Quote Originally Posted by Ryuko View Post
I'm going to relate this fight with the Ark Angels.

Want to proceed in the storyline? Complete the easy version. You will still move forward, but you will get no reward.

Want to proceed in the storyline AND be rewarded? Complete the hard version. You will move forward and get an awesome reward.
I'm guessing hardmode reward will be the earring. If I'm understanding its stats right, it gives a small auto-refresh/regen, which is pretty cool.