Persona 3 Reload difficulty guide: All options explored

The Persona 3 Reload difficulty options, while straightforward, are still worth discussing. This version of the game isn’t as challenging as the PlayStation 2 or PlayStation Portable versions - unless you adjust the difficulty to make it that way. The standard, “Normal” difficulty is going to be enough for most players, but that’s not always going to be the case.

We’ll go over what options are available to you and what they mean for you as a player. P3R’s difficulty options are important to keep in mind, especially since, as the player, you aren’t bound to stick to them for the whole game unless you want to.

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What are the Persona 3 Reload difficulty options?

You can change this while you play - unless you go Merciless. (Image via Atlus)

When you start the game, difficulty options are immediately given to you. You’ve got quite a few to choose from, and each of them offers something just a little bit different. It’s worth noting that the game's ending is not confined to any particular difficulty level. You don’t have to play on Merciless, for example, to get the “best” ending.

As Persona 3 Reload is a relatively lengthy game, being forced to stick to one difficulty option would be frustrating. Thankfully, this isn’t the case. The Persona 3 Reload difficulty options are as follows:

• Peaceful: For players who want to focus on the story.
• Easy: For casual players.
• Normal: For experienced players.
• Hard: For players who enjoy strategizing.
• Merciless: For highly advanced players.

Peaceful is the easiest Persona 3 Reload difficulty option and is recommended for people who simply want to enjoy the story. Combat is so much easier - enemies deal less damage, and you can revive after being defeated an infinite number of times. Easy difficulty also lets you revive an unlimited number of times and is slightly more challenging than Peaceful.

If things are getting too rough, reduce the difficulty (Image via Atlus)

Normal is the standard difficulty. For players who are familiar with the franchise, this is likely where they’ll want to go. If the protagonist gets knocked out here or in any more challenging difficulty, it’s a Game Over.

Enemies hit harder and have a greater chance of getting an advantage on you in battle in the Persona 3 Reload difficulty Hard. If you’re more keen to plan out your battles instead of just aimlessly smashing through them, this is where you want to start.

However, Merciless is the final difficulty option. You cannot pick this while you’re playing the game - you can only start from this point. You can change your mind and leave Merciless, but if you do, you can never return to it. Since no trophies are locked behind difficulty, you don’t have to play on this level of challenge if you don’t want to.

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The game is now available on a variety of platforms. You can find further information about the Persona 3 Reload in our in-depth review.