Difficulty is a recurring game mechanic in the Uncharted series. At the start of each playthrough, players select a difficulty level that scales the damage dealt and received by the player character, typically Nathan Drake, as well as his maximum health. Higher difficulties disable combat tutorials and cheats, while the lowest levels enable aim assist.
Drake's Fortune launched with Easy, Normal, Hard, and Crushing levels. Among Thieves introduced Very Easy, which was later rebranded as Explorer in The Nathan Drake Collection. The Collection also debuted the high-intensity Brutal difficulty. A Thief's End retained the Explorer setting while renaming Easy to Light and Normal to Moderate. The Lost Legacy utilizes the same difficulty naming conventions as the fourth title.
In the Collection's remastered editions, trophy tiers were often adjusted—typically lowered—to accommodate the inclusion of Brutal difficulty, though completion requirements remained identical to the originals.
Crushing difficulty is traditionally locked until the game is completed on Hard (in the first two titles) or any difficulty (in the third). In Golden Abyss, it requires a completion on Normal or Hard. Conversely, Crushing is unlocked by default in A Thief's End, The Lost Legacy, and the The Nathan Drake Collection. Notably, in A Thief's End and The Lost Legacy, player health and damage output remain consistent across all difficulty settings.
Difficulties[]
| Difficulty | Health | Damage dealt | Damage taken | Other changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very Easy | 150% | 2x | 0.5x | Player has an aim assist. |
| Easy | 100% | 1.5x | 0.5x | None |
| Normal | 100% | 1x | 1x | None |
| Hard | 100% | 0.5x | 2x | None |
| Crushing | 50% | 0.5x | 2x | Some combat tutorials are disabled. Tweaks are disabled. The ability to spawn weapons at any time from the menu is disabled. |
| Brutal | 50% | 0.5x | 4x | Player picks up less ammo. Tweaks are disabled. The ability to spawn weapons at any time from the menu is disabled. Enemies do not drop stealth-killed weapons. Most combat tutorials are disabled. |
Very Easy / Explorer[]
This is the easiest difficulty in all titles except Drake's Fortune. Drake receives 50% extra health and aim assist, dealing double damage while taking half. The health bonus allows Drake to survive direct explosions from grenades and RPGs, though such hits leave him near death.
Among Thieves is the only title where this difficulty awards a medal ("Charted! - Very Easy", worth $10,000), and A Thief's End is the only game featuring a dedicated bronze completion trophy for this mode.
Easy / Light[]
Serving as the easiest mode in Drake's Fortune and the second easiest in subsequent games, this level removes aim assist and health bonuses. Drake deals 1.5x damage while enemies deal half.
"Charted! - Easy" is a recurring trophy awarded for completion on this setting. Its value is silver in the first two games and bronze in all subsequent titles, including Golden Abyss. In A Thief's End, the trophy is renamed "Charted! - Light". As a medal, it awards 30 points in Drake's Fortune and $25,000 in Among Thieves.
In the remastered versions of Drake's Fortune and Among Thieves, this trophy was downgraded from silver to bronze, matching its tier in the Drake's Deception remaster.
Normal / Moderate[]
This is the standard difficulty for all games, featuring no damage modifiers for either Drake or his enemies.
"Charted! - Normal" awards a gold trophy in the first three games, silver in Golden Abyss, and bronze in A Thief's End (where it is renamed "Charted! - Moderate"). Medal values are 70 points in Drake's Fortune and $40,000 in Among Thieves.
In the Collection's remastered versions, the trophy tier for Normal completion was lowered to bronze for all three games.
Hard[]
This setting increases the challenge by halving Drake's damage output and doubling the damage taken from enemies.
"Charted! - Hard" is worth gold in the first two games and Golden Abyss, silver in the third, and bronze in the fourth. Medal rewards include 100 points in Drake's Fortune and $40,000 in Among Thieves.
In the remasters for the first two games, the "Charted! - Hard" trophies were downgraded from gold to silver.
Crushing[]
In Crushing mode, Drake deals 50% damage while enemies deal 200%. Drake’s base health is also halved, making him extremely vulnerable. Gameplay tweaks and weapon spawning are disabled (except in A Thief's End and The Lost Legacy), and certain combat tutorials are removed.
In Among Thieves and Drake's Deception, Crushing is available for Co-op Objective missions. It is unlocked by completing at least one Hard mission, which in turn requires a Normal completion. In Drake's Deception Co-op Arena, melee kills frequently drop grenades, armored enemies often drop Kickback Boosters, and the team is limited to 10 lives. Additionally, all soldiers (excluding Brutes) wear clown masks.
A Thief's End adds further restrictions: the stealth detection meter and enemy tagging are disabled. Players must rely on environmental awareness and sound cues, as Nathan can still briefly visualize enemy locations (white outlines) via audio detection.
This recurring trophy is gold for the first three games and Golden Abyss, but silver in the fourth. Medal rewards are 150 points in Drake's Fortune and $40,000 in Among Thieves; the latter also unlocks the Genghis Khan multiplayer skin for $1,500,000.
Completing any Co-op Objective mission on Crushing in Among Thieves awards the "Masters of the Universe" medal ($5,000). Doing so with only two players grants the "Back to Back" medal ($5,000). Completing all three objectives on Crushing awards the bronze "You Can't Break Me" trophy, provided the player owns the Siege Expansion Pack.
Brutal[]
Exclusive to The Nathan Drake Collection, Brutal is unlocked by beating each game on Crushing. In this mode, enemies deal quadruple damage and Drake has half-health, typically resulting in death within two to three hits. Most tutorials are disabled, stealth kills do not yield weapons, and gameplay tweaks are restricted.
Ammunition is severely limited; ammo pickups for weapons already in Drake's inventory yield only a sixth of the standard amount. This can be circumvented by swapping weapons before collecting the desired ammunition. For example, picking up a new Wes - 44 while already carrying one may yield only one or two bullets, whereas picking it up after dropping the old one provides the full amount.
Strategic use of the "cover trick"—standing behind cover to shoot without formally "entering" cover with 
—is essential. While high-risk, performing a Brutal Combo remains a viable strategy as it doubles ammunition drops.
"Charted! - Brutal" trophies are exclusive to the remastered trilogy and are not required for the Platinum trophies. Completing Brutal also unlocks specific rewards, such as Eddy's Golden Gun and golden variants of the AK-47 and 92FS - 9mm.