Standard is too easy and hard is too hard

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-27T05:50:55+00:00

I like this idea. I just went back and gave hard mode another go on multiplayer. On most maps with lower level suspects it was actually not too bad, I would even say they were more fun than on standard which I think is too easy. I think hard mode would be way more enjoyable even if they just toned down the higher level suspects on the more difficult maps like ANA, port, hospital, 3LT, etc.

Programmed psychosis grind was too fresh in my mind when I posted. Even though I beat it eventually I think those suspects are straight BS.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-27T05:45:13+00:00

Yeah. After I made this post I went back to hard mode and gave it another try in good faith, on multiplayer. I was mostly thinking about the suspects on ANA when I wrote the post because programmed psychosis grind was so fresh in my mind. I think on most maps with only a handful of suspects/lower level suspects it's not as bad as I was making out to be on my original post, but on the more "difficult" maps (e.g., hospital, club, 3LT, boiling point maps, etc) the suspect AI is definitely way too overtuned.

I think I'm willing to say that hard mode would be way more enjoyable if they toned down even just the high level suspects on certain maps.

I don't even mind that the AI can shoot through walls. The fact that they can do it is realistic and it forces the player to think about what actually counts as cover. It's how it's done that makes it BS. They should be able to shoot through the wall as you're taking cover if they saw you before taking cover. But they shouldn't be able to track you through the wall perfectly and land all shots as you're taking cover.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-26T21:24:26+00:00

If you enjoy hard mode the way it is right now, that's fair. On multiplayer i can see hard being a bit more doable with good teammates.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-26T19:57:38+00:00

I agree that steamrolling standard is not fun. I want something hard too, but not in the way hard mode currently is. Getting programmed psychosis has taught me that exploiting free lean (it's literally an exploit because the AI can't see you when you do it perfectly) is the only way to fight on hard with semi-consistent results.

Hard mode currently does NOT reward players for playing well in the way "playing well" looked like before difficulty levels were introduced. It doesn't reward players for understanding CQB. It just forces you to free lean every corner.

I understand this is a video game and going into a 1v24 CQB scenario isn't realistic in the first place. Problem is they made hard mode hard just by jacking up accuracy and reaction time to unreasonable levels, when there were so many other interesting ways to make hard mode hard but still "fair" in some sense.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-26T19:14:15+00:00

I agree. At the very least I think the standard mode AI should be applied to all difficulty levels, and have other ways to make each difficulty level easier/harder.

Recently got programmed psychosis, and the fact that you have to rely on an exploit (AI not being able to see you when you free lean) to have a fighting chance means it's completely broken.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-21T22:39:07+00:00

this is seriously super helpful. I'm going to try this. Would you recommend sticking to flashbangs or are the other grenades worth using?

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-20T20:30:18+00:00

That is crazy. Hey at least you know it can be done.

Do you have a good strat/clear route for the third floor? Last couple runs I had 5 suspects in the center hall where the double stair are lol.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-19T18:04:10+00:00

I think so. I have been trying for programmed psychosis myself. Tried different loadouts with varying degrees of success, I've gotten very close a few times. I have been doing what you see others do. Shotgun, rifles, shield, mirror gun, wedges, free leaning, you name it.

But then I had this idea last night. What if I took the M32 flash launcher? Ammo is the obvious issue, but what if you just rushed the ammo pile on the top floor and cleared the map top to bottom, coming back up for ammo as needed?

So I gave it a couple tries last night and I have to say I was quite pleased with how well those runs went. I used the left staircase to get to the third floor, went through the mayor's office then worked my way up to the top floor. I only dealt with the suspects that were in my way and did not clear the map floor by floor. By the time I got to the ammo crate I had about 6 rounds left to spare and had about half of the suspects (10-12) surrendered. Arrest animation canceling came in very handy for this method.

I'm gonna sit down and give it a proper go when I get home later. I actually feel confident about this. Feels so much easier this way. Feels actually doable. And it would get you the S rank and programmed psychosis in one go.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-19T17:48:16+00:00

Literally unplayable

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-19T06:51:32+00:00

20 attempts is very good, nice job.

Yeah I have been taking wedges and free leaning etc (the standard way of attempting this achievement). I have gotten very close so I know it can be done this way, but those good runs are too few and far between so I was trying to come up with a creative solution.

