Why do some people find Gen 5 too easy???

[henrymidfields]

As the title says. I'm having trouble understanding this sentiment, when this generation gave me the most gameplay trouble of the 4 generations that I played. (So far, I've played RBY, GSC, BW, and XY.) Once you outlevel the wild Pokémon in the area, the computer instantly becomes stingy with experience points, and there were far more cases of wild Pokémon 1-2OHKO-ing the Pokémon I was training - and sending me straight to the Pokemon Centre (especially in Route 4, 5, and 6) - than any other games that I played. (RBY, GSC, or XY) It was like 1 out of 2-3 wild encounters in my case. This lack of feasibility/practicality in level grinding, in turn, made BW's gym battles the most difficult in my case - might as well just stick to three Pokémon. Am I just being unlucky with wild Pokemon screwing me over?

Yes, I know Audino's there for the extra exp, but I didn't find it very reliable; in many cases, it was either no shaking grass, or an Emolga. Am I just being unlucky with finding Audino? Are the encounters more reliable in BW2, which I haven't played as of yet?

The other questions would be:
Did the Dream World Pokemon make a huge difference in alleviating the difficulty?
Was is merely a matter of taking more time and effort in level-grinding?
Consider that I was a latecomer to Gen 5, and only played them after finishing the main game off Pokemon Y, and I eventually had to finish all that I needed to do (main game and Unova Dex completion) in 4-5 months before the DS Wi-Fi shutdown. Particularly, I had to go from Elesa to post-game in 2-and-a-half months.

PS Just for reference, my rotation was as follows (I eventually evolved all my Pokemon by the E4, I actually don't remember at what point):
Up until Elesa: Snivy, Blitzle, Munna, Sandile, Darumaka, Panpour, Audino, Gurdurr
Elesa~Skyla: Snivy, Emolga, Munna, Darumaka, Tirtouga, Audino, Frillish, Axew, Gurdurr
Sklya~E4: As above, plus Cobalion (and Reshiram at the end)

 

[Groudon]

Remember that there is 3 other factors that affect the difficulty of Pokemon game: the player's skill level, the Pokemon you choose, and the restrictions the player imposes on their self. I am fairly certain that most people who claim the game to be too easy are overusing healing items or have many years of experience.
To answer your questions.
Am I just being unlucky with finding Audino? Are the encounters more reliable in BW2, which I haven't played as of yet?
I encountered Audino quite regularly with the aid of repels and massive amounts of bicycling but I doubt the rng is screwing you over. BW2 does not have more consistent encounters.
Did the Dream World Pokemon make a huge difference in alleviating the difficulty?
I did not use Dream World but most hidden abilities hardly make a difference in-game.
Was is merely a matter of taking more time and effort in level-grinding?
Yes, I felt grinding made a difference in my play through but so did choosing Pokemon that are effective against common Pokemon that appear throughout the game.

 

[Solayoh]

I don't know anyone who finds Gen 5 easy. Gen 5 was probably one of the hardest. I struggled raising my Blitzle and Tranquil, Gym Leaders were a challenge, my most epic battle ever was with Ghetsis, and in B2 I was able to cheat to get the harder mode on straight away and it provided a decent challenge.

Gen 6 (well X and Y) are far too easy, my Pokemon range from 42-52 atm and the gym I just beat was ranging from like 32-36

 

[Norzan]

I don't know anyone who finds Gen 5 easy. Gen 5 was probably one of the hardest. I struggled raising my Blitzle and Tranquil, Gym Leaders were a challenge, my most epic battle ever was with Ghetsis, and in B2 I was able to cheat to get the harder mode on straight away and it provided a decent challenge.

Gen 6 (well X and Y) are far too easy, my Pokemon range from 42-52 atm and the gym I just beat was ranging from like 32-36

Are you using the Exp. Share? If yes that explains it, any game is easy when you are overleveled. I'm one of those who found Gen 5 to be a joke in terms of difficulty, XY has the excuse of the Exp. Share, BW doesn't and it's pathetically easy, hell my underleveled Deino OHKO'ed N's Reshiram.

