// HOW HARD YOU WANT IT
Difficulty
Difficulty is more than a label. It sets how long the market runs, how much stress it throws, how much liquidity you can commit, and how many controls you can reach. Pick the mode that matches the controller you can actually steer, not the one with the biggest numbers.
Longer markets, longer runs
Higher modes run longer and cover a longer market horizon. That extra room lets feedback loops play out, so a correction you make has time to settle or to overshoot before the run ends. You watch the market advance day by day on the live timeline and react in real time as the battle unfolds.
Stress scales with the mode
Higher difficulty brings more events, stronger shocks, more overlapping pressure, and longer recovery windows. The exact magnitudes and event counts are intentionally not published, so speak in relative terms. Reading the live timeline matters more than memorizing numbers, because the same shock lands differently depending on where your controller already sits.
| Mode | Relative stress |
|---|---|
| Easy | Lighter. Fewer disturbances, room to recover |
| Medium | Moderate. Disturbances overlap, recovery takes longer |
| Hard | Heaviest. Frequent, stronger, stacked pressure |
Liquidity ranges widen
Each mode has its own allowed liquidity budget and an efficient target band, both shown when you create the run. Harder runs can justify deeper commitments because the market has more room and more stress to absorb. But overspending is not automatically good. If your controller is unstable, more liquidity just feeds a bigger swing.
Up to about 100k Gold
The tightest budget. Lean commitments are usually enough for the lighter stress.
Up to about 250k Gold
More headroom for a longer horizon and overlapping pressure.
Up to about 500k Gold
The deepest budget. Worth it only if your controller holds steady under load.
Controls unlock progressively
Difficulty also decides how many levers you can reach. Easy keeps it simple so you learn the core feel. Medium and Hard expose more controls for players who can put them to work. Choose a mode you can actually use the extra controls on, not one that hands you dials you will leave untouched.
- Easy exposes core Kp and Ki plus bounds.
- Medium adds the noise filter, policy memory, and rate smoothness.
- Hard adds oracle smoothing, controller cadence, anti-windup mode selection, and the optional derivative.
Every advanced lever is explained in Advanced Controls. Read it before you reach for Hard, so the extra dials are an advantage and not a distraction.
Next: See the deeper settings in Advanced Controls, or how conditions vary in Market Environments.