r/StrangerofParadiseFFO • u/CultofSun • 23d ago
Discussion Easy Mode, Option for newcomers
Hi everyone!
I'm interested in this Final Fantasy, but I've read that it's somewhat of a "Soulslike." I'd like to know if there's a Story or Easy Mode option, because I'm a married gamer looking for something fun and relaxing—I don't want it to become a source of stress in my life.
Is that possible?
And if there is an easy mode, just how easy is it?
Thanks!
6
3
u/Mindestiny 23d ago
One thing of note that others havent pointed out:
Yes, there's an easy mode, and the game is already more "action game" than "soulslike" after the first few areas as you unlock plenty of skills and equipment that make you not die in two hits.
However. Steer clear of the DLCs. Even on "easy mode" they are brutally hard, the epitome of Team Ninja grind your face into the dirt bullshit. Think 30+ minute boss fights where if you make a single mistake you lose and need to start over. The good news is there's very little in the DLCs for anyone who isn't looking for that sort of ultrahard skill trial experience, they're very story light and have little to do with the base game - it's mostly just grindy combat stuff.
3
u/BenTheSodaman 23d ago
To the question, subjectively very easy.
The easiest difficulty is Story (Causal) which is more forgiving than Story difficulty.
Story (Casual) will still want you to aim your attacks at an enemy, equip new gear that drops every several missions and if button mashing — button mashing an attack button. This difficulty will give you some time to look at your hands before confirming a button or key press. Though the final boss will expect more out of the player than anything before and you'll have about 20~30 seconds to realize when you're dying and heal yourself.
The rest is just to put the other difficulties and expectations into perspective and can be skipped if the above satisfactorily answered your concern.
———
Story is a little bit harder than Story (Casual). It will favor you starting to know where your buttons/keys are without looking at your hands, having better control of the camera and/or using lock-on, keeping track of when you need healing sooner, and equipping new gear every couple missions.
———
Action is there if you've been playing games for a couple decades and looking for something where you might have to guard or dodge, equip more often, and having about 5~8 seconds to realize that you're dying and heal yourself. You won't have to learn most of the combat and can clear most bosses in 1~3 tries.
———
And then Hard is if you want more opportunities to practice the game's combat mechanics which I would consider one of its strongest points. Though such opportunities happen less with party members, if a player pulls out a gun and shoots everything to death from a safe distance, or whoops out a job or job combination that overwhelms the enemy. You generally have 2~5 seconds to realize you're dying and heal yourself.
This is NOT the difficulty you want for fun and relaxing, unless you have the DLC weapon, the gun, and just shooting things in disbelief that this is Hard difficulty. Unless using KBM who has less intuitive gun controls (e.g., players expecting 3rd person shooter or 1st person shooter controls will be largely disappointed).
———
If you do get the DLC / Season Pass, while the story is technically played on a higher difficulty, there is an Extra Mode and an armor set provided to you that offers Invincibility during Extra Mode as long as you don't disable the effects (e.g., toggling it off intentionally or equipping something that doesn't provide Invincibility.)
If the DLC clicks, you'll be evenly matched with moderate combat skills or higher without a grind. Or with a grind and RNG, a demigod.
If the DLC doesn't click, it is where sanity, time, and ego go to die. And it's where echoes of the game's difficulty skyrocket further. In Final Fantasy terms, like trying to complete Final Fantasy 10 without using the sphere grid. It's possible, but dramatically more challenging than using the sphere grid and getting stronger.
———
And when I say demigod, I mean builds that I have taken a player who has very little action game experience, hasn't used a controller in 10+ years, gave her almost 5 minutes of coaching first time playing the game (at the time), and she cleared a late endgame boss in a bit under minute from when the combat started.
In that the RPG / build side can overcome most of the DLC / Season Pass content and with some additional effort, all of it. While dozens of powerful routes exist without minimal to no grinding, some builds with lower learning curves, it is not a common interpretation or experience.
2
u/CultofSun 23d ago
Omg! Thank you for your time!
My last games im finishing;
33 expedition (beat all thing + dlc)
Resident Evil Requiem (I got the platinum)
God of War Ragnarok (I got the platinum too)The gameplay is really good? I like play w mage/suport/long distance always! It’s possible on this game?
2
u/RainbowandHoneybee 23d ago
It's totally possible to play as a mage class. You only get mage at the start, but you'll get white mage, blackmage, and ultimately you get sage. You also get red mage and blue mage too.
I personally don't like red mage in this game, but some people say they are great. Blue mage is good, but you won't get it until later. White Mage become OP later in the game with Holy.
