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Survival Mode is a game mode that greatly increases the total number of waves on any given map. It is unlocked after beating its Campaign mission, up to the highest difficulty level cleared.

Overview[]

Contrary to the Spirit of Champions' claim, Survival Mode is not endless; it extends the map to at least wave 25. There are zero forced build timers, even if playing on Insane difficulty or higher (and if Hardcore/Ruthless is enabled too in Redux). The per wave enemy count, stats (health, damage and movement speed) and overall loot quality rises the further players go. By the final wave, all of these characteristics will vastly exceed those of the Campaign mission. On PC, the host can choose to start a Survival run on almost any wave they have attempted (started combat and either won or lost). To accommodate for starting on later waves, the first-wave chests will contain more mana than usual.

Dropped Loot[]

Survival applies a special quality modifier to equipment. How high this can reach depends on the map, set difficulty and enabled gameplay toggles. Armor specifically has a cap which might be met before the last wave. Armor drops from the Infested Ruins, for example, hit their quality cap by wave 22 on Nightmare Hardcore/Ruthless and wave 20 on Ascension Hardcore/Ruthless.

Overall loot quality also depends on the source. Each loot-able non-boss enemy is placed in one of six quality groups whose modifiers ignore wave number. At their highest Pre-Redux, these range from 1.0485 to 1.1985.

Group Enemies Loot Ranking
1 Spider, Djinn, Sharken, Goblin Copter, (Unbound) Skeleton, Harbinger #2
2 Goblin, Dark Elf Archer #6
3 Kobold #5
4 Ogres #4
5 Orc, Wyverns #3
6 Dark Elf Mage and Warrior, Magus Towers, Siege Mech, Wasp #1

Pet Waves[]

Upon reaching a wave number divisible by five, wave 15 at the earliest, every player in the lobby may receive a map-specific pet, even if they were never alive during the previous wave. Some companions, like the Propeller Cat and Dice, are only obtainable through Survival. Another pet is always rewarded for clearing the final wave, Giraffe on Treadmill by default. In order to get any of these pet rewards, the mission must be started at least two waves prior to the pet wave (13, 18, 23, 28, etc.)

A full list of Survival pet rewards can be found here.

Variants[]

  • Mix Mode is an additional toggle for Survival that slightly improves the loot quality modifier, but mixes up the distribution of enemies across all ground spawns and adds Skeletons not bounded to Dark Elf Mages. These Skeletons revive themselves twice before they truly die to a third knockout.
  • Pure Strategy is a form of "classic tower defense" where only defenses can fight the enemy. It is generally-speaking easier than normal Survival, but the rewards are abysmal.
    • In Redux however, this game mode is completely overhauled to be on-par with Survival. The first-wave chests always contain 2,020 mana, no matter which starting wave was chosen. Defenses are only buildable during the first Build Phase; summoning is permanently disabled the moment combat starts.

Notes[]

  • In Ascension Survival, every single map, excluding Embermount Volcano, ends on wave 35. Embermount's final wave is 40 on all difficulty levels.
  • If the host tries to start on a wave number lower than the map's inherent first wave, the Survival run will start on that wave instead.
  • Without any prior Survival Mode experience on a given map, it can be 'started' on any wave from 1 to 8.
  • The highest starting wave allowed depends on the final wave's number:
    • 25: 24 (23 to receive pet for winning)
    • 30: 28
    • 35: 32
    • 40: 36

Tips[]

  • Survival Mode is generally-speaking the best way to solely farm armor. Enemies and chests are forced to drop armor (and rarely accessories) if everyone is a Summoner.
  • Using a controller emulator, it is possible to earn 2-4 of a midway pet reward, without upscaling the health and amount of enemies in a wave.
    • Consider wave 24 of Sky City. Reaching the next wave (25) will yield one Propeller Cat per hero, more specifically: when the "Wave 25" text appears on-screen. Start the Combat Phase of wave 24 with only one hero in the session. Then add three more of your heroes at any point before wave 24 ends.
  • If you start Survival (or Pure Strategy) on a later wave, then immediately begin the Combat Phase and lose, everyone in your lobby will unlock that wave.
    • Anyone who has not beaten the map's Campaign mission yet at (or above) the difficulty level you chose will be able to initiate its Survival up the wave number you unlocked for them, once they do clear the Campaign.
    • This trick does not work on players who never spawned on the map. Make sure everyone enters the map proper, before you do [Control + G].

On Other Platforms[]

Console[]

  • On the PS3, Survival Mode may spontaneously crash, usually between waves 16 and 20, with increasing likelihood as the waves get higher. Trendy stated that stability has improved after February 7, 2012 patch.[1]

Mobile[]

  • Wave 30 is the highest number any Survival can end on.

Version History[]

Redux[]

PC[]

  • 7.28: A Survival or Pure Strategy run can now be started on any previously attempted wave (started combat and either won or lost).

Console[]

Mobile[]

Related Achievements[]

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