v0.6.0 Wave Event System

Wave Events

Five event types can now appear on specific waves, each with its own themed notification panel, effect summary, and timing support where applicable.

• Swarm Tide appears on waves 4, 8, 12, and 16. It doubles spawn pressure while reducing enemy health by 30 percent, creating a high intensity wave with lighter enemies.
• Resource Surge appears on waves 6 and 11. For 10 seconds, kills grant 50 percent more bits and spawn rate increases by 25 percent.
• Polarity Shift appears on wave 9. For 15 seconds, damage types are inverted and player damage is reduced by 15 percent.
• Data Corruption appears on wave 10. For 12 seconds, abilities are scrambled and enemy damage is increased by 20 percent.
• Firewall begins appearing from wave 13 onward. It introduces a periodic environmental damage burst for 20 seconds.

Balance Changes from v0.6.0

This release also includes the previously introduced balance tuning that reshapes the run from the opening waves through the late game.

Early Game Pacing

Spawn timing for waves 1 through 5 has been slowed from 1.8 seconds to 2.5 seconds to create more breathing room. The overall spawn rate curve has also been adjusted for a more gradual difficulty ramp, with waves 1 through 3 now targeting a clear time of roughly 20 to 35 seconds for first time players.

Enemy Introduction Curve

Severer now appears at wave 4 instead of wave 3. Blinker becomes the first evasion check at wave 3, while Severer at wave 4 now acts as the first real skill gate.

Node Cost Rebalance

Pulse costs 8 bits instead of 9 Drain costs 7 bits instead of 8 Spike costs 10 bits instead of 11 Shell costs 12 bits instead of 13 Relay costs 15 bits instead of 17

These changes make more openings viable and allow amp stacking to come online earlier.

First Mutation Impact

Mutation rarity weighting has been adjusted from 60 / 28 / 12 to 45 / 40 / 15 for Common, Rare, and Epic. This raises the first collapse pick to a 55 percent chance of Rare or Epic, up from 40 percent, making it feel more meaningful.

Upgrade Economy Scaling

Upgrade costs now scale by 15 percent per wave after wave 5, capped at 75 percent from wave 10 onward. For example, an 18 bit upgrade now costs 32 bits by wave 10. This puts more pressure on upgrade timing and late game resource decisions.