The Star Wars Jedi series determines difficulty settings based on three factors: Parry Timing, Incoming Damage, and Enemy Aggression. And no matter which mode players choose, their characters’ inflicted damage and HP won’t change. EA’s latest installment in the franchise, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, follows the same logic, too. It offers five combat difficulties that alter parry, damage, and aggression levels to create easy, medium, and hard gameplay.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Combat Difficulties and Differences
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has five difficulty settings: Story Mode, Jedi Padawan, Jedi Knight, Jedi Master, and Jedi Grand Master. Of these, Story Mode is the easiest, and Grand Master is the hardest. And the Padawan mode is the latest addition that balances melee-action gameplay for new players.
Combat Mode | Difficulty | Description |
Story Mode | Beginner | No combat challenge |
Jedi Padawan | Easy | Minimum combat challenge |
Jedi Knight | Medium | Medium combat challenge |
Jedi Master | Hard | Extra combat challenge |
Jedi Grand Master | Veteran | Maximum combat challenge |
Story Mode
- Parry Timing: Long
- Incoming Damage: Lowest
- Enemy Aggression: Lowest
In Story Mode, players focus on the campaign, not combat. Enemies in this difficulty are not hostile at all, and they rarely attack in groups. Plus, they strike slowly, giving players enough time to parry or dodge effectively.
Story Mode difficulty is the best setting for no-hit runs.
Jedi Padawan
- Parry Timing: Slightly Long
- Incoming Damage: Low
- Enemy Aggression: Low
As the newest difficulty setting, Jedi Padawan is a balanced combat mode with minor melee-action challenges. It’s designed for players new to Star Wars Jedi’s battle mechanics and want forgiving combat. In the Padawan mode, enemies are slightly more aggressive and kill players faster than in Story Mode.
Jedi Knight
- Parry Timing: Medium
- Incoming Damage: Medium
- Enemy Aggression: Medium
The Jedi Knight mode is the standard difficulty in Jedi Survivor. It has a medium parry window, enemy damage, and aggression, making it the best choice for players who are familiar with melee-action combats but don’t want Souls-like gameplay.
Jedi Master
- Parry Timing: Short
- Incoming Damage: High
- Enemy Aggression: High
Jedi Survivor’s hard mode, Master difficulty, increases enemies’ aggressive behaviors and encourages them to attack in groups. It also shortens the parry and dodge reaction time, making it likelier for players to get hit.
Jedi Grand Master
- Parry Timing: Shortest
- Incoming Damage: Maximum
- Enemy Aggression: Maximum
Grand Master difficulty is the hardest mode in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. It has the least forgiving combat, which drains players’ HP in 5 hits or fewer. And it also maximizes enemies’ aggression, giving them more hostile attack strategies. Enemy troops in this mode often surround Cal Kestis and attack from multiple angles simultaneously.
All difficulties are available from the start, and players do not need to unlock the New Game Plus to have them.
Incoming Damage Comparison in All Difficulties
Enemy damage makes the biggest difference in Jedi Survivor’s combat modes. A quick comparison shows that Cal Kestis gets the lowest HP in the Jedi Grand Master mode and the highest in the Story Mode.
The following table shows how many non-heavy hits players can take in each difficulty setting:
Difficulty | Durability |
Jedi Grand Master | 5 hits |
Jedi Master | 8 hits |
Jedi Knight | 10 hits |
Jedi Padawan | 12 hits |
Story Mode | 80 hits |
How to Change Difficulty
To change the difficulty settings mid-game, go to the Pause Menu, open Settings (the gear icon), and change “Difficulty” under the Gameplay tab. Luckily, modifying combat modes don’t affect the story’s progress, and players can alter them as often as they wish.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.