How a run works
You move, the game shoots. Your weapon fires at the nearest enemy on its own, so everything comes down to where you stand. You have five health points, and enemies only hurt you by touching you: none of them shoot. After a hit, you get about a second and a half before the next one can land.
A new wave starts every 30 seconds. Each wave gives enemies 30 percent more health than the last and a little more speed, and they spawn more often. Demons and ghosts are there from the start, aliens join from wave 3, and all of them come in from right outside the four edges of the arena. A boss arrives every 60 seconds.
Weapons
You level up with experience from kills, gold and chests, and the weapon changes on its own at certain levels:
- Pistol (start): one damage per shot, about five shots a second.
- Shotgun (level 3): five pellets per blast, half as often, with a short reach. Strong when enemies are close.
- Laser (level 6): half damage per shot but very fast, with the longest reach, and it passes through every enemy in a line.
- Rocket launcher (level 10): four damage per hit and a slow projectile, which is what you want against bosses.
Two things to know. A weapon pickup always replaces what you are holding, even when it is worse, so walk around a shotgun pickup if you already have the laser. And the automatic switch at level 6 hands you the laser even if you were carrying a rocket launcher from a pickup.
Bosses
A boss has 30 health at wave 1 and gains 30 percent per wave like everything else. It is slower than other enemies, worth 500 points, and drops a random weapon (shotgun, laser or rocket launcher) plus eight gold coins. The boss timer does not wait for you: if the previous boss is still alive after 60 seconds, a second one joins it.
Pickups
- Gold: 50 points and a little experience. About 40 percent of kills drop some.
- Health: restores 2 points, up to your maximum of 5. Each level up also restores 1.
- Treasure chests: appear on their own every 15 to 20 seconds, for 200 points and a good chunk of experience.
- Speed and Shield: last about 10 seconds. The shield blocks one hit and deals 2 damage to whatever touched you.
- Nuke: rare, and it wipes every enemy on screen, bosses included.
Pickups vanish after about 10 seconds and blink shortly before they go, so you cannot leave a health pack for later.
Habits that help
- Stay away from the walls. Enemies spawn right outside the edges, so the middle of the arena gives you the most warning.
- Move in wide circles. Enemies follow you, so a big loop keeps them strung out behind you instead of closing in from every side.
- Go for chests early. The experience gets you to the shotgun and laser sooner, and those make the later waves manageable.
- Clear some room before each minute mark. Meeting a fresh boss in open space is much easier than meeting it inside a crowd.