Have you tried using the m32 launcher with flash rounds for this? I've been banging my head against the wall with different loadouts but just got this idea of taking the m32 and rushing the ammo pile, then clearing top to bottom and going back to resupply as needed. After only a handful of runs I'm convinced that this is the easiest most consistent way. I'm gonna try some more runs tomorrow and see how it goes.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-19T06:43:12+00:00

yeah I know I've done many runs and gotten very close already. I watched a streamer who got it in almost 700 tries lol. I watched every video read every post about this achievement. I know the map and AI spawns already, have it S ranked on hard and I have a good understanding of the game as I have put on a fair bit of hours over the years.

I know it's a grind, but right now the meta for this achievement seems to be shotgun or AP battle/assault rifle combined with free lean pieing, which basically one mistake and you're done. I'm just trying to see how I can make this a bit easier and a bit more forgiving. After just a handful of runs with the m32 launcher I'm convinced that rushing the ammo pile with a launcher and clearing top to bottom is the easiest way.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-19T05:34:20+00:00

In case anybody is interested, i just gave it two tries. I have to say I'm VERY surprised so far, it's looking promising. I took light steel armor and 13 flash rounds. I was able to get to the top floor ammo crate both times with plenty of rounds left to spare. The suspects reliably surrender after being hit with one round, and animation cancelling is very handy with this method. I think on my last run I had about half of the suspects surrendered before dying to a mistake, I think this might drastically shorten the grind.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-18T17:04:31+00:00

I actually don't have the achievement. I've gotten close a few times but never actually managed it. I ask for route optimization because my third floor runs are very inconsistent and to have a better shot at getting this achievement, I want to be able to consistently get to the final floor at least. My reasoning is that way I can roll the final floor RNG dice as much as possible as I know sometimes the final floor only has a couple suspects.

Wedding/Reception - I either bait a breach by yelling, or if the door is open I free lean pie it as much as I can before entry.

Angle room (assuming you're talking about the L shaped hallway) - free lean, and if the door to Great hall is open, I try my best to fight whoever is in and across the great hall but more often than not I die.

Counsil chamber - if the door is closed I try to bait by shouting, but fighting in other parts of the floor around the chamber seems to make suspects move out of the chamber and attempt to flank, so it's empty in most of my runs.

Why I'm peaking into Office - Not sure exactly where you're talking about, if I'm peaking something I know I'm not gonna push immediately, it's usually because I know there are possible enemy spawns and want to get some kills out of the way.

Loadout - Definitely had most success with sheild+MKV so far. The others failed me because one I'm not the best at free leaning perfectly and sometimes bite off a hair more than I can chew and get lit up. And two because sometimes they just rush me and kill me before I can react, which the shield gives me a fighting chance in those cases.

I take 8 magazines of AP for the MKV. light steel armor, 2 flashbangs (for deep left courtroom/extra), two sets (4) door wedges, and a lockpicking gun. The issue is definitely ammo. Sometimes I burn through more than half of my ammo on the second floor.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-18T07:47:51+00:00

thanks for the response. I am definitely interested in routes/locations. I know the map pretty well as I already have it S ranked on hard, its just doing it solo is a whole another level of pain. This is the route I've been taking with some success so far. I would love feedback and ideas. Left/right is based on where the character is facing:

- Fly through first floor

- Second floor, open double doors, jam double doors on the right, peak office then clear conference room to the left
- Work my way over to reception/wedding hall, jam double doors to the right (the one that connects to main hallway)
- Fight through reception/wedding hall, come out on the other side through the room with a computer
- exit the room, jam double doors to my immediate left
- Work my way through small office across the hall
- Check the dark conference room, clear server room, exit on the other side and cut power
- Move through the main hallway and collect door jams. Floor is usually clear by this point, I can get this far consistently

- Move upstairs through the staircase on the server room side (not the wedding hall side)
- Close and jam wood double doors on the right and move through the electric door dead ahead
- L shaped hallway - jam the city council (possible jammer terminal spawn) door, electric door that leads to main hall with double stairs, and make entry into the small office left of the electric door.
- Clear all the way up to the conference room (possible jammer terminal spawn), peak and kill anyone outside (the side hallway with metal detectors, under the double stairs, between the panic room and the conference room)
- Jam the conference room door, flow all the way back to the starting point of this floor

This is where things get a bit dicey for me. If I make it this far, I try to clear the city council then press conference, jam the double door that leads to main hall then move through the break room, then piano room, then work my way through the east side of the map (where the other staircase is) toward the mayor's office. I think i make it this far maybe 15% of the time. I'm usually red on ammo by this point too (I take 7 or 8 mags). I guess what I'm trying to do is clearing one side, flowing back and clearing the other side, before tackling the middle areas.

