Current Events > ITT: Let's actually design proper difficulty modes for Dark Souls 1

(+) Yeah! (+)

In the style of Metal Gear Solid 2's difficulty modes, which change most aspects of the game. Let's consider base DS1 to be "normal" mode; in easy mode, I propose:

• Universal HP damage reduction by some percentage (let's say half), but not to Stamina penalties and not to instakills
• Ailments are harder to apply to the player and easier to remove
• Enemies stagger easier
• Humanity is more common
• Some areas have rearranged enemy placements with different or less enemies (the pit at the bottom of the Catacombs isn't actual hell anymore, and neither is the 3-gargoyle area in Anor Londo when you keep getting fired at by the archers)
• The weight threshold for rolling is raised so that light rolling is easier
• Some bosses have different attack patterns and simply do not use some attacks (I'm not sure on the specifics)
• The player can teleport from either Blighttown bonfire to Firelink Shrine and vice versa once they've been activated (before you get the Lordvessel), so that players whose weapons break don't have to climb out again; same for Ashen Lake, so the player doesn't have to climb back out of the Great Hollow before getting the Lordvessel
• More bonfires
• The lantern shows more in the Tomb of the Giants
• Curse does not exist (Basilisks instead inflict Toxin)
• The Toxin dudes in Blighttown no longer exist
• Bed of Chaos does half knockback and half stamina damage on shield
• Give the player 2 extra ring slots?

Not too sure how one could fairly make a hard mode, but the inverse of these would be a good start.

That's way too much neutering for an easy mode and would make the game an absolute joke

Just cut enemy damage by 15% and drop half your souls on death and make them not disappear if you die before getting them

For hard mode, revamp enemy placement and improve their AI and tracking so they actually DO something instead of just waiting for you to kill them. And then cut soul gain down back to the original pre-patched rates

Easy mode, you start at lvl 90 with a plus 10 gear

MarthGoomba posted...

That's way too much neutering for an easy mode and would make the game an absolute joke

Metal Gear Solid 2's Very Easy mode is incredibly easy, but it makes a lot of neat changes and you never have to play it.

Small damage reduction.
Change the equip load thresholds, let them have the fast roll (more frames on it too if you want) at higher equip loads. Or just cut equipment weight.
Humanity now provides regen for a while after the full heal.
Worse drop rates

RE4-esque removed areas:
Open the big gate in Anor Londo from the start, forget the side route.
Gwyndolin is hard mode only.
Painted world is open if you approach the painting without the item, but completely deserted.
O&S are fought one after another, engage one and the other goes back up an elevator until his turn.
Big ladder down the catacombs.
Tomb of the giants has another slide that skips the lower part with the quadrupeds and the knight.
Run into the hole now covered in signs and indications at the start of Chasm of the Abyss to fight Manus instead of playing the level.
Kalameet is hard mode only and does not appear earlier in Royal Wood.
As you first enter Gwyn's room he is so startled that he accidentally lights himself on fire and loses 2/3 of his health.

Easy mode: change nothing about the game, learn the mechanics and tune your builds towards something OP, also using coop partners to steamroll shit.

Git gud.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Open the big gate in Anor Londo from the start, forget the side route.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

O&S are fought one after another, engage one and the other goes back up an elevator until his turn.

ViewtifulJoe posted...

Humanity now provides regen for a while after the full heal.

I like these a lot

SwayM posted...

Easy mode: change nothing about the game, learn the mechanics and tune your builds towards something OP, also using coop partners to steamroll shit.

I beat Dark Souls on my own, not every conversation about DS's difficulty is had by people who just need to git gud.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/0/2/AAWkzsAACxE2.png

I could see every blacksmith being capable of every upgrade or them doing away with embers too.

Easy mode - offline pyromancer
Easy/hard mode - online pyromancer

Done

BignutzisBack posted...

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/3/0/2/AAWkzsAACxE2.png

Who the fuck even is Two_Dee

Anyway, I don't know how we would make DS1 harder aside of enemy spam and outright removing equipment slots and drops in the world.

possibly increase i-frames on roll?

Garioshi posted...

Anyway, I don't know how we would make DS1 harder aside of enemy spam and outright removing equipment slots and drops in the world.

remove i-frames on roll?

tweak enemy placement (more mobs, harder mobs)

aside from the 'easy' things like increasing HP and enemy damage, not sure what else could be done besides redoing enemy AI.

The only argument I see is for players with physical or mental disabilities needing certain amounts of help in order to have access to the experience, so I have a hard time disputing the idea inherently. Part of me thinks that the series could have a walkthrough mode, where enemies don't aggro on you and only turn hostile if you attack. That way people could still explore and experience the world but it wouldn't count towards any of those lame achievements and couldn't be passed off as a speed run.

Just my two cents.

K181 posted...

The only argument I see is for players with physical or mental disabilities needing certain amounts of help in order to have access to the experience, so I have a hard time disputing the idea inherently. Part of me thinks that the series could have a walkthrough mode, where enemies don't aggro on you and only turn hostile if you attack. That way people could still explore and experience the world but it wouldn't count towards any of those lame achievements and couldn't be passed off as a speed run.

Just my two cents.

More options is always better, so I'm down for this

Learning healing spells feels like easy mode already

Easy mode, you start with a machine gun

Easy mode: Start as Pyro/Sorcerer

The only thing it needs is offline pause, and I'm not even a kirobournesouls shill so that should say something

This dude doesn't even know the legend that is Two_Dee smh

Seaman_Prime posted...

Easy mode, you start with a machine gun

https://youtu.be/_94ExsMwcv0

CapnMuffin posted...

https://youtu.be/_94ExsMwcv0

That Flintstones sound effect gets me everytime, no matter where its used

Maybe a companion character who manifests at every bonfire and gives you an overabundance of hints and tips could solve a lot very quickly.

bump