Difficulties

Difficulty is a gameplay modifier that can be selected before the start of each level, changing the AI's behavior to become more or less challenging depending on which difficulty is selected.

Plazma Burst: Forward to the Past
In FTP, there are 3 difficulties, impacting how much damage enemies will deal and causing them to move around, jump, and crouch more frequently.


 * Easy: Least damage and movement.
 * Medium: Standard damage and movement.
 * Hard: Most damage and movement.

Difficulty selection is also present in Plazma Burst 1.7, but the changes are not as noticeable, and is still much harder than FTP regardless of which difficulty is chosen.

Plazma Burst 2
In Plazma Burst 2, there are 4 difficulties, Easy, Normal, Hard and Impossible (added in version 1.20) each of these selections will change AI behavior rather than outright increasing dealt damage, though on any difficulty AI are much better at dodging projectiles than they were in the previous game.

In multiplayer, Hard is the default difficulty. This can be changed with a trigger action, but it will still be possible for players to enter a dying/bleedout state.

Easy to Normal

 * AI will attempt to cut viruses if PSI Blades are enabled.
 * AI shoot on sight rather than firing arbitrarily and their aim is more effective.
 * AI can no longer be out ranged; they can attack from a much larger distance, even when out of the player's sight
 * AI are now able to attack when dying if their arms haven't been broken.
 * Easy difficulty AI will still attempt to reflect projectiles provided PSI Blades are enabled and equipped, but they will not attack normally.
 * Lower FPS values will not delay AI reaction times.

Normal to Hard

 * Most enemies now have much higher health
 * This only applies to the campaign.
 * This also causes all living Minor Usurpation Soldiers to turn into Major Usurpation Soldiers.
 * It is now possible for the Player to enter a dying/bleedout state.
 * AI can spot enemies facing away and through walls.
 * AI will continue to aggro an enemy until they die.
 * AI can use Defibrillators to revive their allies.
 * AI will never infight.
 * Enemies now regenerate lost health.
 * Characters who are on Team Beta, Gamma, Delta etc. can now shoot through eachother, negating any team damage dealt.

Hard to Impossible
Impossible only functions properly in the campaign, otherwise it's the same as Hard.


 * Player health is lowered to 130/150 in Lite/Heavy battlesuits.
 * Proxy no longer benefits from Marine equipping the Heavy Battlesuit.
 * AI can become alerted by noticing an enemy through the wall like in Hard, but will not have an active line-of-sight.
 * Enemy health values are at the very least 130, and at most 300.
 * Vehicles are not affected by these health changes, with exception to Corvettes
 * Acid damage is lower.
 * Level 2 or 3 Heavy Railgun's and CS-BNG's carried by enemies are changed into Sniper Rifle CS-YippeeKiYay's and Shieldnades respectively.
 * All rail-type weapons that are level 0 or 1 have been weakened, their new power values are as follows:
 * Alien Pistol
 * Level 0 : 0.45 → 0.18
 * Level 1 : 0.6 → 0.36
 * Lite Railgun v01 CS-HShot
 * Level 0 : 2.5 → 1
 * Level 1 : 3 → 1.8
 * Heavy Railgun v04 CS-OneSOneK
 * Level 0 : 4 → 1.6
 * Level 1 : 6 → 3.6