People who have the plat how long did it take you to finish easy mode?

[iGGTheEnd]

So I want this plat very badly,  the plat picture goes with the theme of my black/white trophy cabinet and I love roguelike/lite games.  But at this point I am getting discouraged.  I have played probably 10 hours and I have only made it to the 4th area once and with 1 health so I died pretty quickly not knowing what to expect.  I often die in the second area still even after 10 hours.  

 

I am not one of those people who believe anyone can get any plat if they try hard enough,  with this logic everyone could be a professional League of legends player or fortnite player, etc.  Either you got it or you don't.

 

But I am just curious if anyone with the plat has been stuck like me on easy mode and eventually got the platinum,  I feel like I am getting a tiny bit better but I don't know if I will get good enough to eventually beat hard mode when the time comes or even finish easy for that matter.  This is the first truly hard game I want to get the plat for but all the time it takes to improve barely even a little makes me feel like I am just wasting my time.

[Juzota]

I have this platinum, so I'm positive that anyone can do it. Took me a solid month to beat the easy mode, can't tell you the exact number of hours spent. But I guarantee that it took way more than 10 hours.

[Kristycism]

It took me a month and a half to beat normal mode (don’t call it “easy mode”, it’s anything but!).

 

During that time, I played almost every day, sometimes just a run or two but usually for over an hour. I honestly thought it was going to be the first game I couldn’t complete. But eventually you do get better at each zone, until you can consistently pass each one almost every run (sometimes runs just don’t go as planned, of course, even as you get better).

 

 

If it helps with your motivation, the jump to hard mode for me was a lot less difficult than learning normal mode. You do have to relearn your approach for some areas (particularly the first two zones, because on the first one you have to be fast, and the catacombs change how the spikes work), but it’s definitely much quicker to learn than the initial run. I only sporadically played here and there while I was trying hard mode, so my timestamps make it look like I spent longer on it, but in terms of actual hours playing, it was definitely way less. 

 

 

Also random tip, for zone 4 since that’s where you’re at, look at a one-combo run for an idea of how to approach it, that’s how I learned. I usually gained health during zone 4 rather than losing it by the end! But before seeing that run, my approach was awful and I died almost every time, or got to the boss with very little health left and died instantly there. 

[iGGTheEnd]

7 minutes ago, Kristycism said:

It took me a month and a half to beat normal mode (don’t call it “easy mode”, it’s anything but!).

 

During that time, I played almost every day, sometimes just a run or two but usually for over an hour. I honestly thought it was going to be the first game I couldn’t complete. But eventually you do get better at each zone, until you can consistently pass each one almost every run (sometimes runs just don’t go as planned, of course, even as you get better).

 

 

If it helps with your motivation, the jump to hard mode for me was a lot less difficult than learning normal mode. You do have to relearn your approach for some areas (particularly the first two zones, because on the first one you have to be fast, and the catacombs change how the spikes work), but it’s definitely much quicker to learn than the initial run. I only sporadically played here and there while I was trying hard mode, so my timestamps make it look like I spent longer on it, but in terms of actual hours playing, it was definitely way less. 

 

 

Also random tip, for zone 4 since that’s where you’re at, look at a one-combo run for an idea of how to approach it, that’s how I learned. I usually gained health during zone 4 rather than losing it by the end! But before seeing that run, my approach was awful and I died almost every time, or got to the boss with very little health left and died instantly there. 

This is definitely reassuring I think I might go the 1-2 hours a day approach on weekdays after work,  right now if I have what I feel is a good run and then randomly take damage but accidently hitting the side of something or running into a red enemy I get frustrated and then tilt off the face of the planet my next runs so maybe it is just better to do this plat between games hopefully aiming to make it my 50th plat.

 

I think my first time I try and actually beat easy mode I will skip the trophy for doing an area without landing in the 4th area and attempt it the 2nd time I do a playthrough or else I will probably just be too low health before the boss.

 

Also I am pretty bad at combos and they will often make me take damage do you think its a must to go over 8 combo to get energy and health or is playing it safe viable at all?

[FMJInertia]

That’s pretty interesting! I haven’t heard about people searching for plats based on their designs.
It’s very doable, it took me about 2 weeks, I was just playing it on the way to uni on my vita. You have to try pretty hard but it would be doable to anyone dedicated enough, I believe. I estimate 8-15 hours. I think it’s mostly rare because this was a PS+ giving, and most people aren’t dedicated enough to get good enough at hard mode and stuff.

