Quick Links
As you explore The Living Lands of Eora inAvowed, you’ll inevitably find yourself thrust into open combat against oversized spiders, goblin-like bandit menaces, and bears — way too many bears for the average hiking season. To some, such monstrosities pose a challenge.
After paying what you did for the game, you likely want to enjoy the experience your way. This might mean easing the burden of potentially frustrating combat mechanics and overbearing puzzles, and that’s where the game’s various difficulty settings enter the picture.
Avowed: Best Early Game Weapons
Looking to get ahead of the curve in Avowed? These early game weapons will help get the job done!
Avowedfeatures five difficulty settings to choose from: Story Time, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Path of the Damned. As its name would suggest, Path of the Damned is the most challenging of the bunch, offeringSoulslike-style tougher and harder-hitting enemiesand more of a reliance on focusing into and mastering your build and playstyle.
To ensure you find the right setting for your playthrough, we’re committed to explaining the differences between each difficulty setting in Avowed!
The Differences Between Each Difficulty Setting In Avowed
With five difficulty settings inAvowed, choosing the right one to suit your preferences and intended playstyle may feel challenging straight off the bat. You likely want to wrap up character creation and jump into the game, so here’s a quick rundown on the differences between each difficulty, followed by a bit more of an in-depth explanation about how each feels to play, so you can dive into theopen-zone world of Eora.
Difficulty
Differences
Story Time
Story Time simplifies the overall gameplay experience by focusing on exploration and story more than combat or complex challenges.
As its name suggests, Easy crafts an easy-going experience inAvowedthat requires little effort and minimizes the dangers of combat.
The intended way to playAvowed, Normal offers basic strategy and combat mechanics for players to grasp but doesn’t punish mistakes.
A tougher challenge overall, Hard ramps up the difficulty of combat, emphasizing optimization of your character’s statistics, items, and abilities.
Path of the Damned
On Path of the Damned, all enemies deal more damage while you deal less per strike, requiring in-depth knowledge of gameplay and build mechanics.
What do the different settings really mean for players?
Playing onStory Timeis the equivalent of the easiest setting, in which combat doesn’t make a difference. It’s a swing-and-hit fest, with skill mattering little to nothing. Still, this low-tier difficulty setting does allow you to prioritize the game’s characters, world-building, dialogue choices, and overall story flow.
It’s like playing an interactive movie, allowing you to glide through Eora without a care in the world while experiencing more of the universe’s lore and world-building.
Whereas Story Time nearly eliminates any challenge the game provides,Easyretains some of the core combat mechanics and frantic hack-and-slash gameplay without making it feel overbearing to new players.
It’s the perfect difficulty mode for new players who rarely touch RPGs. There’s honestly no shame on playing on Easy; it’s the difficulty tier I tend to lean on as a busy parent, especially when I want to experience a game to completion.
Most players will begin their adventure in Avowed onNormal, as it’s what the RPG recommends straight away. It’s the most generic gameplay difficulty, with no boons or debuffs added to the experience to ensure a level playing field for you and the enemies.
Besides the occasional boss, I didn’t find Normal overly challenging or too easy. It was, for once, the perfect baseline to enjoy Avowed.
If you’ve played throughObsidian Entertainment’s other exceptional RPGs, you likely desire more of a challenge, which is whereHardenters the picture. It’s slightly more skill-based than Normal, prioritizing your character’s build, equipment, and abilities, allowing you to lean into the RPG mechanics for the ultimate power buff experience.
While that’s the gist of the higher difficulty level, it’s important to note this does drastically increase how hard enemies hit, too.
I attempted playing onPath of the Damned, but the difficulty jump from Hard was obscene. Maybe after a playthrough or two, right? Yeah, hopefully. Anyway, Path of the Damned increases the amount of damage enemies deal significantly, while weakening your every strike.
You must consider your approach to every encounter, even against the smallest Xaurip. It’s here that some ofthe game’s best companionscan really shine, as they’ll take some of the heat off of you during combat and allow you to line up the perfect spell or bow and arrow strike from a safe distance.
10 Best RPG Sequels That Improve On The Original
The RPG is a genre that often begs for a second game, as the worlds created within the original games are often incredibly vast.
Tips On Tackling Path Of The Damned Difficulty in Avowed
If you’re actively seeking a challenge, there’s no better difficulty tier than Path of the Damned. It’s a huge slog at times. Here are a few tips to help you through the muck:
How To Change Difficulty Settings
You can change your difficulty settings in Avowedanytime by pausing the game, accessing thePause Menu, and then selectingSettings. From there, navigate toGameand thenGeneral Game Settings. Scroll down until you findDifficulty, and choose whichever difficulty level you prefer.
Changing your difficulty setting mid-game does not seem to affect your save, though it will sometimes affect which achievements you’re eligible for.
10 Best JRPGs With Satisfying Summon Systems
Whether it’s building up your party or striking down foes, everyone loves a good summon in their JRPG.
Best Difficulty Settings For Your Preferred Playstyle
You’re free to play on whichever difficulty strikes your fancy, but if you don’t want to overthink the choice and wish to dive into the experience, here are a few suggestions:
Don’t forget that unless you’re streaming, no one is watching you play Avowed. Please don’t feel like you can’t lower the difficulty at any point, because you can, and no one will hold it against you. I highly recommend lowering the difficulty during theDreamthrall Elder Brown Bear fight(a considerable brick wall for me), then upping it again to a comfortable level. Experiment and enjoy!
Avowed Review
Obsidian Entertainment’s RPG isn’t perfect, but it’s a blast to play.
