Self-described hardcore player Nathan Steel has quietly lowered the difficulty of his new RPG after discovering that the first boss expects him to learn something. Steel had announced his Hard Mode run earlier that evening, explaining to friends that he preferred games which respected his intelligence and refused to hold his hand. “If there’s no challenge, what’s the point?” he asked, beneath a screenshot of the difficulty menu he would shortly be revisiting.
The first attempt ended while Steel was still deciding whether the boss’s raised weapon meant he should dodge. He used the second attempt to establish that attacking again was not a substitute for dodging. On the third, he identified a problem with the game’s balance. “It’s not difficult,” he said. “It’s just making the enemies do too much damage.”
Steel then told the friends listening over voice chat that he was getting a drink. He remained seated, muted his microphone and opened Settings. Witnesses were unavailable for the adjustment, which was conducted with the care of someone entering bank details on public Wi-Fi. Steel lowered the difficulty to Easy, returned to the game and waited several seconds before announcing that he was back.
He defeated the boss on the next attempt. “Once you understand the mechanics, it’s actually straightforward,” he explained. “You just have to stop panicking.”
Steel has since praised the combat for becoming more responsive and said he appears to have found his rhythm. He attributes the improvement to recognising attack patterns, although his new strategy mainly involves standing still and hitting the boss until it stops moving.
Asked whether he was still playing on Hard, Steel said he had started on Hard, which he considers the important distinction. He maintains that difficulty settings are a personal choice and nobody should feel embarrassed about changing them. He would simply prefer that this principle be discussed without using his name.
The screenshot of his Hard Mode selection remains pinned to his profile.
