Difficulty Settings & Accessibility

Adjust your Rustler experience with difficulty settings and accessibility options. Tailor the challenge for optimal criminal escapades.

Rustler offers a range of difficulty and accessibility options to ensure every aspiring medieval thug can enjoy their criminal escapades. Whether you're a seasoned brigand or a fresh-faced ruffian, tailoring your experience is key to maximizing your fun (and your ill-gotten gains).

Adjusting Difficulty

The game's difficulty can be changed at any point from the pause menu, accessible by pressing the 'Escape' key on PC or 'Start/Options' button on console controllers. Navigate to the 'Settings' tab, then select 'Gameplay'.

• Easy Mode: For those who prefer a more relaxed experience, Easy Mode significantly reduces the damage taken from guards and rival thugs, and increases the effectiveness of healing items like the 'Healing Potion' (found at the Apothecary in the main town or dropped by defeated enemies). Horse stamina drains slower, and the 'Wanted' meter fills at a reduced rate, giving you more leeway during your mischievous acts. This is ideal for players primarily interested in the story and exploration.
• Normal Mode: The default Rustler experience. This mode offers a balanced challenge, where combat requires some tactical thinking and evading the law is a genuine concern. Healing items are important, and managing your horse's stamina is crucial for quick getaways. Most players will find this a satisfying challenge.
• Hard Mode: For the true medieval outlaw. In Hard Mode, enemies deal substantially more damage, and your health regenerates much slower. The 'Wanted' meter fills rapidly, and guards are more aggressive and persistent in their pursuit. Horse stamina depletes faster, making long-distance escapes more challenging. You'll need to master combat mechanics, utilize environmental advantages, and plan your crimes carefully. Consider stocking up on 'Superior Healing Potions' (crafted at the Alchemist's Hut near the forest or purchased from select merchants) and investing in armor upgrades from the Blacksmith before tackling this difficulty.

Accessibility Options

Rustler includes several accessibility features to enhance playability for a wider audience. These can be found under the 'Settings' tab in the pause menu, then selecting 'Accessibility'.

Visual Accessibility

• Colorblind Mode: Toggle various colorblind filters (Deuteranomaly, Protanomaly, Tritanomaly) to adjust the game's color palette, making important UI elements and in-game indicators more distinguishable. This is particularly useful for identifying quest markers, enemy health bars, and lootable items.
• UI Scaling: Adjust the size of the User Interface elements, including the mini-map, health bar, and objective text. This can be beneficial for players with visual impairments or those playing on larger displays from a distance. Options range from 75% to 150% of the default size.
• Subtitle Options:
  • Enable Subtitles: Turn on subtitles for all spoken dialogue in the game.
  • Subtitle Size: Choose between Small, Medium, and Large subtitle text sizes.
  • Subtitle Background Opacity: Adjust the transparency of the subtitle background to improve readability against busy in-game scenes. Options range from 0% (fully transparent) to 100% (fully opaque).

Audio Accessibility

• Volume Controls: Individual sliders for Master Volume, Music Volume, Sound Effect Volume, and Dialogue Volume. Tailor your audio experience to your preferences, ensuring important sounds are not drowned out.
• Mono Audio: Convert stereo audio output to mono, directing all sound to both left and right channels. This can be helpful for players with hearing impairments in one ear.

Control Accessibility

• Controller Remapping: Fully customize your controller button assignments. This allows you to rebind any action to any available button, providing flexibility for different playstyles or physical needs. Navigate to 'Settings' > 'Controls' > 'Controller Layout' to access this feature.
• Keyboard Remapping: Similar to controller remapping, customize your keyboard key bindings for all in-game actions. Found under 'Settings' > 'Controls' > 'Keyboard Layout'.
• Aim Assist: Toggle on or off for ranged weapons (like the 'Bow' or 'Crossbow'). When enabled, your aim will subtly snap to nearby enemies, making ranged combat more forgiving. This is particularly useful for players who struggle with precise aiming.
• Toggle Sprint: Instead of holding down the sprint button, you can toggle sprint on or off with a single press. This reduces strain during extended periods of movement.