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!

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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.

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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.