Bug Fables is a game developed by a team that was passionate about the original Paper Mario games. One way that Bug Fables shows its love for the Paper Mario series is by incorporating a medal system that is reminiscent of the badges that players use in Paper Mario to up their stats. Medals can be bought, won, or found, and can drastically change the way you play the game, especially when it comes to the legendary hard mode medal.
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The hard mode medal can be equipped to help you get better items and give the game more of a challenge if you are finding the fights just a little too easy. Here's everything you need to know about it.
Where to Get The Hard Mode Medal
You won't have to do any cave diving or mental gymnastics to figure out a complicated puzzle for this medal. All you need to do is head back to the Ant Kingdom and go visit the Explorer's Association. It's here that you can talk to Artis, a white mantis, to receive the hard mode medal at the beginning of the game. This medal doesn't cost anything to use.
- Tip: You can receive and equip the medal at any time, but keep in mind with the medal that using it earlier on is going to benefit you more in the long run.
The medal can be equipped or removed as you progress through the game, just in case you start to have trouble with the enemies. There are quite a few changes to enemy power and health when the medal is turned on, but you will receive more rewards, so the pros and cons easily balance themselves out in the end.
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Changes to Gameplay in Hard Mode
There are quite a few things that will change when you decide to equip the hard mode medal. Enemies you face will have their health, attack, and defense all buffed, making them much harder to kill. In addition, multi-hit attacks will do more damage, and ancillary attacks will be more troublesome as they will activate much more often. You will also find that it is much more difficult to flip enemies, use repeated status effects, and you will need to be incredibly skilled with attack timing, as well as blocking in order to make your way safely through battles.
Special enemies also have a chance of getting all-new attacks, and if you are struck first by an opponent when entering battle, they will attack you multiple times. While this may not seem all that appealing, there are several benefits you don't want to miss by just sticking to the normal difficulty; here's what hard mode rewards you with:
- More Berries Per Battle
- Medals After Defeating a Boss
- Increased Drop Rate For Items
- Increased Experience Points
After defeating a boss, you can head back to see Artis and get a new medal. While these medals can be bought at the Caravan, it's much better to save your berries and earn them by defeating bosses during the story or by using B.O.S.S to rechallenge them with the hard mode medal on.
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