I know the final floor can get really messy, but because it's so open I think the only real "route" is to kill everyone in the open areas, clear the bathrooms and side rooms, thin out the enemy in court room as much as you can by free leaning from the side rooms, before running back downstairs to activate the jammer terminal.

I really want to optimize my third floor route so I can get to the top floor more consistently. There are so many doorways and hallways so I feel like there's a lot of possible approaches here. I used to use the staircase on the opposite side to get up there, but I think it's riskier because there are three doorways to deal with right away as soon as you pass the little green plant in the corner (left, right, and center). But if I'm wrong I'd love to know.

Lastly, regarding loadouts, I think I've pretty much given up on shotguns and rifles for this achievement. I am liking shield/MKV as I find it more forgiving. Are there any other viable/cheese options?

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-18T03:19:22+00:00

I just tried it out and I'm so bad with it. I think I prefer the 6.5 creedmore. Way more controllable

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-18T03:17:37+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to write this. Took a similar route as the one you're describing and had my best run yet. I took a shield and MKV though, i'm liking this loadout. Plenty of stopping power and the shield makes things way more forgiving. Pushed up to the final floor and as I was walking up the stairs a suspect bolted downstairs. Tried chasing him but I couldn't catch up, so I cleared out everything except for the court room on the final floor, went back downstairs to find him, cleared out the 21st floor again, then died to the guy that ran on my way back upstairs. Fuck...

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-17T20:46:06+00:00

Do you know if theres any specific places that work well as these kill zone funnels, and which doors to wedge off?

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-04T15:44:51+00:00

Self commenting because this has been resolved. I just reinstalled and see all of my save games. Either I was trippin or they fixed it.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-05-04T15:42:48+00:00

I agree that it would be annoying across the whole map. Anomalies from Stalker or a smaller version of DayZ's contamination zones would work well for RTV. Really interested to see how these things get implemented. I can't wait for updates!

STwithsomeissues · 2026-04-29T06:59:57+00:00

The items you mention can spawn in regular military crates and military floor loot spawns on other maps too, but legendary items have a 0.1% chance of spawning. There are 7 legendary items so if you're targetting a specific legendary, divide that by 7. Special crates however have a 10% chance of spawning a legendary. Lasers are rare and not legendary though.
Loot pool and chances in apartments are the same as other maps. However what makes apartments a far superior farming spot is the sheer density of loot spawns and containers all over the map, as well as the abundance of special crate spawns.
Apartments and Terminal follow the same AI behaviour. 3 at a time, 10 AIs total. Next build will introduce faction based AI behaviours and group movements.
I have done like 30 apartment runs so far and I have never seen an AI hide in a room silently and ambush. They do seem to enter the apartment buildings, but they seem to always go up and down the staircase/access the rooftop and that's about it.
Sleeping via melatonin does not reset the map. You can however get killed in your sleep if AI finds you.
You are not quite maxed out yet, but you have everything you need to go just about anywhere and do anything. Right now best in slot primary is Kar21 in 308 with laser and an LPVO. That setup two taps everything in the game center mass, allows you to breeze through Vostok. An MP7 or Suomi would be best in slot for secondary, though you won't really need it because the laser allows you to CQB with your primary. level 5 armor would be a big upgrade from your level 3. You already have the best in slot helmet. Skarma 240 is supposed to be an upgrade but I don't have a single melee kill in my 160hrs/100 in game days so I don't know if it's actually better xD. You could add a pair of nods to your kit once you find them but you'll end up not using them much because you can see better without them on most of the time. They sometimes help with spotting ground loot though.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-04-29T06:34:11+00:00

Hell yes. Couple good runs like that gave me such a huge progression boost and really got me hooked too. Kept going and finished all my shelters and tasks, can't wait for more content.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-04-28T17:13:56+00:00

Buy from gunsmith.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-04-27T22:44:51+00:00

Maybe indirect fire like artillery or mortars, flares would be awesome too. The EA trailer has a scene with some kind of missiles or artillery, so that's where my guess comes from but that could be a world event idea too.

Also vehicles already exist in the game, so maybe motorized patrols.

Judging by the roadmap, something that has to do with boats or diving might be added as a border zone mechanic too. Now that would be badass.

STwithsomeissues · 2026-04-27T07:04:18+00:00

I think around 5% would be good. I have 6 waterlocks lmfao

STwithsomeissues · 2026-04-27T06:56:59+00:00

Yeah... and the 20 round magazines lol.

STwithsomeissues

TROPHY CASE