The difficulty selection menu in Quest for Booty.
Difficulty is a setting used in many games to determine the challenge level for the player. Difficulty settings generally affect how much damage enemies deal and how much damage they can take, but often go much deeper than that as well.
Original trilogy[]
The original PlayStation 2 trilogy did not feature any difficulty settings but had adaptive difficulty based on how often the player died. In Ratchet & Clank, this adaptive difficulty manifested in the form of extra nanotech crates for players who frequently died.
In Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, the changes became more substantial. Weaker players encountered only half as many enemies as skilled players. Enemies also attacked less often, were less accurate, or fired smaller volleys. Weaker players received more nanotech crates, while skilled players received more ammo crates to offset the larger number of enemies. In space combat, weak players received more shield boosts, and enemy AI performed worse than normal.[1]
Deadlocked[]
Deadlocked was the first game to introduce different difficulty levels, including Couch Potato, Contestant, Gladiator, Hero, and Exterminator (ranging from very easy to very hard). Players could initially select the first four, with Exterminator becoming available upon unlocking challenge mode. Difficulty levels affected damage taken by Ratchet, enemy health, how much nanotech Ratchet could heal from an orb, time allotted for time-limited challenges, the goals for score- and kill-based objectives, and how many Glamour Stars were earned for each challenge.
Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank[]
Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank both featured a 'Hardcore Mode' that disabled the ability to manually save the game. It was unlocked after the player acquired 24 skill points (in Size Matters) and 65 skill points (in Secret Agent Clank). In this mode in Size Matters, the player was allowed to respawn at the beginning of the planet upon losing all nanotech, but in Secret Agent Clank, this would result in the entire game beginning again.
Quest for Booty[]
Quest for Booty was the second game in the Ratchet & Clank series to request a difficulty setting from the player, with the options only including Easy, Medium, and Hard. The difficulty setting determines the intensity of enemy attacks,[2] but also enhances how much damage Ratchet and the enemies deal to one another.
A Crack in Time[]
A Crack in Time features three difficulty settings: Casual, Medium, and Hard. Upon completing the game for the first time, a fourth difficulty option, Hardcore, is unlocked in addition to the usual challenge mode. The variables enhanced by difficulty include: damage dealt by Ratchet, damage dealt by enemies, enemy projectile speed, percentage of total health healed per nanotech orb, ammo restored per pickup, as well as additional enemy HP and damage modifiers in challenge mode.
| Variable | Casual | Medium | Hard | Hardcore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratchet's damage | 1.5–1.25 | 1–0.9 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| Enemy damage | 0.5–0.75 | 1–1.1 | 1.1–1.25 | 1.5 |
| % of max HP healed | 0.6 | 0.35 | 0.25 | 0.2 |
| Ammo per pick-up | 1.2 | 1 | 1.3 | 1 |
| Enemy projectile speed | 0.6–0.8 | 0.9–1.2 | 1.3–1.5 | 1.6 |
| Challenge mode enemy HP | 1.5 | 2 | 2–2.25 | 2.5 |
| Challenge mode enemy damage | 1.5 | 2 | 2.25 | 2.5 |
The table's numbers indicate multipliers over the base stats (which vary for each entity). A Crack in Time's difficulty settings also feature slight adaptive difficulty, subtly adjusting the variables based on the player's skill level.
Completing the game in Casual, Medium, or Hard difficulty (or higher, for each) will unlock the bronze, silver, and gold trophies "Q-Force Cadet", "Q-Force Hero", and "Q-Force Champion", respectively. Hardcore does not grant a trophy.
All 4 One[]
There are only two difficulty settings in All 4 One: Normal and Hard. Difficulty affects both player and enemy health; on Normal players have four hit points, compared to three on Hard. Enemies also change accordingly and become much tougher on Hard, and at times require careful coordination between the players to be defeated before being overwhelmed.
Into the Nexus[]
There are three difficulty settings in Into the Nexus: Cadet, Hero, and Legend. As with difficulty settings in previous games, these affect damage gained, enemy health and accuracy, the time limits in Destructapalooza challenges, but also enemy behavior (such as how quick they move and attack).
Completing the game in Cadet, Hero, or Legend difficulty (or higher, for each) will unlock the bronze, silver, and gold trophies "A Walk in the Park", "The Adventurer", and "The Legend", respectively.
Ratchet & Clank (2016 game)[]
Ratchet & Clank (2016 game) has three difficulty settings, Casual, Normal, and Hard, in addition to challenge mode. Upon starting a new game, you are required to choose a difficulty. Upon starting a new challenge mode game, you can also choose which difficulty to play challenge mode in, which adds upon Challenge Mode's already increased difficulty.
Rift Apart[]
Rift Apart has five difficulty settings: Rookie Explorer, Rookie Recruit, Rebel Agent, Resistance Leader, and Renegade Legend, in addition to challenge mode. Each ascending difficulty level increases enemy aggressiveness, damage, and health on a scale of 1-10. The lowest difficulty setting, Rookie Explorer, makes the player unable to die during combat.
| Enemy stats | Rookie Explorer | Rookie Recruit | Rebel Agent | Resistance Leader | Renegade Legend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressiveness | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| Damage | 2 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Health | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Citations[]
- ↑ (2023, December 10). How Ratchet and Clank secretly changes difficulty [Video]. Insomniac Games. YouTube.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20081102210302/http://www.playdepo.net/ratchet_and_clank_quest_for_booty/en/HD/index.html