What people are saying, is that it's more difficult, without being more fun.
NM isn't all that much fun to experienced/talented players and neither is HM. It's just... a harder version of something that's not too much fun.
The solution would be to give monsters more complex AI, and to a lesser extent, better skill bars. But since AI is still predictable and dumb, HM doesn't come out feeling fresh at all really.
Your thoughts on hard mode
cebalrai
I D E L E T E D I
NM is such a joke its a cake walk, i never do anything other than stand around. In HM i at least get to cast a couple of Prot Spirits and Guardian. Seriously though i only play HM, but i find even that way to easy. No one ever dies when i vanquish, and thats even when aggroing 3 groups by accident.
Now the Legendary Guardian Title that is jsut the best title in this game. Some of the missions are acctually challenging such as Eternal Grove and do require you to do some thinking. Completing that title was the most fun i have ever had sadly its over and vanquishing is a pain in the ass
Now the Legendary Guardian Title that is jsut the best title in this game. Some of the missions are acctually challenging such as Eternal Grove and do require you to do some thinking. Completing that title was the most fun i have ever had sadly its over and vanquishing is a pain in the ass
Olim Chill
Quote:
| Hard Mode has its place |
It certainly does. If you're done with NM and still enjoy PVE, swtich on HM. To me, it's a natural progression.
If you find HM boring or annoying, there's a good chance that you're just tired of PVE.
Targuil
Without HM I wouldn't be playing this game anymore. I play pvp quite much but get bored quick so I have to play pve for a while and then back to pvp.
Jaceb
Playing HM is probably the funniest yet most frustrating things i've done 
. I've always liked it and i will probably always do. After you play HM for a while and go back to NM you're like "wow... how could this be hard back then.". Area vanquishing isn't that fun but all i do is HM dungeons, the really frustrating ones - i get some wierd kicks from them.
Edit: for the HM stuff, well most if not all games seem to want/implement bigger numbers to make it hard :P. Except i think charr are the most balanced enemies (even with bigger stats/bigger hits). This is a crappy example but (You can guess the game yourself).:
Kael'thas Sunstrider <Lord of the Blood Elves>
Health: 1,700,000
Mana: 1,693,500
:P. So i can only guess how many millions of HP/Mana does Lich King have.. i'm kinda relieved that we dont have bosses like that, that take days to kill. Didn't mean to derail but they just keep on going higher and higher. Wonder what GW2 does.. hmm? :P.
. I've always liked it and i will probably always do. After you play HM for a while and go back to NM you're like "wow... how could this be hard back then.". Area vanquishing isn't that fun but all i do is HM dungeons, the really frustrating ones - i get some wierd kicks from them.Edit: for the HM stuff, well most if not all games seem to want/implement bigger numbers to make it hard :P. Except i think charr are the most balanced enemies (even with bigger stats/bigger hits). This is a crappy example but (You can guess the game yourself).:
Kael'thas Sunstrider <Lord of the Blood Elves>
Health: 1,700,000
Mana: 1,693,500
:P. So i can only guess how many millions of HP/Mana does Lich King have.. i'm kinda relieved that we dont have bosses like that, that take days to kill. Didn't mean to derail but they just keep on going higher and higher. Wonder what GW2 does.. hmm? :P.
trobinson97
I love HM. It (and the titles it gives) gives me reason to play GW while my 360 is being operated on.
Nightow
When I log onto GW, I just want to relax and enjoy some dungeons/quests/missions with friends. HM causes the exact opposite and makes me more frustrated than anything really (life is frustrating enough, I don't need my games to be tyvm) but what really gets me is Anet's decision to put 99% of the decent drops in HM and make HM necessary for titles. If there was an option to do the work for the titles in NM all the way through, I wouldn't mind if it took longer or something but please, don't force me to do something that I don't want to if I just want to get a title.
Here's to hoping GW2 won't be the same!
Here's to hoping GW2 won't be the same!
Frazas
Many people complain that HM is only about buffs and no AI improvement. In part that is true, but isn't it exactly the same since the moment you step foot in the world of Guild Wars in Normal Mode? From the first enemy that you slay to the last of a campaign, the difference is that they are buffed (health, elites, attack speed and cast speed, etc) - their AI is still the same. At least in HM the enemies most of the time try and evade AoE spells and such, and also pick better targets. Hard Mode is not perfect but it gets the job done and is up to my expectations - although drops still suck most of the time. If it weren't for Hard Mode I would have stopped playing a long time ago.