 

[HyruleAlpha]

Because it was easy.

 

[Solayoh]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

 

[Almonds]

It's probably because of the leveling system that made leveling up easier. But eh, that really depends. Personally, Gen5 was one of the more difficult pokemon games, second only to Gen4.

 

[Norzan]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Yes it does, it makes a big difference, i didn't used it and my pokemon were always underleveled, i also didn't used Mega Evolution (was using a only Gen 6 team) and i guess it also increased the difficulty because Mega Lucario and both Mega Chars are too strong for normal play.

 

[Solayoh]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Yes it does, it makes a big difference, i didn't used it and my pokemon were always underleveled, i also didn't used Mega Evolution (was using a only Gen 6 team) and i guess it also increased the difficulty because Mega Lucario and both Mega Chars are too strong for normal play.

I do the same about having an only Gen 6 team, and this means no Mega Evos. I'm already pretty overleveled but I guess I could try turning it off and see if it balances out in the end (I've just beaten the 5th gym)

 

[henrymidfields]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Oh yeah, I also only won as well mostly to sheer luck - Hydreigon's Focus Blast missing Andre (my Audino), while Andre 3-4HKO-ing Hydreigon with high BP Normal attacks with STAB.

As for the EXP Share in XY, what I did was raise 18-24 Mons, and that made a difference.

It's probably because of the leveling system that made leveling up easier. But eh, that really depends. Personally, Gen5 was one of the more difficult pokemon games, second only to Gen4.

I haven't played DPPt nor HGSS, so I can't really comment on that. But perhaps people here were used to the difficulty in DPPt? I know that's when the AI really wised up, and special/physical were no-longer type based.

 

[HyruleAlpha]

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Yes, it would. By the time I got to the Elite Four, the average level of my team was 72.

 

[Norzan]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Yes it does, it makes a big difference, i didn't used it and my pokemon were always underleveled, i also didn't used Mega Evolution (was using a only Gen 6 team) and i guess it also increased the difficulty because Mega Lucario and both Mega Chars are too strong for normal play.

I do the same about having an only Gen 6 team, and this means no Mega Evos. I'm already pretty overleveled but I guess I could try turning it off and see if it balances out in the end (I've just beaten the 5th gym)

You should have turned it off as soon as you got it, the damage is already kinda done but my guess is that you didn't knew that it was going to overlevel your team. Also i suggest you play on Set instead of Shift (if you are not already).

Difficulty in Pokemon is really subjective but overall all pokemon games are easy, sure there are some that harder than others but not by much. In my White playthrough my pokemon never fainted even once and i was always at the same level as the gym leaders, hell i replayed Emerald recently and i found it to be very easy.

 

[Almonds]

It's probably because of the leveling system that made leveling up easier. But eh, that really depends. Personally, Gen5 was one of the more difficult pokemon games, second only to Gen4.

I haven't played DPPt nor HGSS, so I can't really comment on that. But perhaps people here were used to the difficulty in DPPt? I know that's when the AI really wised up, and special/physical were no-longer type based.

It's possible. Dunno about HGSS since it was pretty much the same as GSC, but DPPt, especially Platinum, are probably the most challenging pokemon games in the entire franchise. Leveling up/Grinding took a long time, NPC battles(wild trainers, rival, gyms, Elite4, Galactic Commanders/Boss, Champion) were challenging and well-balanced. Also some of the dungeons/routes were lengthy and full of difficult trainers to consume hours on travelling (Mt. Coronet to Snow Point City omg). I guess being used to DPPt level difficulty could have resulted in BW being relatively easy somewhat.

 

[Solayoh]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Yes it does, it makes a big difference, i didn't used it and my pokemon were always underleveled, i also didn't used Mega Evolution (was using a only Gen 6 team) and i guess it also increased the difficulty because Mega Lucario and both Mega Chars are too strong for normal play.

I do the same about having an only Gen 6 team, and this means no Mega Evos. I'm already pretty overleveled but I guess I could try turning it off and see if it balances out in the end (I've just beaten the 5th gym)

You should have turned it off as soon as you got it, the damage is already kinda done but my guess is that you didn't knew that it was going to overlevel your team. Also i suggest you play on Set instead of Shift (if you are not already).

