The quick answer
Use Settings → Game → Combat Difficulty to change the regular solo difficulty. Story, Recommended and Expert are the normal choices; Legend is a special character-creation choice that you cannot simply switch back into after leaving. Read its confirmation carefully before lowering it.
On this page
Identify which kind of difficulty you are changing
Start with the activity that is giving you trouble. Settings → Game → Combat Difficulty controls the regular solo experience. A challenge can also have its own entry selector, while multiplayer and competitive activities use their own rules. Changing one is not a promise that every activity becomes easier.
| What you want to change | Inspect |
|---|---|
| The regular solo combat experience | Settings → Game → Combat Difficulty. |
| A selected instanced challenge | That challenge’s entry and difficulty options. |
| An awkward control input | Settings for the current input device. |
| An assist option | The available gameplay/assistance setting and its restrictions. |
If you chose Legend, read the one-way restriction below before accepting a downgrade. Do not use a casual test of the settings as a reason to lose a status you wanted to preserve.
Change the setting outside a fight
- Return to a safe place and open Settings.
- Select Game and locate Combat Difficulty.
- Choose the available difficulty you want to use.
- Read the confirmation, especially if the character currently has Legend status.
- Return to a familiar encounter to judge whether the new setting suits you.
Button positions differ between mouse, controller and touch interfaces, so follow the menu names rather than a copied button sequence. If a challenge has its own difficulty selector, check that selector too: a menu option for solo play is not a promise that every instanced mode adopts it.
Which difficulty should you choose?
| Your aim | A practical starting choice |
|---|---|
| Follow the story with fewer difficult fights | Story |
| Learn the systems while exploring | Recommended |
| Spend time studying demanding encounters | Expert |
| Keep the special high-difficulty character status | Legend, chosen at creation where offered |
These are editorial recommendations about the experience, not a ranking of players. Choose the setting that lets you enjoy the part of the game you came for. You can learn defensive timing on a comfortable setting and increase the challenge later within the regular options.
Understand the one-way Legend decision
The documented Legend restriction is the important exception: it is selected when creating the character, and downgrading does not leave a normal toggle that restores it later. If the purpose of your run is keeping that status, pause before accepting a lower setting.
Do not create another account or delete progress just to investigate the menu. First decide whether the special status matters more than continuing the character you already enjoy. Old articles discussing unavailable future modes are not a reason to assume those modes can now be selected.
Difficulty and control assistance are separate checks
The official mobile launch guidance says Assist Deflection is enabled for new mobile characters by default and can be changed in Settings. It also explains that an existing PC-created Legend character retains its status when accessed on mobile through the linked account.
Before deciding an encounter is beyond you, check lock-on, camera behaviour and defensive inputs. A camera that hides the boss’s wind-up or a control layout you repeatedly mispress creates a different problem from enemy damage. Adjust one thing, retry the same encounter, then decide whether to lower the difficulty.
A short plan for a boss that blocks the story
Make the next attempt a learning run: stop committing to long attacks, identify the move that defeats you, and practise surviving that one sequence. Once you can recognise it, add a short attack after the recovery. This makes the attempt useful even if the boss still wins.
If repeated attempts are no longer enjoyable, lower a regular difficulty and continue. If you are preserving Legend, take a break or work on your active gear and medicine instead. Neither route requires pretending that more frustration guarantees better rewards.
Make the encounter readable before judging its difficulty
- Find a safe location and inspect the defensive and healing bindings.
- Make sure lock-on and camera movement allow you to see the enemy’s approach.
- Check that the required actions are unlocked and medicine is ready.
- Try one familiar encounter with short attacks and deliberate defence.
- Change one setting or behaviour at a time, then compare the same encounter.
A boss disappearing behind the camera, an unavailable action or the wrong medicine shortcut can feel like an enemy-stat problem. Fixing the input or visibility issue helps you make a clearer decision about the actual difficulty.
A useful decision after several failed attempts
Suppose you understand the dangerous move but the fight still takes more concentration than you want to give it tonight. Choosing a lower regular difficulty is a reasonable way to continue the story. If instead you enjoy practising and can see a specific mistake improving, keep the setting and work on that response.
For a Legend character, that same decision includes whether keeping the status matters to you. Check the confirmation before proceeding. This guide does not promise extra rewards for frustration or assume that every player wants the same challenge.
If the change seems unavailable or has no effect
| Problem | Check |
|---|---|
| Cannot find Combat Difficulty | The Game section of Settings and the selected client language. |
| An activity did not become easier | Its own challenge difficulty or multiplayer rules. |
| Cannot return to Legend | The one-way downgrade restriction. |
| Still cannot perform a move | Its unlock and binding rather than enemy difficulty. |
| Still lose after healing | Whether the healing window is safe and supplies are ready. |
What to read next
Common questions
Can I turn Legend on later?
The documented restriction limits Legend selection to character creation. It is not part of the ordinary reversible difficulty switch.
Does changing difficulty raise my level cap?
No. Your Solo Mode Breakthrough requirements are a separate progression system.
Sources & verification
Source research is separate from in-game testing. Recommendations are identified as editorial advice.
- Official update: MobileFAQ
Mobile Assist Deflection defaults and retained Legend status on linked characters.