Does anyone not play games on the hardest difficulty setting ?

On the gaming forum I frequented before GB, most of the people played video games on the hardest setting available at the start of the game or that is at least what the polls would show.

To me it is the real difficulty, I have this little quirk that I can't really play the game on a lower setting because it then feels like I am cheating and not actually playing the game. But I read some posts over at the Skyrim board and it seemed that not everyone was playing on the Master difficulty, which is fine but I could never ever turn it down. However I tend to not replay games very often, I remember the hardest difficulty setting in GoW 1 not being available from the get go, so I just played the hardest available and that was the experience for me and it was also satisfying.

But what is your opinion on difficulty and usually, what difficulty do you chose to play a game ?

Varies from game to game and playthrough to playthrough. If I just want to have fun, like on a game like Saints Row, I'll play on normal. If its my second playthrough on, say, Gears of War or Halo, I'll play on the highest diffculty.

Games are easy and made to be finished so I usually play on the hardest difficulty to make it slightly less boring.

I tend to go normal or less depending on the game, after trying out many games on the harder difficulty I learned that I want to play the game & enjoy it, not spend hours just trying to get past the first level or two (or constantly reloading games).

I always play on the normal difficulty(unless I'm aiming for all the points/trophies).I hate having to start a checkpoint multiple times just because of the shitty AI.I just want to enjoy the game on the difficulty it was meant to be played which is NORMAL.

I usually start off playing on the highest difficulty level.....unless the game is known for having brutal difficulty or its a genre I suck at (Western RPGs and RTS games).

I'll play new games on normal, and games I'm comfortable with on hard. For example, I played Uncharted 3 on hard because I flew through 1+2, but I played Mass Effect 2 on normal since I never played the original.

Depends on the game. RPG I'll just have it so I die occasionally, RTS I usually have on hardest, shooters on normal as well.

I usually play on normal unless there is an achievement for playing on a harder difficulty. But even then, I will probably pick normal. I play games to have, not to stress out about unbalanced AI.

Depends on the game really.  
 
There is no way I'd ever play a Bethesda game on the highest difficulty though. Having to stab a guy 20 times until he dies is incredibly awful. 

Normal, always. I want to enjoy the game my first time through and not be frustrated by it. I usually only play the hardest ones because of trophies. But it depends on the game. The last games I played the first time on the hardest difficulty was probably Deus Ex Human Revolution and Fallout New Vegas with survival mode turned on. I played those on the hardest because they are RPG's that offer you all sorts of choices. And I wanted those choices to matter. If I play it on normal than I don't feel any satisfaction playing it cause I will decimate everything no matter what choice I took. For example, the stealth in Deus Ex would not matter if I could easily dispatch a whole room of enemies in a loud firefight, so I played on the hardest difficulty to amp up the risk and consequence of not playing carefully. And with New Vegas I wanted it to be a harsh wasteland experience where I have to be careful about everything I do and what things I carry.

But those games are few and far between for me. Typically play shooters, action games, RTS games on normal.

i usually play games on normal or medium. i don't like to have a challenge where i die a lot. it frustrates me a lot. 
 
something that i hate about difficulties in games is that sometimes they make medium to easy but hard a jump.

As one example, I think playing Arkham Asylum on Hard for your first playthrough detracts from the experience. With no counter indicators and considerably increased enemy damage, the game is pretty brutal for several hours until you get a feel for the enemy AI and can tell which guy will be attacking you next.

However, since most games don't change the UI like that and instead just scale up enemy damage and health, playing most games on the hardest difficulty is fine, though I usually stick to whatever the default is.

Never, not even back when I might have cared. If I want a challenge, I play a multiplayer game.

Games are short and usually designed to be played on the normal difficulty setting. As they're so short, I'll play through them again on hard. More bang for my buck in a way.

I play games on normal.

except for mass effect 2 which I played on insanity my first time through because I was going through a brief achievement whore phase.

and rome total war because I'm pretty good at that game.

