Difficulty (LWR)
Long War Rebalance is designed for players of all skill levels, offering a greater range of difficulties and even more Second Wave options to customize your experience.
In general, Normal difficulty is easier and Impossible is harder. Veteran Long War players who are new to this mod should seriously consider dropping their difficulty a level or two as the mod can take some experience to get used to. The difficulty curve is also adjusted so that the game starts off easier and gets more difficult as it progresses: expect to find the game easy in the beginning and significantly harder as the game progresses. Captures and interrogations are now required research and getting them early is important to avoid slowing down research. Destroyers are more difficult to shoot down and attempting to in the early-mid game is not advised. As well, large UFOs and swarming abductions are more challenging -- treat them with respect and do not rule out retreating. Expect to have satellites shot down, expect to not be able to stop a lot of UFOs, and expect to lose around 1 country per month to panic (give or take).
Regarding the first mission
The first mission is challenging. It is intended to act as a litmus test to guide you in selecting a difficulty. If you fail the first mission you may consider dropping the difficulty a notch. Injuries and even deaths on the first mission are not unreasonable as it is intended to mimic the difficulty you would experience in some of the tougher battles in the mid-late game.
Difficulty levels
In Long War Rebalance, difficulty levels scale the amount of resources gained from missions, as well as monthly funding, starting cash, starting HQ power, and initial country panic levels. Unlike Long War, UFO HP and alien stat bonuses from leader levels and research are scaled down on lower difficulties. Difficulty level also affects the effectiveness of the Outsiders' new Growth perk, and the chance for aliens to use Overwatch when dropping into missions or after using Launch.
| First Mission Alien Count | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Sectoids | Outsiders | |||||
| Normal | 9 | 0 | |||||
| Classic | 11 | 0 | |||||
| Brutal | 12 | 1 | |||||
| Impossible | 13 | 2 | |||||
| Alien Stat Changes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty |  Base Damage |
 HP |
 Aim |
 Will |
Leader/Tech Bonuses | ||
| Normal | -1 | -50% | -20 | +0 | -50% | ||
| Classic | +0 | -25% | -10 | +0 | -33% | ||
| Brutal | +0 | -10% | +0 | +10 | -17% | ||
| Impossible | +1 | 0% | +10 | +20 | -0% | ||
| Outsider Growth Rate | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Growth Rate | ||||||
| Normal | -75% | ||||||
| Classic | -50% | ||||||
| Brutal | -25% | ||||||
| Impossible | -0% | ||||||
| Drop-in/Launch Overwatch Chance | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | Overwatch Chance | ||||||
| Normal | 0% | ||||||
| Classic | 0% | ||||||
| Brutal | 50% | ||||||
| Impossible | 100% | ||||||
| Strategy-Layer Changes | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty |  |
|
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 Initial Panic |
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 |
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| Normal | 100% | 100% | 50 | 200 | 100% | 100% | 150% | 100% |
| Classic | 80% | 80% | 40 | 400 | 80% | 80% | 125% | 100% |
| Brutal | 60% | 60% | 35 | 600 | 60% | 60% | 115% | 100% |
| Impossible | 50% | 50% | 30 | 800 | 50% | 50% | 100% | 100% |
| UFO HP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | HP | ||||||
| Normal | -50% | ||||||
| Classic | -40% | ||||||
| Brutal | -20% | ||||||
| Impossible | -0% | ||||||
See also
 Long War Rebalance: Overview
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Mod Information • Change Log • New Hotkeys • Difficulty Levels • Second Wave • Troubleshooting Guide • Dev Console |