What difficulty you play at (solo)

[Project]

When leveling, what difficulty do people play on? (Just curious.) Myself, depends on the AT - for brutes usually lvl+0, team size +3, MM it's 0/4 and all ranged it's 0/2, while Stalker it depends a bit on the mission type - but mostly 2/1

[Crysis]

Varies widely based on AT, slotting, level range and faced opponents.

 

But if I had to average it out…..

 

Melee (Tankers/Brutes/Scrappers/Stalkers and some Sents): +2/x6 from levels 32+.  Grow to +3/x6 by late 30’s.  Move to +4/x8 by early 40’s. 

Ranged/Ranged Support (Blasters/Corrs/Defenders): +2/x5 until nuke obtained/slotted around level 35-38.  Then same as Melee.

MM’s and Controllers: usually +2/x5 until mid 40’s, then jump to +3/x6.  Typically capable of +4/x8 by level 50.

VEAT/HEAT/Doms: Really depends on build and slotting.  But typically follow Melee progression or Ranged/Ranged Support.

 

So looking at the above, I’m playing most of the pre-45 game on average at +2/x5.  Post 45 it’s mostly +3/x8 until you get to 50.  Then it’s always +4/x8 regardless of AT.  I tend to “rank” AT’s by the level at which they are fully capable of +4/x8 without much effort.  Some get there faster than others, and some get there but with more effort/time.  If I cannot get them there, I park them at 50 and/or melt them down and delete them as they have no place in my library of alts.  I’ve more that CAN/COULD than those that met the melting process.

 

 

 

[nihilii]

I'm either on x1 or x8 but it's rare I mess with anything between the two (unless on a very weak character when a granular approach is required).

[Greycat]

Depends on which character I'm playing, what I'm playing against, how I'm feeling any particular day, if the content's new or not...

 

I rarely run at something like +4x8. I don't find it interesting, just kind of annoying. (Short of farming.) It doesn't do anything interesting but take more time to punch more hit points away, and I'm not in a rush to level (typically. If I *am* in a rush to level for some reason, I have friends who run farms and I'll hop in there and BS with them for a while, which is far more interesting.) Plus, honestly, it's kind of hard on the suspension of disbelief for me - this low level gang or super secret elite group somehow has 100,000 members *in this one building, all waiting for you?* And in the next five, too? Meh.

 

Otherwise? Anything from base to ... let's call it upper-mid level difficulties, depending again on who and what I'm running, what I'm facing and what I want to get done.

[Luminara]

[Uun]

Depends on level and AT, but generally +1x3 through the 30s and +2x4 after that. With incarnates increases to +3 with a +1 shift or +4 with a +3 shift. Most of my builds are capable of x8, but I find it too much of a slog.

[Project]

WoW - crazy numbers 😮 - I'm pretty new to actually playing the game for real XD Played it since launch, and then on off while it was alive, but it's not until I returned I got a toon passed level 35 and I didn't really dabble to much in IO's - So really suprised to see people playing +2/+6 on level 30's stuff. Unless you have a crazy setup I see no way a toon can make that alone by that level 😮

But I'm inspired to up them rookie numbers 😄

[Six-Six]

hardcore mode rules dictate that I raise difficulty a notch every 10 levels starting at 20, ending at +4 for 50 onwards. mob sizes differs on AT, but most permadeath toons stay at x1.

on non-hardcore toons, I've found that +4x2, +3x5/6, or +2x8 (depending on the AT/powers) are my sweet spots for gaining the best XP for effort put in. anything higher eats up too much time. However, the recent extra XP gain has screwed that formula up and I end up out-levelling a lot of contacts or favourite arcs.

[Yomo Kimyata]

I step out of Outbreak/Breakout and put my settings at +1/x1, bosses, AV (the last one I'll take back if it's too much, but it's generally doable).  Regardless of AT.

 

Then I will up things as I see fit.  A reasonable progression is +1/x1 to +1/x3 to +2/x3 to +2/x5 to +3/x5 to +3/x8.  I'm almost always at +3/x8 in my 40s and usually wait for +4 until I ding 50, but not always.  

