Hello Khalderon. Welcome to Pharaoh Heaven.

The difficulty levels are well balanced, with each level a little more difficult than the preceding one. However, in many cases there is no difference between some of the levels--for example, starting funds are the same at Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulty. Things that change will increased difficulty are:

The area has to be more desirable before most houses will evolve to the next level.

Most houses require more Entertainment before they will evolve to the next level.

Each level of housing contributes less to the Prosperity Rating.

Tax income is less. (Exception: Residents of common and spacious manors pay more in taxes at Very Hard difficulty than at Hard difficulty.)

Risk of fire, damage, crime, disease and malaria are greater.

Structures cost more to build.

The amount of goods consumed by schools, libraries, mortuaries, senet houses and zoos are greater.

Enemy troops are stronger and there are more of them.

You receive less money for starting funds and the “rescue gift” is less.

At the start of a mission, the Kingdom Rating is lower (except that Normal and Hard have the same starting KR).

Poorer city sentiment for a given set of conditions (wage rate, tax rate, etc).

Quote:

I read that some features of Pharaoh are enabled only in a specific difficulty. Is it true?

At “Very Easy” difficulty, the risk of fire, damage, crime, disease and malaria are so low that they are almost nonexistent. That is why we recommend that you do not begin playing at Very Easy. Very Easy does no prepare you for the higher levels.

If you want exact details on the differences between different levels, you can review my Pharaoh/Cleopatra Charts.

Edited to include Brugle’s comments.

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Vaia

[This message has been edited by VitruviusAIA (edited 04-05-2005 @ 05:11 PM).]

As VAIA said, to learn something and enjoy the game, it is better to start at Normal level (for every game, BTW).
It is worth noticing that, compared to some other games (Civilization amongst others), there is not what I call "compensation". Compensation means that the developpers found it easier, at the hardest level, to make the enemy stick to your performances or above, however incompetent the computer might appear. Like sending against you tanks without the knowledge of Steel.

At Pharaoh, there is only a strict quantified increase in all parametres when you shift to Hard or Very Hard, that VAIA described briefly but accurately.

Hello Khalderon,

One other major difference is that a higher difficulty level will have poorer city sentiment for a given set of conditions (wage rate, tax rate, etc). A minor difference is that the fractional reduction in the amount of linen or papyrus consumed by morturaries or schools and libraries when Anubis's altar or Thoth's oracle is built is less at a higher difficulty level.

In many cases there is no difference between some of the levels--for example, starting funds are the same at Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulty. There are a few (unimportant, in my opinion) exceptions--for example, residents of common and spacious manors pay more in taxes at Very Hard difficulty than at Hard difficulty.

Thanks a lot for the information.

I remembered one other difference: at the start of a mission, the Kingdom Rating is lower at higher difficulty levels (except that Normal and Hard have the same starting KR).

While this isn’t what I would consider a major game-play topic, it is nice to have a definitive thread on all subjects. With that in mind, I will edit my first reply to include Brugle’s comments.