The difficulty sets each enemy's numbers: its health, armor, magic resistance, the lives it costs, its damage and its attack cooldowns can all differ by difficulty, and the enemy pages list them. On Casual, enemies give 1.2 times their gold in every mode. Each kill pays the enemy's gold times the mode's and the difficulty's factors, rounded to the nearest whole number, so in Campaign an enemy worth 2 gold still gives 2.
The Impossible difficulty stays locked until stage 18 has been won in Campaign on any save slot. On Impossible, enemies move 10% faster and heroes earn 50% more XP.
"For Beginners To Strategy Games!" Enemy speed 100%, hero XP 100%, enemy gold 120%.
"A good challenge!" Enemy speed 100%, hero XP 100%.
"Hardcore! Play at your own risk!" Enemy speed 100%, hero XP 100%.
"Only the strongest have a chance!" Enemy speed 110%, hero XP 150%.
Enemy health by difficulty (examples)
| Enemy | Casual | Normal | Veteran | Impossible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandit | 40 | 40 | 50 | 100 |
| Troll Warrior | 90 | 100 | 120 | 180 |
| Dark Knight | 700 | 860 | 960 | 1,200 |
| Gor'Thok | 5,600 | 7,200 | 8,000 | 13,000 |
| Vez'nan | 5,666 | 6,666 | 7,666 | 8,666 |
Most enemies have their own four health values, one per difficulty, and their pages list them. An enemy with a single health value has it scaled instead: 70% on Casual, 80% on Normal, 100% on Veteran and 110% on Impossible, rounded up to the next 10. The Death Rider's 800 becomes 560, 640, 800 and 890: 800 x 110% comes out a fraction above 880 in the game's arithmetic, so it rounds up to 890.