Difficulty Levels — Casual through Insane
Five difficulty tiers, with the top two locked behind a completion. Everything below comes from GamingBolt's pre-launch briefing — including the parts that frustrate players most.
The five tiers
| Tier | Availability | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Casual | From the start | Learn the missions, low pressure |
| Standard | From the start | The intended baseline experience |
| Intense | From the start | Veteran tier — mechanics start biting |
| Extreme | Unlocked after completing the game | Hardcore modifiers active |
| Insane | Unlocked after completing the game | Maximum threat (GamingBolt) |
What high difficulty actually does
Per GamingBolt's reporting, the upper tiers layer on a specific set of pressure mechanics:
- Friendly fire is live — your bullets hurt your squad.
- Ability damage hurts friendlies too — careless grenades and ordnance are team-kills waiting to happen.
- Ammo crates are limited — spray-and-pray stops working; ammo economy becomes a skill.
- Enemies have less health, but high-threat types spawn in greater numbers — fights get faster and deadlier rather than spongier.
The pain points players talk about
Friendly fire at high tiers is the mechanic most likely to end friendships — the answer is trigger discipline and loadout planning, not turning it off. Limited ammo crates mean someone should plan around sustained-fire weapons (see the weapons database) and ammo-efficient builds. And "less enemy HP, more elites" means target priority matters more than raw damage.
Recommended climb
Start Standard even if you're a genre veteran — the sequel's enemies are more evasive than the first game's (GamingBolt), and learning Siren and Exploder behavior on a forgiving tier is cheaper than learning it on Intense. Move up when missions feel solved, then push Extreme/Insane with a fixed squad.
Sources: GamingBolt — 15 Things, GamingBolt — 10 New Details.