It depends, I usually play FPS on hardcore and RPG's on nightmare, but it mostly has to do if the game is more enjoyable that way.

Only halo

Depends greatly on the game. If I had started playing Halo: Reach for the first time for instance on Legendary instead of Heroic (single player mind you not coop), I would have been pretty frustrated after only a couple of missions. For other games, like Gears 3, the hardest difficulty is pretty manageable. However, many games lock away the hardest difficulties until you've either completed the lower difficulties (ala Uncharted 2/3, Devil May Cry, etc.) or have completed the game at least once (i.e. Gears 3, Vanquish, etc.) so in those instances you really can't play on the harder difficulty without at least first playing through on the lower difficulties.

Shouldn't you be asking if anyone plays on the highest difficulty setting? I mean surely you must know that the majority do not play on the hardest setting.

I normally don't. Only Games i can really think of that I played at hardest difficulty were all of the Halo games and the Gears games, and Dragon Age: Origins.

I remember playing God Of War 3 on Hard first, because I got used to how the game mechanics worked from GOW 1 + 2. But otherwise it's normal. Maybe if it's to do with the fact that if it's a new game, you don't know how harsh the difficulty can be.

On the gaming forum I frequented before GB, most of the people played video games on the hardest setting available at the start of the game or that is at least what the polls would show.

To me it is the real difficulty, I have this little quirk that I can't really play the game on a lower setting because it then feels like I am cheating and not actually playing the game. But I read some posts over at the Skyrim board and it seemed that not everyone was playing on the Master difficulty, which is fine but I could never ever turn it down. However I tend to not replay games very often, I remember the hardest difficulty setting in GoW 1 not being available from the get go, so I just played the hardest available and that was the experience for me and it was also satisfying.

But what is your opinion on difficulty and usually, what difficulty do you chose to play a game ?

@laserbolts said:

Shouldn't you be asking if anyone plays on the highest difficulty setting? I mean surely you must know that the majority do not play on the hardest setting.

But then he doesn't sound like a super cool hardcore gamer.

I always start on the medium setting because I don't have the time or energy to keep dying and reloading.

If a game is really easy, I'll bump it up. Shadows of the Damned was a good example on that. Too easy on Normal, just right on Hard.

I typically play games for the story, not for the difficulty, so I usually play on normal or lower. I hate dying a bunch and having to replay sections over and over. I almost bumped down the difficulty in Uncharted 3 because of the stupid pirate part near the middle of the game. I eventually made it through it after about 10 tries so I am happy that I'll be able to get the trophy for beating it on normal.

I usually try out the default setting and then proceed from there.

I don't like playing on harder difficulties because I'm very impatient and do a lot of stupid things so I don't like to be harshly penalized for that.

Also when I play a game I don't want it to be too easy to the point where I don't even need to try, but I also don't want it to bee too hard.

I play games to have fun so cranking up the difficulty just to make it more challenging so that I can feel like I accomplished more doesn't suit me.

I tend to play shooters on the hardest and RPGs close to the hardest, usually one step down. Everything else on medium or maybe slightly harder, except fighting games where I usually play on an easy setting to start

I change difficulties mid play so games remain challenging but not frustrating. For example, I started Uncharted 3 on hard and ended up changing it to normal after too many frustrating deaths. I started Mass Effect 2 on Normal but ended it on Insanity; the same with Dragon Age. It entirely depends on the game.

I normally just play normal with every game. Then If I really like the game il run through it again on a higher setting done it with most of the CoDs and Halo games.

As of late, since I played Demon's Souls, I've come to prefer playing on Hard settings even if I occasionally want to punt a baby out of my window. I feel a sense of accomplishment that I never really did before, playing on the Hardest available setting. Usually when I do a second run-through, I play on the easiest setting so I can try and appreciate the game itself, and the story more. Maybe I'm just weird.

Games stress me out, I cave under their hostility-drenched difficulty, so I always go normal or even easy. I don't have the patience, guts or dedication to get virtually fucked and toyed with.

