Runs
A run lasts 10:00. You start low over the planet and climb into space by the first boss.
Timeline
| Time | Event | On Earth, Europa, Mars, Mercury |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00 | Launch | Small waves. Gunners, spinners and tanks join as the minutes pass (see Enemies). |
| 2:00 | Boss 1 | Hive Mother, Frost Warden, Dust Baron, Cinder Tyrant |
| 4:00 | Boss 2 | Thornback, Rime Lord, Red Reaper, Slag Heart |
| 6:00 | Boss 3 | Brood Carrier, Glacier Eye, Rust Engine, Sunforged |
| 8:00 | Boss 4 | Verdant Maw, Cryo Leviathan, Sandstorm, Ash Colossus |
| 8:00 | After the last boss | Waves speed up to one every 0.55 s. |
| 9:00 | Final surge | The screen edges pulse red. A wave every 0.32 s, up to 95 enemies at once, and elites every few waves. |
| 10:00 | Planet cleared | Every enemy on screen explodes in a chain. You win. |
Bosses during a run
A warning with the boss's name plays 2.5 seconds before it arrives. While a boss is on screen there are no regular waves: it is one on one. A boss you don't kill within 45 seconds escapes (a countdown shows in its last 10 seconds) and drops nothing. See Bosses.
Waves
Every few seconds a new wave comes in: a line of swarmers, a column of darts, a row of gunners, a spinner, or a tank with swarmers behind it. Waves get bigger and closer together as the run goes on. Damage and difficulty has the exact numbers.
Elites
From 2:24 on, every so often a gunner, spinner or tank comes in as an elite. Elites shimmer with a gold outline, have 4 times the health, drop 8 times the XP as a spray of gems and give 4 extra gold.
Gold and score
- Enemies drop gold coins; fly over them to collect. Elites give 4 more and bosses drop a pile.
- You also get 1 gold for every 20 seconds you survive.
- You keep all your gold, even if you die.
- Score: points for kills, 10 per second survived and 25,000 for clearing the planet.
Saving
The run is saved whenever the level-up screen is open and whenever the app goes to the background. Coming back shows "Touch to continue", and you get 1 second of invincibility when you do.