I’ve only ever played hardcore in D3 and i enjoyed it but felt even more reliant on friends than softcore in d3 (and even in softcore it felt like you were being punished for not grouping up). I have played a lot of Grim Dawn but only in softcore and was thinking about going hardcore. I’m a little hesitant though as Grim Dawn feels more punishing for not having things like max resistances which I can’t guarantee I will have. I also like experimenting and making my own builds and I’m worried if I play ahrdcore I’ll have to always be soldier + something to be as tanky as possible.
Can anyone give me any info on what it’s like to play the game hardcore?
Just imagine that it’s like softcore except that it’s hardcore. It’s exactly like that! <–being ‘dead’ serious here
But you have half the battle in your pocket since you already have a decent idea of what to expect from the game. You just take that knowledge and then build your character ‘safer’ from the get-go. And you better be serious about those resistances and plan ahead as much as possible.
Experimenting is much less fun in hc, because if it doesn´t work, you might, you now, die. I recently played a little hc, but ultimately I didn´t like it.
Yes, it is a little more exiting, then again, it is much less relaxed, and I´ve enough stress in RL, thank you.
You don´t want to be tanky in hc, you just need good dps, and check the usual boxes (max resistances, big healthpool etc.). Too tanky = longer fights. Longer fights = more chances to be killed. Some defensive skills, sure, tanky, can´t recommend it. Pobably would work with a full end level set, but …
Lastly keep in mind: You start over in hardcore. You need to find all blueprints again, you have no faction writs and all that nice stuff.
Actually that part was kinda fun, but dying and loosing all the time spend on that charcater just isn´t for me.
Blueprints are saved even if you die. So if you start over with another character in HC, you have access to the blueprints learned from the previous characters.
Hardcore will limit your build diversity a bit, but it’ll grow larger the more experienced HC player you become, because, to paraphrase Ptiro, “enough defense is a skill-based thingy”.
My first character (witch hunter) died over 200 times. I don’t think I’ve ever made it through Ultimate without several deaths. I do not play hardcore.
I personally find almost no difference between SC and HC in GD, compared to other present aRPGs.
Building the character is almost identical in both modes, HC just requires to make small improvements here and there ASAP, which in SC you can postpone but gonna make anyway as well. Like immediate gear upgrades when available, augments, etc.
The major difference between modes come out mostly with play style and the approach to certain encounters.
Like, you need to know when to go fast and when to slow it down. To know the enmies, and which of them may turn you from hero to zero. To know zones you are in, altogether with monster types - which resistances you need the most, how hard mobs hit, are there shotguns or res reductions, etc.
Knowing all of that helps you with calculating overall defenses vs damage taken.
To a lesser degree, in HC you’ll likely avoid certain classes, being naturally squishy.
But I also think it doesn’t affect build diversity, as there are plenty of choices remaining.
In HC you will die in interesting ways with your early chars, but once you learn the ‘problem’ areas and read up a bit on bosses etc you’ll know what to avoid and you’ll bring better builds to the fights. I lost a lot of HC chars over the first 500 or so hours, but now rarely do because I ensure resists, phys resist and armor absorption are up to scratch and use elixirs before fights if need be. Oh and have Aether Clusters ready to go…
You also unlock more recipes, good gear and components to keep in the shared stash which are very useful in levelling.
I’m fairly new to GD, and so far absolutely loving it.
Went from SC to HC only in D3, and thought I’d try this out, going HC blind from the start.
Best way to start a new game, not knowing tactics, and this is such an adrenaline rush way to play. Albeit not going full Rambo mode from the start, I’ve already had a few close calls, and tried the “Alt-F4/Quit to Menu” to see how this works.
Needless to say, I do generally play safer, but not knowing that you get locked into a random boss fight, really makes it exciting. Lessons learnt, and the next char leveling/play through will be more different, in terms of knowing what could happen.
Side note: I haven’t actually read up on anything, and it’s completely unknown what can/will happen.
for Hardcore, and I see you can back up save files. Does this mean you can technically keep a HC char alive, indefinitely? If you back up each day, for example, though you will have some progress loss?
You could if you copy the backup back into the save folder. But I have to ask is that really playing hardcore then? Same as using Alt+F4. I don’t play HC, but to me that isn’t really doing it HC. Still it’s a personal preference.
Considering the saves are generally stored locally (unless you use cloud saves), you could technically back-up saves, or even alter your character saves to revive him if it pleases you.
It negates the purpose of HC however, and after having done so for a character after going afk in the wrong place without setting on pause, I must admit I had to uninstall the program I was using to alter the save.
Temptation was too great to reset every time I was dying.
It’s boring as all get out if you play mostly softcore because when you start on hardcore, the game doesn’t let you keep your blueprints and no share stash from softcore, just like the custom game mode. Therefore it is a USELESS game mode if you don’t start on hardcore at the beginning of your time playing this game. I played hardcore only for a short time and I have never died in it yet but really don’t want to redo blueprint farming over again since it’s the most tedious thing in this game. I play hardcore mode when I’m EXTREMELY bored and don’t want to play other games.
<–being ‘dead’ serious here
I recently played a little hc, but ultimately I didn´t like it.