This page brings together the difficulty options you choose at the start, the settings worth changing on PC, and short answers to the questions most new players ask.
Difficulty
There are three main difficulties plus a Custom option, and you pick one when you start a new game. The choice is locked from then on, so changing it means starting over.
| Difficulty | What changes |
|---|---|
| Novice | Weaker enemies, better trader deals, faster XP. Recommended for newcomers. |
| Gothic | The intended, balanced experience with moderate challenge. |
| Hard | Tougher enemies, stingier traders, slower XP. For series veterans. |
| Custom | Tune combat, resources, and progression individually. |
Two optional modifiers further tune the run. The Close Combat Flow Helper lets any attack keep your combat flow going even without the correct follow-up, though it does not trigger a real combo; it is available on every difficulty but is not recommended for hardcore players. Permadeath makes death permanent and forces a full restart, and it is not available on Novice.
Recommended settings
The most important change on PC is for stability. Nvidia Streamline Reflex is on by default and blocks VSync, which causes crashes. Turn Reflex off and turn VSync on. Disabling Windows Hardware Accelerated GPU Scheduling (HAGS) and Game Mode reduces crashes further, as does keeping your GPU drivers and Windows up to date.
- Display Mode: Borderless, with VSync On and a Frame Rate limit of 30 or 60 FPS.
- Upscaler: Nvidia DLSS 4.5 or AMD FSR 3.1.4, Upscaling Quality Balanced (raise it only with stronger hardware).
- Set Motion Blur, Bloom, Depth of Field, Ambient Occlusion, and Sharpening intensities all to 0.
- Quality preset: use the Custom mix for the Optimized profile, or set the preset to Low for the Performance profile.
- Text: Subtitles, NPC Speech Balloons, and Player Speech Balloon all On.
- HUD: Show HUD Bars Always, HUD Bar Numbers On, Ammunition Amount On, and all three Notification Durations set to 5.
Field of view is set under Pause > Settings > Display. The default FOV is 75, which suits sitting farther from the monitor or a more cinematic look. A FOV of 90 to 115 is better for peripheral vision when you sit close to the screen.
For crash prevention specifically: Reflex Off, VSync On, HAGS Off, Game Mode Off, and updated drivers and Windows.
Frequently asked questions
- Is there character creation? No. You play the pre-built Nameless Hero, matching the original. Appearance changes only through armor upgrades, and only certain armors (mostly faction armor) can be upgraded.
- How do I skip cutscenes? Press and hold the B button (Xbox) or Circle button (PlayStation) until a 'Hold to Skip' prompt appears in the right-hand corner. The same button skips NPC dialogue.
- How long is the game? The main story runs about 30 to 40 hours, and a completionist run takes about 70 to 80 hours. That is roughly 20 hours longer than the original, partly due to the more complex lockpicking and dynamic trading.
- Do I need to replay for different factions? No. Changing factions does not affect the story, so a single playthrough covers it.
- How do I get rid of Mud? Beat his HP to zero and he leaves you alone, or execute him while down to kill him permanently. Attacking him does not turn other NPCs hostile. Exhaust all of his dialogue first or you may lock yourself out of the Mud Freak achievement.
- How do I extinguish a torch? The fastest way is to drop it in any body of water, which puts it out instantly and lets you pick it back up. You can also let it burn out, or set it down by a safehouse bed and sleep until it goes out.
- Do monsters respawn? Yes. Enemies reappear after several in-game hours and also wander into already-cleared areas, so you can farm XP without advancing chapters. In the original, monsters only respawned at the start of each chapter.
Permadeath ties into the No Time to Die gold trophy, awarded for completing the game in permadeath mode. Plan for it before you start, since difficulty and modifiers cannot be changed afterward.