The Last Fire

Start hereOverview & System Flow

The game is the Endless Vigil: a sword in one hand, a shield in the other, a few spells, and a stone maze that fills with the dead wave after wave (Three.js, in the browser). This page is generated: every number and name below is read from the game's data files and source when you run npm run docs, so it says what the game does, not what it was once meant to do.

Seven fighters, five maidens

The core loop

1. Title screen. A diorama of the 5 rescued maidens, the 7 fighters behind them (Iron Knight, Veiled Matron, Drowned Lich, Ember Tyrant, Forge Golem, Bone Colossus, Hollow King) and the loot, with Continue (if a save exists) and New Game, under the title The Last Fire and its subtitle Vigil for the Dying Moon. The click that starts the game also unlocks the sound. The first time a new game is begun in a browser a short crawl tells the tale first (4 paragraphs of The First Watch, climbing a brick wall lit by two flickering torches: any click, Esc, Space or Enter skips it, and Read the tale on the title screen plays it again); the mouse is captured when the run begins.
2. A wave. Wave n brings 3 + 2 × (n − 1) enemies, each placed where it could reach you within a few seconds of walking, so the early waves are never a long search through the maze.
3. The fight. Slash, block, parry and bash; cast fire, ice or lightning with Shift + click; throw a Rune Bomb with G; use the item in the active slot (a stagger horn, a lantern that shows the Shades, a step through a wall) with V, when its cooldown allows. Potions and mana crystals lie in the maze every wave, and walking over them uses them.
4. The wave is cleared. You score a bonus of 500 × the wave number, a checkpoint is saved (and written to the browser), and after 5 s the next wave starts.
5. Every 5th wave the Iron Knight comes alone; every 10th a boss comes alone (Bone Colossus, then Drowned Lich, then Veiled Matron, then Ember Tyrant, then Forge Golem, then again). A fallen boss drops its exclusive loot, a maiden it held captive is freed and runs to the middle of the maze, and picking up the reward saves a checkpoint.
6. A fall. A 3 s screen, then you stand up at the newest checkpoint with the health and mana you had then (at least 50%), carrying everything you carry. A fall before the first wave is cleared ends the run.

Controls

The codex

Press C to open the codex: a book of what this run has met and found, 88 entries in 6 tabs, made from the same data as this page (creatures from enemies.json, items from items.json, places from the landmarks' own words in vigil.json). An entry reads ??? until its first kill, find or use; the first time is announced once in a small line ("Codex: Zombie (1/88)") and never again. An item is found by picking it up or by looking at it where it lies (the same nameplate as in the maze). The book is saved with the checkpoint, kept through a fall and empty in a new game. Its last tab, Lore, holds every line a maiden says and every stanza carved on the wall (Phase 6): they are entries of kind lore in codex.json, unlocked by lore:spoken and lore:carved.

Architecture in one page

The game is a small entity-component world. Entities are ids; components are plain data (Health, Transform, AI ...); systems are the only code that changes them. Systems never import each other: they read the world, listen to events (141 named facts such as hit, wave:cleared or checkpoint:saved, all in src/core/eventNames.js) and announce new ones. Each component has exactly one system that may write it, which is how "who changes the player's health?" always has one answer: Combat.

Game-flow states

1. Title
2. Vigil
3. Paused
4. Codex
5. Results
6. Settings

Title → Vigil. The Vigil hands over to Paused or Codex (and back) and to Results (the FALLEN screen). The loop runs logic at a fixed 60 Hz and draws once per screen frame, blending the last two ticks.

What runs every tick, in this order (src/scenes/VigilScene.js)

1. Player
2. Actives
3. Stamina
4. FlowField
5. AI
6. Combat
7. Boss
8. Spells
9. Hazards
10. Movement
11. Collision
12. Inventory
13. Inspect
14. Progression
15. Marks
16. Challenge
17. Landmarks
18. Torches
19. Gates
20. Waves
21. Captives
22. Hub
23. Lore
24. Ending
25. Codex
26. Corpses
27. HitStop
28. Animation
29. FX
30. Audio
31. HUD

Input becomes intent (Player), enemies decide where to go (FlowField, AI), attacks start (Combat, Boss, Spells), things move (Movement), contacts are found (Collision), the rules react (Inventory, Waves, Captives), and last come the presentation systems (Animation, FX, Audio, HUD). Render runs once per drawn frame instead of per tick.

One swing, end to end

1. Player: player:swing (windup)
2. Player: player:strike
3. Combat: a one-tick Hitbox
4. Collision: contact:hit
5. Combat: the damage rules
6. hit / enemy:died
7. Waves: loot and score
8. Audio · FX · HUD · Animation react

One cleared wave, end to end

1. Waves: wave:cleared
2. Waves: checkpoint:saved (a snapshot)
3. the scene writes SaveGame to localStorage
4. HUD says "Checkpoint saved."
5. break
6. wave:started

The game-ready models in public/assets/models are 71 files, 85 MB, made from the raw exports in assets/models by npm run optimize:models; the catalog in Phase 5 names every one.

Phase 1Combat & Vitals

The sword: a slash, not a thrust

Left click is a slash. The hand draws the blade back and up, cuts across the view and carries through, and the next swing comes back the other way: odd swings are the forehand (high on the left to low on the right), even ones the backhand. The path is a short list of keyframes in weapons.json sword.slash, smoothed into a curve; a standard swing takes 0.36 s, a heavy weapon swings slower (its own swingTime). The swing has three beats (windup, strike, follow-through: see part A, Animation & Combat Polish) and the blow lands part-way through it, at 0.14 s for a standard swing: the hit volume exists for one tick and hits everything inside the weapon's reach and arc. The arc is a cone round the crosshair: ±73° for most blades (it used to be ±60°, a poke), wider for the Greatsword and a full sweep for the Spire.

Rarity and strength. The six tiers hit for Common 15, Uncommon 20, Rare 28, Epic 42–44, Legendary 60, Mythic 85–110 (the bands in rarity.json). The design list names the steps "base", "+25%", "+50%", "+100%", "+150%", "+200% or more"; its percentages and its damage bands do not quite agree, and the game follows the bands, so the "vs Worn" column is the real multiple.

The shield: block, bash, parry

• Block (hold right click): a blow from the front gets through at the shield's block factor, so a factor of 0.2 stops 80%. A shield can no longer be held up for ever: every blow it stops also wears down the guard meter (below), and an empty meter breaks the guard.
• Perfect parry: a block that goes up within 0.18 s before a melee blow lands takes no damage at all, staggers the attacker for 1.5 s (a champion has its own longer stagger) and makes your next sword hit do ×2 damage. With a spell selected and the mana for it, a perfect parry also throws that spell from the shield for free (at its own damage; no mana spent, no casting pause). Slams, projectiles and explosions cannot be parried; the shields from Epic up also give mana back when they parry.
• Bash (left click while blocking): reach 1.9 m, shoves 1.6 m and breaks a raised enemy guard for 2.5 s. The shield's own bash damage and how soon the next bash is ready depend on its tier.
• Reflect: the Moon-Mirror Aegis and the Aegis of the Forgotten throw a spell that hits the raised shield back at its caster for ×2 and ×2.5 the damage.

The guard meter

A raised shield has 100 points of guard. Each blow it stops takes the blow's damage times the shield's guard drain off the meter (the Splintered Wooden Shield pays all of it, the Aegis of the Forgotten half), and the blow that empties it breaks the guard: the shield drops, you are staggered for 1.2 s with the view sinking, and the shield cannot go up again until the meter has refilled to 20. It refills 25 a second once the shield is down and 1 s have passed since a blow. A perfect parry, a reflected spell and fire on the ground cost it nothing, so the answer to a slam is still to parry it, dodge it or be elsewhere. The bar sits under the health bar: steel blue, orange and pulsing when low, red and shaking with the words GUARD BROKEN while it is down. The guard meter is the player's own, in the GuardMeter component that only Combat writes; the enemy's Guard is a different thing (the shield a Shield Skeleton holds up).

Z-targeting: the lock-on

Mouse aim stays the default; Tab is for duels and bosses. A tap locks the nearest living enemy in the cone in front of you; the view turns to its chest and stays there, W and S walk at and away from it, A and D circle it, and the dash is an orbit hop, a lunge or a backstep. A chevron floats over the target with its poise as a row of diamonds.

Finding the way: the map and the boss trail

M opens a big see-through map of the whole maze and closes it again; nothing is paused. In a boss or champion wave a trail of pale motes drifts down the corridors towards the fighter, so the way to it can be found in a 21 × 21 maze.

Spells and bombs

A spell flies at 25 m/s for up to 3 s. Spell power multiplies a spell's damage: the Relic Sunblade ×1.25 and the Aegis of the Forgotten ×1.5 (they stack, ×1.88 with both). A Rune Bomb has a 3 s fuse, 60 damage in 4 m (less towards the edge, 50% of it to you), breaks a Shield Skeleton's guard, ignores the Iron Knight's armour, and a fireball sets it off at once. The bag holds 10 bombs, 20 with the Runesmith's Satchel.

