Hard Mode rewards preparation, not rushing.

What changes in Hard Mode

• Hard enemies are separate fixed-stat entries, not Normal enemies with one simple universal multiplier.
• A regular victory still costs 1 AP and a boss victory still gives +3 AP. A defeat or Run Away costs 6 AP.
• Hard Mode applies 5× EXP and 5× gold, while its shared field-drop budget is 3% (raised from 2% in v5.5.0). A hard boss pays out of a 2% budget, against 3% in Normal.
• Hard boss items come out of a 2% budget before bonuses (raised from 0.75% in v5.5.0). Exclusive H equipment provides the intended long-term ladder.
• A new Hard run starts temporary growth over, but your persistent equipment, slots, collections, achievements, characters, and bonuses remain.

Readiness checklist

1. Clear all 20 open Normal bosses, ending with Aqua Liege, so the unlock is recorded.
2. Bring upgraded Normal endgame equipment in every useful slot. Hard Grassland is not balanced around an empty starter build.
3. Unlock Normal slots 7 and 8, and save focused damage, survival, and farming loadouts before entering.
4. Keep an AP setback reserve of at least 6. Run Away has the same AP cost as a defeat, so retreat only when it prevents a worse decision.
5. Farm the last safe band when the next enemy survives too long. A clean previous-region streak can provide levels, gold, and a useful H drop.

The current Hard route

A practical Hard progression plan

• Measure safety first: if a normal enemy can end the fight before you recover from a bad turn, return to the previous band and strengthen HP/DEF or equipment.
• Then improve speed: if incoming damage is controlled but fights consume too much time, add ATK and check whether AGI-based crit/combo remains effective after resistance.
• Read the enemy's counter-stats: armor pierce reduces effective DEF, weaken suppresses a share of ATK, and fixed crit/combo/dodge/critical-damage resistances can invalidate a familiar Normal build.
• Protect the run: one Hard setback costs the same AP as six ordinary victories. Use the AP planner before long optional farming routes.
• Use elites selectively: elites appear at about 1%, have 1.5× HP and ATK, and reward 5× base EXP and gold before Hard's mode economy.

Hard gear, drops, and slots

• The open Hard shop offers a curated rank-1 base ladder: 5 pieces per main region, 25 pieces in total. It becomes visible once Hard Mode is unlocked.
• Hard equipment beyond that starter ladder is primarily earned through drops. A lucky new drop can advance a build faster than buying incremental upgrades.
• The regular Hard drop budget is usually 2% shared among eligible items. Duplicate decay and ownership caps still apply.
• While an active run is in Hard Mode, slot 9 costs 100,000,000 gold and slot 10 costs 1,000,000,000 gold.
• Saved Sets 1–5 are equipment loadouts. The current combat code does not grant a bonus merely for wearing similarly named pieces.

How current stat scaling affects Hard Mode

Level power is allocated by your stat-point shares. Its total ceiling is 2.35 × ln(1 + level / 100)%: each of HP, ATK and DEF receives that percentage multiplied by its share of points across all five stats. It scales the full stat foundation, including equipment and permanent bonuses. AGI and LUC do not receive level power.

• Item HP%, ATK%, and DEF% bonuses now scale the full stat total, not only base stats.
• AGI and LUC do not receive level power. Their crit, combo, dodge, gold, and drop contributions still depend on their actual total and the enemy's resistance.
• Defense reduces damage after armor pierce, but at least 15% of enemy ATK still lands and every damaging hit deals at least 1.
• Crit and combo overflow create higher tiers (up to 5, to a 4× ceiling); dodge is capped at 20% after resistance.

Hard Mode is part of the endgame route

Past the Amazon, Hard Mode stops being a separate replay and becomes part of the main line. The route alternates: Graveyard, then the Maze in Hard, then Korea, then Ice in Hard, then London, then America in Hard, then the Amazon in Hard, and finally Monochrome. Each Hard leg is the difficulty check that gates the next Normal region.

World Gate status

The World Gate is live. Japan, Greek, Military, and Heaven unlock through the game's progression requirements; the Maze, Ice, America and the Amazon each have a full Hard mirror with their own monsters and gear.

Normal World Gate access requires all 20 main-route bosses cleared in Hard Mode. Hard World Gate access requires all 25 Normal bosses through Heaven: the 20 main-route bosses plus the five World Gate bosses. Slots 11 and 12 are reserved for a World-Gate-unlocked active Hard run.