Fast answer
Choose a difficulty from the live menu before starting a run. Players’ demo footage shows difficulty-specific reward and incoming-damage modifiers, but these may have changed with the September update and Early Access launch. Prioritize a difficulty that allows you to learn routes and bring resources home.
Where the choice happens
A long demo stream shows the difficulty screen near the start, including descriptions of enemy effects and a reward modifier. Another playthrough says the selection can only change between runs, not while already inside a raid. Check the actual current menu for exact rules.
- Start a new run or return to a between-run menu.
- Read both the risk and reward columns.
- Check whether the setting is locked once the run begins.
When lowering difficulty makes sense
The provided videos feature reports of rapid deaths under fire and players moving to easier training settings. A successful learning run that lets you understand the base and recover loot has real value. There is no evidence-backed universal “best difficulty” for every player.
- If you die before learning the objective, pick a less punishing setting.
- Once you can extract reliably, re-check the menu and compare your options.
- Do not publish demo damage modifiers as permanent Early Access statistics.
Difficulty is part of the economy
A harder raid that produces no recoverable materials may not help your current progression. Consider the entire base-to-raid loop, not only the reward percentage displayed beside a difficulty label.
- Measure whether your team survives long enough to complete the goal.
- Re-evaluate equipment and clinic readiness.
- Choose based on your immediate learning or supply objective.
The 0.0.0.777 difficulty curve
Update 0.0.0.777 reworked pacing rather than adding a setting: the game is noticeably easier in the early days and rises back to normal values by roughly the second third of a run. That means the first days are a better place to learn routes than they were at launch, and any early-game difficulty note written before September 21 describes a curve that no longer exists. The October 15 Major Update adds a second layer: enemy damage now starts lower and climbs gradually with each passing day, so the opening stays soft but the ramp is steady.
- Use the opening days to learn maps rather than to farm.
- Expect a steady climb: enemy damage scales up with each day rather than sitting at full strength from the start.
- Treat pre-September difficulty advice as historical, not current.
See the actual demo in action
Demo difficulty selection · Isaac Pendragon · footage sourced from a publicly available creator video. The video is embedded from YouTube rather than copied into this site.
Official screenshots and source material
For exact menu positions, current item statistics and real in-game appearance, use the developer's official media and game footage. These links open the original material; community artwork is not republished here without permission.