Game Modes

In White Noise 2, there are four game modes that are available when creating an online lobby. Two of the modes disable the ability for players to be The Creature, while two of them are reminiscent of the gameplay from White Noise Online. Gamemodes are also compatible with four difficulty settings, being Easy, Normal, Hard, and Nightmare. The difficulties increase or decrease the Creature's stats along with the amount of Investigators that started the match if they are controlled by an A.I.

When a lobby is made, the gamemode cannot be changed.

* Standard
* Classic
* Competitive

Standard is the default game mode. It uses all in-game mechanics.

In Standard, up to four Investigators have to find eight Clues, with a minimum of six being tapes and two of which taking the form of special, more complex clues, such as Light Prisms. The Investigators will need to find and pick up many Batteries throughout the map to keep their Flashlights bright and to prevent the range from going too low. Items, also found around the map, also help the Investigators in their search.

The Creature, on the other hand, needs to locate and devour all of the Investigators in its territory. The Creature is weak to light, especially from Flashlights, and can be stunned by Investigators to force it to flee, teleporting it to another area on the map. It will also be slowed down by Glow Sticks, Spirit Flames, and other lights not produced by Investigators, such as the lights in Spreepark. However, the Creature's Light Resistance will gradually increase the more it's in light, causing it to gain great amounts of power in the late game. The Creature is also to summon Sanity-draining Idols that detect Investigators.

Investigators will need to run away from the Creature as soon as it is stunned, as light will only slow it down after being stunned. However, Investigators will also need to turn back occasionally and walk backwards to keep the Creature in check and see if they have been banished.

If The Creature successfully catches an Investigator, they can be saved by their teammates by shining their flashlights on them or by using a Flashbang. The caught Investigator is able to keep the Creature in place as they're being devoured until the progress bar fills completely, after which they will be fully devoured and die. If an Investigator is saved, they will have their vision change and lose some Speed, in accordance with their Vitality. If an Investigator is caught a second time, the amount of time to save them is decreased, and in the case of Vincent or if Morgul is the Creature, they are instantly devoured. When caught for a third time, the Investigator will be quickly devoured and cannot be saved by any means. Phileas is able to resist a third grab, however. Additionally, if an Investigator uses one of the two Medkits found on the map, they will be able to resist another grab and recover from the negative effects.

If there was only one Investigator at the start of the match, they will have to be grabbed three times, as if they were saved by another Investigator. However, if multiple Investigators were in the match at the start and there is only one of them remaining, they will instantly be devoured and the Creature will win. This is taken into effect even if the Investigators left the round as they were living.

When all eight clues have been obtained, The Artifact and its Sigils will spawn. The Artifact tethers the Creature to the plane of existence and is protected by the Sigils. To completely banish The Creature and keep mankind safe, they will need to break the Sigils. The amount of sigils that need to be broken is always two times the amount of Investigators, and two more Sigils than the amount that needs to be broken will spawn. Ghosts are able to break one Sigil as long as they did not break one when they were alive.

When The Artifact spawns, every living Investigator will be highlighted to The Creature. This puts Investigators who have split from the group in more danger than they were in before. Additionally, Transmitters are more or less useless due to The Artifact also being highlighted to Investigators.

If enough Sigils are broken, The Artifact stops glowing, takes in some energy, and breaks. The Creature slowly fades away after this happens, with the Investigators being victorious.

### Co-op

Co-Op is nearly identical to Standard, with the main difference being that there is a limit of four players in each lobby instead of five and nobody is able to play as The Creature, with it being replaced by an A.I. Due to this, the Creature is always affected by the chosen difficulty.

Classic Mode is a game mode that makes many changes to the game to be more like the first and second games, White Noise and White Noise Online. In Classic Mode, all Items and Batteries are removed, forcing Investigators to be more cautious about their choice of Flashlight and battery life. However, the battery life of every Flashlight is increased to compensate. Investigators and Ghosts are also stripped of their ability to use glow sticks and spirit flames to slow down The Creature or use their Compass to find Clues quicker, no matter what their Exploration is. Like White Noise Online, the only clues that will spawn in Classic Mode are tapes, albeit with the area that Investigators can hear the tapes increased.

The biggest drawbacks Investigators face in Classic Mode compared to Standard or Co-Op is how most Investigators don't have one of their traits and that caught Investigators are instantly devoured. For example, this significantly hurts Vincent, as he is already an easy target due to low Endurance, Vitality, and ELDER in Standard modes. Due to these reasons, Investigators in Classic Modes should be experienced players and work together far more than they do in Standard modes.

The Creature, on the other hand, loses access to every skill besides TELEPORT. They also need to be quicker than usual due to The Artifact and Sigils not spawning in Classic Mode, with the game ending after the eighth tape is collected. However, their Skill Usage stat influences Speed, Perception, and Idol Influence and Strength affects Light Resistance and Horror. Similarly to Investigators, most Creature traits are disabled. However, Idol traits are not disabled unlike Investigator traits, allowing some Creatures like Venous Rusalka to be far more powerful than in Standard modes. For these reasons, along with Investigators instantly being devoured when caught, the Creature has a more notable advantage in Classic Mode.

### Classic Co-op

Similarly to Standard Co-Op, Classic Co-Op removes the ability to play as The Creature and an A.I. takes its place.

Competitive was a point-based ranked gamemode that was added in Update #42: A Fine Day to Die. Competitive worked differently than Standard and Classic modes. Competitive lobbies were joined through a separate button, not through the regular lobby list. The host has less power over the lobby, as they cannot kick or ban players who join or select the map, while every player is locked to the side they picked when they joined and the game wouldn't start until five players joined. After the game ended, all players were sent back to the main menu. A penalty of two losses was applied before the round started, which would be recovered after the match ended. Players were not matched depending on their rank.

Competitive was removed in Update #49, as less than 1% of the total games played were using the game mode. The game mode was only updated twice, once in Update #43 and once in Update #44: Beyond the Veil. The first update gave Investigators a win if the Creature disconnected when the Investigators were close to victory and vice versa, along with having Competitive lobbies show up in the "Find Lobbies" menu, although they would remain unavailable through that menu. The second update added a Competitive-specific leaderboard, visible through the Extras menu.
## Difficulties

Difficulties are a setting in most video games that allow players to make the game easier or harder. In White Noise 2, there are four difficulties. The first three are the standard Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulties shared with nearly every video game that has difficulty settings. Nightmare is the hardest mode in the game.

Depending on the difficulty, the Creature will be more or less aggressive and their stats will either increase or decrease. However, difficulty only has an effect on A.I. Creatures. Player Creatures will always have the same stats that an A.I. Creature would have in Hard mode.

On Easy Mode, the Creature's stats are reduced by 10%, which is decreased to 5% on Normal. The Creature's stats stay the same as they would if a player was The Creature on Hard Mode. On Nightmare, stats are increased by 10%.

Difficulty settings cannot be picked in Solo Play, even if the player is using an Investigator. The game will always use Hard Mode in Solo Play.

## Trivia

* The four difficulty settings are the same ones from the second game, White Noise Online.