Rise of the Tomb Raider’s difficulty levels explained

With the launch of Rise of the Tomb Raider in just a few weeks, players can expect a few changes to the traditional “Easy, Normal, Hard” difficulty system traditionally found in video games.

In the Square Enix-published title, there are actually four difficulty levels: Adventurer, Tomb Raider, Seasoned Raider, and Survivor. Also a bit of a departure is that the game specifically tells you what to expect from each setting, not only with a descriptor, but a point-by-point explanation of exactly what it entails.

  • Adventurer – Focus on Lara’s adventure, combat will be easier

    • Combat has aim assistance enabled
    • Enemies have lower health and damage
  • Tomb Raider – A good balance of difficulty
    • Combat has aim assistance disabled
    • Enemies have normal health and damage
  • Seasoned Raider – Challenging combat experience
    • Combat has aim assistance disabled
    • Health Regeneration is only available outside of combat
    • Enemies have increased health and damage
    • Enemies have increased senses
  • Survivor – Push your survival skills to the limit
    • Combat has aim assistance disabled
    • Health regeneration is disabled
    • Enemies have increased health and damage
    • Enemies have increased senses
    • More difficult enemies will be present
    • There are fewer resources and upgrades are more expensive

It’s clear that developer Crystal Dynamics has put an effort into making the upper echelons of difficulty in Rise of the Tomb Raider something unique above and beyond the usual “tougher enemies and more of them” concept.

It’s also nice feeling to know exactly what you’re playing when you decide to choose Seasoned Raider or Survivor, as opposed to a generic statement describing the difficulty the modes may impose.

We’ll have our review of Rise of the Tomb Raider on Monday, November 9th at 12:01 AM PST / 3:01 AM EST. The game launches exclusively on Xbox One on November 10th.