The empty-mana gate

Casting is Shift + click and nothing else: it never touches the shield. If the selected spell costs more mana than you have, the cast is refused: no spell is launched, no mana is spent, the shield and the sword stay as they are, and the player is told three ways: the message "Not enough mana!", the mana panel flashes red and shakes, a low double-blip plays, and the spell orb flashes red. A refused cast locks the next one out for 0.35 s, so a held-down click does not sound the dud sixty times a second. A plain click with the shield up (no Shift) is the bash, which costs no mana.

Health, mana and healing

• The summoner's leash: the enemies a boss summons crumble to dust when it is stunned (and 2 s after it dies), without score, marks or drops; when a champion falls, every ordinary enemy within 14 m is staggered for 2.5 s in fear.
• Last stand: a blow that would kill you, with no Moon Moth to catch it, puts you on your knees for 3 s on 1 health (nothing hurts you for the first 0.6 s); you crawl at 35% speed and can fight, and a kill stands you up at 25% health. Once a wave.
• Health starts at 100. A Minor Health Draught restores 30, used the moment you walk over it. A Bound Vitality Vessel adds 20 maximum health. A boss's death refills health and mana in full.
• Health closes by itself in two ways, and they add up: the Pulsing Heart of the Colossus adds 30 maximum health and heals 1.25 a second once 5 s have passed without a wound, and the passive Wellspring (one of the passives a level may offer: part C) heals 1 a second after 8 s unhurt. The Moon Fountain is a landmark of the maze (1 in each maze): it heals every wound, refills mana and stamina, once, and only when something is missing.
• Mana comes back by itself at 8 a second, all the time; the passive Arcane Well (when chosen: part C) makes it ×1.25; the Moonlit Blessing shrine makes it ×1.5 for 90 s (the factors multiply).
• Mana starts at 100; a Lesser Mana Crystal restores 40, a Resonant Mana Vessel adds 25 maximum mana, a perfect parry with an Epic or better shield gives 15–20 back.
• Lunar Moth Sigil: when a blow would take you to zero it catches you instead and you stand again at 50% health; each sigil is used up, and they stack.
• Combo: every swing that lands within 2 s of the last one counts; a perfect parry makes the next hit ×2.

Phase 2Encounters & Scaling

How many, and when they arrive

A champion or boss wave is that fighter alone (waves 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 ...): the mix does not apply to it, so the Shield Skeleton (listed from wave 5) is first met in wave 6, and the Demon (listed from wave 5) is first met in wave 6.

Enemies are not scattered at random. Each one aims for a random arrival time: it is put in a cell from which it would reach you after about that many seconds of walking (the flow-field distance over its speed; a flyer's straight line). The window is 8 s up to 25 s in wave 1 and widens by 6 s with each wave after. A boss or champion walks in after 20–45 s whatever the wave.

Difficulty: the health ramp and the tier ramp-up

Enemy damage never changes with the wave; only their health does, because the player's weapons grow about six-fold from Common to Mythic (15 to 110 damage) and arrive on a schedule. The scale applies to ordinary enemies only; champions and bosses have their own health and repeat scaling (Phase 3).

The level counts. Each boss or champion that falls gives the player a level, and each level adds to the attack of the sword, the bash and the spells (part C), so the blow is the sword's damage times the attack of the level the player has when the wave starts (the same rounding as Combat); the last column is what the table said before levels. A level arrives when the boss or champion of its wave falls, so that fight itself is met at the level the player had when the wave began (wave 30 at level 6, its reward making it 7).

Tier ramp-up: which gear arrives when

The high tiers come from bosses and nowhere else; the first kill of each fighter gives its exclusive items (Phase 3). Because every fighter must be killed before the wave is cleared, a player reaches wave 6 with the Executioner's Greatsword, wave 11 with the Spire and wave 21 with the Relic Sunblade.

A champion comes every 5th wave and a boss every 10th; on a wave that is both, the boss comes. Bosses repeat in the order Bone Colossus, Drowned Lich, Veiled Matron, Ember Tyrant, Forge Golem and grow tougher each time round (Phase 3).

Checkpoints and saves

• A checkpoint at the end of every cleared wave. Clearing a normal wave saves the start of the next one where you stand, after the wave bonus is in the score ("Checkpoint saved." on the wave-complete line).
• Champion and boss waves save nothing when they are cleared: picking up what the fighter dropped saves it, so a fight is only banked once its reward is in hand.
• Written to the browser. Every checkpoint is also written to localStorage (key chronicle-of-the-damned-halls.save, version 2); damaged, foreign-version or blocked storage is ignored and the game carries on without saving.
• A fall shows "YOU HAVE FALLEN" for 3 s, then you stand up at the spot of the newest checkpoint, the enemies and loose pickups are cleared and that wave starts afresh. You keep every item, the score and the kills. Health and mana are what the checkpoint saved, but never less than 50% of the maximum (respawnMinHealth, respawnMinMana), so a wave cleared at 3 HP is not a trap. A Moon Moth still catches the fall first.
• Before the first wave is cleared there is no checkpoint, and a fall ends the run (the FALLEN screen, R to start again).
• Continue (title screen) starts the saved wave in a new maze, with you at the start: the saved spot belongs to a maze that no longer exists. The run's numbers, health, mana, gear and rescued maidens come back, and boss rewards that were still lying about are laid down near you. The loaded wave is itself a checkpoint. New Game keeps the old save until its own first checkpoint replaces it.

Phase 3Bosses & Loot Pools

The high tiers do not lie about in the maze: they are dropped by the champion and the bosses, which makes each of them a fight worth having. This part is read from waves.drops, waves.floorGear, enemies.json and weapons.json.

The fighters

no render
Iron_Knight.glb

Iron Knight Champion

Wave 5, then every 5th wave that is not a boss wave (5, 15, 25 ...). It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

163158158

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (479 in all)

No stun loop: a champion with plates. Three armour plates shrug off 40% of every sword hit; one falls at 66% health (25% shrugged off), one at 33% (10%), and it gets quicker each time (speed ×1.15, ×1.35). Bombs ignore the armour and hit for ×2.5. Poise 60: enough hits stagger it. A perfect parry staggers it for 2.5 s. Its slam (35 damage, 0.9 s red telegraph, every 5 s) cannot be parried.

• blow: 25 damage, reach 2.2 m, every 1.6 s, 0.55 s wind-up
• Slam: a ground slam, 35 damage in 3.2 m; 0.9 s telegraph, every 5 s / 4.2 s / 3.4 s (by phase)

Health in its repeats (hpScalePerRepeat 0.55)

Wave	Scale	Health	Phase pools
5	×1	480	163 / 158 / 158
15	×2.1	1,008	343 / 333 / 333
25	×3.2	1,536	522 / 507 / 507
35	×4.3	2,064	702 / 681 / 681

no render
Bone_Colossus.glb

Bone Colossus Boss

Wave 10, then every 50th wave (10, 70, 120 ...). It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

3848641,152

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (2,400 in all)

The stun loop. Outside a stun your hits only chip (25%). Any spell that lands while it winds up an attack (strike 0.95 s, slam 1.6 s, summon, volley) stuns it: it kneels for 3.5 s and everything does ×2 damage. Bombs are not spells and do not stun it. After it lands a blow it waits 1.2 s before starting another, so a slam is never followed at once by a strike. It walks at 1.3 m/s and never runs.

• blow: 18 damage, reach 3 m, every 2 s, 0.95 s wind-up
• Slam: a ground slam, 26 damage in 4.5 m; 1.6 s telegraph, every 7 s / 6 s / 4.5 s (by phase)
• Summon: calls 3 Skeletons; 1.2 s telegraph, every 14 s, from phase 2
• Volley: a fan of 5 boneshards, 7 damage each; 1.2 s telegraph, every 6 s, from phase 3

Health in its repeats (hpScalePerRepeat 1)

Wave	Scale	Health	Phase pools
10	×1	2,400	384 / 864 / 1,152
70	×2	4,800	768 / 1,728 / 2,304
120	×3	7,200	1,152 / 2,592 / 3,456
170	×4	9,600	1,536 / 3,456 / 4,608

no render
Drowned_Lich.glb

Drowned Lich Boss

Wave 20, then every 50th wave (20, 80, 130 ...). It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

1,0881,0561,056

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (3,200 in all)

The stun loop. A water shield turns every blow aside: it is immune to everything but ice. 3 Ice Shards freeze it solid for 4 s; sword hits then shatter for ×2, and a fireball on the frozen Lich bursts to steam for +40 and thaws it at once.

