Add dificulty options to every instanced content?

In order to be playable by everyone the current dificulty does not apeal to those more veteran players.

Adding a difuculty selection just before going in every instance, regardless if solo story content or multiplayer fractals / raids could indeed make everyone happy.

• easy mode
• normal mode (current mode)
• hard mode
• inferno mode

Give your options below on how many types of difuculty modes instanced content should have.

Instead of increasing difficulty, make a legendary badass boss that only a handful of people will be able to do it. Therefore, difficulty in scale is:

1. Open World
2. Dungeon
3. Fractals
4. CM Fractals
5. Raids
6. CM Raids
7. Badass Boss

So everyone that is saying no is happy with the current dificulty?

@neoteo.3975 said:So everyone that is saying no is happy with the current easy mode?

Pollception.

Some instances may be considered 'easy' now, some of average difficulty, and some more challenging.In other words, one size does not fit all.

I thought dungeons already have explorables thats harder than story, fractals have difficulty tiers and if one want the hardest content, raids.

Or am I misintrepreting PvE?

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:Some instances may be considered 'easy' now, some of average difficulty, and some more challenging.In other words, one size does not fit all.

That is why having modes helps to fit more.

Gw1 did that since it was very instanced.

@Dawdler.8521 said:I thought dungeons already have explorables thats harder than story, fractals have difficulty tiers and if one want the hardest content, raids.

Or am I misintrepreting PvE?

Some players would like raids to be easier some would like them to be harder, story mode could also be easier for some players and others wanting to repeat with extra difuculty could also gain new challenges there.

The only thing that needs an easy mode is raids.

I say no to everything until alliances is out the door.

Yes, on one condition: the rewards should be the same no matter what difficulty you choose.

I imagine that might be controversial as I know for many people harder difficulty and increased rewards go hand in hand in MMOs, but IMO it should be done like single-player games where you pick higher difficulties for no other reason than because you want to do it. Maybe there could be a (low AP) achievement for doing the highest difficulty, but no increased drop rates or anything like that. Otherwise it's just pressuring everyone to always pick the highest difficulty and then you lose the benefit of giving options.

Under those conditions I like the idea. If I want to rush through the story to remind myself how a particular instance goes I can do it on easy mode, or if I'm having an off-day and just want a relaxed run. And if I feel like a challenge or more variety I can pick a higher difficulty to try.

Even if it's only means critters have more health and do more damage

I feel that raids would be more accessible with some kind of baby mode that had baby rewards. Less effort should always result in less reward, and that'd open up a section of the game that a good number of people have avoided ever since raids hit Tyria.

@Danikat.8537 said:Yes, on one condition: the rewards should be the same no matter what difficulty you choose.

I imagine that might be controversial as I know for many people harder difficulty and increased rewards go hand in hand in MMOs, but IMO it should be done like single-player games where you pick higher difficulties for no other reason than because you want to do it. Maybe there could be a (low AP) achievement for doing the highest difficulty, but no increased drop rates or anything like that. Otherwise it's just pressuring everyone to always pick the highest difficulty and then you lose the benefit of giving options.

Under those conditions I like the idea. If I want to rush through the story to remind myself how a particular instance goes I can do it on easy mode, or if I'm having an off-day and just want a relaxed run. And if I feel like a challenge or more variety I can pick a higher difficulty to try.

I agree, and there could be some progression requirements for hard and inferno modes, you should complete in normal mode in order to unlock hard mode and complete hard mode in order to unlock inferno modes.

Honestly, I think that it would be viable only in raids, since fractals already have different tiers which means different difficulties. But, in raids I would love to see a "training" option, for example, in some bosses if not all, cause I know many people who have dropped raids cause they couldn't avoid a specific mechanic, get insta killed and then, for their own reasons, stopped coming. Not saying like fully nerfing each boss, more like keep the same health and toughness etc, but make the mechanics from the boss to be less punishing, or increase outgoing healing effectiveness etc, something that would be close to reality but still give a more welcome approach for the newer people.

