Poll: Will you drop the difficulty if you're having trouble?

[jaysoon11]

No because I know if I fail 20 times when I do beat the game or section it will be worth it. But depending on the genre of game I know what level is a good challenge for me without being to hard.

 

[Skeleon]

With games like STALKER, I simply master the quicksave/quickload buttons.
With games like Binding of Isaac, I simply master the game itself.

 

[mohit9206]

i always play on the easiest difficulty available from the get go.

 

[Legion]

I play most games on either the top difficulty or the third difficulty if there are four (casual, normal, hard and expert for example). If a certain point in the game is starting to get in the way of my enjoyment then I will lower the difficulty for that section and then put it back up afterwards.

In most games this isn't needed, but in a lot of RPG's they have somewhat broken difficulty levels in regards to certain enemies, and it can be necessary unless you want to meta-game it all.

For example a Dragon Priest in the new Skyrim DLC. I had a sword and shield warrior with level 70 heavy armour (plus 4/5 of the heavy armour perks to make it 80% more effective), I had used the smithing skill to bring it up to legendary level, which is the highest, and I had around 300HP. Plus my blocking skill was around level 60 and had 3/5 of the perks to make it 60% more effective.

It could kill me in around 3 direct hits on the normal difficulty level. Yet the final boss of the DLC I had no problem with at all.

 

[Jayemsal]

The obsession with playing on the highest difficulty seems silly to me, if not a little immature. I dont have anything to prove to that video game, and quite frankly, I think anyone who thinks they do may be dealing with a bit of an insecurity issue. Its a game, nothing more.

 

[Headdrivehardscrew]

Depends.

When I 'get' the game and like it, I find the challenge to be usually worth making an effort.

If the game sucks, I either stop playing it, sell it or try and return it. If I just feel like finishing a sucky game, the option to dumb things down could come in handy. But that's really only for shitty games, crap implementations, lame battles and other inferiour experiences.

I get quite angry when a 'good' game suddenly asks me if I want to lower the bar after, what, dying twice in a row to whatever random glitch or bug. Plain doesn't work for me.

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

No, it's impossible to make it easier when you already play on Very Easy.

There's only 24 hours in a day, and for the most part, playing games have felt like a waste of time for some time now. I don't play a lot of games anymore, only those that I just "have" to play. Making it harder would only make it feel like even more of a waste of time.

I mean, I don't sit on a chair made of nails when I want to watch a movie or when I'm reading a book.

 

[jdogtwodolla]

The last game I bumped down from hard to easy was Infamous 2. It was my second play through and I started on hard because the first time I did it on easy. I got to a mission that I found annoying and decided to bump down to just go through it. I didn't find Infamous 2 enjoyable enough to carry the difficulty through like I did with the first Infamous and Cod 4.

 

[Raikas]

Some games I play to relax, others I play for the challenge. The former are usually RPGs or action-y games, and if a particular boss or npc is giving me trouble I'll change the difficulty to get past that point. The latter are usually mulitplayer games, so the only hurdle I need to overcome is my clumsiness.

This is how I see it as well. If I'm playing a game specifically for the combat, then no - I wouldn't lower the difficulty since the challenge is the point. But if I'm playing for the story (or I'm replaying to see how something branches) then I see no shame in dropping down to normal (or easy or whatever). I have zero interest in sticking with a game that's just frustrating if there's a way around the frustration.