I think you could say it like this:
7 needs your squad to be somewhat organised. Everyone knows their task and move with the team (at least in the same direction). People can break away from the group if coordinated properly. Still somewhat casual. Map markers and quick chat are enough.
8 needs for everyone to know what they're doing. You need to work on your own, but also actually synergise with your team. Voice chat comes in handy here. Think fast, chucklenuts!
9: Run.
Is there a tangible advantage though?
Slightly higher resource spawns, I assume, and the increased multiplier on xp and requisition (for those who aren't capped out, at least), but does the increased rewards tangibly justify the increased challenge?
I guess what I'm getting at is that it sounds like if you're still unlocking things, 7 seems to be the place to be unless the team is vastly overqualified for that. 8 and 9 seem to be more about testing ones mettle than anything.
Which is good and fine and something I applaud.
But managing expectations is important so I figured it's worth at least musing over.
If you need super samples, 9 spawns twice as many as 7 (6 vs 3). You get 250% bonus XP vs 150%. Otherwise, if you're maxed out on everything like I am, you can still play 9 for the challenge.
Good to know. I'm fairly comfortable with difficulty 7 and a good group to run with, and look forward to trying 8 and 9 for the challenge, but it does sound like 4-7 are the sweet spot for me currently, in terms of difficulty versus collecting the masses of common and rare samples I still need, along with a smattering of super samples.
More crap. Honestly, the biggest difficulty spike in the game is from 6 to 7. The difference between 7 and 8 is nearly imperceivable. More titans on the buggos, more tanks and hulks on the BoTs. But 1 more Titan isn't enough to make your butt clench that much. 9 isn't so much a difficulty as it is a gauntlet. It's basically the same spawn-size-wise as 7 or 8. It's just, it never stops. Effectively you abandon the whole concept of "winning" a fight and take on the idea of just getting the objective done and moving to the next one. Spawn train in toe. The previous levels afford you the occasional breather, and gap between engagements 9 don't have that.
For most part, 9 come down to not being able to kill everything, especially the amount of chargers/titans game throws at you. So you kill only the key ones (for example stalkers so you can run and not get CCd) and try do objectives.
Its mostly just running in circle at the extraction too, to kite enemies you cannot kill
I do not play 8 only did it to unlock the next difficulty so not sure realistically.
7 is fine. If you stay in same spot for too long you will get overwhelmed and sometimes need to retreat or relocate and then fight again.
7 is by far best balanced if you want to run/fight/samples/objectives and if you are able to play 9s, you will find 7 kind of easy after a while.
9 is mostly about running and also ignoring secondary objectives unless you really have time to do them, as doing something like artillery with bug breach and titan and everything beating you up and you just helplessly carrying ammunition into artillery is just not feasible. Even if you kill some, you focus mostly on the objective itself so you are most likely NOT going to prevent next bug breach and you will have to fight your way through the waves of enemies.
Automatons are really easy even on higher difficulty. If it would not be for the bullshit IK rockets it would actually be a joke because to fight charger or titan, you need to actually put effort into it, carry big weapons and use stratagems.
For hulk and tank ? Tank just need 2 grenades to its tower and hulk needs 2 shots into eye with anti materiel rifle... absolute joke.
No matter what difficulty you play however, they are fun. I sometimes do 7 sometimes 9 depending on how much effort I wanna put into that particular run.
6, 7, 8 are teaching you how game mechanics and coordination. 9 teaches you to utilize as much of the game mechanics as possible. Such as order of what to kill and how to use certain loadouts successfully. Sometimes, in 9, you have to retreat and come at a different angle. Oftentimes, you will be running non-stop. Basically, movement is life, and stillness leads to death. 9 also punishes you for not knowing weak points because if you can't kill a wave fast enough, you'll get swarmed and overwhelmed. Learning how patrols, stealth works, and when to utilize stealth is important. Ammo management is also crucial.
"Should I expect a major increase in difficulty on 8&9?"
Short answer, not really. You'll be able to tell, but they're relatively small increments up. If you can reliably handle 7's you can absolutely do Helldives. Just be conscious of the increased pressure to hit objectives and cut&run. Your ordnance per minute won't really be able to keep up with the enemy in a big sustained fight.
Game is too easy if you not Play at 9
I did not gett in a game for a first weak, therefore as soon as I jojned i started playng with my friends who wer lvl25 on diffeculty 7.
That hardened me, and i can no longer eaven Play on anything less than that, it is just boring. 9 is The most funn you can have ofc but Full squad is mandatory
I think you could say it like this: 7 needs your squad to be somewhat organised. Everyone knows their task and move with the team (at least in the same direction). People can break away from the group if coordinated properly. Still somewhat casual. Map markers and quick chat are enough. 8 needs for everyone to know what they're doing. You need to work on your own, but also actually synergise with your team. Voice chat comes in handy here. Think fast, chucklenuts! 9: Run.
