Difficulty levels...

[Timsup2nothin]

I think I might be backwards. I'm not a very adept mouse twitcher, so this doesn't apply to other genres, but for turn based games I always start out on the highest difficulty possible. Someone asked what difficulty level they should start MTW on and I said expert while the bulk of the crowd debated the virtues of easy or medium. I felt pretty much like the crazy uncle in the attic.

But it is a general position so maybe someone here can look at my reasoning and tell me if I'm insane, or just eccentric.

First off, I figure there is little satisfaction in beating an opponent that is not playing their best. If I win on a low difficulty it is almost unavoidable that I will immediately play again. I have a lot of great games that merit replaying, playing a less than great game a second time just because it might be worth it at higher difficulty seems silly.

Second, there's the 'learning' aspect. I get mashed, badly, a lot. But I learn. I learn fast. One thing about serious mashings, they don't take very long usually. I can get mashed ten times on a high difficulty in the time it takes to win a game on low difficulty, and I contend that I will learn more from it. I also contend that at least half of what is learned on low difficulties falls into the category 'bad ideas that only work on low difficulty that become habits to be broken'.

Last but not least, you can always back down, and when you do you know what you need to figure out at the lower difficulty...or even if there is any point trying. I freely admit that after a half dozen mashings on Sid level I accepted that the guys who made Civ3 had me beaten and I would never 'master' their game. Had I done it any other way I'd probably still be trying to work my way up that chain.

EDIT: If anybody routinely wins Civ3 on Sid level I'm not sure I want to know.

[Martok]

Well to specifically address MTW, I personally feel that playing on Easy or Normal is generally the best way to go, if only because the AI opponents are generally smarter and more competent than in most strategy games I've played. And if you're used to the AI in RTW or Medieval 2 (as Byblos is), then you're going to be particularly unprepared for MTW's increased challenge rating.


Even in regards to strategy games in general, however, I still tend to advocate playing on the lower difficulty levels at first. Strategy titles often seem to have a somewhat steeper learning curve than most game genres, and so it's usually a enough of a challenge simply figuring out how to play the game at first, much less also trying to defeat opponents on higher difficulty levels.

Now once a player feels they have developed a certain familiarity and/or competence with a game, they should then of course feel free to play it on whatever difficulty setting they choose. Until they reach that point, however, it's usually been my experience that it's best to go with an easier level. That you do the opposite is a testament to your skill (and/or possibly a sense of masochism).

[PBI]

Indeed, I am in admiration of your determination and patience, Timsup2nothin.

Unfortunately, I work with some very smart people, which has the consequence that I spend much of my working day pretty much feeling like a loser. As a result when I get home I generally want to play against something which is going to massage my ego by rolling over and dieing without putting up too much of a fight. So I generally play on the highest setting on which I can consistently beat the computer (I guess generally medium on MTW, VH/VH on M2TW). I'm not sure I'd have the constitution to follow your example, and have the computer repeatedly confirm just how stupid I am.

[LittleGrizzly]

I tend to pick the highest difficulty levels for something like a story driven fps rpg or the like, as you only get one really great game out of it and i would rather find the later levels to challenging rather than too easy....

Before i played dues ex (WHAT A GAME!!!!) for the first time i heard someone say you should play on expert your first run through.... so i did, there where some testing times, hours after the last save the game lags a little and some guy shoots me in the head killing me instantly (various objects flung around the room) but all in all it made it a much more satisfying experience

Within regards to stratergy games i usually have a game or 2 on an easier difficulty level, it helps me figure out what buildings and units i need/are useful, i would say about an hour or 2 is spent on easy then i move up the difficulty levels, though im playing an EB campaign at Hard/Hard at the moment, because on very hard the computer is just over aggressive (i like a litte diplomacy) and for the battle mode i find it very annoying when i basically have the computer beat but through the morale advantadges on very hard i lose (still can happen on hard but the morale isn't so unrealistic...