Do you ever lower the difficulty?

[Nannernade]

Well on games like Fallout if I'm a low level and I see a fucking pack of 7 - 21 Deathclaws of course I'm going to turn down the difficulty lol.

 

[Netrigan]

I've taken to playing games on the default difficulty. That's usually enough of a challenge to keep my interest and keeps the story moving along at a good pace.

Only time I ever drop the difficulty is when the game play is boring me, which lets me watch the story.

 

[McNinja]

I like winning, so I usually play on normal. On InFamous, I play on hard (because that's what the game told be to play as, and I haven't changed it since), but I've stopped playing Infamous because the enemies are now ridiculously strong, and take way too much damage. Seriously, when it takes less shots for the enemy to kill you than for you to kill them, something's wrong.

 

[superbatranger]

I just leave it at normal. I rarely raise or lower the difficulty.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

SF IV for the first time through. I'd never played a SF game before properly so it was my first time owning one and Seth is one cheap basterd. I can thankfully say I have improved lots and can now finish the game with all characters on the setting above normal and with a few on Hard working on Hardest and Time Attack, etc.

 

[kommando367]

I start on normal and only lower it if a game is ridiculously difficult.

 

[joshuaayt]

I go the middle ground- if it's a good, respectful game, this will always be the "base" option- the one that will most accurately represent the challenges the protagonist faces.

 

[Reshkar]

Lowered down the difficulty from Hardcore to Veteran on Mass Effect, thought it was gonna be easy, but I gave up and lowered the difficulty.
Other than that, I usually go for Normal on first playthrough, then Hard next time.

 

[robodukky]

In shooters, rhythm and action games I usually go to the highest difficulty and leave it there, but with RTS's and RPG's I tend to start off on normal and up the difficulty if appropriate.

 

[Sixcess]

In Game Pop-up: "Do you want to lower the difficulty?"
Me: "No! I refuse! I will not degrade myself by sinking to a lower level! The very fact that you question my video gaming prowess is insulting! I'm insulted... Hurt even."
*Click 'NO'*

Crysis is doing this to me at the moment, a lot, but I refuse to back down.

The Ogre fight mentioned in the OP came as a horrible shock to me when I started DA last night. The attack where he just grabs you and pummels your health bar down to nothing in an insultingly leisurely way... ugh. Definitely a major difficulty jump for that game, and I am not reassured by the number of times DA has been mentioned in this thread.

 

[Crankafoo]

Truly depends on the game, some games I totally blow at and I still like to enjoy from time to time, those I play on Normal or lower.
Those of which I'm alright-good at, I take a leap of faith and jump straight into max difficulty.

 

[Hman121]

I did the same with Morrowind, set it on Easy after the first few tries on Regular,but I had a lot of fun being a lvl.44 kick-ass spellsword in an easy world that I still play it on Easy.

 

[parasyteFMA]

I always go with the default setting unless I play though the game again, then I raise it.

 

[rockyoumonkeys]

I almost never ever play on Hard. Only exception I can think of like ever is Mafia 2, but only because 98% of that game was so unbelievably easy that it didn't matter.

I used to play mostly on the easiest settings, but nowadays I just default to "Normal".

I don't play for challenge, so I can handily beat every game I play. If even "Normal" is giving me trouble, I'll waste no time in dropping the difficulty.

 

[JourneyThroughHell]

Sure. If I'm seriously stuck and the game stops being fun, I lower it. I'd rather continue playing on a lower diffculty than drop the game altogether.

 

[scorptatious]

The only time I ever lowered the difficulty mid-game was in Mass Effect 1. I was a soldier on normal mode and was fighting Matriarch Benezia. I kept getting killed over and over so eventually, I just lowered the difficulty to easy for that one fight. It was most likely because I had no tech abilities in my party as I had Wrex an Liara in the party. Which made things a lot harder.

I recently found the battle to be MUCH easier playing as an infiltrator. Especially since I had Tali instead of Liara in the party.

 

[Jacob Haggarty]

im almost the living breathing rendition of "casual gamer" (here many will spit in disgust xD)

I play almost everything on easy difficulty. Partly because usually, i suck at gaming, partly because i prefer to play story driven games more so than action sorts. A likely excuse, but ive already admitted i have a tendancy to suck. I usually get better over a period of time, and then suddenly lose the ability to play properly.

Besides, on easy i can be the bad-ass the game wants me to be. You wont catch me doing anything above hard... and if hard is the last option, then i will play easy. Simply because in games like crysis, or halo, or crackdown, im set up to be this unstopable killing machine, hell bent on destroying anything that so much as BREATHES on me.
The effect of being this demi-god of doom is sort of ruined by having my arse handed back to me more times than i care to mention.

So, easy all the way for me

 

[sageoftruth]

Really depends on what adjusting the difficulty does. In Tenchu: Shadow Assassins, it only affects a wii-mote reliant mini game, and since I play it for the stealth, I keep the difficulty low.

Meanwhile, in the God of War games I at least don't play on the highest difficulty, because bosses aren't nearly as fun when they take twice as many hits to defeat. I'm looking at you, Theseus.

 

[Guthixflare7]

I do it when I don't want to play a game for the challenge.
Prime example: Red Faction: Guerilla. Fuck, I just want to demolish shit.

I think games that are all about outrageous destruction should be played on the lowest difficulty for maximum obliteration as a rule. It's just more fun and gives you that warm fuzzy maniacal feeling.

I very much agree...I even smash the EDF in Red Faction.