← Play Archerogue · Game Guide
Difficulty
Start Adventure asks which forest you want. Normal, Hard, Hell, and Abyss change how hard the run is and how much it pays.
The four difficulties
The in-run HUD shows the difficulty name on its own, such as Hell. The loot multiplier sits beside the timer, such as Loot×40. Those are two different readouts.
| Difficulty | Enemy HP | Enemy attack | Movement | Projectile speed | Loot | Rebirth Score | Entry cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | Free |
| Hard | ×10 | ×10 | ×2 | ×1.25 | ×5 | ×5 | 300 Ruby |
| Hell | ×100 | ×100 | ×3 | ×1.5 | ×40 | ×40 | 2,000 Ruby |
| Abyss | ×1,000 | ×1,000 | ×5 | ×2 | ×250 | ×250 | 15,000 Ruby |
HP and attack apply to enemies. The movement column is the speed multiplier for mid-bosses, final bosses, calamities, and charge dashes. On Hard and above, a regular enemy’s ordinary walk uses the fast and slow phases below instead of this column. Projectile speed is separate and is not changed by those phases. Loot multiplies Gold and Ruby pickups on top of the time multiplier. Rebirth Score uses its own multiplier. Potential can raise Rebirth Score again after that.
The entry prices above are the base Ruby costs. Expedition Thrift in Research lowers a paid entry by 1% per level, up to 50%. The Ruby you actually spend is that reduced price, rounded up. Normal stays free.
Fast and slow walking
On Hard, Hell, and Abyss, each regular enemy switches between a fast walk and a slow walk. Normal does not. A phase lasts 3 to 10 seconds, then blends into the other one. Fast and slow do not change projectile speed.
| Difficulty | Fast walk | Slow walk |
|---|---|---|
| Hard | ×1.0 to ×2.0 | ×0.8 to ×1.0 |
| Hell | ×1.0 to ×3.0 | ×0.8 to ×1.0 |
| Abyss | ×1.0 to ×5.0 | ×0.8 to ×1.0 |
This applies to regular enemies, including chargers. It does not apply to mid-bosses, final bosses, clones, calamity shamans, chests, slime minions, or event creatures.
How many enemies appear
The clock asks for more regular spawns as time passes, starting at 2.2 per second. Difficulty adds to that request, and the result never goes above 4 per second.
| Difficulty | At the start | Added to the clock | Fastest the run will spawn |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | 2.2 /s | +0 | 4 /s |
| Hard | 2.5 /s | +0.3 | 4 /s |
| Hell | 3.0 /s | +0.8 | 4 /s |
| Abyss | 3.5 /s | +1.3 | 4 /s |
The longer clock steps are on the Enemies page. Those listed rates are the clock’s request before this addition and the 4-per-second limit.
Regular enemies during a final boss
While a final boss body is alive, only new regular spawns change. Enemies already on the field stay. Mid-bosses, clones, calamities, events, and chests follow their own rules.
| Difficulty | While the final boss is alive |
|---|---|
| Normal | No new regular spawns before 15:00. After 15:00, the normal rate. |
| Hard | No new regular spawns before 10:00. After 10:00, the normal rate. |
| Hell | No new regular spawns before 5:00. After 5:00, the normal rate. |
| Abyss | Half the regular rate before 5:00. After 5:00, the normal rate. |
How boss fights change
The four named finals keep the same pattern list. Higher difficulties shorten the pause after a pattern, and Hell and Abyss shorten the dodge warnings a little. Some attacks also gain extra shots, waves, or repeats. Exact counts are in the Boss Guide.
| Difficulty | Pause after a pattern | Dodge warning | Far-slam warning | Far-slam cooldown |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | ×1 | ×1 | 1.2s | 7.0s |
| Hard | ×0.95 | ×1 | 1.2s | 6.5s |
| Hell | ×0.90 | ×0.95 | 1.1s | 6.0s |
| Abyss | ×0.85 | ×0.90 | 1.0s | 5.5s |
If you stay far from a living final boss for about 0.8 seconds, it can vanish and slam a circle on your last position. That 0.8-second check is the same on every difficulty. The warning and cooldown in the table are what change.
Tactical Prep can also add opening skill picks on Hard, Hell, and Abyss. That rule is in Research.