What's the best difficulty and gameplay style to select in MLB The Show 23? Difficulty is an incredibly subjective subject, as it really depends what you're aiming to get out of the game. In the case of MLB The Show 23, the release is highly flexible, meaning you're free to enjoy either a casual, laidback arcade-style experience — or a highly competitive one. While it very much depends on personal preferences, as part of our MLB The Show 23 guide, we're going to make some suggestions on the best difficulty and gameplay style to select.

MLB The Show 23: Best Difficulty and Gameplay Style to Select

MLB The Show 23: Best Difficulty and Gameplay Style to Select 1
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In MLB The Show 23, you'll be introduced to three gameplay styles when you first load up the game, and you can toggle between these from the Settings menu at any time you choose. They are as follows:

  • Casual: Provides an easier, fun, pick-up and play experience with an emphasis on learning the game.
  • Simulation: Provides an authentic MLB experience that plays true to player and team settings.
  • Competitive: Provides a challenging but rewarding experience. Precise controller inputs matter the most here.

Depending upon which gameplay style you select, the game will be tuned accordingly. It's important to note that gameplay style is independent to difficulty, and therefore we'd recommend you select Competitive as this is the standard automatically adopted in Diamond Dynasty, including in single player modes like Conquest and Mini Seasons. Unless you're planning to spend the entirety of your time offline, in Road to the Show and Franchise, it's best to acclimatise yourself to the Competitive settings across all tiers of play.

Meanwhile, you can independently choose your Hitting Difficulty and Pitching Difficulty, so you can make one aspect of the game harder than the other in offline modes. The following difficulties are available:

Difficulty Hitting Difficulty Pitching Difficulty
Dynamic Starts at beginner difficulty and progresses based on success. Starts at beginner difficulty and progresses based on success.
Beginner Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
Amateur Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
Minors Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
Rookie Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
Veteran Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
All-Star Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
Hall of Fame Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
Legend Influences CPU pitch strategy and increases complexity of hitting. Influences pitch accuracy, difficulty of mechanics, and CPU hitting strategy.
MLB The Show 23: Best Difficulty and Gameplay Style to Select 2
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If you're completely new to the game, then we'd recommend you start out with Dynamic, as this will default to the Beginner option and increase depending on your performance. While the game may start out quite easy, you'll quickly advance to the higher difficulties which will allow you to better appreciate your baseline.

If you're looking for more of a challenge off the bat, then the vast majority of the game's Moments default to Veteran, and thus this feels like the game's closest analogue to Normal. Of course, if you're eager to become a competitive player online, we'd recommend at least All-Star or Hall of Fame, as you're going to be spending most of your multiplayer matches on these settings.

Of course, it is ultimately up to you. If you just want to hit dingers, then you could consider Minors or Rookie, although we'd lean towards the latter as this is the lowest setting used by default in Diamond Dynasty. Taking advantage of the Dynamic difficulty is perhaps the best way to find out what works for you, and you can always settle upon a more defined setting once you're comfortable with the game.

Did this page help you to determine the best difficulty and gameplay style to select in MLB The Show 23? Be sure to refer to our MLB The Show 23 guide, and let us know in the comments section below.