All Forspoken Difficulty Levels And What They Do

All Forspoken Difficulty Levels And What They Do
Images via Square Enix

Written by 

Harry Boulton

Published 

25th Jan 2023 16:47

Selecting the right choice for you between the various different Forspoken difficulty levels can be a bit challenging, as you never want to make the game too easy or too hard. Forspoken not only has four standard difficulty levels, but it also has an entire gameplay balance section where you can acutely tweak certain settings outside of the main options. Carry on reading below to see a full explanation of all of the different Forspoken difficulty levels.

Forspoken Difficulty Levels Explained

Forspoken Difficulty Levels Explained
Click to enlarge

There are currently four different Forspoken difficulty levels that you can choose from when you start a new game, but they are quite vague, leaving many players stumped as to which one to choose.

Here is a list of the four Forspoken difficulty levels, ordered from easiest to most difficult:

  • Focus on the Story: "Recommended for players who just want to enjoy the game's narrative unfold."
  • Explore the Open World: "Recommended for players who want to visit every corner of the game world."
  • Default: "Recommended for players who want to enjoy a balance of all gameplay elements."
  • Take Part in Challenging Battles: "Recommended for players who are used to playing action games."

Unfortunately, these difficulty levels are presented in a rather unorthodox order in-game, having the Default difficulty last - implying that it is the most difficult. This is obviously not the case though, with Take Part in Challenging battles taking the spot if you want to test yourself throughout the game.

It is unclear what the Explore the Open World difficulty level actually does though, as its description appears to point to an easier world discovery as opposed to standard adjustments to combat difficulty.

You can also change the difficulty at any point during your playthrough via the settings menu if you're wanting to add a little more challenge or ease the difficulty of your game.

Forspoken Gameplay Balance Options Explained

Forspoken Difficulty Levels Gameplay Balance
Click to enlarge

Outside of the standard difficulty levels, there is an entire Gameplay Balance section dedicated to any finer tweaks that you might want to make. This can be great if you're finding the gap between different modes too great, or if there is one particular aspect that you are wanting to make easier or harder.

Here are all eight Gameplay Balance options, their different modifiers, and what each one actually does:

Option

Modifiers

Explanation

Aim Assist

On/Off

Helps you hit targets by attracting your reticule to them when in close proximity.

Spell-Switching Slowdown

None/Default (Slow)/Full Pause

Adjusts the speed of your game when you bring up the spell wheel.

Damage Received

Significantly Decreased/Decreased/Default/Increased/Significantly Increased

Adjusts how much damage you take.

Stamina Recovery Speed

Default/Fast/Very Fast

Adjusts how quickly your stamina is able to regenerate.

Automatically Use Healing Items

On/Off

Available healing items will be automatically used when Frey is at low HP when this setting is on.

Enemy Knockdown Time

Default/Extended

Increases the amount of time enemies stay on the ground after being knocked.

Automatic Support Spell-Switching

On/Off

Automatically cycles through your available support spells to ensure that you always have one available.

Auto-Evasion

On/Off

When on, all incoming attacks will be automatically dodged with parkour.

While most of the Gameplay Balance options found above are there to make certain aspects of the game easier, there are some for those who want to increase the challenge too. Setting your Spell-Switching Slowdown to none and Damage Received to significantly increased will ensure that victory is only achieved when you master your timings and dodges.

However, if the game is proving to be too tough for you, or if you just want to experience the story, adjusting any of the settings above should do a lot to help you out.

That wraps up this guide on the various Forspoken difficulty levels, letting you in on all you need if you're wanting to tinker with the game's challenge level. Have a read of this guide on the Forspoken parkour abilities if you want to see a full list of the game's movement skills.

Harry Boulton
About the author
Harry Boulton
Harry is a Guides Writer at GGRecon, having completed a Masters of Research degree in Film Studies. Previously a freelance writer for PCGamesN, The Loadout, and Red Bull Gaming, he loves playing a wide variety of games from the Souls series to JRPGs, Counter-Strike, and EA FC. When not playing or writing about games and hardware, you're likely to find him watching football or listening to Madonna and Kate Bush.
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