If there is one thing that has come up a lot, it is people skipping story mode to go right into HM or Nightmare (or even a whole new tier) to get geared. I just…hate when people do that. I also dislike when I am personally dragged into a harder difficulty if I have not finished a lower difficulty of something. Getting dragged into HM False Emperor before I finished normal FE and Battle of Ilum was frustrating and it took us hours to find people to do the normal versions with us (in the end, we actually did most of Battle of Ilum with a companion before another friend got on and helped us out).

I don’t understand why people skip around. Sure, it may not be any of my business, but it is annoying. I don’t care if you can be carried through a harder difficulty and get geared faster. What about the differences? The chances? Do you not want to experience it?

I’ve already mentioned how I wouldn’t even do HM or NM if it wasn’t for codexes or some vanity stuff. However, some completely new experiences would make me curious–the main difference is I wouldn’t feel like I HAVE to do it or like I’m being forced to.

And honestly, I feel it is better to learn the original fights and then adjust to new mechanics rather than going in and killing yourself trying to learn the fight with a bit more difficulty added to it. There’s a reason most people start learning to ride a bike with training wheels. It doesn’t help that most people aren’t even running in because they need to hurry and gear for some reason. It is because they feel they’re too good for story mode and that makes me sad. And feel very bad for story mode. 🙁

(and really, the fact that I prefer to go in order should surprise nobody if you look at how many lists and things I make. Planet order, quest order, etc. Having to backtrack annoys me quite a bit and I’d rather pause and wait and get something done in the order it should be than skip ahead unless I’ve done it before.)