• blow: 22 damage, reach 2.4 m, every 1.8 s, 0.6 s wind-up
• frostbolt: 14 damage at 11 m/s every 3 s, 0.8 s draw
• Drown: calls 3 Zombies; 1.2 s telegraph, every 16 s, from phase 2
• Tide: a shockwave that throws you 5 m, 20 damage in 6.5 m; 1.3 s telegraph, every 8 s, from phase 3

Health in its repeats (hpScalePerRepeat 0.5)

Wave	Scale	Health	Phase pools
20	×1	3,200	1,088 / 1,056 / 1,056
80	×1.5	4,800	1,632 / 1,584 / 1,584
130	×2	6,400	2,176 / 2,112 / 2,112
180	×2.5	8,000	2,720 / 2,640 / 2,640

no render
veiled_matron.glb

Veiled Matron Boss

Wave 30, then every 50th wave (30, 90, 140 ...). It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

1,1561,1221,122

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (3,400 in all)

The stun loop. She is nearly invisible and snuffs every torch within 7 m as she passes; outside a stun your hits only chip (20%). Light lays her bare and stuns her for 5 s (×2 damage): a fireball or a Moon Wave that hits her, a torch lit again within 4.5 m of her, or the Veil-Piercing Lens in your pack while she winds up a blow. A light stun cannot be made again for 15 s, and it lifts her veil.

• blow: 24 damage, reach 2.8 m, every 1.8 s, 0.7 s wind-up
• Shades: calls 2 Shades; 1.3 s telegraph, every 15 s, from phase 2
• Veil: lets the veil down: the light of the sky falls to 15% for 6 s, so only what burns still shines; 1.5 s telegraph, every 22 s, from phase 3
• charge: 28 damage at 13 m/s after a 1 s howl, every 8 s; a wall stuns it 1.5 s

Health in its repeats (hpScalePerRepeat 0.6)

Wave	Scale	Health	Phase pools
30	×1	3,400	1,156 / 1,122 / 1,122
90	×1.6	5,440	1,850 / 1,795 / 1,795
140	×2.2	7,480	2,543 / 2,468 / 2,468
190	×2.8	9,520	3,237 / 3,142 / 3,142

no render
ember_tyrant.glb

Ember Tyrant Boss

Wave 40, then every 50th wave (40, 100, 150 ...). It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

884858858

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (2,600 in all)

The stun loop. Plates of burning iron shrug off 70% of every sword hit, then 50% and 25% as one falls at 66% and one at 33% health, and outside a stun your hits only chip (50%). It is immune to fire and takes ×1.5 from ice. A bolt of lightning breaks a plate off at once (lightning), ahead of the phase that would have taken it. Its own fireball turned back by a mirror shield (the Moon-Mirror Aegis, the Aegis of the Forgotten) stuns it for 5 s (×2 damage). Bombs ignore the plates (×2.5).

• blow: 28 damage, reach 3.3 m, every 2.3 s, 0.8 s wind-up
• Fireballs: a fan of 3 fireballs, 16 damage each; 1.2 s telegraph, every 7 s / 6 s / 5 s (by phase)
• Slam: a ground slam, 30 damage in 4 m, and 5 patches of fire burn on for 6 s (7 every 0.5 s); 1.4 s telegraph, every 9 s / 8 s / 7 s (by phase)
• Ring: a ring of fire 8.5 m across that closes in at 2.4 m/s with a 75° gap, 14 damage every 0.5 s to what it passes (a jump clears it, a shield does not turn it); 1.6 s telegraph, every 14 s, from phase 3

Health in its repeats (hpScalePerRepeat 0.6)

Wave	Scale	Health	Phase pools
40	×1	2,600	884 / 858 / 858
100	×1.6	4,160	1,414 / 1,373 / 1,373
150	×2.2	5,720	1,945 / 1,888 / 1,888
200	×2.8	7,280	2,475 / 2,402 / 2,402

no render
forge_golem.glb

Forge Golem Boss

Wave 50, then every 50th wave (50, 110, 160 ...). It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

1,1561,1221,122

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (3,400 in all)

The stun loop. Plates of hot iron shrug off 65% of every sword hit, then 45% and 20% as one cracks off at 66% and one at 33% health, and outside a stun your hits only chip (25%). A Rune Bomb that goes off in his furnace while he inhales (the wind-up of his inhale) stuns him for 5 s (×2 damage). Bombs ignore the plates (×2.5). Fire is almost nothing to him (×0.25); ice is ×1.5.

• blow: 24 damage, reach 3.4 m, every 2.2 s, 0.9 s wind-up
• Slam: a ground slam, 26 damage in 4.4 m, and 3 patches of fire burn on for 6 s (7 every 0.5 s); 1.5 s telegraph, every 9 s / 8 s / 7 s (by phase)
• Slam: a ground slam, 26 damage in 4.4 m, and 3 patches of fire burn on for 12 s (9 every 0.5 s); 1.5 s telegraph, every 9 s / 8 s / 7 s (by phase), from phase 3
• Inhale: a fan of 7 fireballs, 5 damage each; 2 s telegraph, every 11 s / 10 s / 9 s (by phase)
• charge: 24 damage at 7.5 m/s after a 1 s howl, every 15 s; a wall stuns it 2.5 s

Health in its repeats (hpScalePerRepeat 0.6)

Wave	Scale	Health	Phase pools
50	×1	3,400	1,156 / 1,122 / 1,122
110	×1.6	5,440	1,850 / 1,795 / 1,795
160	×2.2	7,480	2,543 / 2,468 / 2,468
210	×2.8	9,520	3,237 / 3,142 / 3,142

no render
hollow_king.glb

Hollow King Boss

Wave 60, once: the last fight of the Vigil, and he never comes again. It comes alone: it is the whole wave.

1,3001,3003,900

Phase 1 · Phase 2 · Phase 3 (6,500 in all)

The stun loop. Outside a stun your hits only chip (20%); a stun lasts 6 s and everything does ×2. A different fire opens him in each of his 5 pools, one for each maiden's fire, and a wrong tool only chips: it is never a trap.

• Pool 1: a fireball or Rune Bomb that bursts in him while he winds up his moonfall
• Pool 2: any spell that lands while he winds up an attack
• Pool 3: 3 Ice Shards (then a fireball thaws him for +40)
• Pool 4: light (a fireball, a Moon Wave, a torch lit beside him, or the Veil-Piercing Lens; once in 15 s)
• Pool 5: his own moonfire or moonbeam turned back by a mirror shield

Each pool has an edge: a blow that would carry him through it stops at it, and the maiden of the fire he has just lost sings her verse for 7 s while he kneels and cannot be hurt (with the Songbook she sings it with its words and mends 15% of your health and 25% of your mana). He comes down from the Moonspire at wave 60 and never comes again.

• blow: 18 damage, reach 2.9 m, every 1.6 s, 0.5 s wind-up
• Charged: a ground slam, 26 damage; 1.1 s telegraph, every 6 s / 5.5 s / 5 s / 4.5 s / 4 s (by phase)
• Moonfire: a fan of 1 moonfires, 14 damage each; 1 s telegraph, every 6 s / 5 s / 5 s / 4.5 s / 4 s (by phase)
• Moonfall: a ground slam, undefined damage; 1.6 s telegraph, every 9 s / 12 s / 12 s / 12 s / 12 s (by phase)
• Fan: a fan of 3 moonfires, 10 damage each; 1.2 s telegraph, every 7 s, from phase 2
• Veil: lets the veil down: the light of the sky falls to 15% for 6 s, so only what burns still shines; 1.5 s telegraph, every 22 s, from phase 4
• Moonbeam: a fan of 1 moonbeams, 20 damage each; 1.8 s telegraph, every 10 s, from phase 5
• charge: 20 damage at 7 m/s after a 0.9 s howl, every 10 s; a wall stuns it 1 s

Drop tables

Each fighter has its own table. The first kill of a run gives its exclusive items, which exist nowhere else; later kills give one item each from the then list. The kills are counted per kind of fighter and the count goes back with a checkpoint, so a reward lost to a fall (the boss fell but you never picked it up) is dropped again when it comes round.

Loot on the floor, and what it is worth

Damage and guard by rarity

Phase 4Bestiary & Characters

Thirteen creatures and the five rescued maidens. Names in the cards are the ones used here; the data label is shown beneath when the game calls the same creature something shorter. Health is the value in enemies.json at wave 1: ordinary enemies grow tougher with the wave (Phase 2), champions and bosses by their own rule (Phase 3).