Good luck!! 

Edited September 22, 2019 by FMJInertia

[TOAST13TOA5T]

2 hours ago, iGGTheEnd said:

 

I am not one of those people who believe anyone can get any plat if they try hard enough,  with this logic everyone could be a professional League of legends player or fortnite player, etc.  Either you got it or you don't.

While I think I know what you mean mate, I can't fully get on board with the thought. Games like this can be conquered with enough practice and some patience, it's the only reason I have the majority of my UR Platinums. I just mean don't give up hope, you don't have to be winning Invitationals to be getting better at the game and sometimes you can't see every milestone you pass. (Seriously if I had recorded my progress through Sonic Transformed or the like I'd be embarrassed to post how bad I was when I started compared to the time trials I set at the end ? it was rough but worth it).

 

Now go fill that space in your Cabinet.

Edited September 22, 2019 by TOAST13TOA5T

[Arcesius]

2 hours ago, iGGTheEnd said:

I am not one of those people who believe anyone can get any plat if they try hard enough

 

Well, we already disagree there ?

 

Quote

But I am just curious if anyone with the plat has been stuck like me on easy mode and eventually got the platinum,  I feel like I am getting a tiny bit better but I don't know if I will get good enough to eventually beat hard mode when the time comes or even finish easy for that matter.  This is the first truly hard game I want to get the plat for but all the time it takes to improve barely even a little makes me feel like I am just wasting my time.

 

Downwell gotta be one of the most polarizing games in terms of challenge... For some it's a relatively easy game that can be beaten in a couple of days, but I've also come across people that had not been able to beat normal mode after 45 hours (That was on steam though). 

 

Personally, I gave this one a 6.5/10 in terms of challenge, but that doesn't mean I didn't have any problems with it. It took me about 5 hours to beat normal mode and another 12 to beat hard mode, which, let's be real, is like a completely different game. For both game modes I got to the boss 4 times before I could finally beat it. 

 

Sooo... very motivating, right? ? Seriously, you just need to keep at it. My winning run was probably my worst run among those that made it to the boss... I had reached the boss with 8 health before, but choked and lost. It got so bad at one point that I needed to take a 2 week break from the game because I lost all my motivation and drive. And when I came back, I had a very, VERY bad run (losing HP all the time but getting it back thanks to Armspin and K&F), I made it to the boss with only 5 HP and managed to get the win. Goes to show, you shoudln't reset your game only because you took damage in the first zone (I'm guilty of doing that a LOT). 

 

You just need to keep at it, hope for some luck with the upgrades, and try not to lose motivation. There's not really much else to it... try not to switch up styles, just stick to one and practice, practice, practice... For such a short game, 10+ hours can feel very long, but it isn't, and finally popping that plat is very rewarding. 

 

 

2 hours ago, Kristycism said:

If it helps with your motivation, the jump to hard mode for me was a lot less difficult than learning normal mode. You do have to relearn your approach for some areas (particularly the first two zones, because on the first one you have to be fast, and the catacombs change how the spikes work), but it’s definitely much quicker to learn than the initial run. I only sporadically played here and there while I was trying hard mode, so my timestamps make it look like I spent longer on it, but in terms of actual hours playing, it was definitely way less. 

 

 

That is interesting... I definitely needed longer for hard mode, most of my runs died in the Catacombs, because screw the Catacombs with all the spikes and angry skulls... ?

Edited September 22, 2019 by Arcesius

[iGGTheEnd]

Okay that settles it besides my 50 plat goal for the year Down well is going to be the game I will put a ton of time into and try to achieve I feel like if I can do this one I won't be so discouraged when looking at ultra rare plats I want to try and achieve in the future.  I always get discouraged when attempting them and giving up because I start to think its a waste of time.  

 

1 hour ago, FMJInertia said:

That’s pretty interesting! I haven’t heard about people searching for plats based on their designs.
It’s very doable, it took me about 2 weeks, I was just playing it on the way to uni on my vita. You have to try pretty hard but it would be doable to anyone dedicated enough, I believe. I estimate 8-15 hours. I think it’s mostly rare because this was a PS+ giving, and most people aren’t dedicated enough to get good enough at hard mode and stuff.

Good luck!! 

