If you’ve just unlocked multiple difficulty levels in Pass the Fear, it’s tempting to jump straight into the hardest one because the rewards look much better. I made that mistake early on, and it didn’t take long before I realised there was a lot more to difficulty than enemies simply hitting harder.
Each difficulty changes how your run plays out. Higher tiers introduce Chaos Battle Scars, bring enemies from later chapters into earlier stages, and improve loot quality. That sounds great on paper, but it also means you’ll deal with mechanics you may not even be familiar with yet.
If you’re wondering which difficulty you should actually be playing, this guide breaks down every difficulty level, what changes between them, and when it’s worth moving up instead of making your runs harder for no reason.
Pass the Fear Difficulty Guide – All Difficulty Levels, Rewards
Pass the Fear currently features six difficulty settings:
- Journey
- Common
- Hard
- Nightmare
- Hell
- Reality
One thing that’s easy to misunderstand is that difficulty doesn’t simply increase enemy health or damage. Every new tier introduces additional mechanics that change the entire flow of a run.
As you increase the difficulty, you’ll notice changes such as:
- Better-quality treasure and loot.
- Chaos Battle Scars that modify gameplay.
- Enemies from later chapters appearing much earlier than normal.
- More unpredictable encounters throughout the run.
Because of this, choosing a difficulty should depend on what you’re trying to achieve.
If you’re learning a new character, you’ll probably want a different difficulty than when you’re farming high-quality equipment.
Journey Difficulty Explained
Journey is essentially the game’s learning mode.
The biggest advantage is straightforward:
You take 50% less damage.
That extra survivability gives you plenty of room to experiment without every mistake ending your run.
However, there is an important downside.
Journey also reduces both:
- Soul Gems earned by 50%
- Squad EXP earned by 50%
So while it’s fantastic for practice, it’s one of the slowest ways to progress your account.
I usually recommend Journey for situations like:
- Learning a new Hunter.
- Understanding weapon mechanics.
- Practising movement.
- Exploring chapter layouts.
- Testing unfamiliar abilities.
Once you’re comfortable surviving consistently, it’s usually time to move on.
Common Difficulty Explained
Common is the standard difficulty and serves as the game’s baseline experience.
Unlike every other difficulty, Common doesn’t add any special modifiers.
There are:
- No bonus rewards.
- No Chaos Battle Scars.
- No additional enemy chapters.
- No damage reduction.
That might sound boring, but it’s actually one of the most useful difficulties in the game.
If your build performs well here, you know it’s working without relying on Journey’s damage reduction or higher-tier reward bonuses.
Whenever I’m trying a completely new build, Common is usually where I test it first because it gives the clearest picture of how strong it actually is.
Hard Difficulty Explained
Hard is where the game begins introducing new mechanics.
Compared to Common, Hard provides:
- Slightly increased chance of finding high-quality items.
- 1 Chaos Battle Scar during the run.
- Enemies from the next chapter may appear earlier than expected.
The improved loot is definitely noticeable, but the biggest change comes from Chaos Battle Scars.
These modifiers can significantly alter how a run feels, forcing you to adapt instead of repeating the same strategy every time.
Hard is a great first step once Common starts feeling comfortable.
Nightmare Difficulty Explained
Nightmare builds on everything introduced in Hard.
At this level you’ll receive:
- Slightly better high-quality item chances.
- 2 Chaos Battle Scars.
- Enemies from the next two chapters appearing earlier.
This creates much more unpredictable runs.
You might suddenly face enemies you’ve barely encountered before while also dealing with multiple gameplay modifiers at once.
Nightmare is where preparation starts becoming just as important as raw damage.
Hell Difficulty Explained
Hell increases both the rewards and the difficulty even further.
On Hell you’ll encounter:
- Increased high-quality treasure chances.
- 3 Chaos Battle Scars.
- Enemies from the next three chapters.
By this point, simply having good weapons isn’t enough.
Your build needs reliable damage, survivability, and enough flexibility to deal with whatever Battle Scars decide to throw at you.
