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It's about 2-3K difference from normal. Doesn't seem like a lot to most players plus it has the ripper saws. So most people give up and do normal instead since they tend to die fast with hard. I did it once the day update came out with [ JK ] and all buffs including sweetheart. He even had doubts whether people could play it on hard. You kind of need to have more than 5 buffs and not have leechers for it to work out. People can't usually heal, buff, or not leech in papa saw, so usually not worth it. I usually bring 3 passives, fire rain, slash, and diagnose there to do normal. Sugar rush I have found works really good in there. Usually 2-3 people either leech or disconnect from crew, so of course when people skip from papa saw to shallow seas or dms, they don't know how to heal or buff. I wish otami quests were almost a requirement to get into ss and dms. The storyline isn't worth skipping. In two months I was able to clear two accounts with all quests not counting dms ones since done in 2010. It's a freaking easy game to level to 10cl with as it is without grinding. Even leveling to 12cl is easier than most other MMO games.