Creatures

• no render
  skeleton.glb

  Skeleton Miniondata label: “Skeleton”

  Fast melee swarm

  assets/models/skeleton.glb

  Score 75 · 1.9 m tall

  Health25

  Damage8

  Speed3.5 m/s

  • The quickest of the dead and the frailest: it dies in two blows from the starting sword. It runs at you from every corridor.
  • blow: 8 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 0.8 s
  • appears from wave 1
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Shield_Skeleton.glb

  Shield Skeleton

  Guarded bruiser

  assets/models/Shield_Skeleton.glb

  Score 150 · 1.9 m tall

  Health60

  Damage12

  Speed2.8 m/s

  • The Blocker. Immune from the front: sprint round it (it turns slowly), bash its shield (left click while blocking) or bomb it. Its guard drops for 2.5 s when broken.
  • blow: 12 damage, reach 1.5 m, every 1 s, 0.5 s wind-up
  • grips (corrected 26 Oct 2026): the mace now crosses the fist at RightHand [-0.047, -0.018, -0.171] rot [-151.3, 77.5, 34.5] instead of running along the forearm; the shield's handle sits in the other fist · log
  • guard: blocks 130° in front until a bash or a bomb breaks it for 2.5 s
  • weak to: bomb ×2
  • appears from wave 6
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Skeleton_Archers.glb

  Skeleton Archer

  Ranged skirmisher

  assets/models/Skeleton_Archers.glb

  Score 125 · 1.85 m tall

  Health30

  Damage6

  Speed3.2 m/s

  • The Ranged. Keeps 6-10 m from you and backs off when rushed. Arrows are fast and quiet: watch for the draw.
  • blow: 6 damage, reach 1.2 m, every 1.2 s
  • arrow: 10 damage at 24 m/s every 2.2 s, 1 s draw
  • bow (corrected 26 Oct 2026): at rest the riser sits in the left palm (LeftHand [0.03, 0.09, 0.074] rot [40.5, 80.8, 132.3]); the draw pose is exactly as it was · log
  • keeps its distance: backs off inside 6 m, shoots between 6 and 10 m
  • appears from wave 3
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  zombie.glb

  Decaying Zombiedata label: “Zombie”

  Slow melee

  assets/models/zombie.glb

  Score 100 · 2 m tall

  Health40

  Damage12

  Speed2 m/s

  • Slow and sturdy for the first waves, and weak to fire (a fireball does ×1.5). It is the yardstick the health ramp is measured with.
  • blow: 12 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 0.8 s
  • weak to: fireball ×1.5
  • appears from wave 1
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Ghoul_Hound.glb

  Ghoul Hound

  Charger

  assets/models/Ghoul_Hound.glb

  Score 150 · 1.1 m tall

  Health45

  Damage10

  Speed4.2 m/s

  • The Rusher. Howls for 0.6 s, then charges in a straight line at 11 m/s. Step aside and it runs into the wall and lies stunned for 1.6 s.
  • blow: 10 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 0.9 s
  • charge: 16 damage at 11 m/s after a 0.6 s howl, every 3.5 s; a wall stuns it 1.6 s
  • answer (26 Oct 2026): a dash (F, 30 stamina) sideways takes the player 4 m out of the line in 0.2 s; a dash into the charge lets it arrive in the first 0.12 s, when nothing can hurt the player, and the charge is spent · the dash
  • weak to: fireball ×1.25
  • appears from wave 3
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Wisp.glb

  Floating Wispdata label: “Wisp”

  Flyer

  assets/models/Wisp.glb + assets/models/Wisp_Rings.glb

  Score 125 · 0.6 m tall

  Health30

  Damage8

  Speed4.5 m/s

  • The Flyer. Drifts over the walls where the maze cannot stop it and dives at you. Ice does double damage; it has no armour at all.
  • blow: 8 damage, reach 1.6 m, every 1.2 s
  • flies: cruises over the walls at 5.2 m, dives to 1.1 m when it sees you; no armour
  • weak to: ice ×2
  • appears from wave 7
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Shade.glb

  Shadow Shadedata label: “Shade”

  Stealth ambusher

  assets/models/Shade.glb

  Score 200 · 1.9 m tall

  Health50

  Damage15

  Speed4 m/s

  • The Ambusher. A smear of darkness until it is within 3.5 m, striking, or hurt. The Lens of the Veil shows every Shade in the maze.
  • blow: 15 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 1 s, 0.35 s wind-up
  • stealth: 7% visible until within 3.5 m, striking or hurt; the Lens of the Veil shows every Shade within 30 m
  • weak to: fireball ×1.5, moonwave ×2
  • appears from wave 7
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Iron_Knight.glb

  Iron Knight

  Armoured championChampion

  assets/models/Iron_Knight.glb

  Score 1,000 · 2.3 m tall

  Health480

  Damage25

  Speed2.2 m/s

  • The Heavy. Guards every fifth wave. Three armour plates shrug off 40% of your hits; each fall at 66% and 33% health and it gets faster.
  • blow: 25 damage, reach 2.2 m, every 1.6 s, 0.55 s wind-up
  • Slam: a ground slam, 35 damage in 3.2 m; 0.9 s telegraph, every 5 s / 4.2 s / 3.4 s (by phase)
  • armour: shrugs off 40% / 25% / 10% of sword hits by phase
  • weak to: bomb ×2.5 (ignores the plates)
  • poise 60: enough damage staggers it
  • health grows with each repeat (Phase 3); ordinary health scaling does not apply
• no render
  demon.glb

  Nether Demondata label: “Demon”

  Fireball caster

  assets/models/demon.glb

  Score 300 · 2.1 m tall

  Health100

  Damage20

  Speed1.2 m/s

  • A tall woman with a red face and black horns, in black armour lined with glowing red (the model was rebuilt on 24 Oct 2026 and again on 28 Oct). She keeps walking at you; whenever she has a line of sight and her cooldown is up she stops and raises an arm for 0.85 s, the casting gesture and a clear tell, and hurls a fireball from the top of it. The sturdiest ordinary enemy, weak to ice (×1.5).
  • blow: 20 damage, reach 2.5 m, every 1.5 s
  • fireball: 15 damage at 8 m/s every 3 s, 0.85 s draw
  • surface (tuned 26 Oct 2026): emissive 0.3 (was 1), metalness 0.25, roughness 0.55, specular 0.45, brightness 0.95: the gold armour keeps its relief and is no longer blown out · log
  • weak to: ice ×1.5
  • appears from wave 6
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Bone_Colossus.glb

  Bone Colossus (Boss)

  Boss: stun loopBoss

  assets/models/Bone_Colossus.glb

  Score 5,000 · 3.6 m tall

  Health2,400

  Damage18

  Speed1.3 m/s

  • Boss of wave 10. A heavy, deliberate walker (1.3 m/s, the walk clip at 0.45x so the feet keep up with the ground) that never runs. Its soul-fire heart is always visible in the ribs: dim at rest, brighter each phase, a pale-blue flare while it winds up.
  • blow: 18 damage, reach 3 m, every 2 s, 0.95 s wind-up
  • Slam: a ground slam, 26 damage in 4.5 m; 1.6 s telegraph, every 7 s / 6 s / 4.5 s (by phase)
  • Summon: calls 3 Skeletons; 1.2 s telegraph, every 14 s, from phase 2
  • Volley: a fan of 5 boneshards, 7 damage each; 1.2 s telegraph, every 6 s, from phase 3
  • health grows with each repeat (Phase 3); ordinary health scaling does not apply
• no render
  Drowned_Lich.glb

  Drowned Lich (Boss)

  Boss: ice stacksBoss

  assets/models/Drowned_Lich.glb

  Score 6,000 · 2.5 m tall

  Health3,200

  Damage22

  Speed1.8 m/s

  • Boss of wave 20. A water shield turns every blow aside; only ice touches it. Three Ice Shards freeze it solid for 4 s: sword hits shatter for double, and a fireball on the frozen Lich bursts to steam for 40 extra and thaws it.
  • blow: 22 damage, reach 2.4 m, every 1.8 s, 0.6 s wind-up
  • frostbolt: 14 damage at 11 m/s every 3 s, 0.8 s draw
  • Drown: calls 3 Zombies; 1.2 s telegraph, every 16 s, from phase 2
  • Tide: a shockwave that throws you 5 m, 20 damage in 6.5 m; 1.3 s telegraph, every 8 s, from phase 3
  • health grows with each repeat (Phase 3); ordinary health scaling does not apply
• no render
  veiled_matron.glb

  Veiled Matron (Boss)

  Boss: light and the veilBoss

  assets/models/veiled_matron.glb

  Score 8,000 · 2.4 m tall

  Health3,400

  Damage24

  Speed2.1 m/s

  • Boss of wave 30. She hunts in the dark: nearly invisible, she snuffs every torch within 7 m as she passes, and her sickle comes out of nowhere (a 0.7 s sweep, then a shimmer and a dash from 4 to 14 m). Outside a stun your hits only chip (20%).
  • blow: 24 damage, reach 2.8 m, every 1.8 s, 0.7 s wind-up
  • Shades: calls 2 Shades; 1.3 s telegraph, every 15 s, from phase 2
  • Veil: lets the veil down: the light of the sky falls to 15% for 6 s, so only what burns still shines; 1.5 s telegraph, every 22 s, from phase 3
  • charge: 28 damage at 13 m/s after a 1 s howl, every 8 s; a wall stuns it 1.5 s
  • stealth: 5% visible until within 4 m, striking or hurt; the Lens of the Veil shows every Shade within 30 m
  • health grows with each repeat (Phase 3); ordinary health scaling does not apply
• no render
  ember_tyrant.glb

