The difficulty is chosen the first time a save opens the world map; after that the difficulty button on the level-select screen switches it before any battle, and the save keeps the last choice. It changes enemy health, and on Casual the health of the player's soldiers and heroes. Enemy speed and the gold enemies give are the same on all 3.
"For Beginners To Strategy Games!" Enemy health 80%, soldier and hero health 120%.
"A good challenge!" Enemy health 100%.
"Hardcore! Play at your own risk!" Enemy health 120%.
An enemy's health is multiplied by 0.8 on Casual, 1 on Normal and 1.2 on Veteran and rounded down. Moloch and Vez'nan have their own health for each difficulty instead: Moloch 8,889 / 11,111 / 13,333 and Vez'nan 5,333 / 6,666 / 7,999.
Enemy health by difficulty (examples)
| Enemy | Casual | Normal | Veteran |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goblin | 16 | 20 | 24 |
| Orc | 64 | 80 | 96 |
| Dark Knight | 240 | 300 | 360 |
| Ogre | 640 | 800 | 960 |
| The Juggernaut | 8,000 | 10,000 | 12,000 |
On Casual the player's soldiers and heroes have 120% of their health, rounded down; on Normal and Veteran they keep their own. Two exceptions: the soldiers of Call Reinforcements get the Casual bonus twice (a Farmer has 43 health instead of 30), and Ingvar's Viking Ancestors have the same health on every difficulty. Enemy speed is the same on all 3 difficulties.