@AgentMoore.9453 said:I feel that raids would be more accessible with some kind of baby mode that had baby rewards. Less effort should always result in less reward, and that'd open up a section of the game that a good number of people have avoided ever since raids hit Tyria.

Definitely easy mode for those who do not have all maxed stats armour and weapons but still want to try those arenas.

Get already Raids for the hard mode. By the way, if memory is good GW1 didn't have a hard mode per instance...if you had finished everything in normal mode you had the choice to restart in hard mode....but it was a all or nothing...then again, haven't played GW1 in while so memory might be blurred.

Where is the "I rather they spend the resources on better fight design"?

Talking about difficulty without defining it is also a completely useless discussion that usually results in people talking pass each other.

The ideal game would have multiple difficult levels for just about anything, with rewards scaling in some way that prevented exploitation (or locking the less-skilled out of shiny unlocks). In the real world, it's not mathematically possible to have a reward system that is that perfect. And, even if they could, it's much more expensive to offer multiple difficult levels. Various devs (at ANet and elsewhere) have explained that setting up advanced mechanics is always more than just tweaking health or aggro algorithms on bosses or speeding up the fight.

So ANet could add a difficulty level to LS5.1 for example, but then it would be release 1-2 months later, if not more.

So which does the OP want more? 4 difficulty levels and maybe 1-2 episodes per year? Or 1 difficulty level and 3-5 episodes per year?

Everything is fine the way it is. Raids are not supposed to be faceroll easy. Although I did vote yes for a raid training mode with little to no rewards. I think it would speed up the learning process. Learn the mechanics and your rotations. Do your homework. Get gud scrubs.

And who is going to implement these extra modes?

I don't think raids should be subject to this at all. Dungeons could have hard, medium and soft but no real issue if they don't just better for training people. Fractals are already progressively harder as you beat them and you can step back a few levels if you just want to goof around. DLs are kind of already there..The place I want levels is story instances that have multiple achievements bundled with them. I still haven't got my Luminescent armor yet because I can't be bothered repeating an instance that I finished, but failed one or more of the side quests. All these side achievements are for story flavour. It's pretty hard to absorb the story if you are really focusing on your gaming. Side quests should be easy fights but harder puzzles. Time shouldn't be a factor unless it is the only plot point for the achievement (self destruct in 2 min etc.).Most of the newer story instances are fine but there are some in season 2 that are exciting to fight your way through once, but get boring doing it over and over. All the story instances should be slightly more difficult the first time then much easier to repeat for story flavour. But everyone has their preferences so having a difficulty selector is the best way to go..I am not sure why people are saying no to this. We all know that hard mode will award more loot.

@"Silvery Shadow.5036" said:Get already Raids for the hard mode. By the way, if memory is good GW1 didn't have a hard mode per instance...if you had finished everything in normal mode you had the choice to restart in hard mode....but it was a all or nothing...then again, haven't played GW1 in while so memory might be blurred.

It wasn't a restart, nor was it "all or nothing". In GW1 once you completed that Campaigns (Prophecies, Factions, Nightfall, Eye of the North) final mission it unlocks the Hard Mode option for those missions for any level 20 character you have on your account. Hard Mode provided a more difficult challenge and better rewards.

As for raids already being "the most challenging" thats a low bar. A really low bar. Especially when the raiding guilds in GW2 cleared the newest and latest Raid the very same day that it was released. Key of Ahdashim released on June 11th, it was already entirely cleared by raid guilds that very same day. Both WoW and FFXIV have difficulty tiers for their Raids (called Trials in FFXIV), this greatly extends the amount of time people spend playing this content and this content having relevance until the next one is released, it also adequately provides enough of a challenge for more veteran or hardcore players to be satisfied with and to continue to play.

I know there is this sort of idea that GW2 is easily accessible by many people...but that doesn't mean it does a good job of appealing to those people who want more of a challenge out of it. This game is for sure accessible to the casual player, in fact ArenaNet practically caters to the casual player almost entirely. However veteran or hardcore players don't seem to get noticed, they aren't given the content that appeals to them the most and ArenaNets attempts at doing this while almost explicitly trying to also keep it super accessible for casual players ends up with the results we have today. Its not enough. Its depressing, even.