 

Ya I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my trophy cabinet,  My only ultra rare plats are in the top 5 for my rarest trophies so I decided to go black and white,  the Bloodborne plat looks a little off with the scheme I want to go but it is one of my favorite games so it gets a pass.

[DesmaBR]

Took me a week I think.

 

Used to play this on mobile before I picked it up on console

[Spinosaurus Rex]

3 days (hard to say how many hours invested), but I had to take a pretty long break before tackling Hard Mode. First and second areas on HM were more frustrating than whole game on Normal and it's pretty steep difficulty spike. I know it doesn't feel comforting. At least try the game with Arm Spin style if you didn't yet, it can make a difference. And try playing on small screen (Vita/smaller TV), so you can focus better. I'm from the group which found the Hard Mode very hard and stressful experience, yet managed it somehow.

[Kristycism]

1 hour ago, Arcesius said:

It took me about 5 hours to beat normal mode and another 12 to beat hard mode, which, let's be real, is like a completely different game. For both game modes I got to the boss 4 times before I could finally beat it. 

 

(removed to shorten quote)

 

That is interesting... I definitely needed longer for hard mode, most of my runs died in the Catacombs, because screw the Catacombs with all the spikes and angry skulls... 

 

Well, you beat the whole game in under 20 hours, whereas I took about 50 to do just normal

So I guess if you initially "get" the game and can do it fairly well, it's a pretty big jump from normal to hard. Whereas if you don't get it at all, the amount of time you take getting into the actual mindset of the game is longer than the amount of time to jump from normal to hard? Or something like that.

 

But yes, I agree - screw the Catacombs. And also how quickly your oxygen drops in Aquifer - you basically can't stop for even a second >_< The first time I made it through Catacombs I was so pleased, then died within the first Aquifer level because oxygen... ? Once you realise that though, it's not so bad, and you go back to dying in Catacombs almost every run so you never even make it there to use your newfound knowledge

[Angus1343]

48 minutes ago, Spinosaurus Rex said:

3 days (hard to say how many hours invested), but I had to take a pretty long break before tackling Hard Mode. First and second areas on HM were more frustrating than whole game on Normal and it's pretty steep difficulty spike. I know it doesn't feel comforting. At least try the game with Arm Spin style if you didn't yet, it can make a difference. And try playing on small screen (Vita/smaller TV), so you can focus better. I'm from the group which found the Hard Mode very hard and stressful experience, yet managed it somehow.

I had a similar experience as this. Normal mode was pretty easy and didn't take long, but I found hard mode to be a huge difference and it took me around 4-5 times the amount of hours I would guess. I thought it was quite a big jump in difficulty.

[Arcesius]

9 hours ago, Kristycism said:

So I guess if you initially "get" the game and can do it fairly well, it's a pretty big jump from normal to hard. Whereas if you don't get it at all, the amount of time you take getting into the actual mindset of the game is longer than the amount of time to jump from normal to hard? Or something like that.

 

Reading through the other posts in this topic, that sounds about right... Makes sense I'd say

But I can also imagine that many don't "initially get the game" but instead beat normal mode pretty quickly due to a lucky run, and then jump to hard mode way too early. ? (Might have been the case for me, who knows ?)

 

 

9 hours ago, Kristycism said:

But yes, I agree - screw the Catacombs. And also how quickly your oxygen drops in Aquifer - you basically can't stop for even a second >_< The first time I made it through Catacombs I was so pleased, then died within the first Aquifer level because oxygen... Once you realise that though, it's not so bad, and you go back to dying in Catacombs almost every run so you never even make it there to use your newfound knowledge

 

Same thing here though... Finally beat the Catacombs on Hard Mode, though "well now the easy part starts", just to die in the first Aquifer stage thanks to those piranha and beeing greedy, trying to stomp on the squid just to be hit by their weird hitbox. ? Fun game, but I'm glad it's over. 

[iGGTheEnd]

On ‎9‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 11:53 AM, Arcesius said:

 

Well, we already disagree there 

 

 

Downwell gotta be one of the most polarizing games in terms of challenge... For some it's a relatively easy game that can be beaten in a couple of days, but I've also come across people that had not been able to beat normal mode after 45 hours (That was on steam though). 

 

Personally, I gave this one a 6.5/10 in terms of challenge, but that doesn't mean I didn't have any problems with it. It took me about 5 hours to beat normal mode and another 12 to beat hard mode, which, let's be real, is like a completely different game. For both game modes I got to the boss 4 times before I could finally beat it. 