Difficulty in Pokemon is really subjective but overall all pokemon games are easy, sure there are some that harder than others but not by much. In my White playthrough my pokemon never fainted even once and i was always at the same level as the gym leaders, hell i replayed Emerald recently and i found it to be very easy.

Yeah when I got it I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to use it, I never knew it would over power me so much and ruin the challenge. Like you said damage is already done, but at least I can stop further damage being done.

And what do you mean by turn Shift to Set etc?

 

[Norzan]

That last battle against Ghetsis in Black is my favourite battle over, because it was the first time I've ever had an intense ingame battle where it could go either way, I was losing by miles, then I caught up, then we sort of wittled down to 1 each, and in the end we both in red and I was just a bit quicker, such an amazing battle.

And yes I have EXP share on in XY, would turning it off really make that much difference?

Yes it does, it makes a big difference, i didn't used it and my pokemon were always underleveled, i also didn't used Mega Evolution (was using a only Gen 6 team) and i guess it also increased the difficulty because Mega Lucario and both Mega Chars are too strong for normal play.

I do the same about having an only Gen 6 team, and this means no Mega Evos. I'm already pretty overleveled but I guess I could try turning it off and see if it balances out in the end (I've just beaten the 5th gym)

You should have turned it off as soon as you got it, the damage is already kinda done but my guess is that you didn't knew that it was going to overlevel your team. Also i suggest you play on Set instead of Shift (if you are not already).

Difficulty in Pokemon is really subjective but overall all pokemon games are easy, sure there are some that harder than others but not by much. In my White playthrough my pokemon never fainted even once and i was always at the same level as the gym leaders, hell i replayed Emerald recently and i found it to be very easy.

Yeah when I got it I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to use it, I never knew it would over power me so much and ruin the challenge. Like you said damage is already done, but at least I can stop further damage being done.

And what do you mean by turn Shift to Set etc?

Shift - It tells you what pokemon the opponent is going to send out after you knocked out an opponent's pokemon and if you want to switch to another pokemon.

Set - It doesn't, it means you don't get free switch ins and the game doesn't tell which pokemon they are going to send out, it's the same as the Battle Tower facilities.

You can switch between both in the Options menu. I suggest you play on Set if you want challenge, also Set feels more natural because playing on Shift makes me feel like i'm cheating because of the free switch ins.

 

[henrymidfields]

It's possible. Dunno about HGSS since it was pretty much the same as GSC, but DPPt, especially Platinum, are probably the most challenging pokemon games in the entire franchise. Leveling up/Grinding took a long time, NPC battles(wild trainers, rival, gyms, Elite4, Galactic Commanders/Boss, Champion) were challenging and well-balanced. Also some of the dungeons/routes were lengthy and full of difficult trainers to consume hours on travelling (Mt. Coronet to Snow Point City omg). I guess being used to DPPt level difficulty could have resulted in BW being relatively easy somewhat.

I'm guessing that said trainer routes and the like didn't have any checkpoint-like characters of nurses and doctors who will give you a free recovery - am I right/wrong?

How come level-grinding took a long time? Is it the wild Pokemon being Demonic Spiders? Or is it due to the amount of levels you must gain before the next gym?

 

[HyruleAlpha]

It's possible. Dunno about HGSS since it was pretty much the same as GSC, but DPPt, especially Platinum, are probably the most challenging pokemon games in the entire franchise. Leveling up/Grinding took a long time, NPC battles(wild trainers, rival, gyms, Elite4, Galactic Commanders/Boss, Champion) were challenging and well-balanced. Also some of the dungeons/routes were lengthy and full of difficult trainers to consume hours on travelling (Mt. Coronet to Snow Point City omg). I guess being used to DPPt level difficulty could have resulted in BW being relatively easy somewhat.

I'm guessing that said trainer routes and the like didn't have any checkpoint-like characters of nurses and doctors who will give you a free recovery - am I right/wrong?

