Blood of Dawnwalker Difficulty Settings Explained

As of November 2026, The Blood of Dawnwalker has five difficulty presets: Story, Forgiving, Fair, Challenging and Duelist, plus a Custom mode with separate RPG and Action sliders. Story is the newest and easiest, added in update 1.1 on October 22, when the original Story setting was renamed Forgiving. You can change the preset at any time from the pause menu, and none of the settings affect the story, the 30-day clock or which ending you get.

We checked the preset names and sliders against the AllThingsHow difficulty guide, the Method combat explainer, the update 1.1 coverage from Push Square and Game Informer, and the PowerPyx trophy roadmap in November 2026.

Every Difficulty Preset After Update 1.1

The game launched on September 3, 2026 with four presets: Story, Fair, Challenging and Duelist. Update 1.1 reshuffled the bottom end. The old Story preset is now called Forgiving, and a brand new Story preset sits below it with additional combat assistance. Fair remains the default for a standard playthrough.

Here is what each one does, based on the AllThingsHow breakdown of the launch presets and the 1.1 patch notes:

• Story (new in 1.1): the easiest option, with more combat assists than Forgiving. Rebel Wolves has not published a full list of what those assists are.
• Forgiving (formerly Story): enemies are weaker and slower, and Coen has more stamina.
• Fair: the default. Coen's stats and enemy stats sit at standard levels.
• Challenging: enemies are more aggressive and hit harder, and Coen has less stamina.
• Duelist: the hardest. Directional indicators are removed, enemies have less health but are far more aggressive and hit much harder, and Coen has much less stamina.

One naming trap: some pre-release coverage described presets called Normal and Nightmare. The guides written against the launch build list Story, Fair, Challenging and Duelist instead, so trust the in-game list over older articles.

What Custom Difficulty Actually Changes

The most useful feature is that the challenge is split into two independent dials. This lets you tune the part of combat that is actually giving you trouble instead of making everything easier at once.

• RPG difficulty adjusts enemy health, enemy damage and Coen's stamina. Turn this down if fights feel like they drag on or a single hit takes too much off your bar.
• Action difficulty adjusts enemy attack speed, how hard perfect blocks are to land and, at higher levels, the attack patterns enemies use. Turn this down if you understand the fight but cannot react in time.

Moving either slider away from a preset's value switches the label to Custom. That matters for one trophy, covered below, but otherwise there is no penalty for a custom setup. One combination worth trying if you love the directional dueling but dislike long fights is a low RPG value with a high Action value: enemies die quickly, but you still have to read and parry every swing.

The way the combat works explains why the split is so effective. Daytime fights use four attack and block directions, picked with the right stick or mouse. Holding block drains stamina quickly, while matching the direction of an incoming attack parries it at a lower cost. Enemies adapt if you keep swinging from the same side, and some attacks are flagged as unblockable and must be dodged. Action difficulty changes how much time you get to make those reads.

Combat Assist Toggles Worth Knowing

Beyond the presets, the gameplay menu has a list of combat switches you can flip independently of the difficulty. These are often more helpful than dropping a whole preset.

• Directional Indicator: shows an on-screen arrow for the direction of incoming attacks. Duelist removes it by default.
• Auto Block: a block in the wrong direction still succeeds, but costs stamina.
• Show Damage Indicators: displays damage numbers above enemies.
• Use Consumables from Inventory: lets you use any consumable mid-fight, not just quickslot items.
• Instant Special Attacks: triggers specials by pressing Attack and Block together, with no direction needed.
• Combat Finishers and Slow Motion on Perfect Blocks: turn those animations on or off.

Method's combat guide also describes Omni Combat, an alternative to directional fighting that automates swings and blocks at the cost of higher stamina use. Unblockable attacks still have to be dodged, and you can switch between Omni and directional combat at any time. If you are struggling specifically with the parry system rather than enemy damage, Auto Block or Omni Combat may solve the problem without touching the preset.