 

Sooo... very motivating, right?  Seriously, you just need to keep at it. My winning run was probably my worst run among those that made it to the boss... I had reached the boss with 8 health before, but choked and lost. It got so bad at one point that I needed to take a 2 week break from the game because I lost all my motivation and drive. And when I came back, I had a very, VERY bad run (losing HP all the time but getting it back thanks to Armspin and K&F), I made it to the boss with only 5 HP and managed to get the win. Goes to show, you shoudln't reset your game only because you took damage in the first zone (I'm guilty of doing that a LOT). 

 

You just need to keep at it, hope for some luck with the upgrades, and try not to lose motivation. There's not really much else to it... try not to switch up styles, just stick to one and practice, practice, practice... For such a short game, 10+ hours can feel very long, but it isn't, and finally popping that plat is very rewarding. 

 

 

 

 

That is interesting... I definitely needed longer for hard mode, most of my runs died in the Catacombs, because screw the Catacombs with all the spikes and angry skulls... 

I am having a hell of a time in the catacombs right now.  After I finally beat the boss on normal I beat the first area 2nd try and then somehow managed to beat catacombs 2 runs after that,  I haven't beat catacombs since haha.  But I also haven't been doing as many runs as when I was learning easy mode, just need a break I guess.

Edited September 27, 2019 by iGGTheEnd

[r-mercer91]

On 9/22/2019 at 11:59 AM, iGGTheEnd said:

So I want this plat very badly,  the plat picture goes with the theme of my black/white trophy cabinet and I love roguelike/lite games.  But at this point I am getting discouraged.  I have played probably 10 hours and I have only made it to the 4th area once and with 1 health so I died pretty quickly not knowing what to expect.  I often die in the second area still even after 10 hours.  

 

I am not one of those people who believe anyone can get any plat if they try hard enough,  with this logic everyone could be a professional League of legends player or fortnite player, etc.  Either you got it or you don't.

 

But I am just curious if anyone with the plat has been stuck like me on easy mode and eventually got the platinum,  I feel like I am getting a tiny bit better but I don't know if I will get good enough to eventually beat hard mode when the time comes or even finish easy for that matter.  This is the first truly hard game I want to get the plat for but all the time it takes to improve barely even a little makes me feel like I am just wasting my time.

I too am stuck on hard mode, I give it a really great attempt about every week or so, it's just a matter of, alot of it apparently...

It doesn't help that the game pretty much learns from how you play and does the opposite, in order to kill you.

 

Feel like I'm wasting my time too, bit I don't let me give up. U can always come back! ??

To get prepared for the later levels try playing the game without using the gun boots as much, stomp on enemies!!!!! All except the RED enemies. Stomp on rocks as well to keep jumping ur way down.

I say this BC the last level YOU CAN NOT LAND ANYWHERE! Except the occasional side room.

If you manage to prevail you now face the ultimate challenge.

Good luck and don't give to up!

?

@rmercer91

Edited April 4, 2020 by r-mercer91

[BrettyBoy]

Dudes, does the game ever save or do you have to start over every time you switch off the game?

[Crazy]

@Brettyboy888 You have to restart from area 1 whenever you game over.

[BrettyBoy]

3 hours ago, Crazy said:

@Brettyboy888 You have to restart from area 1 whenever you game over.

Crazy shit, man. Thanks for the info, man.

[raphi_boss67]

Downwell is for me the hardest platinum I ve earned in my whole life. It tooks me 1 year to find the courage to beat normal mode. (Yes only normal mode...)

But, after finishing normal mode, it tooks me 1 month to finally finish it on hard mode.

With practice and time everything is possible !

[iGGTheEnd]

On 4/4/2020 at 9:55 PM, Brettyboy888 said:

Crazy shit, man. Thanks for the info, man.

The game only takes 10 minutes to beat once you get the hang of it, it's getting the hang of it that takes some time to learn.

[cratedug]

I'm two trophies from my platinum at this time, so I'm very confident it can be done. Honestly the hardest one yet (for me) was beating an entire area without landing. Now just struggling the pass the 4th level on hard mode, and I'm sure the boss will take some extra time. It's no cakewalk, on any difficulty setting despite what you see. It's going to take some trial and error! My points bar hit MAX! on my PS Vita copy of the game... I've unlocked everything... Still haven't beaten everything! 

