Jumping into the dark and twisted world of Path of Exile 2 can be a bit challenging, especially if you are new to the franchise. So, if you are a seasoned veteran looking for a tougher grind or a newbie hoping to ease into the chaos of Wraeclast, tweaking the difficulty level can make all the difference. If you’re wondering how to adjust the game’s difficulty to suit your playstyle, don’t worry—we’ve got you covered!
Adjusting the difficulty in Path of Exile 2 isn’t as simple as hopping into the settings menu and flipping a switch whenever you feel like it. Instead, the game takes a different approach. So, how exactly does it work? Well, many players have been wondering the same and here we are breaking it all down for you.
Path of Exile 2: How to change Difficulty Level?
First, Path of Exile 2 does let you choose a difficulty setting at the start of your game during character creation. Before we explain the difficulty system, here is a quick rundown of all the available difficulty settings when you begin a brand-new save.
Difficulty Settings available
Here are the four settings to choose from during the character creation screen:
- Standard: This is the recommended setting for most new or casual players. Dying here does not have much consequence.
- Hardcore: In this, you will only get one life and death will demote you down to the Standard League!
- Solo Self-Found (SSF): Perfect for lone wolves! Don’t like socialising? Pick this difficulty and there will be no trading or social features, all relying on your efforts.
- Hardcore Self-Found: Combines Hardcore and SSF—one life, no external assistance. The ultimate setting for the most serious of players.
Once you have picked a setting, you cannot change it because the difficulty system is rather dynamic and adapts organically to your play style. If you rush through content and skip over weaker enemies, the game ramps up the challenge, throwing tougher obstacles your way. Die and you get demoted to the league below you. So, start by exploring all skipped zones, clearing more monsters, tweaking your build, or spending time shopping and crafting in town. Keep at it for some time and you should become stronger, making your current tasks and upcoming areas a tad bit easier. Similarly, if you feel like you are mowing down the enemies in no time, move on to other unexplored areas with tougher challenges. That being said, there is a late-game mechanic that lets you tweak the difficulty on the fly.
Endgame?
After completing the first three acts for the first time, you will get to advance to Cruel difficulty. In this mode, you will have to replay the first three acts and then you will have access to the Atlas! Now, the Atlas of Worlds will let you adjust the difficulty by using Waystones to access different maps. You can modify these Waystones with different Orbs, namely Orb of Augmentation and Transmutation, which will let you set a difficulty level for the map you intend to play!
That said, this was all about the difficulty system in Path of Exile 2. For more such interesting gaming-related reads, consider visiting DigiStatement daily. Also, click here to find out how to fix the game-freezing issues that players have been facing in Path of Exile 2.