Regarding the challenge of Hard Mode, I've been doing most of it either with Heroes/Hench or with a a friend and the girlfriend and 95% of all areas are quite "easy" with a good build (no Ursan here!!), but there are some that were very challenging, namely some areas around Ascalon with only 3 heroes; Joko's Domain, Dzagonur's Bastion, (still undone - today is the day I won't go to bed until that is cleared!!) and that is it. Only Factions to go in HM and Vanquish, but I hate that missions in Factions are timed for bonus rewards... I started yesterday in Marketplace and the Jade groups are also a PAIN!
PS: HM in DoA is a major PAIN!!
Regarding the challenge of Hard Mode, I've been doing most of it either with Heroes/Hench or with a a friend and the girlfriend and 95% of all areas are quite "easy" with a good build (no Ursan here!!), but there are some that were very challenging, namely some areas around Ascalon with only 3 heroes; Joko's Domain, Dzagonur's Bastion, (still undone - today is the day I won't go to bed until that is cleared!!) and that is it. Only Factions to go in HM and Vanquish, but I hate that missions in Factions are timed for bonus rewards... I started yesterday in Marketplace and the Jade groups are also a PAIN!
PS: HM in DoA is a major PAIN!!
Yang Whirlwind
I can only agree with what others have already said: HM are what makes me enjoy PvE these days. Drops seems to be about the same here for me as in NM (crap), but the added challenge make me seek out other players, something I haven't done much lately. People keep talking about the spirit of the game moving from multiplayer to single individuals with their hero's,- for me at least HM took it back the other way.
The only thing in never GW history I've enjoyed more was finishing FoW and UW during the holidays with a full guild team! That felt like the "good old days"
The only thing in never GW history I've enjoyed more was finishing FoW and UW during the holidays with a full guild team! That felt like the "good old days"
pakhavit
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Harrier's haste
"Set the marksmanship to 12 and use bow attacks" ever heard of that? It works really well against enemies in HM
 But yeah i agree with ya, HM is only good for Torment Farming, where you get like double gemstones(but they're old, no one cares about them anymore ). Otherwise unless you're going for titles.......it is all pretty pointless, fight STRONGER enemies, only with a slightly higher drop rank.(dropping more gold/grapes instead of all blues for Ex.) And you get like 1k gold for killing 1000 enemies in Hard Mode, sounds like a "bargain" to me!! |
Acutally I set to 15 for burning arrow 5 second and use apply posion
bow attack doesn't do a lot damage -___-
Quote:
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Originally Posted by idicious
HM's a joke, with or without Ursan. I non UB'd Canthan Guardian in a day, yesterday with 2 friends easily mastered Dzagonur Bastion and Grand Court (4.5 minutes) both on first try.
All it takes is 2 decent players, and it's dmn easy then. |
Ranger with only whirling defend~~
Chaos55
After a few runs in HM, HM becomes like your NM. It just gets easier. There will be a few areas where you might be forced to use consumables or candy canes but if you can make it through without using them, the better it'll be when you do other areas. If you use consumables in EVERY area, I think that defeats the purpose of HM...
Malice Black
Meh
That is all.
That is all.
Diddy bow
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Racthoh
Hard Mode could've been great, instead they gave enemies an Essence of Celerity and 20 in their attributes. Afterall bigger numbers in a skill based game is always the best way to make the game better.
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Malice Black
Hardmode = 1 death, back to outpost.
Sort the men from the boys.
Sort the men from the boys.
Lord Natural
With regards to the missions: Pretty easy if you have an experienced player or two with you. Even easier if you use consumables. Can be a challenge alone with H&H, but almost all of them are still doable.
payne
HM = laughable...its not as Hard as "Hard Mode" implys...
boosting monster levels by 2 and saying this is Hard Mode is stupid...things like Mallyx are as easy as they ever were even though he is boosted 2 odd levels...just stupid
things like FoW and UW are no different regardless of NM / HM
certain missions were made harder but that was as they were when they first came out...THK for instance...no-one could do it when it first came out same for Raisu to some extent....but now everyone can do it easily....same goes for HM now everyone can do it...and it is futile - legendary guardian / vanquisher can be bought in the "service" area so the titles are meaningless - the only good thing that has come from it is a tad extra play-ability and a way to max SS,LB,asura etc. - although A.Net would have made it possible to without HM if it hadn't been released!