  Ember Tyrant (Boss)

  Boss: reflection and lightningBoss

  assets/models/ember_tyrant.glb

  Score 9,000 · 3 m tall

  Health2,600

  Damage28

  Speed1.9 m/s

  • Boss of wave 40. A tyrant in burning plate that shrugs off the sword (70 / 50 / 25% of every blow, a plate falling at 66% and 33% health) and is immune to fire. LIGHTNING shatters a plate at once, which opens the armour sooner; ICE does half again.
  • blow: 28 damage, reach 3.3 m, every 2.3 s, 0.8 s wind-up
  • Fireballs: a fan of 3 fireballs, 16 damage each; 1.2 s telegraph, every 7 s / 6 s / 5 s (by phase)
  • Slam: a ground slam, 30 damage in 4 m, and 5 patches of fire burn on for 6 s (7 every 0.5 s); 1.4 s telegraph, every 9 s / 8 s / 7 s (by phase)
  • Ring: a ring of fire 8.5 m across that closes in at 2.4 m/s with a 75° gap, 14 damage every 0.5 s to what it passes (a jump clears it, a shield does not turn it); 1.6 s telegraph, every 14 s, from phase 3
  • armour: shrugs off 70% / 50% / 25% of sword hits by phase
  • weak to: ice ×1.5, fireball ×0, burn ×0, bomb ×2.5 (ignores the plates)
  • health grows with each repeat (Phase 3); ordinary health scaling does not apply

The rescued maidens

• no render
  crimson_elf.glb

  Crimson Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/crimson_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#ff3b4e

  Modelelfcrimson

  • Freed the first time the Forge Golem falls (a repeat kill of it brings her back as a guest who bows and then slips away)
  • Bows once where it fell (captives.danceOnce), then stands in her idle until 4 s into the next wave, then runs to her place under the Tree of Life and stays there in her idle
  • Turns to watch the player within 10 m; the minimap shows her as a diamond in her colour
  • Adds to the Tree of Life's courtyard, once she stands under it: her banner in her colour; with all 5 there the middle is a sanctuary
  • Teaches: her own pool of 5 passives (Kindling, Ember Heart, Crimson Fuse, Crimson Fury, Hearth-Song) joins every choice of a passive once she is rescued, and in a break between waves, within 4 m of her, T swaps one of the player's passives for one of hers
• no render
  golden_elf.glb

  Golden Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/golden_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#ffcf5a

  Modelelfgolden

  • Freed the first time the Bone Colossus falls (a repeat kill of it brings her back as a guest who bows and then slips away)
  • Bows once where it fell (captives.danceOnce), then stands in her idle until 4 s into the next wave, then runs to her place under the Tree of Life and stays there in her idle
  • Turns to watch the player within 10 m; the minimap shows her as a diamond in her colour
  • Adds to the Tree of Life's courtyard, once she stands under it: a small shrine in her colour; with all 5 there the middle is a sanctuary
  • Teaches: her own pool of 5 passives (Gilded Draught, Bountiful Halls, Sunwell, Dawnlight, Lamp-Song) joins every choice of a passive once she is rescued, and in a break between waves, within 4 m of her, T swaps one of the player's passives for one of hers
• no render
  shadow_elf.glb

  Shadow Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/shadow_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#9a6bff

  Modelelfshadow

  • Freed the first time the Veiled Matron falls (a repeat kill of it brings her back as a guest who bows and then slips away)
  • Bows once where it fell (captives.danceOnce), then stands in her idle until 4 s into the next wave, then runs to her place under the Tree of Life and stays there in her idle
  • Turns to watch the player within 10 m; the minimap shows her as a diamond in her colour
  • Adds to the Tree of Life's courtyard, once she stands under it: glowing moss in her colour; with all 5 there the middle is a sanctuary
  • Teaches: her own pool of 5 passives (Veilsight, Shade-Bane, Phantom Dash, Fleet Shadow, Veil-Song) joins every choice of a passive once she is rescued, and in a break between waves, within 4 m of her, T swaps one of the player's passives for one of hers
• no render
  silver_frost_elf.glb

  Silver Frost Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/silver_frost_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#b8e4ff

  Modelelfsilver

  • Freed the first time the Drowned Lich falls (a repeat kill of it brings her back as a guest who bows and then slips away)
  • Bows once where it fell (captives.danceOnce), then stands in her idle until 4 s into the next wave, then runs to her place under the Tree of Life and stays there in her idle
  • Turns to watch the player within 10 m; the minimap shows her as a diamond in her colour
  • Adds to the Tree of Life's courtyard, once she stands under it: her lantern in her colour; with all 5 there the middle is a sanctuary
  • Teaches: her own pool of 5 passives (Hoarfrost, Deep Winter, Glacial Mind, Rime Ward, Frost-Song) joins every choice of a passive once she is rescued, and in a break between waves, within 4 m of her, T swaps one of the player's passives for one of hers
• no render
  emerald_elf.glb

  Emerald Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/emerald_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#0fb36b

  Modelelfemerald

  • Freed the first time the Ember Tyrant falls (a repeat kill of it brings her back as a guest who bows and then slips away)
  • Bows once where it fell (captives.danceOnce), then stands in her idle until 4 s into the next wave, then runs to her place under the Tree of Life and stays there in her idle
  • Turns to watch the player within 10 m; the minimap shows her as a diamond in her colour
  • Adds to the Tree of Life's courtyard, once she stands under it: a cluster of green crystals in her colour; with all 5 there the middle is a sanctuary
  • Teaches: her own pool of 5 passives (Thornbark, Mirror Glint, Living Wound, Greenwood Stride, Mirror-Song) joins every choice of a passive once she is rescued, and in a break between waves, within 4 m of her, T swaps one of the player's passives for one of hers

Phase 5Item Compendium

Every model file the game uses, with its name, rarity, .glb path, where it comes from and what it does, and the cursed relics, which are items with no model (a card each, from the data). The grid below holds 78 cards: 60 items, props and projectiles, and (under Bestiary) the 18 creatures and maidens, which Phase 4 describes in full. The buttons and the search combine; the page address remembers them.

• no render
  sword.glb

  Worn Iron Sword

  Common #9E9E9EWeapon

  assets/models/sword.glb

  Starting gear: you carry it from the first moment

  Damage15

  Swing0.35 s

  Reach2.6 m

  • 1× a Worn Iron Sword; 43 damage a second; cuts ±73°
  • knockback 0.8
• no render
  shield.glb

  Splintered Wooden Shield

  Common #9E9E9EShield

  assets/models/shield.glb

  Starting gear: you carry it from the first moment

  Stops80%

  Bash10

  Bash every0.8 s
• no render
  arrow.glb

  Crude Flint Arrow

  Common #9E9E9EProjectile

  assets/models/arrow.glb

  Shot by the Skeleton Archer (it cannot be picked up)

  • what the Skeleton Archer looses: 10 damage at 24 m/s
• no render
  Bow_Long.glb

  Worn Hunting Bow

  Common #9E9E9EWeapon

  assets/models/Bow_Long.glb

  Carried by the Skeleton Archer (it cannot be picked up)

  • drawn for 1 s before every shot, one shot every 2.2 s
• no render
  Quiver.glb

  Tattered Leather Quiver

  Common #9E9E9EArmor

  assets/models/Quiver.glb

  Carried by the Skeleton Archer (it cannot be picked up)

  • worn on the archer’s back; it has no effect on play
• no render
  bell.glb

  Bell of Challenge

  Common #9E9E9EProp

  assets/models/bell.glb
• no render
  iron_shield.glb

  Soldier's Iron Shield

  Uncommon #4ADE80Shield

  assets/models/iron_shield.glb

  Floor loot from wave 2: each wave from wave 2 there is a 45% chance that one piece lies in the maze, if it would be a step up

  Stops85%

  Bash14

  Bash every0.68 s
• no render
  Mace_Short.glb

  Footman's Flanged Mace

  Uncommon #4ADE80Weapon

  assets/models/Mace_Short.glb

  Floor loot from wave 2: each wave from wave 2 there is a 45% chance that one piece lies in the maze, if it would be a step up
  Carried by the Shield Skeleton (it cannot be picked up)

  Damage20

  Swing0.36 s

  Reach2.5 m

  • 1.3× a Worn Iron Sword; 56 damage a second; cuts ±73°
  • knockback 1.3
  • also the Shield Skeleton’s weapon
• no render
  Shield_Round.glb

  Reinforced Round Shield

  Uncommon #4ADE80Shield

  assets/models/Shield_Round.glb

  Carried by the Shield Skeleton (it cannot be picked up)

  • the Shield Skeleton’s guard: blocks 130° in front until broken for 2.5 s
• no render
  Mana_Crystal.glb

