DPW]

I enjoy it on Hard. No real strategy needed, but you can actually die if you're not paying attention. Normal is stupid easy, and for the record I'm no l33t FPS guy.

If you're having difficulty on Hard, I suspect that you're not thinning the herd with ranged weaponry before meleeing, trying to cuddle the Nobs (don't), or standing in the open in the finale without killing the Shootas first. Fortunately, Orks make the latter issue easy, as this Ork tribe seems to dress its Shootas in DOT approved safety yellow.

[enemyofportal]

Really? I'm getting my ♥♥♥ kicked in the demo, how do you regain health and theres a gun that shoot glowing thingies, how do you do active them?

Oh it seems like a fun game but I'll be renting it for my PS3 instead since the graphics is so console friendly. Plus this seems like a play it then forget it type of FPS, fun single player campaign but thats it.

'E' & 'F' brutal kill & disruption. 'T' is like shockwave and explosion, then regain health.