Of 's four game modes, Hard is the most difficult, and provides a distinct experience from the base game. After completing a single game on one of the base modes (Easy, Normal, or 's new Dynamic Difficulty), Hard Mode becomes available on the difficulty select screen. It provides a far greater challenge than any of the other modes, and comes with some significant rule changes to keep the experience interesting.
Hard Mode is closely based on 's highest difficulty setting, so anyone who's already completed the previous game's Hard Mode knows they're in for a punishing experience. However, there have been a few changes made between and, many of which result naturally from 's distinct nature as a semi-open world, exploration-focused RPG. Here's what to expect from 's Hard Mode.
Across the board, enemies are far tougher in 's Hard Mode than they are in any other difficulty setting. They have more HP, and their attacks deal more damage. That goes for every single enemy in the game, from trash mobs found out in the open world, to Combat Simulator challenges, to every single plot-relevant rival, up to and including the final boss of .
There are also a few extra battles available in 's Combat Simulator, all of which are exclusive to Hard Mode. This includes what may be the most difficult combat challenge in the game: Top Secrets, a five-stage gauntlet against the Shiva, Fat Chocobo, Leviathan, Bahamut, and Ifrit summons (the last two fought simultaneously), and finally, 's secret Pride and Joy superboss. This fight is only available in Chapter 17, so players will have to begin that chapter in Hard Mode and fight their way through until they find Chadley and the Combat Simulator.
Other than that, though, most enemy encounters are more or less the same. They'll appear in the same places, use the same movesets, and have the same resistances and weaknesses. Don't expect more difficult mini-games or Divine Intel rhythm challenges, either — all side activities, apart from the Combat Simulator, remain untouched in Hard Mode. ('s Fort Condor has a Hard Mode of its own, but it's unlocked by different means.) So, the only thing that's really affected is combat, but it's not just enemy stats that have changed.
also puts additional restrictions on player actions, demanding a wholly different kind of strategy. First and foremost, once a player has chosen to play a chapter in Hard Mode, they're locked into that difficulty until they complete it or return to the chapter select screen. They're more or less required either to complete the chapter or abandon their progress through it to change the difficulty.
In any other game mode, difficulty can be changed at any time from the Gameplay Options menu.
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's relocation teams give players the opportunity to rearrange the landscape of American football. Relocation teams are a major feature in 's Franchise Mode, allowing players to move any franchise they manage or own to an entirely new city. There may be a variety of reasons a player chooses to do so: moving to a new city can provide a larger, more loyal fan base, or simply give a struggling team a new start. Packing up and moving a team to uncharted territory can also provide a challenge for an experienced player.
One of the earliest choices to make in involves whether to skip the Nibelheim flashback that makes up the majority of the game's first chapter. The Nibelheim chapter was part of the game's playable demo, alongside a longer section that allowed players to openly explore the Junon region of . But where the Junon half of the demo is separate, and taken out of context, the Nibelheim half effectively grants players early access to the opening hours of the game.
offers a choice of swimsuits for Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith at Costa del Sol, and there's a reason to pay attention to the options at hand. Acquiring one vacation get-up for each character is a mandatory part of progression, as the beach doesn't allow anyone to step out onto the sands if they're not dressed for the part. Barret has this covered with his iconic sailor suit that he first dons in Junon, but for the others, this can be a somewhat more involved task.
's second and most expansive DLC release,, finally has an official release date. This DLC, which is more story-focused than, aims to tackle one of 's biggest mysteries. Set sometime during the base game's story, it'll take 's protagonists to a new region of Valisthea, where they'll hunt down the lost Eikon Leviathan and likely uncover some ancient secrets along the way. The DLC will color in some gaps in the base game's lore, and meaningfully expand on Clive, Jill, and Joshua's story.
is filled to the brim with World Intel to discover, but it can often be unclear just how much of a reward is in place for taking on this exhaustive task. As a somewhat open-world game that divides the giant map of Gaia into distinct but major zones, isn't shy about unfurling long checklists of activities to do. While some can be fulfilling in their own right, it doesn't take long to start questioning whether there are any rewards in place that could make some of the more tedious activities worthwhile.
has an open world that's perfect for the inclusion of many side quests and extra activities. While some of these activities are just for fun, others reveal lore about the game's world. The rewards for these extra activities also vary, but one specific chain of quests has a pretty powerful final reward once the entire quest chain is completed.
has its fair share of unusual challenges, but one side quest that has caused a particularly notable amount of frustration doesn't necessarily have to be all that hard. Like many RPGs, focuses on delivering a consistently manageable main story experience while packing more difficult tasks into the optional content. The big difference, however, is that a lot of the hardest trials aren't based around combat at all, instead following in the original 's tradition of relying on unique mechanics that shake up the general course of gameplay through minigames or random challenges.
's side quests vary greatly in terms of story relevance. For the most part, they're largely unrelated: things like regional intel and Protorelic quests in mostly just exist to fill in the map, and give players a chance to power up their characters. These quests have storylines of their own that usually share common characters or themes with the central plot. They're necessary, and usually entertaining, but in the scheme of things, they're pretty inconsequential.
There are 14 summons in , and all of them vary in terms of both strength and cool factor. Throughout the series, summons (or Eikons, as they're occasionally called) encompass some of the most powerful offensive options. Most summons recur from game to game, with iconic Eikons like Titan, Ifrit, Bahamut, Shiva, and Odin featuring in almost every single mainline entry. In, summons are unlocked by many different means.
A Red Dead Redemption 2 player has come up with a new way to play Rockstar's Wild West game. Their proposed «hardcore mode» rules could allow even veteran Red Dead Redemption 2 players to refresh their sense of challenge and discovery.
In , Fort Condor’s Hard Mode is optional — but that doesn't mean completing it will go unrewarded. Fort Condor is a recurring (if greatly expanded) mini-game from the original . It's a real-time strategy tower defense game in which a variety of units are placed on a two-laned battlefield. The end goal is to destroy the enemy's headquarters, or to run out the clock with more towers remaining. Finer points of strategy come from calculated unit placement, and a rock-paper-scissors system of strengths and weaknesses.
Johnny's Treasure Trove is one of the most expansive side activities in — considering the laundry list of tasks it involves, a good reward seems almost inevitable. Unlike most side quests and mini-games in , Johnny's Treasure Trove isn't focused on a single activity. Instead, it's more of a dressed-up completion list akin to 's Curiosities. In order to complete Johnny's Treasure Trove, players will have to complete chocobo races, win Queen's Blood Tournaments, and find all the buried PLAY ARTS figures in .