OMG so true
peace out
boosting monster levels by 2 and saying this is Hard Mode is stupid...things like Mallyx are as easy as they ever were even though he is boosted 2 odd levels...just stupid
things like FoW and UW are no different regardless of NM / HM
certain missions were made harder but that was as they were when they first came out...THK for instance...no-one could do it when it first came out same for Raisu to some extent....but now everyone can do it easily....same goes for HM now everyone can do it...and it is futile - legendary guardian / vanquisher can be bought in the "service" area so the titles are meaningless - the only good thing that has come from it is a tad extra play-ability and a way to max SS,LB,asura etc. - although A.Net would have made it possible to without HM if it hadn't been released!
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Malice Black
Hardmode = 1 death, back to outpost.
Sort the men from the boys. |
peace out
chowmein69
i like HM , i only play in HM :O
Croco Clouds
Without HM, massive farming such as my favorite raptor cave wouldn't exist.
~ Dan ~
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Tender Wolf
But other than that, I hate it. Too many mobs grouped close together, so much aggro, insta-kills, etc.
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OI-812
HM is gewd.
That is all.
That is all.
Malice Black
Only hard thing about GW is staying awake.
Splitisoda
I dont even wanna KNOW what the heck are the HM atribs, i see like instant kills with sandstorm bosses, heck ive been hit for over 1000+ once before. Dont even wanna know what the heck that skill was 
The only reason i like hard mode is for the easier GRIND ENGINE GRIND ENGINE GRIND ENGINE GOing for titles.
The only reason i like hard mode is for the easier GRIND ENGINE GRIND ENGINE GRIND ENGINE GOing for titles.
Master Knightfall
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Whiskeyjack
If it wasn't for hard mode i wouldn' bother with PvE at all anymore, tbh i find it hard to understand how people can enjoy NM.
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AshenX
Before I tried to lift the heavy thing it was too heavy for me so I kept trying until I could lift the heavy thing and now the things I lifted before I lifted the heavy thing are too light for me to feel like I am lifting anything at all what am i going to do now that the heavy thing is not heavy anymore is there a heavier thing?
Posted on too little sleep
Posted on too little sleep
Steboy93
Hard mode is a great challenge and a clever addition to the game which has kept many people playing who were going to quit.
Esan
Quote:
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Originally Posted by AshenX
Before I tried to lift the heavy thing it was too heavy for me so I kept trying until I could lift the heavy thing and now the things I lifted before I lifted the heavy thing are too light for me to feel like I am lifting anything at all what am i going to do now that the heavy thing is not heavy anymore is there a heavier thing?
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I agree!
pumpkin pie
HM lonar pass is easier then the NM in my opinion because i get extra 2 level 20s hench compare to the level 10 which can't even get through the first mob. i managed to hench half way in HM but then I die. then all the H/H dies, anyway, going back to do it again H/H
crazybanshee
Yeah I'm glad I went and got all the hm titles, I think it made me a better player and made me better micromanaging my heroes and builds. That being said, I'll never do it again unless I'm helping out a guildie. Most of mine was done with heroes and henches, and occasionally another person on the hardest missions. When I did all the HM (pre eotn) There were no consumables, no ursan, and I basically ended up doing some areas or missions many many times before getting it. Not that the henchmen complained, but I was getting a little annoyed. Even after gwen I didn't use ursan (had no idea what it could actually do) and was usually too poor to make consumables. Now that I'm all done, I'm doing elite areas in nm (mallyx runs and so on) and I find myself the richest I"ve ever been. I'm retaining lockpicks, making money, and I can usually drink while playing to work on that boring grind title
Kusandaa
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Esan
So what you're saying is... that we need a NIGHTMARE MODE because hard mode is becomming easier every day?
I agree! |
Nightmare mode should change your foes builds and attributes everytime you enter a new map - give them actual builds with kiting AI and such, but please, give it to heroes as well >_>. Give foes each 3-4 builds to run with same main attribute... that kinda stuff I guess.
Just my 2g really x].
You can't see me
What do I think of Hard Mode?
