Hardcore Mode Nerf

Description

Hardcore mode is one of the regular modes, being the hardest mode in the game. It can only be played by using the hardcore elevators. This mode rewards Gems instead of Coins, unlike the other modes. Hardcore mode has 50 waves. It is not named after its final boss, the Void Reaver (Legacy). In this mode, shared cash is 0% and there is also a 40% placement and upgrade price increase, which increases to 100% after wave 40. Additionally, this mode has the HP Locked modifier, which makes it so the base health is always set to 100, regardless of players' levels. You need to be at least Level 50 to play this mode.

Rewards

The game calculates how many Gems and EXP you receive based on how many waves you survived and if you won a match. During periods of 100% more EXP (Friday – Sunday), any EXP earned is multiplied by 2x through the XP Boost modifier. The VIP gamepass also multiplies any EXP earned by 1.25x through the VIP Boost modifier. These two boosts are additive. These EXP bonuses multiply EXP after it has been multiplied by modifiers.

Any rewards that end in a decimal point is rounded down, no matter the first figure of the leading decimal.

Triumphing Hardcore mode can give one of these additional rewards:

3x Revive Tickets - 35% chance
3x Spin Tickets - 35% chance
3x Time Scale Tickets - 25% chance
1x Nuke - 5% chance

Currently, rewards are calculated as:

Gem Reward	EXP Reward
(200 × (Waves/50)^1.75 + 100 (Triumph Only))	Wave 1-9: (Waves Completed × 2 EXP) × 1.2 Wave 10-50: (Waves Completed × 3.5 EXP)

Before the Polluted Wasteland II Update, rewards were calculated as:

Gem Reward	EXP Reward
100 × (Waves/50)^1.75 + 150 (Triumph Only)	Wave 1-9: Waves Completed × 1.5 EXP Wave 10-50: Waves Completed × 3 EXP

Before the v1.2.1 Update , rewards calculated as:

Gem Reward	EXP Reward
100 × (Waves/50)^1.75 + 50 (Triumph Only)	Wave 1-9: Waves Completed × 1.5 EXP Wave 10-50: Waves Completed × 3 EXP

Enemy changes

Hefty:

HP: 22 -> 30

Balloon:

Shield Health: 10 -> 5
HP: 10 -> 25

Lead Boss:

HP: 180 -> 60 + 100 Lead HP
Speed: Fast (Without Lead) -> Above Average (Without Lead)

Mega Slow:

HP: 1600 -> 2000
Defense: 15% -> 20%
Speed: Below Average -> Slightly Slow

Fallen Reaper

HP: 600 -> 1000
Can now summon Leads

Fallen Soul:

Increase firerate by 75% -> Increase firerate by 50%
HP: 75 -> 250

Fallen Rusher:

Speed: Extremely Swift (With Shield) -> Swift (With Shield)
Shield HP: 75 -> 200

Fallen Titan:

HP: 6000 -> 400
Now has Tank attribute

Grave Digger:

HP: 40000 -> 60000
Now only spawns Lead Boss, max of 2 Mega Slows and max of 1 Fallen Titan

Lead Balloon:

HP: 250 -> 350
Shield Health: 600 -> 450

Slow King:

Defense: 80% (With Shield) -> 90% (With shield)
Speed: Below Average -> Slightly Slow

Circuit:

HP: 2500 -> 2000
Ability is 20% less effective

Health Cultist:

HP: 8000 -> 14000
Heals 2.5% every 0.2 seconds -> Heals 4% every 0.5 seconds
Can now be summoned by the Void Reaver (Legacy).

Soul:

HP: 800 -> 1000
Speed: Fast -> Above Average

Soul Stealer (Legacy):

HP: 16000 -> 20000
Increasing firerate by 150% -> Increasing firerate by 100%

Unknown:

HP: 14000 -> 17500
Dealing 1000 damage to units -> Dealing 750 damage to units

Vindicator (Legacy):

Normal HP: 40000 -> 50000
Defense: 100% (Shield Only) -> 90% (Shield Only)

Void Reaver (Legacy):

