I think one shouldn't declare something too east too fast, every game seems to fall victim to this in forums. We all learn as we play and we become better. So if it is balanced more towards easy to begin with, as you get better then it becomes silly easy. Hard to me feels like what normal should be, it's a small bump up, it plays nicely, but when you become a vet, you'll want more then that.
There was a post where someone suggested a lot of people don't play easy because it is insulting to them, just the word. So they then expect Normal to be easy. Normal is the new easy. I'm fine with all of that, just give me two or more settings above the new normal then.
I would agree with this.
Easy, should be for people that want a casual experience where battle is an afterthought and the RP'ing is the focus.
Normal, should be 'possible to die' but unlikely.
Hard, should be resource use in ~33% of battles for non min-max parties.
Very-hard(+), varying degrees of relative impossibility.
I am also a fan of Hard Core modes where rewards are multiplied but death is permanent.
As for the relative challenge that currently exists, I'd say that as long as you focus your skill/stats in the early 5 or so levels, Normal is true to its monicker. Just resign yourself to being forced into certain skill selections or you face significant difficulty even in Normal mode.
