Biohazard 2 Sourcenext difficulty modes

[dax21]

Hello everyone.

I am wondering about difference in difficulty modes in Sourcenext version of RE2 for PC. PC version seems to have a bit different main menu layout, so upon unlocking all the difficulties and extra modes, there are Original Mode and Arrange Mode. Both of them have their own Easy, Normal and Hard Difficulty.

I am familiar with Original mode's easy/normal and Arrange Mode's Rookie mode from PS1, which is I imagine renamed Easy mode in the PC version's arrange mode, but I am curious about the new Hard mode in Original Mode, and new Normal and Hard mode in Arrange mode.

If someone can shed some detailed (or not so detailed) light on this, I would really appreciate it.

I apologize if I posted this in the wrong section of this forum.

[biohazard_star]

^ Arrange Mode is easier, iirc. Hard/Nightmare mode is exactly what it says it is. Auto-aim is turned off. Enemies have twice to thrice the amount of health and their attacks do double the damage. Zombies are bullet sponges that take about 20-30 bullets to kill, with a random chance of a headshot with the pistol. Enemies can literally kill you in two to three hits if you aren't careful.

[TheSelfishGene]

Be mindful that the Japanese releases have slightly different (easier) enemy placements

So Sourcenext Easy/Medium/Hard = Japanese enemy placements.
Rookie/[forgot the name]/Nightmare = Western enemy placements. Otherwise they are the same.

Biohazard_star pretty much summed it up, except that ammo pickups also only give you 2/3 what they do in a normal game.

[dax21]

Actually that's what confuses me the most, under Arrange mode difficulties are still named Easy, Normal and Hard, not Rookie/Expert/Nightmare. I take it that's the same thing, only renamed?

Thanks for the replies guys.

[biohazard_star]

^ Original is the harder US mode, while Arrange is the easier JP mode. I believe the JP version has it the other way around, with the US mode specifically named "USA version". Someone with the JP version could probably confirm or correct me if I'm wrong. Either way, play the game on USA version (JP)/ Original mode (US) on hard, if you want the highest difficulty setting.

[TheSelfishGene]

I thought sourcenext was only Biohazard (ie. Japan release)?

I'm basing it off the older PC/Dreamcast port - but I have the JP version and it's definitely flipped (ie. Arrange in the JP release is the US enemy placements)

[biohazard_star]

Oh, sorry. I was basing it off the PC Platinum/US Dreamcast releases. The Sourcenext/JP version should definitely have it flipped. The Original mode should be easier, while the Arrange mode is harder. Sorry if I confused anyone.

[dax21]

I can confirm that "Hard" under Arrange mode does not have autoaim and that it has original enemy placements.
Whereas "Hard" under Original mode does have autoaim and enemy placement seems different (this is completely new to me), for an instance at the very start of the game, that side alley in front of Kendo's shop doesn't have those two zombies.

So I take it that as far as Sourcenext version at least goes, Arrange mode's Hard difficulty is the most difficult mode in the game?

I know that you can ultimatively just run through the game in every mode and compare notes but that takes some time. I hope you can understand the confusion given how there are all these differently named modes for different RE2 mode, plus how apparently rookie/expert/nightmare aren't in the Sourcenext version, at least not in those very words.

[TheSelfishGene]

So I take it that as far as Sourcenext version at least goes, Arrange mode's Hard difficulty is the most difficult mode in the game?

Correct.

[Lanzagranadas]

The Hard mode with auto-aim disabled, reduced ammo (5 shotgun shells instead 7, 4 grenades instead 6) and bullet-sponge zombies is the harderst setting you can find.

Another way to check it out: The easier easy mode (Arrange easy mode in the PC platinum) gives you an infinite machinegun from the start.

[Kegluneq]

My apologies if someone feels insulted, but ignore parts of what people are saying.

Let me break this down for you.

Original Mode is the JP enemy placement and item placement. It also has auto-aim.
The only differences I have been able to find in enemy placement is:
Scenario A: 1) the starting segment on the street; 2) after you get off the bus just before reaching the RPD; 3) the zombies in the 2F main hallway; 4) different number of lickers (only one) after you get the club key from Ada/Sherry.
Scenario B: 1) the room just before you climb the stairs where you witness the helicopter crash; 2) the zombies in the 2F main hallway
As far as I remember, the item placement is only two different instances: there's no handgun bullets in the trash can and there's no handgun bullets behind the statue where you get the red jewel (this is because in the JP version all ammo is visible).

Arranged Mode is the US enemy placement and item placement. It also has no auto-aim.
Do not mistake this for the US version, though. From what I've been able to assert from some testing, this mode does not have the values of US version for enemy damage and HP (i.g. if you played the US version then you might have noticed that Ivies/Poisonous Ivies can sometimes eat as much as 6 or 7 shotgun shells - this is basically impossible in Arrange Mode Normal Difficulty since core values dictate that in the worst case scenario Ivies/Poisonous Ivies can only withstand 5 shotgun shells).

Then there's Easy, Normal and Hard difficulties which do change enemy damage and HP. Only the crocodile isn't affected by this change, but don't quote me on that.

Feel free to play Original Mode for auto-aim. The game was designed with this feature in mind due to the nature pre-rendered backgrounds (no way of seeing beyond the current BG) and the game is nearly the same in all places, except a few (maybe even slightly harder if you do need those 40 handgun bullets in Hard Difficulty).

So I take it that as far as Sourcenext version at least goes, Arrange mode's Hard difficulty is the most difficult mode in the game?

Only if you mean the original game scenario. 4th Survivor and Extreme Battle are much easier on SourceNext/PC version.

[dax21]

I am comfortable without the autoaim feature, actually the part of reason for making this thread was to discover what's the hardest difficulty available.
I'm only noodling with Sourcenext because i can't get the original Platinum version to work, and Dreamcast version cannot be emulated (to my knowledge at least), so this is the only way to get to play hard/nightmare modes.

You mentioned difference in enemy HP on Arrange's Normal mode, which I certainly won't be playing so I don't mind. Thanks for clearing some stuff up, you guys rock.

Since we scratched the topic of difficulties, how does the n64 version stand?

[biohazard_star]

^ There's no hard mode in the n64 version, only an item randomizer feature.

[Darkness]

1.5 needs an item randomizer. haha

[TheSelfishGene]

1.5 needs an item randomizer. haha

It was shit in Bio2 N64. Unless you like a whole lot of blue herbs and handgun bullets