HP: 1,200,000 -> 1,500,000
Speed: Average (Void's Deathwish) -> Below Average (Void's Deathwish)
Void's Rage now spawns 2 Vindicator (Legacy)s
After Void's Deathwish is activated, it will now gain temporary damage immunity for 15 seconds. During this time, the Void Reaver (Legacy) stops moving, creates a massive portal that spawns one of every single non-major boss enemy that has made an appearance in Hardcore.
New immunity: VOID (Basically an immunity that makes enemies with this immunity unable to be damaged by ONLY Level 5 Accelerators)

Invisible Boss

HP: 1000
Defense: 30%
Speed: Above Average
Is able to be spawned by Mystery Bosses

Badges

There are also two badges which you can obtain when playing this mode, which may have additional rewards alongside the badge. These are:

Triumph Hardcore
✔ OBTAINABLE

You triumphed over the strongest of armies. Congratulations you are truly, strong..

Rewards:
200, 1 Deluxe Crate

271,156 players earned this

Beat Hardcore Beta
✖ UNOBTAINABLE

Thanks for testing the hardcore beta and beating it!

Rewards:
1 Premium Crate

11,004 players earned this

New rewards: 45% Low Grade Crate, 25% Mid Grade Crate, 25% Time Scale Ticket, 5% High Grade Crate

Wave Structure

In Hardcore mode, the formula for calculating wave bonus on each wave is:

(

$200 + (

$50 × Waves Completed)) ÷ Players

(For Enemies Beta wave structure, replace Mystery with Breaker2, Mystery Boss with Breaker4, Templar with Warden and that's it)