@sixghost said:

@Mageman said:

On the gaming forum I frequented before GB, most of the people played video games on the hardest setting available at the start of the game or that is at least what the polls would show.

To me it is the real difficulty, I have this little quirk that I can't really play the game on a lower setting because it then feels like I am cheating and not actually playing the game. But I read some posts over at the Skyrim board and it seemed that not everyone was playing on the Master difficulty, which is fine but I could never ever turn it down. However I tend to not replay games very often, I remember the hardest difficulty setting in GoW 1 not being available from the get go, so I just played the hardest available and that was the experience for me and it was also satisfying.

But what is your opinion on difficulty and usually, what difficulty do you chose to play a game ?

You lost me when you said the hardest difficulty is the real difficulty. You're honestly telling me CoD campaigns are intended to be played on Vet using a gamepad, or Mass Effect 2 is supposed to be played on Insanity? Just two examples.

If you don't play on the highest difficulty then you don't really know how hard a game is. That is why it is a ''real difficulty''. Some game might be harder than average on normal but not all that hard on the hard settings. FPS games in general are not supposed to be played on a gamepad in general, it makes for a miserable experience on any difficulty. Never played ME 2, ME was perfectly playable on the hardest difficulty.

@Hunkulese said:

@laserbolts said:

Shouldn't you be asking if anyone plays on the highest difficulty setting? I mean surely you must know that the majority do not play on the hardest setting.

But then he doesn't sound like a super cool hardcore gamer.

...I think pouring lots and lots of time into games makes you ''hardcore'' in which case I don't any more.

@laserbolts said:

Shouldn't you be asking if anyone plays on the highest difficulty setting? I mean surely you must know that the majority do not play on the hardest setting.

But I don't know that, that is why I am asking....I formed the question like that because at GT back in 2006/7 people would mostly answer that they play on the higher difficulty settings in games as opposed to normal. No idea how it is here.

depends on the game but i usually on one below the highest.

A lot of times I'll play second highest the first time through and if I ever decide to play again I'll go with the hardest

Skyrim defaulted to master the first time so Ive just gone with that, even though I'm level 17 and still getting raped by bears and mages and bandits and everything.

I used to swear by the hardest difficulty level. I think I've realized now that it very much depends on the type of game i'm playing. It takes time to master the controls and nuances of each game. If i'm going to invest a lot of time into a game I would prefer it be competitive or MMO in style.

@Mageman said:

If you don't play on the highest difficulty then you don't really know how hard a game is. That is why it is a ''real difficulty''. Some game might be harder than average on normal but not all that hard on the hard settings. FPS games in general are not supposed to be played on a gamepad in general, it makes for a miserable experience on any difficulty. Never played ME 2, ME was perfectly playable on the hardest difficulty.

Not quite. For example, one of the hardest parts in Oblivion at it's hardest setting was is the first two rats you encounter during the tutorial - there are guides to killing the very first enemies you face... there is no way that is intended to be the "real difficulty."

Depends on the game. Case by case basis.

I usually play through on normal or hard depending on which is the "play this one" setting, then if I liked the game enough I'll go back through on the hardest difficulty setting. I'm not going to sit through reloading a check point over and over my first time through a game that I'm not enjoying.

Do you know what I don't like? Games that force you to complete them to access the hardest difficulty...

@usgrovers said:

@Mageman said:

If you don't play on the highest difficulty then you don't really know how hard a game is. That is why it is a ''real difficulty''. Some game might be harder than average on normal but not all that hard on the hard settings. FPS games in general are not supposed to be played on a gamepad in general, it makes for a miserable experience on any difficulty. Never played ME 2, ME was perfectly playable on the hardest difficulty.

Not quite. For example, one of the hardest parts in Oblivion at it's hardest setting was is the first two rats you encounter during the tutorial - there are guides to killing the very first enemies you face... there is no way that is intended to be the "real difficulty."