 

My recommendation for clearing 'normal' mode is to get the "knife and fork" upgrade as quickly as possible, and then rack up as many additional HP points as possible by eating the dead monsters... In a few cases I had up to 8 or 9 HP. Also, try and save the Apple (+4 HP) upgrade for as late as possible BUT before meeting the boss of course. The Laser is a good weapon to try and hang on to for the fourth level (or almost any other level) as this level is almost entirely a downfall (aside from the shops/caves) so try and combo but be careful. I personally find eating the bodies WHILE maintaining combo at the same time is easiest to be done on the 3rd level (the water level). Because it's floaty!!! This is where I rack up the bulk of my extra HP points. 

 

Throughout your descent, focus on combos but don't risk your health for them AT ANY TIME. It's tempting I know. There will be other combos just let it go. When I first started playing I didn't realize how important the upgrade selections were at the end of a level, but they'll make or break your game. Knife and Fork is top priority, the Drone is also really nice support if beating the 2nd level (the first real Downwell struggle) is giving you trouble. Exploding Blocks help in the Catacombs as well. 

 

Good luck! My strategy is way less effective on Hard mode, so if anyone has suggestions let me know. Thanks! 

 

*edit* I just got my 4th Level (Hard mode) trophy today, so I'm one from plat. We can do it! 

 

**edit #2** platinum achieved!! You can do it! 

Edited July 18, 2020 by cratedug
Positive update

[Abraniell]

Finally was able to beat the boss after a couple of times of reaching it thankfully the third time was the charm. And I gotta say this was a really nice challenge on hard that I was certainly not expecting when I started it! I don’t even wanna think about how many times I re-started the first and second area do to silly mistakes or awful upgrades. After countless first level retrys to get the K&F only to have the run messed in the 3rd zone I started to just go with every single run no matter what I got since I started to hate how luck based the runs can be. And I think this is what helped me achieve it! 
 

The run that I manage to beat it was the last run I thought I’ll make it I got K&F on the catacombs 3 so was not able to upgrade the health bar at all basically and reached the boss with 4/5 health points. So I guess what I’m trying to say is to don’t give up on a run so quickly because you don’t know which one is going to be the golden one.

 

Now on top of some of the basics already mentioned above I cannot stress enough how important is to reach the boss with the Laser weapon! This basically kills every single enemy on one shot and if you’ve been using arm spin style you are going to have alot of charges when you get to this point so it’s definitely a most! Any other weapon at this point is basically useless except maybe Noppy if you know how to use it. Now on another note for some reason I had the hardest time on zone 3 and the fact that the air goes so quickly, this was for the most part what ended like 80% of my runs and I seem to be one of the only ones with this problem but if anyone out there is struggling there just listen; fuck them squids and go as fast as possible! Just don’t be reckless in your movement and go for every air bubble near you but without going out of your way for it in this zone you have to quickly know what fights to pick since most are not worth your time here. For some reason on the 2nd zone I rarely had problems like most are saying so my advice in here is to take it slow and to learn the spike platforms patterns so you can take advantage of their surface on your way down and go for those angry red orbs that follow you as soon as you see them as this are by far my most hated enemies in the game.

 

Anyway I’m glad to see so many people overcoming their challenges nowadays and I’m certainly proud to see how many people have this plat. Good luck to anyone attempting it! 

[distressedjazz]

Normal mode took me a very long time, I had played the game off and on since plus but that isn't good enough you need to have concentrated efforts, once I dedicated myself to this game I started to see improvement and it took me about a couple of weeks to go from dying in area 1 to beating the final boss on normal. As for hard mode, it is an entirely different ballgame, have been playing a lot recently still cannot get past area 1/2 lol and am not seeing any improvement. Only thing keeping me going at this point is the unanimous struggle all of us have faced and the perseverance displayed in these forums as inspiration. ?
Edit: Finally got the platinum trophy, overall time according to exophase was 112.67 hours 

Edited January 28, 2021 by climbinsnail

[Yukiko Miyamoto]

Two months didn't really understand the game, so I left it and came back to try it again, it only took me two days to complete normal mode after coming back to it.

Edited August 18, 2023 by Kimura Takahashi

[WeeJ87]

Check out - shadow slick gaming youtube channel thats what helped me guys a pro at this game