It’s finally release week, so it’s time to take a look at the Pokémon Legends Arceus difficulty to give you a bit more information about the challenge that you’ll be taking on. Things are very different in this new game and instead of it being familiar territory, there are a lot of mechanics to get to grips with for the first time, so that in itself will pose some difficulties, so we’ll take you through these in the very first section.
Essentially, the game is pretty much an origin story for the series as you head back to an age when humans and wild Pokémon live very separate lives for the most part. You rock up to the Hisui region and get conscripted into the Team Galaxy Corp with a mission to research and study the wildlife with the ultimate job of catching each and every one to fill up your Pokédex.
AdvertisementYou’ll also need to get to the bottom of all the mysteries surrounding the area, which will go on to be known as Sinnoh in the far flung future of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. One of the most important parts of this will be the frenzy that is overcoming noble Pokémon and this is probably where you’re going to find things most difficult.
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Pokémon Legends Arceus new difficulties
Essentially, there’s a strange phenomenon sweeping through Hisui that is afflicting noble Pokémon with the frenzy, which results in them stomping around in a wild rampage. When they’re in this state, they can’t be caught or battled in the usual was and the only way you can calm them down is to hit them repeatedly with soothing balms, which are made out of their favourite foods.
AdvertisementIf that isn’t enough to deal with, it isn’t your Pokémon that will lead the charge, but your trainer and if you get hit by the frenzied noble too many times then you’ll faint and have to start the battle from the very beginning. In these sections Pokémon Legends Arceus becomes a bit like an action RPG where you’ll need to dodge roll out of the way of attacks and fire in the balms to reduce the frenzy.
We’re not saying it’s Dark Souls or anything like that, but if you’re not used to the dodge roll mechanic then this is definitely going to give you at least a little difficulty to begin with as you adjust to the new gameplay style. If you do struggle and you need some tips you can find out more about how to beat frenzied noble Pokémon like Kleavor, the Lord of the Woods, with the link at the bottom of the page.
AdvertisementHowever, this isn’t the only new development that you’re going to have to get used to, because the way you go about playing the main game is also very different to previous games. Instead of just exploring and building up your Pokédex for the professor, you’ll be working for the Team Galaxy Corp, which will give you specific campaign quests and side requests to complete on an ongoing basis.
This is a bit more like Monster Hunter games where you have a very similar setup in terms of your base camp for an expedition. You’ll be given your orders or requests and you’ll then need to go out into the wild to complete it. These can range from go to the Obsidian Fields and catch x, y and z quests to head to a new location and investigate a strange occurrence of some kind.
While this isn’t totally dissimilar to the way objectives are given in other Pokémon games, it will require a little adjustment, which will add to the difficulty of the game. There are bound to be a number of quests and requests that will challenge you both in terms of skill as well as grey matter, so expect to have to think your way a few of these.
On the other hand, there are going to be a few challenges that you just won’t need to face any more, which is going to take away some of the difficulty you would have faced in the likes of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. This includes both gym battles and any gym puzzles that have made other games in the series so much harder. This also means that you won’t need to hunt down any missing gym leaders either, however, we’re expecting this to be replaced by quests that require you to track someone down or complete a puzzle or beat challenging new trainer x.
Finally, there are other nest mechanics like the style system where you can choose between Agile moves that are quicker and Strong moves that are obviously stronger. It throws in a new element to take into account during battles both in the main story and against trainers online, so this brings with it extra complexity to make the game more challenging.
A Medicinal Leek by any other name
The new additions to the game don’t entirely take away all of the more familiar aspects of Pokémon Legends Arceus. You’ll still need to battle, so having a good understanding of strengths and weaknesses is still going to be a big part of being a successful trainer.
From this point of view, the game should have the same kind of difficulty as Sword and Shield both in terms of standard battles and online matches. There probably isn’t going to be a Victor Road as such, but there’s bound to be some other new challenge to take on at the end of the game to test your ultimate Pokémon trainer skills.
You can also check out our computer games section to keep tabs on more game releases, or visit the Pokémon Legends Arceus website at legends.pokemon.com/.