That's correct. DPPt didn't have that luxury.

How come level-grinding took a long time? Is it the wild Pokemon being Demonic Spiders? Or is it due to the amount of levels you must gain before the next gym?

For me, the battle system was too slow. As much as I enjoy level grinding, DPPt's system was a slog.

 

[Almonds]

It's possible. Dunno about HGSS since it was pretty much the same as GSC, but DPPt, especially Platinum, are probably the most challenging pokemon games in the entire franchise. Leveling up/Grinding took a long time, NPC battles(wild trainers, rival, gyms, Elite4, Galactic Commanders/Boss, Champion) were challenging and well-balanced. Also some of the dungeons/routes were lengthy and full of difficult trainers to consume hours on travelling (Mt. Coronet to Snow Point City omg). I guess being used to DPPt level difficulty could have resulted in BW being relatively easy somewhat.

I'm guessing that said trainer routes and the like didn't have any checkpoint-like characters of nurses and doctors who will give you a free recovery - am I right/wrong?

How come level-grinding took a long time? Is it the wild Pokemon being Demonic Spiders? Or is it due to the amount of levels you must gain before the next gym?

Yes. Also, the snow made the travel all the more slow - you couldn't ride your bike, you couldn't run (even if you pressed the B button it was the same as walking), you just had to shove the character through the snow, and iirc, walking through the snow felt much slower than walking on plain land.

To get the Sinnoh-dex upgraded to the National-dex, you'd have to fight almost every single trainer on the route to register certain pokemon as seen. Avoid one trainer who had the one pokemon you needed to see, then you'd have to go back to that route to find them if you couldn't get it by trade.

As for level-grinding... I'd say that the wild Pokemon being relatively weak and the gym leaders being too strong were both contributing factors. I ended up with a team in their early 40s when I had to go up against Volkner's level 50 Electivire for the last badge. Most of the caves were full of Zubats/Golbats that barely give out exp, and the grass patches didn't have much pokemons that give generous exp, either.

 

[henrymidfields]

It's possible. Dunno about HGSS since it was pretty much the same as GSC, but DPPt, especially Platinum, are probably the most challenging pokemon games in the entire franchise. Leveling up/Grinding took a long time, NPC battles(wild trainers, rival, gyms, Elite4, Galactic Commanders/Boss, Champion) were challenging and well-balanced. Also some of the dungeons/routes were lengthy and full of difficult trainers to consume hours on travelling (Mt. Coronet to Snow Point City omg). I guess being used to DPPt level difficulty could have resulted in BW being relatively easy somewhat.

I'm guessing that said trainer routes and the like didn't have any checkpoint-like characters of nurses and doctors who will give you a free recovery - am I right/wrong?

How come level-grinding took a long time? Is it the wild Pokemon being Demonic Spiders? Or is it due to the amount of levels you must gain before the next gym?

Yes. Also, the snow made the travel all the more slow - you couldn't ride your bike, you couldn't run (even if you pressed the B button it was the same as walking), you just had to shove the character through the snow, and iirc, walking through the snow felt much slower than walking on plain land.

To get the Sinnoh-dex upgraded to the National-dex, you'd have to fight almost every single trainer on the route to register certain pokemon as seen. Avoid one trainer who had the one pokemon you needed to see, then you'd have to go back to that route to find them if you couldn't get it by trade.

As for level-grinding... I'd say that the wild Pokemon being relatively weak and the gym leaders being too strong were both contributing factors. I ended up with a team in their early 40s when I had to go up against Volkner's level 50 Electivire for the last badge. Most of the caves were full of Zubats/Golbats that barely give out exp, and the grass patches didn't have much pokemons that give generous exp, either.

Thanks for the info. Well, it looks like I'm not going to be playing DP until the remakes then...

 

[Almonds]

[

Thanks for the info. Well, it looks like I'm not going to be playing DP until the remakes then...

Well, that difficulty was pretty much why Gen4 was enjoyable overall. The challenging the game is, the exciting the experience. Gen5 on its own was still difficult, but compared to DPPt, yeah - not as much.