  Lesser Mana Crystal

  Uncommon #4ADE80Consumable

  assets/models/Mana_Crystal.glb

  Floor loot: 2 lie in the maze every wave

  • restores 40 mana when touched
• no render
  potion.glb

  Minor Health Draught

  Uncommon #4ADE80Consumable

  assets/models/potion.glb

  Floor loot: 2 lie in the maze every wave

  • restores 30 health when touched
• no render
  moonsteel_blade.glb

  Tempered Moonsteel Blade

  Rare #38BDF8Weapon

  assets/models/moonsteel_blade.glb

  Floor loot from wave 5: each wave from wave 2 there is a 45% chance that one piece lies in the maze, if it would be a step up

  Damage28

  Swing0.33 s

  Reach2.7 m

  • 1.9× a Worn Iron Sword; 85 damage a second; cuts ±73°
  • chills to 60% for 2 s
  • knockback 1.8
• no render
  single_rune_bomb.glb

  Volatile Rune Bomb

  Rare #38BDF8Projectile

  assets/models/single_rune_bomb.glb

  Thrown from the bag (G); the bags are filled by Cache of Rune Bombs

  Damage60

  Radius4 m

  Fuse3 s

  • thrown with G; 50% of the damage to you if you stand too close; breaks a guard; ignores the Knight’s armour (×2.5)
• no render
  rune_bomb_stack.glb

  Cache of Rune Bombs

  Rare #38BDF8Consumable

  assets/models/rune_bomb_stack.glb

  Floor loot: 1 cache every wave from wave 3

  • +3 Rune Bombs when touched, if the bag has room (it holds 10)
• no render
  bomb_bag.glb

  Runesmith's Satchel

  Rare #38BDF8Boss dropConsumable

  assets/models/bomb_bag.glb

  Boss drop: a later kill of the Iron Knight (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Forge Golem (the next on its list that you can use)

  • the bag holds 20 Rune Bombs instead of 10
• no render
  Ice_shard_projectile.glb

  Glacial Shard

  Rare #38BDF8Projectile

  assets/models/Ice_shard_projectile.glb

  The ice spell: Shift + click with it selected

  Mana20

  Damage25

  Slow50%

  • the ice spell (key 2): slows to 50% for 3 s; ×2 on a Wisp, ×1.5 on a Demon; 3 freeze the Drowned Lich
• no render
  Greatsword.glb

  Executioner's Greatsword

  Epic #A855F7Boss dropWeapon

  assets/models/Greatsword.glb

  Boss drop: Iron Knight, first kill (wave 5)

  Damage42

  Swing0.4 s

  Reach3 m

  • 2.8× a Worn Iron Sword; 105 damage a second; cuts ±81°
  • staggers non-bosses for 1 s
  • knockback 2
  • also held by the Iron Knight in the fight
• no render
  damned_blade.glb

  Cursed Damned Blade

  Epic #A855F7Boss dropWeapon

  assets/models/damned_blade.glb

  Boss drop: a later kill of the Iron Knight (the next on its list that you can use)

  Damage44

  Swing0.36 s

  Reach2.8 m

  • 2.9× a Worn Iron Sword; 122 damage a second; cuts ±73°
  • staggers non-bosses for 0.6 s
  • chills to 60% for 2 s
  • at full health every swing throws a Moon Wave (38 damage)
  • knockback 1.6
• no render
  damned_shield.glb

  Dreadguard Damned Shield

  Epic #A855F7Boss dropShield

  assets/models/damned_shield.glb

  Boss drop: Iron Knight, first kill (wave 5)

  Stops92%

  Bash25

  Bash every0.6 s

  • a perfect parry gives back 15 mana
• no render
  Fire_Projectile.glb

  Pyreburst Core

  Epic #A855F7Projectile

  assets/models/Fire_Projectile.glb

  Shot by the Demon (it cannot be picked up)
  The fire spell: Shift + click with it selected

  Mana25

  Damage35

  Speed25 m/s

  • the fire spell (key 1): ×1.5 on a Zombie, ×1.5 on a Shade; detonates a Rune Bomb; +40 on a frozen Lich
• no render
  R_Pauldron.glb

  Gilded Iron Pauldrons

  Epic #A855F7Armor

  assets/models/R_Pauldron.glb

  Carried by the Iron Knight (it cannot be picked up)

  • the Iron Knight’s shoulder plates: one falls at 66% health, one at 33%; the plates shrug off 40% / 25% / 10% of sword hits
  • the game mirrors this one file for the other shoulder: it is the only pauldron model
• no render
  Plate_Chest.glb

  Dread Knight Cuirass

  Epic #A855F7Armor

  assets/models/Plate_Chest.glb

  Carried by the Iron Knight (it cannot be picked up)

  • the breastplate, the last plate of the Iron Knight’s armour to fall
• no render
  moon_mirror_shield.glb

  Moon-Mirror Aegis

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropShield

  assets/models/moon_mirror_shield.glb

  Boss drop: a later kill of the Bone Colossus (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Ember Tyrant (the next on its list that you can use)

  Stops95%

  Bash30

  Bash every0.56 s

  • a perfect parry gives back 15 mana
  • throws a spell that hits it back at its caster for ×2
• no render
  Lich_Staff.glb

  Spire of the Drowned Lich

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropWeapon

  assets/models/Lich_Staff.glb

  Boss drop: Bone Colossus, first kill (wave 10)

  Damage60

  Swing0.38 s

  Reach3.2 m

  • 4× a Worn Iron Sword; 158 damage a second; cuts ±96°
  • chills to 45% for 2.5 s
  • cleave: a sweep of more than a half-circle
  • knockback 2.2
  • also held by the Drowned Lich in the fight
• no render
  mana_vessel.glb

  Resonant Mana Vessel

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropArtifact

  assets/models/mana_vessel.glb

  Boss drop: a later kill of the Iron Knight (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Bone Colossus (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Drowned Lich (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Veiled Matron (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Ember Tyrant (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Forge Golem (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Hollow King (the next on its list that you can use)

  • +25 maximum mana, and that much restored
• no render
  heart_container.glb

  Bound Vitality Vessel

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropArtifact

  assets/models/heart_container.glb

  Boss drop: every boss kill (the Bone Colossus and the Drowned Lich)

  • +20 maximum health, and that much healed
• no render
  lens_veil.glb

  Veil-Piercing Lens

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropArtifact

  assets/models/lens_veil.glb

  Boss drop: a later kill of the Iron Knight (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Veiled Matron (the next on its list that you can use)

  • shows every Shade in the maze (within 30 m) instead of only those within 3.5 m
• no render
  moon_moth.glb

  Lunar Moth Sigil

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropArtifact

  assets/models/moon_moth.glb

  Boss drop: a later kill of the Iron Knight (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Bone Colossus (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Drowned Lich (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Veiled Matron (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Ember Tyrant (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Forge Golem (the next on its list that you can use)
  Boss drop: a later kill of the Hollow King (the next on its list that you can use)

  • when a blow would take you to zero it catches you and you stand again at half health; each one is used up and they stack
• no render
  relic_sword.glb

  Relic Sunblade

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropWeapon

  assets/models/relic_sword.glb

  Boss drop: Drowned Lich, first kill (wave 20)

  Damage85

  Swing0.36 s

  Reach3 m

  • 5.7× a Worn Iron Sword; 236 damage a second; cuts ±73°
  • staggers non-bosses for 0.5 s
  • relic cast potency: spells ×1.25
  • knockback 2.6
• no render
  relic_shield.glb

  Aegis of the Forgotten

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropShield

  assets/models/relic_shield.glb

  Boss drop: Drowned Lich, first kill (wave 20)

  Stops97%

  Bash40

  Bash every0.52 s

  • a perfect parry gives back 20 mana
  • throws a spell that hits it back at its caster for ×2.5
  • relic cast potency: spells ×1.5
• no render
  Heart_Colossus.glb

  Pulsing Heart of the Colossus

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropArtifact

  assets/models/Heart_Colossus.glb

  Boss drop: Bone Colossus, first kill (wave 10)

  • +30 maximum health, and wounds close by themselves: 1.25 health a second after 5 s without a wound
  • also held by the Bone Colossus in the fight
• no render
  matron_sickle.glb

  Matron's Sickle

  Epic #A855F7Prop

  assets/models/matron_sickle.glb

  Carried by the Veiled Matron (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  matron_lantern.glb

  Veilbreaker Lantern

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropArtifact

  assets/models/matron_lantern.glb

  Boss drop: Veiled Matron, first kill (wave 30)

  • also held by the Veiled Matron in the fight
• no render
  matron_shroud.glb

  Shroud of the Matron

  Legendary #F59E0BBoss dropArtifact

  assets/models/matron_shroud.glb

  Boss drop: Veiled Matron, first kill (wave 30)
• no render
  ember_plate_chest.glb

