Casualties Unknown difficulties and modifiers

The store page advertises adjustable loot and danger values on the main menu. confirmed If the game is too harsh, or too easy, you can change that without any mods.

What difficulty options does Casualties Unknown have?

Version 7.0 reworked the run settings menu, adding several presets and many more options. confirmed Players mention these presets by name. reported

Preset	How players describe it
Paradise	Easiest. Starts you with a container, which some players find very helpful on a first run
Relaxed	Easier than Normal
Normal	The default
Desolate	The hardest, known for extreme cold and time pressure

The exact preset list may change in the full game, so read the description on screen. Before 7.0 there were just simple sliders for traps and loot, and one player argues that those were clearer. Another replied that a panel to the right of the presets still lets you change many settings by hand, including temperature. reported

Which difficulty should you pick first?

Start on a gentle preset if this is your first survival sim of this type. Game knowledge matters more here than reflexes: bad falls, unseen traps and untreated wounds end most early runs. One player defends Paradise for exactly this reason, saying the early container is a huge help for new players. reported

Move up once you are reliably reaching layer 3. Players stuck there are usually told the problem is not a lack of preparation but mistakes or missing knowledge. reported

What does Desolate change?

Guides treat cold as the defining threat of Desolate. confirmed Warm clothes and fire become urgent, and players complain about freezing to death early. If you get caught without a way to start a fire, you can work out from the bottom right of the health menu to warm up, though you need to keep moving while your stamina recovers. confirmed See food, water and sleep for temperature basics.

What are layer modifiers in Casualties Unknown?

Sometimes a layer generates with an extra condition. Some can occur on any layer, though certain modifiers are blocked from layer 1 since version 7.0. confirmed

Modifier	Effect	Status
Ionized	Radioactive waste around the layer; also spawns some anti-rad	confirmed
Solar flare	Your chip fails, as if playing unchipped	confirmed
Infested	Far more creatures	reported
Cold, freezing, hot, scorching	Shifts the layer’s temperature	reported
Foggy, flooded, dried, rainy	Changes visibility and water	reported

Modifiers can stack badly with each other. One forum poster’s point is that a layer modifier interacting with a harsh preset can feel unfair. reported When you see one announced, stop and think about what it means for your gear before moving.

What does playing unchipped mean?

“Unchipped” hides information from your health panel. You will not see exact values, and you have to judge your condition from symptoms, like blurred vision and speech. It is a run setting in the same family as difficulty, and it also happens temporarily during a solar flare. confirmed A useful trick for playing this way: move your cursor around, because it labels whatever it touches, which lets you find blocks and tunnels in the dark. confirmed

In co-op, the unchipped setting is per player. confirmed

Can you change settings during a run?

Run settings are chosen when you start. Mid-run changes need the console or a mod, and Quality of Life mods can help with some of this. Game speed is another option you have in a normal run: the bottom right control speeds time up, which is useful when you are waiting out pain or sleeping somewhere safe.

Do Casualties Unknown settings affect achievements?

The full game has 40 achievements. confirmed Nothing in the official posts says that easier settings block them, and at the time of writing we have not been able to test it on the release build. We will add the answer to the update log when it is known.

What should you change first?

If you want one change, adjust the setting that is causing your deaths rather than reaching for an easier preset. Too many traps? Lower the trap value. Running out of time? Extend the layer time limit. Keep the rest at Normal so you still learn the systems the game is built around, such as bleeding.