It's a higher level of gameplay, and is very enjoyable for those who are good enough to play it without much difficulty, which excludes PuGs of course, but I don't think I speak for only myself when I say that Hard Mode was a welcome change. If you don't like Hard Mode, and don't think the reward is worth the effort you put into it, then you're probably at a skill level where you should probably still be doing normal mode. Hard Mode just doesn't require the effort that it would be impossible if you know what you're doing. However, as for the extra time with the extra reward, I'm all for that. It made farming and grinding a lot less painful.
My 2 cents.
It's a higher level of gameplay, and is very enjoyable for those who are good enough to play it without much difficulty, which excludes PuGs of course, but I don't think I speak for only myself when I say that Hard Mode was a welcome change. If you don't like Hard Mode, and don't think the reward is worth the effort you put into it, then you're probably at a skill level where you should probably still be doing normal mode. Hard Mode just doesn't require the effort that it would be impossible if you know what you're doing. However, as for the extra time with the extra reward, I'm all for that. It made farming and grinding a lot less painful.
My 2 cents.
Operative 14
Quote:
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Originally Posted by blue.rellik
What difference would it make? The majority of PvE players would still get rolled thorugh except Ursan users and the players that can make a decent/good team still get through. This would just lead to more threads like this, people whining because they can't do something while good players saying you should stop using firestorm which will eventually turn into a arguement of bad players talking about 'not having enough time' while throwing the word 'elitism' in there.
If they gave the enemies good bars then really, it would be the same as fighting HM EotN Stone Summit and Charr over and over again. And imagine the whining then 'omg the char firestorm uses aegis which makes my derv and war useless. the rangers also kill my casters so easily. nerf plz' |
Anyhoo-
I tried Hardmode, and I didn't see much point. I'm not really one for going for titles, nor trying to get good loot, so all that leaves me with is fighting harder enemies for no reason. So I took one foray into it, when it first came out, and then never tried again.
doudou_steve
I hate when people complains about it. *Hard mode is soo easy, im an elite yeaaa* oh comon, hard mode just says its harder then normal mode, to add more challenge etc... But people want now an IMPOSSIBLE NIGHTMARE MODE and even after(if they put it) peeps will still complain *ahhhh its too hard* or *ahhhhhhh it's too easy, plz put a realist mode where you die in 1 hit like in real life!*
You get the point? Live with it and stop whining, you won't change something
You get the point? Live with it and stop whining, you won't change something
flclempire
HM sucks. Its only a cakewalk with the 2 or 3 generic party builds and thats~no good. Splinter/barrage+ele nukage groups make me sick. How about making the game balanced so mesmers are as useful as eles or rangers?
Crom The Pale
Hard mode has its good and bad points.
Some missions are just way to frustrating with massive mob agro and over powered attacks/defences.
Some are way to easy as the AI is still slow witted and makes exploitable mistakes every time leading to a single most efficient method of completing most missions in Hard Mode.
Drops are just not what they should be, why does a lvl 30 monster drop a non max white item? Or a lvl 26 Boss drop a 3g collectors item?
Quallity over quantity is what we always wanted but seam to never get.
Some missions are just way to frustrating with massive mob agro and over powered attacks/defences.
Some are way to easy as the AI is still slow witted and makes exploitable mistakes every time leading to a single most efficient method of completing most missions in Hard Mode.
Drops are just not what they should be, why does a lvl 30 monster drop a non max white item? Or a lvl 26 Boss drop a 3g collectors item?
Quallity over quantity is what we always wanted but seam to never get.
bhavv
The only reason I do HM is for the titles and am making terrislow progress. I vanquish 2 areas, I get bored. I manage fine, but they may as well allow 7 heroes for HM to make it more fun. And no one pugs in HM anyway.
Kerwyn Nasilan
HM is nice for a challange and farming. With Ursan and Consumables make it just a breeze.
Esan
Quote:
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Originally Posted by bhavv
And no one pugs in HM anyway.
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bhavv
Shhhh!!! I'm in snow alliance and got legendary guardian with the helpful peeps, but I wanna vanquish everything solo just as a personal choice.
Also, alliance group =\= pug.
I just cant commit to grinding the same thing over and over again like vanquishing. I do 2 or 3 and im bored.
Also, alliance group =\= pug.
I just cant commit to grinding the same thing over and over again like vanquishing. I do 2 or 3 and im bored.
StormDragonZ
Honestly, I don't like Hard Mode. Too many people do Hard Mode, and hardly anyone does Normal Mode.
Bryant Again
Even if my earlier post is a little dated, I would just like to add that it was a good addition to the game.