Start by reading the paths, then shape a defensible route without overlooking the monster pits created by enclosed dead ends. This guide separates the current terrain rules from a suggested planning routine, so an old layout does not become an automatic answer to every run.
1. Read the battlefield before spending
The official store describes terrain editing, faction-specific tools, and rewards chosen after each wave. Treat those as connected decisions. First identify the headquarters, enemy approaches, available terrain pieces and the buildings actually offered in this run. Then decide which stretch your current force can defend. This order is a planning suggestion: it does not establish a fixed first purchase or promise that a particular opening will always appear. A layout copied from another faction or an older patch may depend on tools you do not yet have.
Source: Official Steam product information.
2. Closing a road can create a new threat
The August 2025 monster-pit update changed an important terrain assumption: a path ending in a fully enclosed dead end can generate an enemy pit. Do not read advice to close every alternative as a guarantee of a harmless, empty branch. After modifying the ground, inspect the resulting path and any new pit before spending the rest of your resources. The update introduced several pit variants, so their displayed effects matter. A shorter route count is useful only if the remaining defenses can handle the resulting battlefield.
Source: Official monster-pit update.
3. Plan coverage, then test it
The store identifies elevation and pathing as central tools. Use the attack preview and the route you can see to compare candidate positions. A raised position is not automatically the best investment if it misses the important enemies or requires terrain you cannot afford. Likewise, a crossroads is a layout to evaluate rather than a universal requirement. Compare the area a position can affect, what can approach from outside it, and what remains if enemies pass through. This replaces the unsupported claim that height three is always the correct answer.
Source: Official Steam product information.
4. Diagnose the threat instead of naming one culprit
When a wave overwhelms the base, separate an uncovered approach, an enemy your available weapons cannot handle, insufficient sustained damage and a new pit. Do not assume that every sudden defeat was caused by flyers, or that a single named building is the only answer in all factions. Check the enemy information and the capabilities of the buildings available to you. As an editorial review method, change one part of the defense at a time when possible; otherwise it becomes difficult to tell whether position, damage or route control made the difference.
Source: Official Steam product information.
5. Choose upgrades for the current shortage
After each wave, the game offers rewards and upgrades. Ask what is preventing progress now: inability to place a useful building, poor coverage, insufficient damage or a base that cannot tolerate a leak. Economy and headquarters improvements may support a plan, but they are not automatically better than an urgent combat purchase. Keep the distinction between an upgrade that exists in the offer and one merely described in an old guide. The live damage display added with the pit update can help identify which defenses are contributing before another purchase.
Source: Official monster-pit update.
6. Treat Endless as a separate pressure test
Patch 1.66, published on 22 April 2026, recalibrated Endless so pressure builds faster while the developers described its overall difficulty as unchanged. A wave number from an older run is therefore an incomplete comparison. Record the mode, version and point where the defense stops coping. Do not convert an old survival milestone into a promise for the current build. Standard play remains the better place to learn the controls and read the offered tools before using Endless to test whether a strategy keeps adapting.
Source: Official patch 1.66.
7. Review the run without discarding the evidence
Heroes unlock through achievements, while building upgrades are discovered as play progresses. An early account and a developed account may therefore have different options. After a defeat, record what was unlocked, which routes were open and whether a pit appeared. The official patch notes also contain specific progression-loss fixes; those are reasons to verify the installed version, not instructions to delete saves or restart an account. Keep the result of each run useful by separating a tactical mistake from a missing unlock or an observed technical problem.
Source: Official Steam product information.
| Check | What to compare |
|---|---|
| Before terrain edits | Read approaches, available pieces and the defense you can actually build |
| After terrain edits | Inspect remaining routes and any newly generated pit |
| After each wave | Compare damage contribution, the current shortage and the offered reward |
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