Update 1.1 also made combat itself more forgiving across every setting. It improved targeting, lock-on and disengaging from enemies, adjusted animations and camera movement, made Shadowstep and Planeshift targeting more responsive, added controller deadzone options and reduced boar and wolf health at higher levels.

How to Change Difficulty Mid-Game

You can switch presets or edit sliders whenever you like. Open the pause menu, go to the Gameplay tab and find Difficulty Preset under the Combat heading. That means you can lower the setting for one stubborn boss and raise it again afterwards, unless you are on a Duelist trophy run.

It is worth being clear about what difficulty does not touch:

• The story. Every preset leads to the same quests, choices and endings. Our guide to all seven endings applies on Story exactly as it does on Duelist.
• The 30-day clock. Time still advances with quest objectives, waiting, fast travel and switching between day and night, regardless of difficulty.
• Blood Hunger. Losing control and feeding on an NPC is tied to Coen's vampiric health, not the combat preset.

Difficulty also has no effect on which edition of the game you need; every edition plays the same base game. If you are still deciding which version to buy, our breakdown of every edition lays out the differences.

Duelist and the Uphill Battle Trophy

Only one trophy cares about difficulty, and it is the hardest one on the list. Uphill Battle, a gold trophy, requires you to finish a full ending on the Duelist preset without changing the difficulty at any point. Editing a slider switches you to Custom, and PowerPyx readers report that this voids the run even if your custom values match Duelist. The early endings, A Hero They Deserve and Together Forever, do not count; you need one of the four main endings that save Laslea.

PowerPyx's roadmap suggests a clear plan:

1. Begin a fresh save on Duelist. During the Prologue quest Withering Away, Esme's remedy needs hot water plus three spoonfuls of herbs, brewed while the timer is still running.
2. Buy Shapeshift and Mercurial Fervour, climb the 11 towers at night and level up by clearing points of interest, aiming for around level 20 before pushing the story.
3. Defeat Ambrus, Bakir and Xanthe, then save before the final quest.
4. Take The Turncoat ending, which accepts Brencis's deal and skips the final boss fight entirely.
5. Reload, drop the difficulty to Story and collect the remaining endings at your own pace.

The rest of the trophy plan, including the 18 missable trophies, is in our full trophy and achievement roadmap. Practicing perfect blocks before a Duelist run also pays off: the Untouchable trophy asks for five in a row, and on difficulties below Duelist the shield icon turns orange at the right moment, which is a good way to learn the timing.

Which Difficulty Should You Pick?

For a first playthrough, Fair is the intended experience and the right starting point for most players. If the directional system clicks for you, Challenging adds real pressure without removing the attack indicators. Duelist is best saved for a second run or a dedicated trophy attempt, because losing the indicators changes how you read every fight.

Keep in mind that your chosen setting covers both halves of the day. At night Coen is faster and more aggressive, fights with claws, and swaps his hexes for vampiric abilities, but Method notes that directional combat carries over into those night fights and Omni Combat is available there too. If daytime duels feel fine but night brawls against groups overwhelm you, the fix is usually your build or the Action slider, not a lower preset.

If you mostly want the story, Forgiving or the new Story preset are the right call, and there is no shame in using them; Game Informer describes the new Story option as aimed at casual players. A middle path is Fair with Auto Block turned on, which keeps enemy health and damage standard but removes most of the frustration of misreading a direction. Build choice also changes how hard the game feels, since some skill trees are far more forgiving than others; our best build guide covers which skills make fights easier at any setting.

Making Any Difficulty Easier

Difficulty presets change the enemies, but a stronger Coen helps on every setting. The store's Blood of Dawnwalker modded starter save loads you in at level 50 with all skill trees unlocked, legendary weapons and armor, and high HP, max armor and peak weapon damage for end-game content. It supports PS5 and PC only; the base game is not part of the purchase. For a Duelist trophy run, remember Uphill Battle is about the preset, not your gear.

The full list of services for the game is on the Blood of Dawnwalker store page.

Frequently Asked Questions