  Ember Plate Chest

  Epic #A855F7Armor

  assets/models/ember_plate_chest.glb

  Carried by the Ember Tyrant (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  ember_pauldron.glb

  Ember Pauldrons

  Epic #A855F7Armor

  assets/models/ember_pauldron.glb

  Carried by the Ember Tyrant (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  ember_crown.glb

  Ember Crown

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropArtifact

  assets/models/ember_crown.glb

  Boss drop: Ember Tyrant, first kill (wave 40)
• no render
  tyrant_mace.glb

  Tyrant's Ember Mace

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropWeapon

  assets/models/tyrant_mace.glb

  Boss drop: Ember Tyrant, first kill (wave 40)

  Damage95

  Swing0.44 s

  Reach3.3 m

  • 6.3× a Worn Iron Sword; 216 damage a second; cuts ±84°
  • staggers non-bosses for 0.8 s
  • knockback 3.2
  • also held by the Ember Tyrant in the fight
• no render
  ember_tiara.glb

  Ember Tiara

  Prop

  assets/models/ember_tiara.glb

  Carried by the Ember Tyrant (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  songbook.glb

  The Keepers' Songbook

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropArtifact

  assets/models/songbook.glb

  Boss drop: Forge Golem, first kill (wave 50)
• no render
  forge_hammer.glb

  Forge Hammer

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropWeapon

  assets/models/forge_hammer.glb

  Boss drop: Forge Golem, first kill (wave 50)

  Damage100

  Swing0.5 s

  Reach3.1 m

  • 6.7× a Worn Iron Sword; 200 damage a second; cuts ±84°
  • staggers non-bosses for 1 s
  • knockback 3.4
  • also held by the Forge Golem in the fight
• no render
  forge_plate_chest.glb

  The Furnace Door

  Armor

  assets/models/forge_plate_chest.glb

  Carried by the Forge Golem (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  hollow_king_sword.glb

  The Hollow King's Sword

  Mythic / Relic #EF4444Boss dropWeapon

  assets/models/hollow_king_sword.glb

  Boss drop: Hollow King, first kill (wave 60)

  Damage110

  Swing0.4 s

  Reach3.2 m

  • 7.3× a Worn Iron Sword; 275 damage a second; cuts ±73°
  • staggers non-bosses for 0.5 s
  • chills to 50% for 2 s
  • relic cast potency: spells ×1.25
  • knockback 2.4
  • also held by the Hollow King in the fight
• no render
  hollow_crown.glb

  The Hollow King's Crown

  Prop

  assets/models/hollow_crown.glb

  Carried by the Hollow King (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  forge_pauldron.glb

  The Golem's Pauldron

  Armor

  assets/models/forge_pauldron.glb

  Carried by the Forge Golem (it cannot be picked up)
• no render
  moon.glb

  The Full Moon

  Environment

  assets/models/moon.glb

  Scenery: the sky of the maze and of the title screen under a full moon

  • the full moon: drawn unlit from its own texture, outside the fog, with a halo; it also hangs over the title screen
• no render
  moon_half.glb

  The Half Moon

  Environment

  assets/models/moon_half.glb

  Scenery: the sky of the maze and of the title screen under a half moon

  • the half moon, the sky of an ordinary night: it takes the place of moon.glb, drawn the same way; a new moon hangs no moon at all (vigil.json moon phases look)
• no render
  tree_of_life.glb

  The Tree of Life

  Common #9E9E9EProp

  assets/models/tree_of_life.glb
• no render
  tombstone.glb

  Boss Tombstone

  Common #9E9E9EProp

  assets/models/tombstone.glb
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Widow's Brand

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives Sword blows and shield bashes hit 50% harder
  • Costs Healing draughts restore nothing
  • when it bites, the line says: The draught heals nothing: Widow's Brand has drunk it first
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Cinder Codex

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives Spells hit 60% harder
  • Costs Mana crystals restore nothing
  • when it bites, the line says: The crystal is only ash: Cinder Codex burns it before it can feed you
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Gorged Reliquary

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives +40 maximum health
  • Costs Stamina recovers 50% slower
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Spurs of the Pale Rider

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives Sprinting is faster: +30% of walking speed
  • Gives A dash is ready 50% sooner
  • Costs Every blow you take hurts 40% more
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Tallyman's Ledger

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives Every kill pays 100% more bone marks
  • Gives 1 more draught and 1 more crystal lie in the maze each wave
  • Costs The dead move 20% faster
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Crown of the Hungry Dead

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives Every kill heals 6 health
  • Gives Wounds close by themselves, 1.5 a second
  • Costs -30 maximum health
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Ember Crown

  Damned #E0409Adamned: true

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Never taken by walking over it: look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X.
  Laid: a wave from wave 6 (10% rising 1% a wave to 25%), a vault's loot (50%), beside a boss's reward (30%); never given by a table

  • Gives Spells hit 40% harder
  • Costs Healing draughts restore 50% less
  • bound to you for the run: it cannot be put down; at most 2 at once
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Horn of the Shaken Dead

  Rare #38BDF8ACTIVEstagger

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Laid, never given: a wave from wave 4 may lay one on the floor (8%, 1% more each wave, never above 16%), a vault's loot may hold one (50%).
  Walking over it takes it when the slot is empty; with the slot full, look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X to swap.

  • Staggers every ordinary enemy within 9 m for 3 s
  • A champion reels for 1.2 s
  • A boss is not moved
  • Ready again 28 s after use
  • used on V; one active item is carried at a time and the slot has one cooldown
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Lantern of Revealing

  Rare #38BDF8ACTIVEreveal

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Laid, never given: a wave from wave 4 may lay one on the floor (8%, 1% more each wave, never above 16%), a vault's loot may hold one (50%).
  Walking over it takes it when the slot is empty; with the slot full, look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X to swap.

  • Every Shade within 40 m is seen for 8 s, as by a lit torch
  • Ready again 30 s after use
  • used on V; one active item is carried at a time and the slot has one cooldown
• no model
  drawn from shapes

  Veilstep Sigil

  Epic #A855F7ACTIVEphase

  drawn from shapes (prefabs/props.js); no .glb

  Laid, never given: a wave from wave 4 may lay one on the floor (8%, 1% more each wave, never above 16%), a vault's loot may hold one (50%).
  Walking over it takes it when the slot is empty; with the slot full, look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X to swap.

  • Steps 5 m the way you look, through a thin wall if one is in the way
  • Nothing hurts you for 0.35 s
  • Never ends inside a wall, a gate or a sealed vault: with no room to land it fails
  • Ready again 14 s after use
  • used on V; one active item is carried at a time and the slot has one cooldown
• no render
  collar.glb

  Collar of Subjugation

  Epic #A855F7ACTIVEsubjugate

  assets/models/collar.glb

  Laid, never given: a wave from wave 4 may lay one on the floor (8%, 1% more each wave, never above 16%), a vault's loot may hold one (50%).
  Walking over it takes it when the slot is empty; with the slot full, look at it (within 2.8 m) and press X to swap.

  • Binds the ordinary enemy under the crosshair, within 3 m, to fight beside you until it dies
  • It keeps within 4.5 m of you, and goes for the nearest enemy within 14 m
  • A boss, a champion, an elite, a thrall or a nemesis cannot be bound; a refused use costs nothing
  • When it falls the collar lies where it fell: take it up to use it again
  • Ready again 45 s after use
  • used on V; one active item is carried at a time and the slot has one cooldown
• no render
  skeleton.glb

  Skeleton Miniondata label: “Skeleton”

  Fast melee swarm

  assets/models/skeleton.glb

  Score 75 · 1.9 m tall

  Health25

  Damage8

  Speed3.5 m/s

  • blow: 8 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 0.8 s
  • appears from wave 1
  • health ×5.8 by wave 20, ×14.7 by wave 50 (Phase 2)
• no render
  Shield_Skeleton.glb

  Shield Skeleton

  Guarded bruiser

  assets/models/Shield_Skeleton.glb

  Score 150 · 1.9 m tall

  Health60

  Damage12

  Speed2.8 m/s

  • blow: 12 damage, reach 1.5 m, every 1 s, 0.5 s wind-up
  • guard: blocks 130° in front until a bash or a bomb breaks it for 2.5 s
  • weak to: bomb ×2
• no render
  Skeleton_Archers.glb

  Skeleton Archer

  Ranged skirmisher

  assets/models/Skeleton_Archers.glb

  Score 125 · 1.85 m tall

  Health30

  Damage6

  Speed3.2 m/s

  • blow: 6 damage, reach 1.2 m, every 1.2 s
  • arrow: 10 damage at 24 m/s every 2.2 s, 1 s draw
  • keeps its distance: backs off inside 6 m, shoots between 6 and 10 m
• no render
  zombie.glb

  Decaying Zombiedata label: “Zombie”

