Difficulty curve
How difficulty grows with the 3 phases, minutes, and overtime, with the live values from v0.9.16.
The formula
What speeds up, and by how much
| What | How much |
|---|---|
| Advancing a phase | +100% per phase: base 1 · 2 · 3 in phases 1–3 (the Dwarven Dungeon climbs more slowly: 1 · 1.5 · 2 · 2.5 in its phases 1–4) |
| Each normal minute (until the phase ends: 10:00 for phase 1, 8:30 for phase 2, 6:00 for phase 3 — less on maps with a shorter clock; in dungeons, uncapped until the exit opens) | +3% |
| Overtime before killing the boss | +60% per minute |
| Overtime after killing the boss | +150% per minute |
| Spawn rate in overtime | +50% per minute before the boss, +90% after (cap ×6) |
| Enemy speed in overtime | +7% per minute before, +18% after (cap ×1.9) |
| Finisher waves (after the boss) | every 60s: 4 + 1 per minute, up to 12, at ×1.8 speed |
| In dungeons | no phase clock: overtime starts when the objectives (or the boss's death) open the exit, and it starts straight at the after-boss pace (+150% per minute) with finisher waves |
| Co-op | +60% per extra living player (×2.8 with 4 players) |
| Enemy shield (from ×30) | 1 charge at ×30 and one more per ×10 (×43 = 2): each charge absorbs one whole direct hit and never regenerates; periodic damage ignores them |
| Mini-boss armor (from ×30) | 25 at ×30 and +2.5 per point: at ×43 only 30% of each hit gets through, at ×60 20% |
| Horde composition | difficulty skews the spawn weights: each tier step (phase 2 and 3 enemies) multiplies its weight ×0.5 at difficulty 1 and up to ×1.25 at difficulty 4 or higher — the tough ones start out timid and end up dominating |
Boss health
Bosses freeze difficulty the instant they appear: the mini-boss has 300 × D × 5, 15 or 30 health depending on the phase (1, 2 or 3), and the phase boss 6,000 × D × 20, 50 or 100; neither has a cap. The later you arrive, the fatter they come — but once on screen they no longer grow. Dungeon bosses use the same math with the phase of the run they appear in: ×20 the Ghost of the Dwarf King, ×50 the Dwarf King (phase 2 of the Dwarven Dungeon) and ×100 Azhakar (phase 4, which counts as phase 3). Since v0.9.13 the Dwarven Dungeon raises its base difficulty more slowly (1 · 1.5 · 2 · 2.5), so its bosses and minibosses arrive with less health.
- The floor is kept: when you advance a phase, the difficulty reached is kept as a minimum — but the overtime ramp is discounted. In Expedition that floor travels with you from map to map, and in the Dwarven Dungeon from phase to phase, along with the clock.
- In Survival and Expedition, there's no phase 4 after phase 3: the game announces that you've completed the 3 phases and the run enters an endless overtime, where difficulty only stops rising once you die or abandon. (The Dwarven Dungeon does have four phases, and its fourth starts at base 2.5.)
Shield and armor by difficulty
From difficulty ×30 the escalation stops being just health and damage. Every enemy spawns with shield charges: 1 at ×30 and one more per ×10 (2 at ×43, 4 at ×60). Each charge absorbs one whole direct hit, whatever it’s worth, and never regenerates: at ×43 the third hit is the first one that deals damage. The game flags it with a “Blocked!” over the enemy and a “Shield ×N” next to the HUD difficulty. Periodic damage ignores the charges — but the hit that applies the status has to land first, so a shielded enemy has to be “opened” before you can burn it.
The mini-bosses also gain armor: 25 at ×30 and 2.5 more per difficulty point, with the same diminishing-returns formula as the damage pipeline. At ×43 only 30% of each hit gets through, at ×60 20% and at ×100 11% — it never reaches 100%, and periodic damage skips it, so against them statuses are worth gold.
Verified against game v0.9.16.