Maybe it is, the start is supposed to be very tough as you don't know the mechanics very well and are just starting out. In Skyrim I spend about 40 min trying to kill some mages at an early level character for some quest, I had to use everything, from the environment to the quicksave mechanics...but in the end I somehow managed. And now I kill everything in one hit, no one can touch me and it is the same difficulty. So yes RPG games are supposed to be tough at the beginning.

Generally, I play on Hard, but I'm starting to wonder why.

I'm having far less fun playing than I used to, and, with the exception of Darksiders, most games' hard modes are more unfair than challenging.

@Mageman: If a developer goes through all that trouble and then decides that 'normal' somehow means something other than standard, they're being very silly. Hard is harder than normal, so normal is normal and easy is easier than normal and normal is standard etc etc. I'm perfectly happy to play games on Hard or whatever if it's too easy. Having said that, I don't have so much time that I will happily waste it bashing my head against a problem on hard when on normal I could just be enjoying the game experience.

Dude, try to keep that I-always-play-on-the-hardest-difficulty attitude with something like ArmA II. I've tried. It doesn't pan out.

Most times I play things on normal unless I've played one before in the series in which case I'd just find normal difficulty boring so then I put it on the highest difficulty. For e.g. I've played all the most recent COD/BF campaigns on hardest difficulty just because you get used to the style fairly quickly. It really depends on the game for me.

Really, what is to be gained by playing a game for the first time on the highest difficulty setting? Is it actually rewarding to people? Do you have something to prove to yourself, or to others?

I don't have the patience to play through the same section of a game over and over again until I get it right, and getting through a difficult session of a game never feels like an accomplishment to me. I'll do it if I'm engaged in the story and want to see things through to the end, but if I'm not engaged in a game and I hit a rough part, that game is usually gone from my life. Happened in Mirror's Edge, Brutal Legend, and it happened in Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem.

If I really like a game, and the combat feels too easy, I'll crank up the difficulty, just to make things a bit more interesting. That happened in Fallout 3, Dragon Age: Origins, Oblivion and Skyrim.

People really need to stop phrasing questions like this... NO of course not. A fuckload of people play on easier settings.

To answer the question I think you actually meant, no I almost never play on hardest. Only in games i'm comfortable with or games that are way too easy.

I play on Normal unless it's one of those games that recommends a higher setting.

@Mageman said:

@usgrovers said:

@Mageman said:

If you don't play on the highest difficulty then you don't really know how hard a game is. That is why it is a ''real difficulty''. Some game might be harder than average on normal but not all that hard on the hard settings. FPS games in general are not supposed to be played on a gamepad in general, it makes for a miserable experience on any difficulty. Never played ME 2, ME was perfectly playable on the hardest difficulty.

Not quite. For example, one of the hardest parts in Oblivion at it's hardest setting was is the first two rats you encounter during the tutorial - there are guides to killing the very first enemies you face... there is no way that is intended to be the "real difficulty."

Maybe it is, the start is supposed to be very tough as you don't know the mechanics very well and are just starting out. In Skyrim I spend about 40 min trying to kill some mages at an early level character for some quest, I had to use everything, from the environment to the quicksave mechanics...but in the end I somehow managed. And now I kill everything in one hit, no one can touch me and it is the same difficulty. So yes RPG games are supposed to be tough at the beginning.

Maybe, but there is no reason anyone should ever play oblivion on anything other than normal. All the difficulty slider does is increase enemy damage and decreases yours, so if you know how to play the game the net result is longer battles, more annoying not really more challenging. (having played it a great deal on hardest)

Personally it depends on the game for me, when I had more time I used to go from normal to hardest on most games, now I go on a game by game basis. Some games like infamous and Dragon age on hard are still kinda easy for me.

No, because if I experience one more checkpoint before a cut-scene I'm going to slice someone in the genital triangle with a rusty saw. I want challenge, not frustration.

Hellz no. First run-through is always on default and because there are too many games to play, I don't have time to go back to play on the hardest setting.

most of my games are played at medium, then I bump it to hard in my second playthrough.