Difficulty presets are one of the settings the player is prompted to choose when creating a new save file in Sea of Stars after the "Dawn of Equinox" game update. There are three difficulty presets: "Story," "Adventure," and "Challenge." Each difficulty preset has its own unique default toggle choices of On/Off for each off the 22 relics in the game. Save files created prior to the "Dawn of Equinox" update have relics that align with the "Adventure" difficulty preset.
The 6 relics that are available from the start of the game without any save file progress are Amulet of Storytelling, Tourist's Provision, Volitional Spirit, Signifying Glass, Sequent Flare, and Tactician's Mettle. Other relics, besides Mark of the Speedrunner, are obtained via gameplay. When a relic is obtained, it is automatically toggled to align with the chosen difficulty preset, though the player is free to toggle any relic on or off at any point in the playthrough via the "Relics" menu.
The player may alter the On/Off toggle on any of the 6 starting relics, and any globally-unlocked relics, at the start of a playthrough when offered to choose one of the three difficulty presets.
Difficulty Presets[]
Difficulty Preset | Description |
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Story | Balanced to keep the story moving. Combat will rarely pose a challenge, and the party is automatically healed after each battle. |
Adventure | The default way to play. Combat will sometimes present a challenge, requiring some strategy and skill in timing hits. |
Challenge | For those preferring more gritty combat. All enemies hit harder and resist more damage while casting. The use of items is disabled in combat. |
Default Relic Toggles[]
Relic | Description | Details | Story Toggle | Adventure Toggle | Challenge Toggle | |
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Amulet of Storytelling | For those who prefer a lighter challenge. | Fully heals the party after combat. | On | Off | Off |
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Tourist's Provision | For those who prefer a lighter challenge. | Max HP +100%. | On | Off | Off |
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Volitional Spirit | Fully heals the party when leveling up. | Bringing more spring to each step, the party fully recovers both HP and MP upon levelling up. | On | On | Off |
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Signifying Glass | For those who prefer a lighter challenge. | Sees through Mystery Locks. | On | Off | Off |
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Guardian Aura | Decreases damage taken. | For those who prefer a lighter challenge. Reduces damage taken by 30%. | On | Off | Off |
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Sequent Flare | Clearer confirmation for successful timed hits and blocks. | Successfully timing hits and blocks causes a star flare to fly out of the character for a clear-as-day confirmation that the input was properly timed. Recommended for those preferring stronger feedback, or while closing in on the mastery of certain moves. | On | Off | Off |
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Truestrike Pendant | Negates enemy defense bonus while casting. | Removes the 20% damage resistance enemies have while casting (locks). | On | Off | Off |
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Tome of Knowledge | Increases XP gained. | Tome containing techniques to optimize one's learning ability and general growth. Increases XP gained by 20%. | On | On | On |
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Falcon-eyed Parrot | Helps finding remaining treasure. | Adds a treasure-hunting parrot to the Vespertine. Can be prompted while consulting the Map for hints of things left to find. | On | On | On |
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Salient Sails | Increases sailing speed. | Proudly made using Brisk's secret techniques, and allegedly enchanted with a magic charm. Salient Sails increase sailing speed by 20%. | On | On | On |
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Gold Tooth | Price reduction in all shops. | The memento of a legendary haggler known to all merchants. Prompts a 10% price reduction in shops. | On | On | On |
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Sixth Sense | Chance of automatically timing blocks. | In a shared state of higher focus, party members have a 35% chance to block incoming attacks. Safety layer that still allows the player to time blocks on their own. | On | Off | Off |
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Adamant Shard | Ensures double hits on regular attacks. | Regular attacks time themselves automatically. Guarantees extra hits for lock-breaking, but reduces bonus damage from timing the hit by 50%. | Off | Off | Off |
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Chef's Knife | Makes cooking faster. | Significantly reduces cooking time. For those who like to cook in bulk! | On | On | On |
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Mithreel Rod | Fishing rod upgrade. | A sturdier fishing rod that carries so much power it intimidates the catch, causing its stamina to deplete faster. | On | On | On |
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Bearing Reel | Fishing rod upgrade. | Easier to spin and never jams. Increases reeling speed. | On | On | On |
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Stereofilament Line | Fishing rod upgrade. | Made of sturdy material to offer more leeway when reeling in a stubborn catch. Can take more damage before breaking. | On | On | On |
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Tactician's Mettle | Emphasis on strategy and skill during combat. | Enemies have 60% damage resistance while casting (locks). Increases player damage taken by 35%. Items (snacks) cannot be used in combat. Campfires recover HP up to 50%, and don't recover MP. | Off | Off | On |
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Artful Gambit | A mystical and dangerous relic. For the daring only. | HP -95%. Enemies are invincible while casting. Timed blocks reduce damage to 1. Timed hits bonus damage x2. | Off | Off | Off |
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Double Edge | Increases damage in certain situations. | Increases enemy defense bonus while casting (locks). Decreases enemy defense while not casting (no locks). | Off | Off | Off |
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Dubious Dare | Increases damage taken. | For those who prefer grittier combat, demanding more strategy and timing skill. Increases damage taken by 40%. | Off | Off | Off |
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Mark of the Speedrunner | For speedrunners only! | Displays a timer which can be toggled with [Toggle Speedrun Timer button], which pauses during loading times. All Relics will receive a shoe icon upon starting the run. Toggling any Relic on or off past the inital selection will remove the shoe. | Off | Off | Off |
Nomenclature[]
Language | Name | Meaning | |
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English | difficulty preset | - |
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Québécois | preset de difficulté | difficulty preset |
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French | niveau de difficulté préconfiguré | preconfigured difficulty level |
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German | Schwierigkeitsgrad aus | difficulty level |
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Russian | уровень сложности uroven' slozhnosti |
difficulty level |
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Spanish | nivel de dificultad | difficulty level |
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Brazilian-Portuguese | nível de dificuldade | difficulty level |
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Korean | 난이도 설정 nan-ido seoljeong |
difficulty setting |
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Japanese | ゲームの難易度 gēmu no gaido |
game difficulty |
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Simplified Chinese | 预设困难度 yù shè kùnnán dù |
preset difficulty |
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Traditional Chinese | 預設困難度 yù shè kùnnán dù |
preset difficulty |
Gallery[]
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Sea of Stars | |
---|---|
Game | Sea of Stars • Throes of the Watchmaker • Version Changes |
Modes | New Game + • Difficulty Presets • Local Co-Op |
Gameplay | Characters • Enemies • Locations • Feats |
Collectables | Items • Treasures • Loot Bags • Gold • Merchants |
Mechanics | Combat • Skills • Combos • Level Up • Saving • Camping • Cooking • Resting • Sailing • Weapon Skins |
Minigames | Fishing • Wheels |
Lore | Campfire Stories • The Chronophage • Cinematic Cutscenes • Runes • ARG • Developer Interviews • Thierry's Lore Tidbits • Shade of Kunus'nuku |
Media | Sea of Stars Original Soundtrack • Sea of Stars - Digital Artbook • Sea of Stars: The Concept Art of Bryce Kho |
Demos | Backer Demo • Public Demo |