Wave	Commander Dialogue	Enemy Type & Amount	Time & Skip
1	Enemies are approaching! Start up your defenses and prepare for the worst. Goodluck.	5x Abnormals	Same
2		7x Abnormal
3		10x Abnormals
4	Quick enemies incoming! You know what to do by now right?	6x Quicks
5		10x Abnormals, 4x Quicks
6	Hefty enemies incoming! They may be slow, but they have a lot of defense! We need more heavy damage to defeat them quickly!	8x Hefty
7		6x Abnormal, 7x Quick, 5x Hefty
8		5x Quick, 12x Hefty
9	Do you see anything?	6x Invisibles, 10x Hefties
10		20x Hefty
11	More invisibles!	10x Invisible, 15x Hefty
12	Flying enemies approaching. They're pretty high up, so I'd suggest getting a cliff tower or some sort of plane.	9x Balloon
13		7x Balloon, 9x Invisible
14	Looks like these enemies are covered in lead. Get something to penetrate their metal armor.	6x Lead
15		4x Lead, 5x Hefty, 5x Balloon, 5x Invisible
16	A strong boss is on its way and it's covered in lead! We need to take down its lead first, then we can kill it easily!	12x Lead 1x Lead Boss
17	Here come mystery enemies! They can be a weak enemy, but can also be a tough boss! Wish us the best of luck! With Enemies Beta modifier Huh? I remember them being mystery enemies. Anyways, it seems like they spawn a weaker version of them upon death. We might need some crowd control towers, or fast-firing units to handle them.	8x Mysteries
18		4x Mystery, 6x Hefty, 5x Balloon, 2x Lead Boss
19	A tough enemy is coming! Even though he's quite slow, he is extremely tanky. We need a LOT of heavy damage to beat him!	5x Abnormal, 6x Quick, 5x Hefty, 6x Balloon, 2x Invisible, 5x Mystery, 2x Lead Boss, 1x Mega Slow
20	Still alive? Good. More lead enemies are coming.	4x Lead Boss, 15x Lead
21	A Reaper is approaching. It can summon enemies that will tank the damage for him, so take him out quick!	6x Mystery, 10x Balloon, 3x Lead Boss, 1x Fallen Reaper
22		6x Invisible, 8x Balloon, 4x Mystery, 5x Lead Boss
23	A fast boss that's tough and hidden at the same time? You gotta be kidding me! Prepare for that, he is coming soon!	7x Lead, 10x Balloon, 1x Mega Slow, 4x Mystery, 1x Fallen Reaper
24	There he is! Attack!	8x Lead, 1x Invisible Boss
25	This wave will be quite a problem if you don't have a lot of strong towers. Also, it seems like the Reaper can summon more dangerous enemies now, so be aware of that!	5x Lead Boss, 2x Mega Slow, 2x Fallen Reaper
26	Huh? More Invisible Bosses? We just dealt with one just a second ago...	7x Lead Boss, 2x Invisible Boss, 1x Mega Slow
27	The enemies are making a rush for it! Quick, destroy their shields to slow them down!	10x Fallen Rusher
28		9x Fallen Rusher, 3x Mega Slow
29	These Invisible Bosses look a bit weird... Seems like they can phase through units, so make sure you have other hidden detection sources.	3x Mega Slow, 8x Fallen Rusher, 4x Fallen Reaper, 3x Soul
30	A boss is approaching! He can stun your towers by slamming his hammer, so be careful. Also, he has a very strong shield. Use fast firing towers to counter him.	8x Lead Boss, 5x Fallen Reaper, 3x Invisible Boss, 6x Mystery, 5x Mega Slow, 1x Fallen Titan
31	Still alive? Good Hordes of bosses are coming!	10x Mega Slow, 6x Fallen Reaper, 4x Invisible Boss
32	More Fallen Titans are coming. Man, these guys are annoying. They even have rushers behind their back, so be careful.	2x Fallen Titans, 14x Fallen Rushers, 6x Fallen Reaper
33	This isn't your average mystery enemy... These Mystery Bosses will transform into OTHER bosses! Get more strong defenses, because you certainly don't want to take the risk. With Enemies Beta modifier Oh well, it seems like the Breakers also have their stronger variants. We certainly need crowd control towers now, otherwise they're going to be a huge problem.	2x Invisible Boss, 8x Mystery, 1x Fallen Titan, 6x Mystery Boss
34		5x Giant Boss, 1x Fallen Titan, 8x Fallen Rusher, 10x Mystery, 15x Lead, 10x Lead Boss
35	You've defeated him before, but he's coming back stronger. Get as many firepower as possible, after this we should be smooth sailing for a bit.	5x Mega Slow, 5x Mystery Boss, 2x Fallen Titan, 1x Grave Digger, 8x Fallen Rusher, 4x Fallen Reaper
36	It's getting pretty hot here. Lava enemies are emerging! Don't let them have the chance to heal or we will have a hard time!	4x Fallen Titan, 10x Lava, 6x Mystery Boss, 8x Mystery
37		2x Giant Boss, 4x Mega Slow, 8x Lava, 6x Mystery Boss, 8x Mystery
38	Huh? How are they flying with leads? Seems like they ignore physics or something.	6x Mega Slow, 4x Giant Boss, 8x Balloon, 10x Lava, 5x Mystery Boss, 2x Fallen Reaper
39		8x Lead Boss, 8x Lead Balloon, 10x Mystery, 10x Mystery Boss
40	Okay, now it's REAL hot. I think this is the final wave! Do your best!	7x Lava, 8x Mystery Boss, 10x Lava, 8x Mystery, 8x Lead Balloon, 3x Molten Titan, 1x Molten Boss
41	Wait, there's...more?	8x Mega Slow, 7x Giant Boss, 3x Slow King
42		15x Mystery, 7x Error, 6x Lead Balloon, 8x Mystery Boss, 6x Slow King, 3x Fallen Reaper
43	These guys can speed up other enemies! Also, I feel like a big boss is coming. Prepare your troops.	5x Error, 2x Circuit, 10x Lava, 8x Lead Balloon, 8x Lead Boss, 2x Slow King, 1x Speedy King
44	This cultist can heal other zombies. Take him out quick, you definitely don't want to take the risk.	6x Mega Slow, 12x Lead Balloon, 1x Health Cultist, 5x Circuit
45	The leaders of the Fallen nations! My instincts weren't wrong. We must take them down at all costs! Built up your troops? If yes, ATTACK!	1x Templar, 10x Mystery Boss, 2x Soul Stealer (Legacy), 2x Health Cultist, 4x Speedy King, 1x Circuit, 1x Fallen Swordmaster, 1x Fallen King
46	Good job, towers. But, soon your efforts will be wasted. Who was that? Anyways, I feel like we're really close to the end now. Keep going!	4x Soul Stealer (Legacy), 5x Unknown, 3x Speedy King, 5x Circuit, 1x Necromancer Boss, 2x Vindicator (Legacy)
?̴̨̧̡͓̞͕͓̭̟͈̠̦̲̩̥̻̳͍̱͉̼̯̥͌̀́̔̓͐̐̆̀̌̑̆̃͂́̆̍̄̑͒̕̕͘͠ͅ?̶̙̣͎̰̠̖̞͚͉͓̺͌́̀̕͝͝?̴̨̠͎̗͙̯̃̇͛̾͂̑͌͗̔̔̄̑̋͂̊́̚	???: Seems like my little minions can't take you down huh? Well... THEN HAVE MORE!	1x Grave Digger, 1x Molten Boss, 1x Patient Zero, 1x Fallen King, 1x Wox the Fox, 1x Gunslinger
47	Commander's Dialogue: Ahh, what just happened? It seems like you're at the final stretch... I have no more advices to give you... All I can say is... GOOD LUCK! Void Reaver (Legacy)'s Dialogue: I see you have passed it... Welp, looks like I have to do it myself S̵̱̳̰͐̉̿̃͘Ȕ̶̹͍͛̎͆̆̊̚͝F̸̢̡̹͉͈̹̑̊̅̂͒̈́͊͠F̴̪̼͈̥̭̝̒̈́̑̌̎̓Ĕ̴̡͕͂̊Ŗ̷͖͓̲͔̽̈́͠ Void Rage dialogue: It seems like you are stronger than I thought... In that case, I won't go easy on you anymore. Void's Deathwish dialogue: HOW? HOW CAN SUCH LITTLE GUYS NEARLY TAKE ME DOWN? YOU KNOW WHAT? I'M DONE WITH YOU!	7x Soul Boss, 13x Slow King, 6x Speedy King, 4x Soul Stealer (Legacy), 9x Unknown, 4x Vindicator (Legacy), 5x Fallen Titan, 4x Fallen Guardian, 1x Void Reaver (Legacy), 8x Mystery Boss,
Commander's Triumph dialogue: We finally won... WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to you, the world is finally peaceful for once.
Void Reaver (Legacy)'s Triumph dialogue: Player... You actually did it... After all the challenges, you still managed to get here, and defeat me... Congratulations, you are truly, truly strong...

