What difficulty is Wolfenstein old blood?

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood features a total of six difficulty levels for players to choose from. Right out of the gate, the easiest difficulty is "Can I play, Daddy?" and the most challenging is "Old School". The default and recommended option sits at a reasonable "Bring ‘em on!".

So whether you‘re an FPS amateur looking for a smooth ride or a Wolfenstein veteran seeking the ultimate test of skill, there‘s an difficulty tailored just for you. Below we‘ll analyze each level in depth so you can decide how much punishment you want ol‘ BJ to take!

Wolfenstein Difficulty Settings from Easiest to Hardest

As we can see, the available settings allow for scalable difficulty that caters to all skill levels. Now let‘s analyze each tier more closely.

"Can I Play, Daddy?" – Designed for Beginners

Right off the bat at the easiest level, the descriptively-named "Can I Play, Daddy?" makes it clear this difficulty is intended for casual players and series newcomers who care more about story than challenge.

Enemies pose almost no threat here. Their attacks barely scratch BJ‘s health while he dispatches them with ease. Supplies like health, armor and ammo are extremely abundant – you‘ll have to try hard to run out!

Overall, Daddy Difficulty turns Wolfenstein from a tactical FPS into a straight-up power trip where you casually stroll through, mowing down waves of inept Nazis. The challenge rating here is basically zero.

But that‘s okay – if you just want to experience the zany Nazi-bashing plot without punishing combat, Can I Play Daddy is a great place to start. It‘s perfect for less skilled gamers, kids or those seeking a stress-free adventure.

"Don‘t Hurt Me" – A Gentler Introduction

A notch above Daddy Difficulty, Don‘t Hurt Me still keeps things relatively smooth sailing but presents just a bit more opposition with the training wheels slightly loosened.

Located at level two on the difficulty tier, this Easy setting actually describes itself as "Don‘t Hurt Me Too Bad". Here, enemies pack a bit more punch, especially in numbers, but BJ has extra health to compensate. Supplies also remain plentiful so running on empty is unlikely.

With the decreased challenge, Don‘t Hurt Me encourages exploration and experimentation versus urgent combat tactics. There‘s room to poke around the environments, try different weapons and soak up the story. Enemy AI is still rather questionable too – they may struggle to detect or pursue you.

Overall, Don‘t Hurt Me lives up to its name by keeping BJ from taking too much abuse. The added health buffer and slower-witted enemies provide a smooth on-ramp to the game‘s mechanics and rhythms for FPS greenhorns before they step up to higher trials.

"Bring ‘Em On!" – The Default Wolfenstein Experience

Now we start getting into the "true" Wolfenstein experience. The default difficulty level of Bring ‘Em On! is designed to offer the recommended challenge that the developers feel best captures the classic Wolfenstein combat loop.

Here, enemies pose a legitimate threat with their attacks dealing heavy damage if you‘re caught out in the open. The key is using cover and maneuvering tactically from place to place rather than trying to brute force the action.

Resources like health and ammo are adequate but require some wise conservation and strategic pickups to avoid dry wells during fierce firefights. Weapon upgrades help ease the pressure and expand your options as well.

Overall, Bring ‘Em On! strikes a great balance between action and tension without feeling overly punishing. It pushes players to employ smart positioning and resource management versus blind spraying. This difficulty hits the sweet spot for those seeking some thrilling challenge paired with heroic Nazi-slaying power.

"I Am Death Incarnate" – Put Your Skills to the Test

The stakes rise swiftly from here as we enter firm Hard difficulty territory. On I Am Death Incarnate, BJ earns his namesake by becoming an fragile killing machine where both he and his enemies dish out devastating harm.

Getting caught without cover often means a quick ticket to the reload screen thanks to the jacked up enemy damage output. Their aggression and accuracy is also improved to actively hunt you down and flank your position. Resources meanwhile become quite scarce, requiring careful conservation.

This difficulty pushes players to sharpen their FPS skillsets. Precise aim, positioning, situational awareness and resource planning make all the difference in each harrowing firefight. One slip up could mean a punishing death forcing you to replay large sections.

Overall, I Am Death Incarnate brings the compelling risk-reward that the Wolfenstein franchise is known for. The devastating lethality on both sides makes landing kills extremely gratifying yet also keeps you tense and focused lest you suffer the receiving end. It‘s ideal for seasoned FPS vets seeking to test their limits.

"Über" – Designed for Masochists

Yet the challenge escalator still climbs to near-insane heights in the penultimate Über difficulty reserved only for advanced players thirsty for punishment. Both BJ and his enemies can kill each other extremely quickly here while vital supplies are extremely scarce.

Über places intense pressure on combat accuracy and evasive maneuvers while forcing constant health and ammo anxieties with little margin for error. Enemies exhibit maximum aggression with pinpoint aim, actively seeking to surround and overwhelm through sheer numbers and coordinated attack routes.

This sadistic difficulty essentially transforms Wolfenstein into a desperate survival game more than a heroic assault. Gone is the bold Nazi-crushing power trip – here, players must claw their way through hostile territory through skill and sweat alone. Über makes it abundantly clear failure means death in this no-holds-barred test of talent.

Only expert FPS fanatics who have mastered combat flow, positioning strategies and resource conservation need apply here. Über offers exactly zero forgiveness and exists solely to crush you under its bootheel without remorse.

"Old School" Difficulty – The Ultimate Wolfenstein Challenge

Lastly, we arrive at the coup de grâce – Old School difficulty. Aptly named, it returns to the iconic blistering challenge that 1999‘s Return to Castle Wolfenstein was infamous for. This mode isn‘t just hard – it‘s deliberately unfair.

Essentially cranking every enemy stat to the maximum, Old School enhances their senses and behavior to utterly overwhelm the player with attacks from every angle. Meanwhile, BJ feels like he‘s armed with mere peashooters and covered in tissue paper when trying to take down the rampaging, insane resilient Nazis converging on him.

Health, ammo, armor – don‘t expect to ever have enough to feel secure here. Old School delights in placing you on the knife edge of failure always. Many areas feature downright sadistic onslaughts that seem deliberately designed just to mock any chance of survival.

The only way to truly master Old School difficulty is through sheer repetitious failure combined with an intimate memorization of enemy placement and the exact necessary positioning / attack cadence required to somehow prevail. We‘re talking hundreds of retries to conquer certain areas that feel intentionally stacked against you.

In essence, Old School exists solely as a cruel Easter egg for the exceptional few who get a twisted kick out playing David against an overpowered Nazi Goliath. It presents Wolfenstein at maximum unfairness that requires borderline masochistic degrees of punishment-tolerance and abrasive trial-and-error to overcome through gritted teeth alone.

Choosing Your Preferred Pain Level

As we can see, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood really does offer the full spectrum spanning from relaxing romp to despair-inducing ordeal. Veterans can immediately crank up the difficulty to their preferred pain level. Meanwhile, newcomers can start gentle and slowly ramp up the challenge as their skills expand.

Personally, I feel Bring ‘Em On hits the sweet spot right out the gate. It delivers plenty of tension without feeling brutally unforgiving. Meanwhile, I Am Death Incarnate makes succeeding feel hard-fought and massively gratifying when you do string together a perfect room-clearing assault.

Ultimately, everyone has their own preferred flavor of punishment. Thankfully, Wolfenstein allows you to find just how much resistance and suffering you desire versus steamrolling through unimpeded. Whichever you choose, glory and gore awaits!