TOPIC: New Difficulty Levels in 2013: Differences?

Hey guys if you havnt been paying attention, there is a new "Hardcore" difficulty level this year.

Does anybody happen to know what the difference is between "Hardcore" and "NIGHTMARE" in terms of game mechanics?

More info here:
FOUR Levels of Challenge

Due to the response from our players, we make our adventures playable at different challenge levels. Here they are in order of difficulty.

Non-lethal: If all players in the group agree, the party can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "non-lethal" challenge rating. This is designed for people who just want to enjoy the True Dungeon adventure without having to worry about their character dying. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 650 XP

Normal: By default, the party will play their adventure on the Normal challenge level -- characters can die on this difficulty, but a good party can emerge victorious with only basic equipment as long as they work well together and think on their feet. If this challenge is too much (or insufficient) then other levels are available. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 650 + 50/room reached.

Hardcore: If all players in the group agree, the players can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "Hardore" challenge rating. This is for people who have some TD experience and at least 3 bags of tokens. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 1650 + 50/room reached. They get only the Hardcore/Nightmare Completion token for attempting this level.

Nightmare: If all players in the group agree, the players can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "Nightmare" challenge rating. This is for people who have lots of experience, moxie and/or tokens. THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT EVENT. There are also special slots set aside for Nightmare level, and tickets purchased in these slots must be played at Nightmare level. Awarded XP for this challenge level is 1650 + 50/room reached. They get both the Normal and Hardcore/Nightmare Completion tokens for attempting this level.

(Source: truedungeon.com/how-to-play/item/80-2013-event-details )

There are 2 differences other than the difficulty of the monsters/rooms.

1. You get 2 completion tokens for running to Nightmare, instead of just getting the Rare.
2. You get a Nightmare badge vs a Hardcore badge for surviving.

in terms of in-game? here are my expectations:

you know how in past years the hardcore/nightmare difficulty has been anywhere from 'a bit more difficult than normal, to offer a bit of a challenge' all the way up to 'HOLY CRAP! OUR PURPED OUT PARTY JUST GOT SLAUGHTERED!'? i expect hardcore to be at the lower end and nightmare to be at the higher end of that range.

hardcore: meant for players who find the normal dungeon a bit too easy. for any number of reason; maybe they are very well equipped, maybe very experienced, or maybe just very clever and good at puzzles and shuffle-puck.

nightmare: for those who often found even hardcore/nightmare too easy in previous years.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nightmare is even more deadly now that players have the option of Hardcore.

I think my group of players will be doing three runs this year (if we are lucky enough to get then during ticket purchasing), and as of now we will be doing all Hardcore runs. I'm looking forward to it!

Mike if your group is equipped like we were last year (which I am sure they will be) I think you will be fine on Nightmare. But buy normal because you can always upgrade to nightmare after when you find your first run too easy.

jedibcg wrote: Mike if your group is equipped like we were last year (which I am sure they will be) I think you will be fine on Nightmare. But buy normal because you can always upgrade to nightmare after when you find your first run too easy.

Good point. I do plan on buying 3 regular slots, so if our first hardcore run is too easy, we can always upgrade. We do have a few people in the group that would like to do Nightmare, but not a whole group's worth. Or maybe a few of us will do a run or two with you guys again this year.

And we won't be outfitted quite like last year - we're even better this year

I am not planning any nightmare runs for our group, but if there are slots open which there may as the current plan is 5 runs this year (4 with my group and 1 with co-workers) I will let you know. Plus maybe 2 sealed runs with lazlo and others. With your tokens and my multiple runs I would not be worried about nightmare...lol.

jedibcg wrote: I am not planning any nightmare runs for our group, but if there are slots open which there may as the current plan is 5 runs this year (4 with my group and 1 with co-workers) I will let you know. Plus maybe 2 sealed runs with lazlo and others. With your tokens and my multiple runs I would not be worried about nightmare...lol.

True - I've seen for myself how well you can deal with a Dungeon once you've been through it once or twice, very impressive!!

Considering that there are a very limited amount of NIGHTMARE runs, can I get an admin or someone "in the know" to confirm that if a party decides they want to run NIGHTMARE that any run can be converted? Or is NIGHTMARE only available in limited runs this year?

Thank you,
-Fizz

" Nightmare: If all players in the group agree, the players can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "Nightmare" challenge rating."

From 2013 Event Details page.

jedibcg wrote: " Nightmare: If all players in the group agree, the players can tell their Coach they want to play their adventure on the "Nightmare" challenge rating."

From 2013 Event Details page.

Thanks BC!