Trivia

tba idfk what to add lmao

Update

27th December 2021:

Amount of Hefties in wave 9 reduced (13x -> 10x)

29th December 2021:

Invisible's HP increased (15 -> 18)
Fallen Soul now increases firerate by 50% instead of 25%
Wave 50 updates:
- Mysteries removed
- Amount of Speedy Kings reduced (12x -> 5x)
- Amount of Unknowns reduced (12x -> 9x)
Void's Deathwish now activates at 250k HP instead of 200k
Health Cultist now heal 4% every 0.5s
Circuit's HP increased (1500 -> 2000)
Added new starting cash

13th March 2022

Buffed and nerfed some enemies (Lazy to name them all)
Rewrote some of Commander's dialogue.

1 May 2022

Added S̵͕̬̺͚͔̮̎T̸̡̛̳̲͔̹͐͑̊̃̒̄̔̈́͂̕̕̚͝Ǘ̸͙̮̲͙̫̥̞͈̯̅̇͜Ṉ̶̀͆̿̆̍̉̎͌̀͝͝͝͠͠ ̸̡̨̧̛̖͖͚̭͇͓̩͐̈́̐̉́̀̂͐̃̎͜A̷̢̧̫͍̥̥̙̬̼͖͍͆̏͆̄͂̒̊̈͆̉B̴̤̺̲̝̪͖̰̽̃̕Ǔ̸̻͔̗̠̳͉͔̹̠̤̲̪̤̗͊͋͗̿̍̅̿̏̅̔́͌͝͠ͅS̵̢̡̟̟̤̬̙̔̈́͛̉̃͊̅͘͘Ë̶͚͈̖̠́̅́ wave. (Mainly to torture Medic player and for people who are poor to get cash.)

6 May 2022

Removed the new enemy and removed hidden from Void's Deathwish (cuz i feel bad for Ranger)
Buffed Lead Balloon's shield health (250 -> 450)
Buffed wave bonus

30 May 2022

Added Invisible Boss

20 January 2023

Rebalanced some enemies
Added Enemies Beta Commander's dialogue
Changed some of Commander's dialogue

↑ Only starts playing when Void Reaver (Legacy) spawns.

[1] Only starts playing when Void Reaver (Legacy) spawns.

[1]