Hard mode

Hard Mode is a game mode that presents each mission and explorable area on a harder difficulty. A player must complete a campaign on normal mode before they can play it on hard mode. Hard mode exists for all PvE game content except for pre-Searing Ascalon, Monastery Overlook and Island of Shehkah.

While in hard mode, players earn 50% more experience points.

On entering a zone in Hard Mode, all Henchmen will become level 20 with appropriate weapons, armor, and attributes. Prophecies henchmen will gain an Elite Skill if they do not have one in Normal Mode, while Factions and Nightfall henchmen, as well as Prophecies henchmen who already have Elite Skills, will use the same skill set.

Completing missions (with all bonus objectives) contributes to the Guardian title track. A player who completes all the missions of a campaign on hard mode is awarded the "Guardian of " title, where is one of Tyria, Cantha, or Elona, depending upon the campaign.

Completely clearing explorable areas of all hostile creatures contributes to the Vanquisher title track. If all members of a party are at 60% death penalty and the party is wiped, it is returned to the last visited outpost instead of being resurrected at the nearest activated shrine.

Accessibility
To access hard mode, a player must first complete the final mission of a campaign normally. As long as one character on an account has completed a campaign, all ascended level 20 characters on that account will gain access to hard mode for that campaign. Hard mode is toggled by two buttons above the party display in an outpost; the Normal Mode button is standard mission emblem, and the Hard Mode button is a stylized red helm.

In order to unlock hard mode for a given campaign, a player must log in at least once with a character who has completed that campaign in normal mode.

When joining a party, only the party leader (first player listed in the Party Formation box) can choose between Hard Mode and Normal Mode. Hard Mode is disabled whenever a player in the party does not meet the above qualification.

There is a known bug that occurs while doing missions in Hard Mode. If you disconnect WHILE doing the mission, then reconnect to the same map/party then anything you complete after being disconnected (being the mission or the bonus) does not get logged as being completed in Hard Mode. Also, to know if this will happen to you, when you reconnect your map will not have the Hard Mode markings on it.

Monsters
All hostile monsters in missions and explorable areas are significantly harder in hard mode.
 * Level and attribute rank: Their levels are all increased to be appropriately challenging for a group of level 20 players, usually between 22 and 30 depending on their original level and the size of the group allowed in the area, although certain unique foes have been observed with levels as high as 33, and there are some level 21 foes. Monster attributes appear to be at least 20 in some cases, though hard ranges and caps have not been fully researched yet.
 * Speed: Monsters' attack speed, movement speed, skill casting speed, and skill recharge rate are all increased to be 33-50% faster than normal.
 * Skill bar: Most normal enemies that did not have an elite skill in normal mode have one in hard mode, and even sometimes two Elites! However, bosses that did not have an elite originally still do not have one, so no skills can be captured early in hard mode. Also, many monsters have been given extra skills such as an extra healing skill.
 * AI: Monsters flee from repeated AOE damage earlier than in normal mode.

The Vanquisher page has number of foes per zone.

Quests
Quests can be completed in Hard Mode, however any creatures or bosses spawned by the quest will be of a level appropriate to Hard Mode, and not their normal (lower) level.

Items
Drops from all areas correspond to a level 20 party, including max damage weapons and high quality upgrades (except from bosses). Both rare and uncommon items drop more often in hard mode. However, area- or monster-specific loot, like Globs of Ectoplasm, still only drop where they do in normal mode.

There are certain items which only drop in hard mode:


 * Lockpicks are similar to keys. A lockpick is required to open a Locked Chest in hard mode, but can be used on any chest in normal mode too. They have a small chance of not being consumed on use -- this chance is modified by your character's level and progress on the Lucky and Treasure Hunter title tracks. These items can also be purchased from merchants for 1 500, even if your character cannot access hard mode.  If a lockpick is not consumed upon use, you gain 250 points towards the Lucky title track. If it is consumed, you gain 25 points towards the Unlucky title track.
 * Skill Tomes allow your character to learn skills that have been already unlocked on your account. The Elite Tome allows a character to learn elite skills and the Non-Elite Tome allows a character to learn non-elite skills. Skill tomes are profession-specific and are not available from merchants. Note that using a skill tome does not consume a skill point, making them an attractive option for lower level or new characters who may not have accumulated many skill points yet.
 * Passage Scrolls can be used to enter the Underworld or the Fissure of Woe without paying the entry fee. They must be used in the typical entry points for these locations. These scrolls can be used even if the character's region does not have the Favor of the Gods. Note that only the Underworld and Fissure of Woe scrolls are dropped in Hard Mode – the Factions Elite Mission scrolls are unrelated and obtained through NPCs.

Henchmen
Henchmen in hard mode are level 20 and have maximum base stats on their equipment. Prophecies henchmen will gain an Elite Skill if they do not have one in Normal Mode, while Factions and Nightfall henchmen, as well as Prophecies henchmen who already have Elite Skills, will use the same skill set.

Bounties
All bounties are available in hard mode, even if the "cut-off" point is already reached in normal mode. This allows players to reach the maximum tier for the Lightbringer and Sunspear rank title. The bounty mechanics are somewhat different in hard mode, with an additional bonus for killing bosses, but no double XP. For further details see: Bounty.

Trivia

 * Pinging the Hard Mode icon will output the text "This is Hard Mode!", likely a reference to the line "This is Sparta!" from the movie 300.