I am trying to work out if there are any advantages of playing in insane mode.
See in IWD No.1 the party got double the exp bonus for playing insane difficulty compared to normal. Now in IWD2 it seems the only thing that increases is monster difficulty. A bit dissapointing.

HOF is just as good though [img]smile.gif[/img]
Just for fun i started a new party, 4 rangers that i will triple class eventually. And yes ive managed to kill a few goblins!
They all have the 'dash' feat, that makes them faster than a goblin, and what i do is run around one of the houses in lower targos, then stop periodically to lob off a volley of arrows on the following goblin. Turns out each goblin has approx 155Hp, and give a whopping 3200exp. Just the thing for my first level characters. Within half a dozen goblins i had allready gone up 3 to 4 levels LOL
crazy fun. No way can it last though.

so has anyone investigated the mathematical formulae that determines monster HP/EXP on harder/HOF difficulty levels?

My experience with "insane" was that monsters were not giving extra points. The gobbies at the docks, for instance, were the same xp value as in "normal".

Also, you'll notice that items for sale at the merchants are exactly the same as they are in "normal". Nothing upscale shows unless you're in HOF mode.

So the game is harder but you don't seem to get any benefits. Foo!

<center>Nightowl2</center>

hmmm
I dont know if its just luck but i THINK the treasure recieved from dead monsters is ever so slightly better on Insane than on normal or easy. But not enough to make any difference.
HOF it is then ;)

The difficulty setting give no benefit, it is just for people who are having a easy/hard time, and want to change that a little. If you want anything different you have to play in HOF mode.