Difficulty Settings Explained — Which Should You Pick for Your First Playthrough?
007 First Light difficulty guide: Novice vs Intended vs Purist compared, what changes on each setting, community recommendations, and how difficulty affects trophy requirements.
Contents
Three Difficulty Options
007 First Light offers three difficulty settings that you can switch between at any time from the settings menu — without any penalty to progress or achievements. Choosing the right difficulty for your skill level dramatically affects how the game feels.
Novice — Easy Mode
Novice removes most of the challenge from combat and gadget management.
What changes on Novice:
- Enemies deal significantly less damage
- Bond can absorb much more punishment in fistfights and shootouts
- All gadgets have ZERO cooldown timers
- Q-Lens, watch laser, and hacking tools can be used back-to-back without waiting
Choose Novice if you want to focus purely on the Bond origin narrative, cinematic chases, and story. You will breeze through combat encounters and never worry about resource management.
Intended — Recommended Balanced Mode
Intended is IO Interactive's recommended setting for a first playthrough. This is the balanced baseline the developers designed the entire game around.
What changes on Intended:
- Enemies hit hard when they gang up
- Standard gadget cooldowns are in effect
- Stealth pays off without being mandatory
- Combat feels meaningful and requires thought
- Enemy AI is competent — flanking, covering, and coordinating
The community overwhelmingly recommends Intended for first playthroughs. The combat feels rewarding, stealth stays engaging, and resource decisions add real depth without becoming frustrating.
Purist — Hard Mode
Purist is the hardest setting and should only be attempted by experienced stealth-action players.
What changes on Purist:
- Enemies deal extreme damage — one mistake can mean death
- Gadget and resource use is tightly restricted
- Resources are harder to find throughout environments
- Health regeneration is dramatically slowed or disabled
- Getting caught in open combat is often fatal
Purist is tuned for Hitman veterans. If this is your first IO Interactive game, start on Intended. Save Purist for a second playthrough when you know the level layouts and enemy patterns.
Does Difficulty Affect Achievements?
No. There are absolutely zero difficulty-related achievements in 007 First Light. You can complete every trophy on the easiest difficulty setting. Difficulty also does not affect challenge completion — you can finish every challenge on Novice if desired.
This is an independent fan site. 007 FIRST LIGHT and JAMES BOND are trademarks of MGM and IO Interactive.
Related Field Reports
Beginner's Guide: Licence to Kill
Master the fundamentals of 007 First Light with this comprehensive beginner's guide covering the four pillars, basic controls, and the licence to kill mechanic.
Complete Mission List and Chapter Order
All 17 missions listed in chronological order with estimated completion times, challenge counts, and collectible totals for planning your playthrough.
The Four Pillars: Spycraft and Instinct Guide
Deep dive into spycraft mechanics (bluffing, disguises, social navigation) and instinct systems (focus mode, perception, tactical analysis).