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Thread: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

  1. #1
    Gaius Georgeus's Avatar Tiro
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    Default Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Gentlemen,

    before you point me to FAQ, been there, done that. I fully acknowledge the DEI advertised sweet spot is set at N/H difficulty setting. However...

    I used to play DEI quite a lot a year or two ago (by far the best mod out there, kudos to Dresden and his team btw, AE mod for Attila does not do it for me as my favourite Rome is too developed at the battle of Zama) and found N/H to be relatively easy to manage, maybe too easy. I went for VH in my later replays, I appreciate that slow, grindy gameplay where every capture made, every battle won feels hard fought for and well deserved, progress is slow and tedious. Anything less than that makes me abandon the game as soon as the snowball arrives. So when I came back to the mod after say a year long break, I tried VH campaign difficulty as usual and boy, did I find it challenging, especially the Imperium downgrades seem brutal.

    Did something change in between? It just seems that VH campaign difficulty is now really unrealistically tough. Or did I just get soft?

    What do you guys fancy to play these days, I am asking mainly those who really seek proper challenge which still feels realistic. Is it Hard? Is it Very hard? Is it Very Hard with Softcore (or one of the Softcore alterations?).

    What setting do you guys prefer and why?

    Thank you very much in advance for your wisdom.
    Alea iacta est.

  2. #2

    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    I really don’t like the way the difficulty settings affect gameplay. To me, it doesn’t incentivize slower, more strategic play, it just punishes you for doing anything other than ideal min/maxing. Basically, if do it right, the game is still easy, but if not done right it’s impossible.

    Instead, I really enjoy the official hardcore mod played on N/N. It slows down play making everything more difficult, but also gives you room to strategize. Biggest differences are that AI actions seem more logical (still aggressive but less random), build and research times are way longer which makes decisions more important, conversely empire maintenance is still high but not impossible to manage.

    I’m currently trying the Realism submod instead which integrates some of hardcore and AE. It’s fun, but I’m not sure that I prefer it.
    Last edited by Ptolemaios Soter; May 04, 2019 at 01:21 PM.

  3. #3
    Gaius Georgeus's Avatar Tiro
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Quote Originally Posted by nhvanputten View Post
    I really don’t like the way the difficulty settings affect gameplay. To me, it doesn’t incentivize slower, more strategic play, it just punishes you for doing anything other than ideal min/maxing. Basically, if do it right, the game is still easy, but if not done right it’s impossible.

    Instead, I really enjoy the official hardcore mod played on N/N. It slows down play making everything more difficult, but also gives you room to strategize. Biggest differences are that AI actions seem more logical (still aggressive but less random), build and research times are way longer which makes decisions more important, conversely empire maintenance is still high but not impossible to manage.

    I’m currently trying the Realism submod instead which integrates some of hardcore and AE. It’s fun, but I’m not sure that I prefer it.
    Thats some great insight, nhvanputten, appreciated. Hardcore mode always seemed fairly scary on the label. I have never given it a try tbh.

    Would you recommend it before the in-game difficulty finetuning? You do seem to be making the case. What are the key differences for you and in general vs. say VH difficulty? And do I assume correctly that the Hardcore mod affects only player?

    Thank you.
    Alea iacta est.

  4. #4

    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    I just tried bumping up the campaign difficulty this week myself. Ho boy. 20 turns in and the world has already declared war. Think I'm gonna restart and check out the hardcore mod. Thanks for the recommendation nhvanputten.

    I've considered adding the new Age of Hellenism submod as it changes the autoresolve script (so it changes long-term difficulty in a big way), but that's kind of faction-specific if you want to use it or not.

  5. #5
    Gaius Georgeus's Avatar Tiro
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Quote Originally Posted by nhvanputten View Post
    I really don’t like the way the difficulty settings affect gameplay. To me, it doesn’t incentivize slower, more strategic play, it just punishes you for doing anything other than ideal min/maxing. Basically, if do it right, the game is still easy, but if not done right it’s impossible.

    Instead, I really enjoy the official hardcore mod played on N/N. It slows down play making everything more difficult, but also gives you room to strategize. Biggest differences are that AI actions seem more logical (still aggressive but less random), build and research times are way longer which makes decisions more important, conversely empire maintenance is still high but not impossible to manage.

    I’m currently trying the Realism submod instead which integrates some of hardcore and AE. It’s fun, but I’m not sure that I prefer it.
    One more related question - I have read through the Hardcore/Softcore submod section and it seems quite a few people are happy with N/N + Hardcore submod setting. However, some reported that this means the whole world is constantly at everyone v. everyone war. For the realistic feel, that does not really help. I am aware that there is also a non-CAI version of Hardcore submod available but there I am worried of a contrarian result of a hippie Europe where noone wages war at all. How is your experience in this regard, what have you found most realistic? Thanks.
    Alea iacta est.

  6. #6
    ♔Greek Strategos♔'s Avatar THE BEARDED MACE
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Thing is you can remove-add any of the hardcore softcore submods any time. So my suggestions are to start on Hard (Campaign difficulty) and then, play with the submod-s of your preference.
    I usually start on Very hard with softcore (for the first turns) and then I just remove it and the use hardcore.

    Also, for quick questions like that, you can always use the dedicated feedback/questions thread or the strategy subthread
    Last edited by ♔Greek Strategos♔; May 06, 2019 at 05:09 AM.

  7. #7

    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    I am playing in normal, it pretty hard sometimes, but still realistic thank to Divide et Impera fulfilled my dream come true.
    A big thank form DIE Thailand fan, respectful.

  8. #8
    Jurand of Cracow's Avatar History and gameplay!
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Be aware that changing difficulty results in cheaper armies for the AI what results in flood of armies recruited by even one-province factions (see example here)

  9. #9

    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jurand of Cracow View Post
    Be aware that changing difficulty results in cheaper armies for the AI what results in flood of armies recruited by even one-province factions (see example here)
    Actually, nowadays vanilla DEI and most of alternative economy versions only have an economy buff that scales with difficulty. The upkeep and recruitment buff for the AI is the same at all levels.

  10. #10
    ♔Greek Strategos♔'s Avatar THE BEARDED MACE
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Μoved to the appropriate thread: DeI Strategy Guides and Gameplay Discussions

    Feel free to continue.

  11. #11
    waidizss's Avatar Ordinarius
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Quote Originally Posted by ♔Greek Strategos♔ View Post
    Μoved to the appropriate thread: DeI Strategy Guides and Gameplay Discussions

    Feel free to continue.
    Noone visits this subforum.
    Data Venia hardcore couch general edition: 'Competent' AI, reworked unit stats, realistic speeds, more planning, more strategy, less arcade, less cheese.

    Get that feel that you are campaigning, not simply steamrolling, now only £9.99 monthly subscription for your advanced Lucius Licinius Lucullus' guide to subjugating the east.

  12. #12
    Jake Armitage's Avatar Artifex
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    well, you did.

  13. #13

    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    This is my favorite part of the forum because it’s where all of the cool stuff gets discussed. It’s a shame it doesn’t get more attention though.

  14. #14
    ♔Greek Strategos♔'s Avatar THE BEARDED MACE
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    Default Re: Hard or Very Hard Campaign Difficulty?

    Quote Originally Posted by waidizss View Post
    Noone visits this subforum.
    Quote Originally Posted by Jake Armitage View Post
    well, you did.
    You just got schooled son

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