What difficulty do you play on?

[EvilSqueegee]

I've been clearing the official iWADs on Ultra Violence and considering that done. I had to turn Ultimate Doom episode 4 down to Hurt Me Plenty to get past the first two levels. I play most custom wads on Hurt Me Plenty and if I really enjoy myself I go back and try them on UV.

 

All the youtubers I see play on UV, and that seems to be the consensus of where most players are at, but I've got some intimidating content coming down the line (Plutonia has me nervous) that I might play on HMP.

 

What about you?

[Bauul]

Personally I tend to play on HMP.

 

Because Doom has tangibly different (usually fewer) monsters on lower difficulties, there's a prevailing notion that playing on UV is the only way to see the "true" version of a level.  Personally I think this is hogwash, and any mapper worth their salt will have implemented HMP and HNTR with just as much care as UV.

 

So, play on whatever you want!

[s4f3s3x]

I always play HMP, continuous. 

I step up to UV for things I've already played two, three times, and even then I still do continuous. 

Pistol start is for those occasional instances in which I only want to play a specific level from a pack, quite obviously.

 

In the very rare event of me playing slaughter-styled maps I go down all the way to ITYTD because it's the only way I can have some form of enjoyable experience with them.

Edited July 30, 2023 by s4f3s3x

[RHhe82]

I tend to default to Ultraviolence pistol starts. That said, I’m not afraid to turn down the difficulty if the situation warrants it; whenever frustration starts to overpower sense of fun and accomplishment thru perseverance. For example:

 

Sunlust - I’ve beaten only on Hurt me plenty.

Going Down - I’ve beaten only on Hurt me plenty.

Fractured Worlds - aside from first few maps, I’ve beaten only on Hey, not too rough.

Haste - aside from first few maps, I’ve beaten only on Hey, not too rough.

 

Fractured Worlds is a good example of what I’m talking about. Hurt me plenty was and probably still is a bit too hard for me, and yet I insisted on playing it until I hit the wall after MAP04, which almost had me hate the mapset. Switching down the difficulty, I suddenly found it enjoyable, and it still was challenging enough to grant me sense of accomplishment upon reaching map exits.

 

And in any case, if the mapset is great (like all I mentioned above) I probably want to replay them, then I can attempt a higher difficulty. Ancient Aliens was just as fun on my first playthrough on HMP than on my second one on UV.

 

Doom is a videogame; you should have fun with it. Often that means the game should be just the right amount of challenging for your tastes. Never does it mean you should play like some streamer, who probably has played Doom for years; some even decades at this point. That’s part of why they play on UV or NM with co-op enemies and all sorts of self-imposed restrictions.

Edited July 30, 2023 by RHhe82

[rita remton]

usually [uv] because mappers commonly implement difficulty levels starting from [uv], then reduce the amount of monsters for lower difficulties. only if i could not get past a map section after about 20 attempts, then i restart the map with [hmp]. this is also the reason, as an amateur mapper myself, my own maps have a somewhat hard start - so that players could change the difficulty level early in the map if they feel the difficulty does not suit them.

Edited August 1, 2023 by rita remton

[tornado potato]

Doom and Doom2 I can handle UV but I've come to the conclusion that for all other wads I should be playing HMP

[Azuris]

hmp mostly

[Akagi666]

UV, pistol start, no saves. If a level is too hard I practice with saves then do attempts.

[Yousuf Anik]

Mostly on Ultra-Violence, both official IWADs and the others. But if I find a map is a bit hard or playing for the first time, then I sometimes switch to Hurt Me Plenty difficulty. 

Edited July 31, 2023 by Yousuf Anik

[7Mahonin]

Ultra-Violence is my preference. 

[Trexion]

I always play on UV even though I am a very bad doom player. It usually always works out if you play overly cautious, or like a coward.

[BeachThunder]

I used to always do UV, but I've started being more of an HMPer recently. There's so many wads, and so little time to UV 'em all. If it's an IWAD or some big-name megawad, I might still go with UV.

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

Usually HMP with saves before/after big fights.

[idbeholdME]

UV -fast, continuous.

[Laocoön]

UV as default, HMP if I feel it's not worth the hassle. I don't like pistolstarting wads where the maps look like they're supposed to be continuous, but I will if that's what is intended. 

[Doomy__Doom]

UV by default. "Is this too hard?" is an easier question to answer compared to "Will [higher difficulty] be ok now that I've been through [lower difficulty]?"

[netcurse2000]

UV with saves, continous.

[banjiepixel]

I have been pretty stuck with HMP with strong attempts to move to UV. Problem for me is that UV increases the number of monsters beyond my ability or liking and I prefer to just make HMP harder by making the monsters more dangerous. Also, I play too little to be able to develop skills needed to play UV well. I do have however beaten whole Ultimate Doom and Sigil (1.0) on UV so that is atleast something.

[QuotePilgrim]

UV, usually with a lot of quick-saving because I want to finish levels within a reasonable amount of time and I'm average player at best.

 

I don't think I actually finished either DOOM or DOOM II in UV though; back when I played them through I would only play HMP because it's what is selected by default.

Edited July 31, 2023 by QuotePilgrim

[Matthias]

The easiest.

I suck at playing games.

I am lazy. I just want to relax.

And I don't trust mappers that they ballanced resources.

:)

[MAN_WITH_GUN]

Nightmare.

[Killdozer]

I play allmost always UV and pistolstart every level.

 

On easier WAD's i try to beat level without saves but on some harder wads i save between fights usually.

[DiR]

UV, but I'd drop it to HMP if the screenshots I see look scary.

 

If I'm on controller or keyboard, I default to HMP because I aim like a sloth in a full body cast when I don't have a mouse.

[joepallai]

HMP 

[Eurisko]

HMP is enough for me. Especially for something like Plutonia. 

[solidago]

UV is my default difficulty, but I'll sometimes drop down to HMP if a mapset is clearly too difficult for me to have fun playing it in UV.

I tend to quicksave a lot, but if I die too early into a map without making any real progress I'll just take the death and pistol-start from there.

[Pankine]

I usually try to go for UV pistol start with all kills. But if something is too hard I'll either drop down the difficulty, practice the level or use as few quick-saves as possible.

[Captain POLAND]

UV most of the time, with saves, and continuous play.

 

 

[BUYXRAYS]

I usually play on UV. The only exceptions being on SkePLand (AMAZING WAD BTW) and Final doom. Then, I play HMP

Edited August 1, 2023 by BUYXRAYS

[SPG]

My default is HMP, continuous. I'll play UV for things I've already gotten comfortable with, and HNTR or even Nightmare for curiosity's sake on rare occasion (mostly with Doom 1 Episode 1). Similar rare experimentation with things like pistol starting or no saves or fast monsters enabled or things like that.