So I’ve mostly been playing on Haz 3, I could swing Haz 4 and even did the EDDs with a friend but Haz 3 was my comfort zone. Then I got around to doing the haz 5 unlock assignment, I wanted to do it solo because it felt right and my initation was graced with swarmageddon and duck and cover hazards, plus a surprise bulk in the kill 3 dreadnoughts mission.
Afterwards I did a few missions on Haz 4 and it just feels… cozy. is this how it happens? Am I inevitably going to become one of those crazy dwarves who plays on Haz 5+ and still considers the game too relaxed? In Karls name is this my fate!?
I’m late to the party but I’ll still share. To answer your first question, yes this is how it happens.
My experience was similar, I think it also has to do with you unlocking upgrades for the guns along with the OCs, I’ve read someone’s suggestion for grey beards to try a Haz 4 or 5 without all of the upgrades and OCs to try and remember what it was like starting out. I need to try that at some point.
The other thing I’ll add is that I was just in that same comfort level and recently jumped to pretty much all Haz 5 unless I’m trying a new OC. Still dying a little more than I’d like so I wouldn’t say it’s cozy yet but Haz 4 started feeling too easy and I’m going for the challenge right now.
The jump did happen right as I got blistering necrosis which is something I’ve been hunting to get single target damage to status immune/resistant targets as a cryo driller so your probably spot on there, that and just getting better at the game.