5 difficulty levels instead of 4?

[flashn00b]

As some people have mentioned, the gap between Hard and Suicidal is too large and I would go as far as to say that it is at the point where you'll still want to play on Hard if you're at Level 24 or below. I think it would be worth it to opt for 5 difficulty levels rather than 4. Maybe this would work?

Beginner: A rebranding of Normal. recommended for Perk levels 0-9, depending on perk choice.
Normal: Rebranding of Hard. Recommended levels are 5-15. Starting point should be handled on a per perk basis (some perks can go as early as Level 5, other perks should wait until Level 10)
Hard: The old Suicidal difficulty (Before Update 1066). Should be playable for perk levels 15-24, 25 if soloing.
Suicidal: The current implementation. Level 25 and multiple players recommended.
Hell on Earth: The current implementation. You will not survive.

 

[Aleflippy]

Wait, people are really facing a challenge before suicidal?

I surely didn't wait until level 25 to solo the Suicidal difficulty... Level 15 (or even level 10 if you're experienced) is more than enough.

I mean, it wouldn't hurt anybody to add an extra difficulty, sure. But I don't see it as necessary AT ALL

 

[flashn00b]

Wait, people are really facing a challenge before suicidal?

I surely didn't wait until level 25 to solo the Suicidal difficulty... Level 15 (or even level 10 if you're experienced) is more than enough.

I mean, it wouldn't hurt anybody to add an extra difficulty, sure. But I don't see it as necessary AT ALL

The issue i have with the current difficulty implementations is that Hard's too easy at Levels 18-24 and Suicidal's too hard. Putting an "in between" difficulty would probably be a good way to ease people into Suicidal difficulty without having to wait for their Zed Time skill.

 

[Sarcy]

While I don't quite agree with flash there is a definite spike between Hard and Suicidal.
The desire for an intermediate tier is NOT be because Suicidal, or indeed Hell on Earth, is too hard [though they occasionally have their moments] but to make the learning curve less punishing, and/or tedious because grinding Hard when you have not many/zero decently levelled perks can get redundant.
Try seeing it from the perspective of new/er players, surely you'd want the game to be more accessible [not easier overall naturally] so the playerbase grows etc, right?

As for recommended levels, idk where you're grabbing those numbers from but imo a competent player should have be alright playing Suicidal with ANY perk once they hit the teens, as for Hell on Earth I'd say 20+ is fine [obviously the higher the better but to suggest it should be 25's only is a bit elitist].

The big issue is the choice between either rinsing Hard, [which gets easymode by the time you reach 10+], attempting higher tiers & lobby-hopping until you don't get kicked or playing Solo which to an extent can work BUT is even more jarring once you go into Co-Op [Syringes anyone...]

This change would be most welcome in Endless where generally the only way a game ends on Hard difficulty is either thanks to Boom [tbh Boom ends a lot of Endless games when it pops up...] or people giving up/kicking the person/people keeping the game going. This ties in with my desire for a tweak to the rewards system as mentioned here

In summary, the game is easy to pick up and play but imo the difficulty gradient takes some getting used to.

 

[s5yn3t]

How about we take Hard diff, Enable all the zed movements from suicidal and just increase the speed and amount of zeds a little and there you have your hard+ difficulty.

zeds dmg and health are the same as on hard, but they have all the moves and move faster to keep players on their toes a bit more.

+ spike of difficulty from hard to sui is a coin toss... Its literally either you just rancho relaxo the whole game.... Or you will not survive because GC is a complete knob.... And it usually goes full anhiliation route when your game is filled with low mid level players with a couple of maxed out players, throws in everything that you just physically unable to carry as the spawnrate is just ridiculously quick if not instant.

 

[Sarcy]

Hmmm, making Hard more difficult would be interesting - I may be in the minority but I have never played Normal.

However, another plus with having a 5th tier would be the potential for more achievements/Daily Objectives tied to it - a marginal increase in content without anything intricate, win-win right?

 

[s5yn3t]

Hmmm, making Hard more difficult would be interesting - I may be in the minority but I have never played Normal.

However, another plus with having a 5th tier would be the potential for more achievements/Daily Objectives tied to it - a marginal increase in content without anything intricate, win-win right?

uhh, not really.
Since you can complete the map's daily on any difficulty as long as its the same or higher.
And extra achievement on completing the match with new difficulty would be a chore than anything.

 

[makeitgood]

there should be something harder than hell on earth that would be very good for high skill players and would help with the dificult jump u having from hard to suicidal i think