If you're a casual player I have no problems with you, if thats how you play due to life circumstances, time constraints or you just don't feel like being a hardcore player, thats entirely fine and I would never shame you for that. However GW2 currently gives you all the things that you want, a casual experience. I've seen in the past that people have said Anet caters to the hardcore playerbase and...uh...yeah no. Speaking as someone who routinely goes the "hardcore" min/max route on most things I play, especially MMORPGs, I can firmly say that Anet in no way provides the kind of experience, or more appropriately the challenge I tend to desire. Thats why I really only play PvP, because the simple aspect of going against another player and the variables around that provides me opportunities to improve and challenge myself and I enjoy that. PvE does not do that in this game. I have no idea why Anet shifted away from that philosophy they had in GW1 where they were willing to add optional more challenging content to the game yet they apparently have no desire to do so for GW2. Baffles me.

If you vote no to them adding difficulty options to content please, please keep in mind that those difficulty tiers in question would be optional. They are in no way meant to have the casual player as the target audience, they are meant for veterans and "hardcore" players as well as any casual player looking to get more of a challenge out of the game. Rewards in this game are nowhere near being a gear treadmill and I don't think people would ask for that anyway, but for sure a higher difficulty tier for these particular pieces of content should warrant better rewards worthwhile in comparison to the challenge they provide.

@Evolving Minotaur.5871 said:I don't think raids should be subject to this at all. Dungeons could have hard, medium and soft but no real issue if they don't just better for training people. Fractals are already progressively harder as you beat them and you can step back a few levels if you just want to goof around. DLs are kind of already there..The place I want levels is story instances that have multiple achievements bundled with them. I still haven't got my Luminescent armor yet because I can't be bothered repeating an instance that I finished, but failed one or more of the side quests. All these side achievements are for story flavour. It's pretty hard to absorb the story if you are really focusing on your gaming. Side quests should be easy fights but harder puzzles. Time shouldn't be a factor unless it is the only plot point for the achievement (self destruct in 2 min etc.).Most of the newer story instances are fine but there are some in season 2 that are exciting to fight your way through once, but get boring doing it over and over. All the story instances should be slightly more difficult the first time then much easier to repeat for story flavour. But everyone has their preferences so having a difficulty selector is the best way to go..I am not sure why people are saying no to this. We all know that hard mode will award more loot.

People are saying no because the biggest issue which plagued the game has been the slow speed of updates. If you want them to implement 4 tiers of difficulty then you better expect some delays which I don't think many people will want. Until they show that they can release fun, repeatable and challenging content in a regular and consistent basis with good rewards, I am going to vote no.

@Warscythes.9307 said:

@Evolving Minotaur.5871 said:I don't think raids should be subject to this at all. Dungeons could have hard, medium and soft but no real issue if they don't just better for training people. Fractals are already progressively harder as you beat them and you can step back a few levels if you just want to goof around. DLs are kind of already there..The place I want levels is story instances that have multiple achievements bundled with them. I still haven't got my Luminescent armor yet because I can't be bothered repeating an instance that I finished, but failed one or more of the side quests. All these side achievements are for story flavour. It's pretty hard to absorb the story if you are really focusing on your gaming. Side quests should be easy fights but harder puzzles. Time shouldn't be a factor unless it is the only plot point for the achievement (self destruct in 2 min etc.).Most of the newer story instances are fine but there are some in season 2 that are exciting to fight your way through once, but get boring doing it over and over. All the story instances should be slightly more difficult the first time then much easier to repeat for story flavour. But everyone has their preferences so having a difficulty selector is the best way to go..I am not sure why people are saying no to this. We all know that hard mode will award more loot.

I think people will accept delays if the content is worthwhile. What made the update speed so atrocious was that not only did we have to wait months for the content, but the content itself was meh and it didn't last the length of time between updates.