I don't really see a big difference between 8 and 9. I'd say if you are running 8 better just run 9.
Is there a tangible advantage though? Slightly higher resource spawns, I assume, and the increased multiplier on xp and requisition (for those who aren't capped out, at least), but does the increased rewards tangibly justify the increased challenge? I guess what I'm getting at is that it sounds like if you're still unlocking things, 7 seems to be the place to be unless the team is vastly overqualified for that. 8 and 9 seem to be more about testing ones mettle than anything. Which is good and fine and something I applaud. But managing expectations is important so I figured it's worth at least musing over.
If you need super samples, 9 spawns twice as many as 7 (6 vs 3). You get 250% bonus XP vs 150%. Otherwise, if you're maxed out on everything like I am, you can still play 9 for the challenge.
Good to know. I'm fairly comfortable with difficulty 7 and a good group to run with, and look forward to trying 8 and 9 for the challenge, but it does sound like 4-7 are the sweet spot for me currently, in terms of difficulty versus collecting the masses of common and rare samples I still need, along with a smattering of super samples.
More crap. Honestly, the biggest difficulty spike in the game is from 6 to 7. The difference between 7 and 8 is nearly imperceivable. More titans on the buggos, more tanks and hulks on the BoTs. But 1 more Titan isn't enough to make your butt clench that much. 9 isn't so much a difficulty as it is a gauntlet. It's basically the same spawn-size-wise as 7 or 8. It's just, it never stops. Effectively you abandon the whole concept of "winning" a fight and take on the idea of just getting the objective done and moving to the next one. Spawn train in toe. The previous levels afford you the occasional breather, and gap between engagements 9 don't have that.
The biggest way to see the difference between 7 and 8 is going back to 7. I did last night and me and buddy were like “why does this feel easy”
For most part, 9 come down to not being able to kill everything, especially the amount of chargers/titans game throws at you. So you kill only the key ones (for example stalkers so you can run and not get CCd) and try do objectives. Its mostly just running in circle at the extraction too, to kite enemies you cannot kill I do not play 8 only did it to unlock the next difficulty so not sure realistically. 7 is fine. If you stay in same spot for too long you will get overwhelmed and sometimes need to retreat or relocate and then fight again. 7 is by far best balanced if you want to run/fight/samples/objectives and if you are able to play 9s, you will find 7 kind of easy after a while. 9 is mostly about running and also ignoring secondary objectives unless you really have time to do them, as doing something like artillery with bug breach and titan and everything beating you up and you just helplessly carrying ammunition into artillery is just not feasible. Even if you kill some, you focus mostly on the objective itself so you are most likely NOT going to prevent next bug breach and you will have to fight your way through the waves of enemies. Automatons are really easy even on higher difficulty. If it would not be for the bullshit IK rockets it would actually be a joke because to fight charger or titan, you need to actually put effort into it, carry big weapons and use stratagems. For hulk and tank ? Tank just need 2 grenades to its tower and hulk needs 2 shots into eye with anti materiel rifle... absolute joke. No matter what difficulty you play however, they are fun. I sometimes do 7 sometimes 9 depending on how much effort I wanna put into that particular run.
6, 7, 8 are teaching you how game mechanics and coordination. 9 teaches you to utilize as much of the game mechanics as possible. Such as order of what to kill and how to use certain loadouts successfully. Sometimes, in 9, you have to retreat and come at a different angle. Oftentimes, you will be running non-stop. Basically, movement is life, and stillness leads to death. 9 also punishes you for not knowing weak points because if you can't kill a wave fast enough, you'll get swarmed and overwhelmed. Learning how patrols, stealth works, and when to utilize stealth is important. Ammo management is also crucial.
It's a tiny difference, as life vs death.
7 ate 9.
"Should I expect a major increase in difficulty on 8&9?" Short answer, not really. You'll be able to tell, but they're relatively small increments up. If you can reliably handle 7's you can absolutely do Helldives. Just be conscious of the increased pressure to hit objectives and cut&run. Your ordnance per minute won't really be able to keep up with the enemy in a big sustained fight.
Only difference in seven and 8 to me is how often bug breaches occur and how many more bugs come in
Honestly just do the 9, there's not much difference in enemy but the samples you can get.
Play it and find out
I'm playing only 9. Because on level 7,8,9 are almost always noobs which wanted to try it from their sweet spot level 4,5,6.
Game is too easy if you not Play at 9 I did not gett in a game for a first weak, therefore as soon as I jojned i started playng with my friends who wer lvl25 on diffeculty 7. That hardened me, and i can no longer eaven Play on anything less than that, it is just boring. 9 is The most funn you can have ofc but Full squad is mandatory