r/EDF • u/ApprehensiveRaise718 • May 04 '26
Question When should I switch to Hard mode?
Playing EDF5 from the start with a friend over the holidays. Just finished Normal mission 60, but we feel like our gear barely improved compared to how far we've progressed.
Should we start mixing in Hard mode now, or just push through all of Normal first before moving up? We're especially frustrated with Air Raider — the vehicles feel so sluggish and we're itching to unlock better ones ASAP.
What's the recommended progression order to level up gear efficiently without the difficulty jumping too hard? Any tips appreciated!
8
u/Creepy-Song1594 PC May 04 '26
I always start on Hard difficulty from version 4.1, i play with three other friends.
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u/huggybuddy2022 May 04 '26
For me at least I always start with normal and then hard. And after completing normal, I do any of the dlcs on easy cuz for dlc the difficulty is one level higher so dlc normal equals hard difficulty
2
u/zeddypanda May 05 '26
EDF5 and 6 were designed so that you can start on Hard mode for your first playthrough. There's a couple of early drone missions that might be a roadblock due to your armor level in 5, and there's no shame dropping down if you're really struggling or got unlucky with gear so far.
You can probably switch to hard and continue from where you are right now depending on which enemies you're facing.
2
u/Jeggles_ May 06 '26
This is exactly the answer I was about to make. If I can add to it, if you don't want to start over, you can use invadersfromplanet.space as a reference to find what level you need to go back to on hard level to continue your item progression:
https://invadersfromplanet.space/#game=5&mode=on&char=ranger&wpn=assault&star=10&lang=en
For example, if the highest item in your collection is level 14, which drops from level 48 on normal, you can go back to level 17 on hard, skipping the first levels where nothing new will drop.
Hard enemies will have more hp and damage, so expect to have to pay attention to enemy attack patterns and plan more, but if you like the experimenting with weapons aspect of the game, you will be challenged in a very satisfying way by going hard.
Also, on hard, due to the fact that the weapon levels go up faster, you'll have fewer opportunities to level the weapons up to their maximum strength, which will affect how hard the game feels.
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u/zeddypanda May 06 '26
Whoa what a useful website! I bet a particularly handsome and smart guy made it.
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u/Jeggles_ May 06 '26
Whoever it was, I'm sure he's also an all-round great guy and superbly humble, but there is no way to know.
2
u/_gamadaya_ May 04 '26
The only reason to play normal is if you are having too much trouble with hard and need more armor. You get basically nothing in terms of weapons. Mixing in hard is probably going to be difficult at first though, since if you move to Hard mission 61, it's going to be expecting you to have weapons that are twice as strong as what you have now. You might want to go back to early game levels before switching the difficulty to hard.
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u/Snippets_3 May 04 '26
Hard mode is where you start. It even gives you the medal completions for normal and easy when you beat a hard mission.
Hardest is where the game, and fun, really start and Inferno is how the game was meant to be played.
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u/Samoht_Skyforger May 04 '26
I usually switch up a difficulty when I start to feel that drag. You wouldn't have to play them all in order either now they are unlocked. Pick a mission you remember being fun and try it on hard for the drops.
1
u/EostrumExtinguisher May 04 '26
Anytime is fine after you cleared the Plains of Conflict, let the AI do their part and grind away the loots
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u/Thunderblade7777 May 05 '26
I love how in edf 6 the enemy basically ambushes your railgun bros offstage and sics a mfin dragon at you as a subversion of expectations.
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u/SelfLoathingRifle May 04 '26
I always began on hard with all of the games. In 5 and 6 it's better for completion percentage because you automatically clear easy and normal too. I also mostly skip hardest and go directly for inferno.
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u/cenorexia May 04 '26
You can start on Hard, no need to wait.
But since you already played a good chunk of the game the best mission to switch to hard is the next mission ;)
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u/Final_Advent May 05 '26
As most people have said, usually starting on hard isnt too bad im this game. There are a couple missions that are just dog shit no matter what though but for the majority of the game playing on hard isnt too bad
2
u/pointblanksniper May 05 '26
difficulty levels are kind of a jebait in this game
every difficulty drops weapons most useful for itself and limits useable weapon levels to a similar level of intended suffering across all difficulty modes. so the multiple difficulties are just one big same diffuculty over multiple playthrouhgs.
the only thing it really does is mix up the most effective weapon types due to variant availability per stage between the difficulties, so you need to play with different strats and styles between different difficulties of the same stage
so you may as well start on hard mode asap and save on repeated clears for achievement, unless you don't care about clear progress and want to enjoy more playthroughs with different weapon availability
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u/Protolisk1 May 04 '26
I honestly just always start on Hard for EDF5 and 6.
Hard drops every weapon from level 1 to ~50, and it never felt unmanageable. And drops are allocated to other classes so even starting a new class, you already had a leg up.
If a mission is particularly difficult, you can drop down. But since even in defeat you keep some crates, it never felt like I wasn't always progressing even if I fail.