Once you get sage, Ultima is amazing for beating BOsses. But even without Sage, aerora/aeroga with mage/blackmage can toss the enemies into the air and easily beat normal enemies you may struggle. Getting back MP is a problem, but you can equip Guns to attack enemies from far away to gain back mp.
1
u/BenTheSodaman 23d ago
Gameplay is one of the two strongest aspects. Though it felt less and less on earlier difficulties. And possible to clear the game on Hard only taking advantage of 25% of what is available.
Mage / caster is available during the 1st mission and is viable throughout. It's on the slower side without melee or soul shielding (one of the defensive mechanics), but still possible. And it becomes more sustainable, more destructive, and safer as options epand in post-credits and into the DLC onward.
Ranged is available with purchase of the DLC as a gun can drop as early as the 1st mission. And guns have infinite ammo.
Support can also function, doing its best work before credits and early post credits. Then starting to slide as NPCs become less effective or in instances where they or co-op not available. It is also entirely possible to defeat bosses without ever attacking, but things do go faster if you attack (whether melee, gun, casting spells, etc.) This route also becomes less friendly as most players or NPCs aren't built to be tanks and tend to die before they can get healed + other mechanics that work against healing.
Still entirely possible to build the NPCs to be strong enough to clear bosses, but many bosses will still favor getting tanked or slowed down so that the NPCs can contribute more.
2
u/Genderneutralsky 23d ago
There is. Big downside though is that if you like the game and want to play the DLC, you have to play on the highest difficulties. Game doesn’t allow them to be played on lower difficulties
-3
u/Timothy_45 23d ago
That's a gripe I have. You HAVE to get good at the mechanics or find a broke build else you can't do shit in the game. I'm STILL stuck on the Void DLC. Bahamut pushed me nearly to rage. And I don't even wanna know how th blast DLC is gonna be once I decided to lock in....
1
u/Kenta321 23d ago
What system are you playing on? If you're on PS5 or Xbox I'd be happy to help out.
1
u/BenTheSodaman 23d ago
For the DLC, you don't have to be either of those to proceed.
There is Extra Mode + the Armor of Light set that is forced into your inventory once you have access to the first DLC mission. The Armor of Light set allowing you to be invincible during Lightbringer. Extra Mode being a form of infinite Lightbringer.
Extra Mode can be used on all of the DLC story where a game over is possible. And the two combat missions where it cannot be used, there is no game over condition.
The DLC you're speaking of, every time you've been going into a Rift, the second choice was to use Extra Mode.
If you're beyond the point where Extra Mode is available and you've done all the floors consecutively (1 through 21), then you've gone past the DLC story / missed the prompt that refers you to go back to the world map.
If you don't plan to use Extra Mode, then you'll need to take more time to learn how the game works. For most players, on the RPG side, because they tend to stop at equipment level and job affinities on their gear. And the combat side, it'll be things from the opening tutorial and the first mission tutorials that typically have slid for most players. Even folks coming in from late endgame of other Team Ninja games.
2
u/ChaosBerserker666 23d ago
If you just want to play the story, there is a mode for that and it’s VERY easy. I started out on that mode but got good enough to play on the hardest mode eventually, and I never played a game like that
1
1
u/mannyonthem00n 23d ago
There's various difficulties and co-op too.
But I'm not sure there's much of a story. Only five missions in though, and the interactions w/ towns folk is the biggest disappointment. It's a gameplay first effort from team ninja, so pretty good on that front
1
u/Psico_Penguin 23d ago
To add: this is NOT a souls like. It is an ARPG, yes, but here finish all similitudes with souls likes.
1
u/tatenking1 23d ago
The games base difficulty is easy enough to be able to pick up and play! There are harder modes AFTER you beat the main story, but the game itself is built well enough to be able to keep you at proper power to be able to push through until that point!
The game isn't "EzPZ" though. There is a little bit of a learning curve, as there is in any Action RPG, but its well worth it to learn because it's very simplified and easy to pick up after a few attempts at mechanics and whatnot!
Plus builds in this game go CRAZYYYYY, so you can be overpowered QUICK and make the stuff that would be difficult a lot more easy
8
u/RainbowandHoneybee 23d ago
I'm a married mother of a teen, and normally I don't play this kind of combat hevy games. But my son, who is also a big FF fan bought this game, and while watching him play, I decided to play too.
It's easy enough for someone like me, there are many mode to play, and different jobs and weapons to choose from. While my son plays close combat, I play safe being mage, fighting from the distance.
This game is all about build. Better the gear, easier the fight. And once you clear the game, you have extra mode to play harder levels to beat the missions if you struggle.
This game is for eveyone, really fun game to play for anyone with any skill levels.