So Hardcore Mode (ASEM Exclusive) is basically 2x xp and Resource harvesting rates and it may not sound good but the xp is awesome paired with Medium compared to just Easy Casual mode which does give 100% refund for demolition but it's hard to get 20+ levels for creatures and plus, medium supports 150+ creature levels so it's very much a good trade off for just 100% refunds

So TL:DR:

Don't be a wuss that keeps playing Casual/Easy, Try Hardcore/Medium Mode, it's absolutely Great!

Buffs and Debuffs of settings talked about

--------------------------------Difficulty---------------------------------

Easy: Pros: 100% xp gain. Cons: >30 Dino's only spawn

Medium: Pros: 150+ Dino's appear. Cons: 80% xp gain

—–——–------------------Game mode-----------------------------

Casual: 100% demo refund, Keep Weapons, Tools, and ammo when you die.

Hardcore: 0% demo refund, get mindwipe+nirvana tonic'd plus some starting experience every time you die, 2x XP and Harvest Rates