It's About Pirates Easy Difficulty: What the Steam Page Confirms and How to Soften Runs
Yes, It's About Pirates has an Easy difficulty, added in Update #1 for every adventure. Here is what changes on Easy, plus ways to soften your first runs.
If you searched for It's About Pirates easy difficulty, you probably want one thing: a first run that does not end in a wall of cannonballs. It's About Pirates is a top-down survivors-like where relentless waves, storms of shot, and mythical sea monsters punish sloppy builds, so asking for a gentler starting point is fair. The answer is documented: Update #1, posted on November 7, 2026, added Easy, Normal, and Hard choices for every adventure.
This guide separates what the Easy setting actually changes from the in-run systems you can still use to soften a voyage.
The It's About Pirates Easy Difficulty Question, Answered Directly
Here is the documented version: Update #1 adds a difficulty selector with Easy, Normal, and Hard options for each adventure. The same changelog states that Easy gives you more gold, reduces the damage you take, and lets you defeat enemies faster, while a lower leaderboard multiplier keeps the boards fair. The store page's gameplay copy still promises that "increasingly challenging enemies will stand in your way," and Endless mode remains the place to "test your skill."
The store feature bullets still do not list a difficulty tier, which is why searching the store page alone can miss it. Treat the announcement changelog as the authoritative source for this setting: it explicitly names Easy, Normal, and Hard and describes the Easy modifiers.
What the Listing Actually Confirms About Challenge
Difficulty is now both selected at the adventure level and shaped by in-run escalation. The store page still describes three additional pressure points.
- Escalation: enemies grow "increasingly challenging" as you push forward.
- Skill testing: Endless mode is explicitly positioned as a skill check with leaderboard stakes.
- Build pressure: you are told to combine weapons and items into "powerful builds" to survive.
That is a roguelike structure, and the popular tags back it up — Action Roguelike, Roguelite, Bullet Heaven, Bullet Hell, and Score Attack all appear on the page. In practice, a better build and cleaner positioning still matter on every tier; Easy changes the numbers in your favor but does not remove the need to play well.
Difficulty Levers the Store Page Does Confirm
The Easy difficulty is the direct toggle, and the feature list also contains several real options that change how much the game asks of you.
| Lever | What Steam lists (observed 2026-11-09) | Why it matters for an easier run |
|---|---|---|
| Aiming mode | "Automatic or manual aiming" | Auto-aim removes a whole input burden while you learn enemy patterns |
| Captains | "10 distinct captains" | Ten starting configurations give you room to find a forgiving fit |
| Factions | "6 factions with unique abilities" | A fixed ability set is easier to build around than a scattered one |
| Items | "Over 140 items to shape your build" | More options means more chances to find a defensive or ranged setup |
| Ship parts | "Over 150 unique parts" discovered via quests | Collection progress carries across adventures |
| Adventures | "Sail through 30 adventures" | Structured content to learn in before Endless mode |
| Controller | Developers recommend a controller | Listed as the intended input method |
Aiming is a separate lever from the difficulty tier. If you are struggling early, choose Easy and switch to automatic aiming while you learn the flow, then move to manual once you want the precision.
Practical Ways to Soften Your First Runs
Because the Easy preset is confirmed but its exact numbers are unpublished, early-game comfort also comes from setup choices. These steps follow directly from the listed features.
- Start on automatic aiming. The page lists it as a first-class option, not a downgrade. Use it to learn enemy timing before adding manual aim.
- Play with a controller. The developers explicitly recommend one, and both Xbox and PlayStation controllers are supported.
- Rotate captains early. With 10 captains listed, spend your first sessions testing rather than committing. You are looking for a starting loadout that matches how you naturally move.
- Pick one faction and build into it. Six factions with unique abilities means synergy matters more than raw item count.
- Clear adventures before chasing Endless. The 30 adventures are the structured path; Endless mode is framed as the skill test, so treat it as the exam, not the tutorial.
- Chase quests for ship parts. With 150+ parts tied to quests across different pirate realms, steady collection expands your customization collection. Any combat-power increase from those collectible parts is for reference only until verified.
Notice what these tips are not: they are not hidden multipliers or undocumented settings. They are the options the store page names plus the documented Easy preset, used deliberately.
Where the Real Difficulty Spikes Live
If you are hunting for relief, it helps to know what the page says will push back hardest.
Endless mode is the obvious one. The listing describes it as the place to "test your skill," and Steam leaderboards are an enabled feature, so it is designed to end runs rather than accommodate them. Bullet-hell and bullet-heaven tags describe a genre where damage avoidance is the core skill, and the store copy leans into that with "storms of cannonballs" and mythical sea monsters.
The reception picture is worth knowing too, because it tells you the difficulty conversation is live. As of 2026-11-09, Steam showed an all-time summary of Mixed, with 67% of 34 user reviews positive. A small, split review pool this soon after launch means you should read individual reviews for difficulty complaints rather than trusting the aggregate.
Release, Price, and Reception: A Dated Snapshot
Every figure below was observed on the Steam store page on 2026-11-09. They are frozen snapshots, not live values — check the store page for anything current.
| Item | Value observed 2026-11-09 |
|---|---|
| Release date | Nov 6, 2026 |
| Developer / publisher | Elderwoof Games |
| All-time reviews | Mixed — 67% of 34 reviews positive |
| Price shown | $11.75, discounted 15% to $9.98 as an introductory offer marked "Offer ends November 16" |
| DLC on listing | 1 content item, listed at $3.99 |
| Steam Deck compatibility | Listed as Unknown |
| Languages | English plus 12 more (interface) |
| Minimum OS | Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit |
Two practical notes. First, the discount and its November 16 expiry were accurate only at the moment of capture; do not assume that price holds when you read this. Second, the game ships with Steam Achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Leaderboards, and Family Sharing, all of which appear in the feature strip.
Bottom Line for Players Chasing an Easier Ride
The It's About Pirates easy difficulty search is answered directly: Update #1 added an Easy option for every adventure, with more gold, less damage taken, faster kills, and a reduced leaderboard multiplier. Automatic aiming, a controller, ten captains, six factions, and 30 adventures to learn in remain documented levers on top of that preset. The store page's feature bullets do not repeat the difficulty menu, so read the announcement as well as the store copy.
If you want the definitive, always-up-to-date answer on modes and settings, check the official It's About Pirates Steam page before you buy.
FAQ
Does It's About Pirates have an easy difficulty mode? Yes. Update #1, posted November 7, 2026, added Easy, Normal, and Hard choices for every adventure. On Easy you receive more gold, take less damage, and defeat enemies faster, with a lower leaderboard multiplier to keep scoring fair.
What is the fastest way to make early runs gentler in It's About Pirates? Switch to automatic aiming, which the page lists alongside manual aiming, and play with a controller as the developers recommend. Then rotate through captains and settle on a faction whose ability set you can build around.
Is Endless mode the hardest content in It's About Pirates? Steam's copy frames Endless mode as the place to "test your skill" and compete on leaderboards, and the game carries Bullet Hell and Score Attack tags. That points to Endless as a separate endurance test; Hard is the selectable tier above Normal.
Does It's About Pirates run on Steam Deck? As of 2026-11-09, the store page listed Steam Deck compatibility as "Unknown," even though a September 4, 2026 news post was titled "It's About Pirates on the Deck!" Treat verified status as unconfirmed until Valve updates the badge.
Related Guides
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