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
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.
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.