Difficulty Level Differences & Recommended Difficulty

This page contains information about the Difficulty Levels in the game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Read on to learn how Difficulty Levels impact the game and which difficulty you should choose.

Difficulty Level Differences

There are a total of 4 difficulties in the game The Witcher: Wild Hunt, Easy, Normal, Hard, and Very Hard. These Difficulty Levels affect and change some of the enemies' stats (Enemy Health, Damage, and Experience Gain), and the effects of your Meditation.

Just The Story! (Easy)

Suggested for players who only wants to enjoy the story. Enemies are significantly weaker than normal, but will still reward you with the normal amount of experience.

Story and Sword! (Normal)

Recommended for players who wants to play the game in the default setting with a little bit of difficulty for the full experience. Meditation regenerates Vitality (Health) normally, and can be used anytime outside of combat.

Blood and Broken Bones! (Hard)

Recommended for experienced players with great knowledge of the game. Enemies are slightly more stronger than the usual. Meditation will not regenerate Vitality (Health).

Death March! (Very Hard)

Only choose this if you are hardcore player who enjoys punishment from the slightest mistake. Enemies are a lot tougher and will give you way less experience. Meditation will not regenerate Vitality (Health).

How to Change the Difficulty

You can easily change the Difficulty Level at any point in the game by pressing the Options Button on your controller and selecting Options > Gameplay and scrolling down to Difficulty Level.

Recommended Difficulty Setting

Normal Mode For New Players!

If this is your first time playing Witcher 3, we recommend starting with Normal mode, as it presents the game as it was meant to be played. Note that this mode will still be plenty challenging, even for seasoned gamers, but the use of Meditation allows you to easily restore health. If you find Normal mode to be a bit too challenging, you can always change to Easy mode later, which will allow you to easily learn the game.

Hard or Very Hard on Your Second Playthrough

If this is your second time through and you were able to clear Normal mode, why not give Hard mode a shot? While the loss of Meditation presents a huge challenge, Hard mode is still doable, but it will take serious effort on your part. For players who felt that Normal was a breeze, you can try the Very Hard mode if you are interested in seeing what the hardest challenge this game has to offer is.

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