If your strategy only works under perfect conditions, Hell usually exposes those weaknesses very quickly.
Reality Difficulty Explained
Reality is currently the highest difficulty available.
This mode offers the best rewards but also introduces the most challenging gameplay.
Reality includes:
- Significantly increased chances of high-quality treasure.
- 3 Chaos Battle Scars before the run even begins.
- An additional Battle Scar after each chapter, up to a maximum of 4 active scars.
- Enemies from the next four chapters can appear early.
No two Reality runs feel exactly the same.
Between the rotating Battle Scars and advanced enemy combinations, you’ll constantly need to adapt your strategy instead of relying on muscle memory.
If you’re looking for the ultimate challenge, this is where you’ll find it.
What Are Chaos Battle Scars?
Chaos Battle Scars are special modifiers that change how your run behaves.
Instead of simply making enemies stronger, Battle Scars introduce unique gameplay conditions that force you to think differently.
Depending on the active Scar, you may need to:
- Change your positioning.
- Prioritise different enemies.
- Alter your weapon choices.
- Adapt your movement.
- Play much more cautiously than usual.
As more Battle Scars stack together, every chapter becomes increasingly unpredictable.
That’s why understanding the current Scars is just as important as having a strong build.
When Should You Increase the Difficulty?
A lot of players increase the difficulty after one successful run.
Personally, I don’t think that’s the best approach.
Instead, move up when you actually understand why your build is succeeding.
Ask yourself a few questions:
- Do you know what your main source of damage is?
- Can you explain how your build works?
- Do you know its biggest weakness?
- Does your secondary weapon solve a specific problem?
- Can you consistently survive instead of getting lucky?
If the answer is yes, you’re probably ready for the next difficulty.
If you’re still relying on fortunate loot or perfect enemy spawns, spending a few more runs on your current difficulty will usually help more in the long run.
What If the New Difficulty Feels Too Hard?
It’s completely normal for your first few runs on a higher difficulty to end quickly.
Instead of immediately rebuilding everything, try figuring out what actually caused the failure.
For example:
- Were you overwhelmed by stronger enemy groups?
- Did a Chaos Battle Scar completely change the fight?
- Were later-chapter enemies catching you off guard?
- Was your build too dependent on specific upgrades?
Sometimes dropping back down one difficulty for a comparison run teaches you far more than repeatedly throwing yourself at the hardest mode.
Co-op Difficulty Tips
Playing with friends changes the experience quite a bit.
More players usually means:
- Higher overall damage.
- Better coverage against enemy groups.
- Easier revives and support.
At the same time, it also creates new challenges.
With four players on screen, fights become much busier, and coordinating abilities becomes much more important.
Rather than choosing the highest difficulty immediately, pick one where everyone can comfortably:
- Focus priority targets.
- React to Chaos Battle Scars.
- Recover after mistakes.
- Coordinate crowd control and elemental effects.
Once your team starts clearing runs consistently, then it’s worth increasing the difficulty for better rewards.
Difficulty Comparison
| Difficulty | Main Benefits | Extra Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Journey | 50% reduced damage taken | 50% less Soul Gems and Squad EXP |
| Common | Standard gameplay with no modifiers | No bonus rewards |
| Hard | Better loot quality | 1 Chaos Battle Scar and next chapter enemies |
| Nightmare | Better loot and progression | 2 Battle Scars and enemies from the next two chapters |
| Hell | Higher-quality treasure | 3 Battle Scars and enemies from the next three chapters |
| Reality | Best treasure quality | Up to 4 Battle Scars and enemies from the next four chapters |
Difficulty in Pass the Fear isn’t simply a setting that makes enemies tougher—it’s a progression system that gradually introduces more complex mechanics, unpredictable modifiers, and increasingly dangerous encounters. Journey gives you room to learn, Common helps you build confidence, and every tier beyond that tests how well you understand your character, your build, and the game’s combat systems.
If you’re consistently clearing your current difficulty and can explain why your build works instead of relying on good luck, that’s usually the perfect time to step up to the next challenge.