[Snarky]

Solo i run default: +0/x1, AVs are EB.  I do not enjoy farming but i can roll in this forever.  

[Frozen Burn]

1 hour ago, Project said:

When leveling, what difficulty do people play on? (Just curious.) Myself, depends on the AT - for brutes usually lvl+0, team size +3, MM it's 0/4 and all ranged it's 0/2, while Stalker it depends a bit on the mission type - but mostly 2/1

 

As others have stated, depends on AT.  Always set to solo bosses.  But generally, I'm set at +0 or +1 and x3.  If the toon has really great AOEs, I'll up it to x6 or more, depending.  Sometimes, I'll up it to +2.  But otherwise, it's just a slog-fest trying to get through a mission with anything too high.  That's why I'll also have AV setting set to EBs. 

 

I care more about getting through the story (with a bit of a challenge) and moving to the next story arc to experience it.  I am in no rush to get to 50.  

 

When an incarnate and level shifted, I am generally +3 or +4x8, depending on AT and build.  

[Haijinx]

I don't solo to level normally, but to complete story arcs.

 

So I'll generally run at 0/x1.

 

If I'm running in the Mirror Kingdom, I'll just run -1/x1 cause my xp is off 3/4 of the time anyhow, Rusty. 

 

[Sunsette]

My general default is +0x4 with bosses on. Allows packs to have some variety and reward priority targeting solo but nothing turns into an irritating HP wall that just takes forever to kill. This moves to +2x4 around the 30s with more offensive characters or the 50s with defensive, and +4x4 by the 50s with the offensive characters.

 

I do +4x4 or +4x8 with L50+ Going Rogue or later content that already has better monster design, usually. 

Edited March 3 by Sunsette

[MoonSheep]

around +2 usually, or +3 if i’m an incarnate. i find the whole +4/x8 thing a bit of a drag sometimes

 

a +2 manticore TF with the enemies buffed option active - perfect

[Skyhawke]

2 hours ago, Snarky said:

Solo i run default: +0/x1, AVs are EB.  I do not enjoy farming but i can roll in this forever.  

 

 

[FFFF]

+0/x1 default all the way until level 25-32 depending on AT. Then I'll bump to +1 or +2 but still keep it at x1. I value story arc completion and reward merits as much as the additional xp. At around late 20s/30s though, leveling slows a bit so bumping up difficulty still allows for a decent leveling speed while completing arcs.

[cranebump]

+0/x2-3 usually. I can usually handle more minions on any AT. After that, just depends on how it’s going. I’m usually not in a super hurry to level up when soloing. I like the merits from arc completions.

[Vic Raiden]

+0/x1, no bosses, no AVs. I'm a simple man, I just stick to the defaults most of the time.

[Ironblade]

Most of the time I am not solo.

 

When I am solo, generally +0/x1 because I'm speedrunning for the reward or a badge most of the time.  If I'm on a tank or brute with a lot of AoE, I'll go to x3 or x4 on the team size since it feels more efficient.

[ZorkNemesis]

I start at +0x1.  I typically stay there until i'm past Savior of Atlas Park/Freedom Cracker, at which point I usually turn on Solo Bosses.  If on a higher damage AT I typically go to x2 after level 10, lower damage stays at x1 for a bit longer.  As I keep leveling I bump my difficulty up as I go though by how much is AT and power dependent.  High damage ATs are usually at x4 by 30-35, low damage will often lag behind a bit and stay at x3.  By level 50 the strongest ATs are usually at x6 while weaker ATs stay at x4; without major build completion and confidence this is usually where it stays but if I have that i'll set it to x8.  Incarnate stuff doesn't usually bump me up further, I will typically +1 after getting the Alpha level boost and will +2 and +3 after getting Lore and Destiny shifts while i'm in Dark Astoria or running BV/Number Six.  At no point do I enable Solo AVs, they're not worth it.  I'll solo them in TFs if need be but not in normal missions.

 

Praetora stays at +0x1 until First Ward due to the fact that you can outlevel contacts too easily, but I still do solo bosses at 10.  If I manage to clear a storyline and am still underleveled to move on i'll bump to x2 for one of the repeatable missions before backing down to x1 again. First Ward gets bumped to x2 or x3 depending on AT since the level range is much greater and harder to overlevel.

 

I make some exceptions for specific missions: Moonfire's first two missions are set to x6 to make Vampire and Wolf farming more productive.  Brother Hammond's last mission is set to at least x4 to spawn large groups of Gremlins for the Electrician badge.  Investigate Warrior Earth is always x8 because Warrior Earth Praetorians are a complete joke.  IVy's first mission for the Loyalist Responsibility arc gets bumped to x3 and XP disabled since this is the only time a Responsible Loyalist can farm Failed Experiements without needing a repeat mission or the Great Escape event.

 

Edited March 4 by ZorkNemesis

[NotsoevilDM]

I run default and even then tend out outlevel arcs incredibly quickly. I also prefer to finish missions quickly, rather than slog through them.

 

I could probably up difficulties in later levels once the toon is SO/IOed up a bit. Maybe once I get bored of low level content on my xth alt. 

[KITANYA]

I prefer not to solo 🙂

[High_Beam]

mom always said that all you need is a free hand and a will to live.

 

Like many I am a 0/+1 person because of the story.  I solo about 1/2 of the time (often not enough time to participate in a TF).  Now Melee types with their armors I will bump up a little, say +1x2 or +1x3.  Some will have Bosses turned on because a challenge isn't such a bad thing.  AV's are EBs though because again, I am not looking for a slog.

 

The exception is when I feel one of my characters is really good, good enough to test the waters of higher difficulty; there are a few, +2x5, +3x5 and +4x5 but the giant mob deal kind of bugs me (aesthetically).  I am tempted to try and take on some AVs solo but again, consistent play time and fun defines my settings.  I appreciate that they exist because while I do play a lot and have played for a very long time, I am no elite player and like the fact that with the exception of TF/SF/Trial, I can play most of the content solo if I want to.

[Marshal_General]

Since I feel we level a bit too fast, I generally run at basic difficulty.

[Crysis]

Back at OP:

 

You’ll note from many of the responses here that it’s a broad spectrum of players.  People who enjoy the story/dialogue versus min/maxed players who want to level quickly.  As I stated, I have AT’s of every type that can comfortably do +4/x8 solo, many with AV’s turned on.  That said, I find solo AV battles to be a slog and seldom play that way because by that point in the mission its almost always the end of same and I just want to move on to the next.  I’ve also got several AT’s that while they can do +4/x8 they seldom do because the effort to defeat spawns is so much greater than with a similarly-leveled melee or blaster toon.  Not all AT’s nor builds are equal in this game, they never have been and never will be. 

 

So really, don’t compare what you define as fun to the next persons’ definition of same.  If you are comfortable with the notoriety level, you find yourself leveling at an acceptable speed and your risk vs reward is balanced enough to give you a good challenge without becoming obnoxiously easy/hard….then that’s your groove.  Go with it.  

 

That’s the beauty of this game really.  There’s no set “must have” builds to complete missions/game for the most part.  Some AT’s are far easier to play than others, and those often can handle more difficult content.  But that’s why we have so many open character slots.  Some days I wanna run an MM and manage the battlefield, and am OK with taking a bit longer to whittle down most foes.  Other days I just want to Nuke stuff non stop with a high recharge blaster, and live with my health meter in the red for several spawns at a time to feel the adrenaline rush of “almost dying.”  The Notoriety settings can literally be adjusted -per mission- if you’d like, a feature I haven’t found in many other games that require you to set your difficulty rating up front and stick to it throughout the game.  So if you set it too hard for your enjoyment, dial it back…you can even do this in a single mission instance by ducking out of the mission, changing your notoriety, selecting a different mission to “reset” things and then re-selecting the original mission and start it over with the new difficulty settings.  All from the comfort of that little thought bubble icon on your chat bar.

 

Seriously….play how you want.  That’s the beauty of this game.