  Slow melee

  assets/models/zombie.glb

  Score 100 · 2 m tall

  Health40

  Damage12

  Speed2 m/s

  • blow: 12 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 0.8 s
  • weak to: fireball ×1.5
  • appears from wave 1
• no render
  Ghoul_Hound.glb

  Ghoul Hound

  Charger

  assets/models/Ghoul_Hound.glb

  Score 150 · 1.1 m tall

  Health45

  Damage10

  Speed4.2 m/s

  • blow: 10 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 0.9 s
  • charge: 16 damage at 11 m/s after a 0.6 s howl, every 3.5 s; a wall stuns it 1.6 s
  • weak to: fireball ×1.25
• no render
  Wisp.glb

  Floating Wispdata label: “Wisp”

  Flyer

  assets/models/Wisp.glb + assets/models/Wisp_Rings.glb

  Score 125 · 0.6 m tall

  Health30

  Damage8

  Speed4.5 m/s

  • blow: 8 damage, reach 1.6 m, every 1.2 s
  • flies: cruises over the walls at 5.2 m, dives to 1.1 m when it sees you; no armour
  • weak to: ice ×2
• no render
  Shade.glb

  Shadow Shadedata label: “Shade”

  Stealth ambusher

  assets/models/Shade.glb

  Score 200 · 1.9 m tall

  Health50

  Damage15

  Speed4 m/s

  • blow: 15 damage, reach 1.4 m, every 1 s, 0.35 s wind-up
  • stealth: 7% visible until within 3.5 m, striking or hurt; the Lens of the Veil shows every Shade within 30 m
  • weak to: fireball ×1.5, moonwave ×2
• no render
  Iron_Knight.glb

  Iron Knight

  Armoured championChampion

  assets/models/Iron_Knight.glb

  Score 1,000 · 2.3 m tall

  Health480

  Damage25

  Speed2.2 m/s

  • blow: 25 damage, reach 2.2 m, every 1.6 s, 0.55 s wind-up
  • Slam: a ground slam, 35 damage in 3.2 m; 0.9 s telegraph, every 5 s / 4.2 s / 3.4 s (by phase)
  • armour: shrugs off 40% / 25% / 10% of sword hits by phase
• no render
  demon.glb

  Nether Demondata label: “Demon”

  Fireball caster

  assets/models/demon.glb

  Score 300 · 2.1 m tall

  Health100

  Damage20

  Speed1.2 m/s

  • blow: 20 damage, reach 2.5 m, every 1.5 s
  • fireball: 15 damage at 8 m/s every 3 s, 0.85 s draw
  • weak to: ice ×1.5
• no render
  Bone_Colossus.glb

  Bone Colossus (Boss)

  Boss: stun loopBoss

  assets/models/Bone_Colossus.glb

  Score 5,000 · 3.6 m tall

  Health2,400

  Damage18

  Speed1.3 m/s

  • blow: 18 damage, reach 3 m, every 2 s, 0.95 s wind-up
  • Slam: a ground slam, 26 damage in 4.5 m; 1.6 s telegraph, every 7 s / 6 s / 4.5 s (by phase)
  • Summon: calls 3 Skeletons; 1.2 s telegraph, every 14 s, from phase 2
• no render
  Drowned_Lich.glb

  Drowned Lich (Boss)

  Boss: ice stacksBoss

  assets/models/Drowned_Lich.glb

  Score 6,000 · 2.5 m tall

  Health3,200

  Damage22

  Speed1.8 m/s

  • blow: 22 damage, reach 2.4 m, every 1.8 s, 0.6 s wind-up
  • frostbolt: 14 damage at 11 m/s every 3 s, 0.8 s draw
  • Drown: calls 3 Zombies; 1.2 s telegraph, every 16 s, from phase 2
• no render
  veiled_matron.glb

  Veiled Matron (Boss)

  Boss: light and the veilBoss

  assets/models/veiled_matron.glb

  Score 8,000 · 2.4 m tall

  Health3,400

  Damage24

  Speed2.1 m/s

  • blow: 24 damage, reach 2.8 m, every 1.8 s, 0.7 s wind-up
  • Shades: calls 2 Shades; 1.3 s telegraph, every 15 s, from phase 2
  • Veil: lets the veil down: the light of the sky falls to 15% for 6 s, so only what burns still shines; 1.5 s telegraph, every 22 s, from phase 3
• no render
  ember_tyrant.glb

  Ember Tyrant (Boss)

  Boss: reflection and lightningBoss

  assets/models/ember_tyrant.glb

  Score 9,000 · 3 m tall

  Health2,600

  Damage28

  Speed1.9 m/s

  • blow: 28 damage, reach 3.3 m, every 2.3 s, 0.8 s wind-up
  • Fireballs: a fan of 3 fireballs, 16 damage each; 1.2 s telegraph, every 7 s / 6 s / 5 s (by phase)
  • Slam: a ground slam, 30 damage in 4 m, and 5 patches of fire burn on for 6 s (7 every 0.5 s); 1.4 s telegraph, every 9 s / 8 s / 7 s (by phase)
• no render
  crimson_elf.glb

  Crimson Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/crimson_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#ff3b4e

  Modelelfcrimson
• no render
  golden_elf.glb

  Golden Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/golden_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#ffcf5a

  Modelelfgolden
• no render
  shadow_elf.glb

  Shadow Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/shadow_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#9a6bff

  Modelelfshadow
• no render
  silver_frost_elf.glb

  Silver Frost Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/silver_frost_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#b8e4ff

  Modelelfsilver
• no render
  emerald_elf.glb

  Emerald Elf

  Rescued maiden

  assets/models/emerald_elf.glb

  Height1.7 m

  Ring of light#0fb36b

  Modelelfemerald

Phase 6Hub & World Staging

The only “hub” in the Endless Vigil is the middle of the maze, where the rescued maidens wait and add something of their own; and the only staged sequence is the title screen.

The rescued elves' hub

The five maidens are held by the fighters, one each. When one falls, its maiden is freed where it died and, a little later, runs to a station and waits there. The stations are on a ring 4.3 m from the exact middle of the maze, under the Tree of Life in the courtyard (the 3 × 3 cells round the start, opened first, with a tree at its middle): each maiden has her own angle on the ring (Crimson Elf 306°, Golden Elf 18°, Silver Frost Elf 90°, Shadow Elf 162°, Emerald Elf 234°), the same in every maze, and she stands facing out (turning to a player who comes near). Her way along the corridors ends in the courtyard cell next to her place and never leads through the middle cell, where the trunks stand.

What each maiden adds to the middle

When a maiden settles at her station the courtyard gains a fixture in her colour on the same ring, 4.3 m from the middle and a metre to one side of her, and the Tree of Life glows a step brighter (full with all 5). It comes up with a flare and a line; a maiden freed earlier in the session, or in the saved game, has hers standing from the start. The fixtures are for looking at: nothing collides with them. With all 5 standing there the middle is a sanctuary: enemies cannot enter a circle of 5.6 m round it between waves (a ring on the floor shows it). A wave is cleared only when its last enemy falls, so a break has no enemies of its own: the sanctuary keeps out only what is called in a break (a vault's or a ring's wardens, a Trial's pack). hub.sanctuary.when: "always" holds it through a wave as well, and is left off.

One line each, carved verses

A rescued maiden who stands in her place says one line the first time in a run that the player stays within 3 m of her for 1 s in a break (no key, and it waits while a swap or a passive is being chosen); the HUD shows it under her name and the codex keeps it. When a boss or champion falls, the first stanza of that creature's list that is not cut yet is carved on its creature's tombstone, one of 7 that stand in a ring 6.5 m from the Tree of Life (at most 1 for a wave; a creature whose list is spent leaves nothing). The stone is not there until its first stanza is carved: it then rises out of the ground (2.2 s), the first stanza on its front, which faces out, the second on its back, which faces the tree. Once risen a tombstone is solid. The Iron Knight's stone also keeps a tally of its falls, "Fallen: n", counted on every one even when its stanzas are all carved, and glows in the colour of the look the last one wore (crimson for the plain first fight). The stanzas and the tally are saved with the checkpoint, so Continue and a fall show the same stones. Each line and stanza is an entry of the codex's Lore tab (??? until heard or seen).

The title sequence, step by step

1. The page loads behind a loading screen while every model of models.json is fetched (71 files). A model that fails to load never stops the game.
2. Game.boot lets each state prepare itself: TitleScene.prepare builds the diorama (TitleStage), compiles its shaders and draws one frame, so the first look does not stall; VigilScene.prepare builds the first maze and warms up every creature, pickup and projectile. If the diorama cannot be built, the menu goes on a plain dark screen and the game still starts.
3. game.start('title'): TitleScene.enter reads the save (SaveGame) and shows the menu: Continue (the wave, the score, the sword and how long ago) and New Game if one exists, Click to Begin if not. The heads-up display stays hidden under it.
4. Every frame the stage is updated and drawn instead of the Vigil: the camera sways round the dais and leans towards the mouse (the horizontal field of view is fixed, so a narrow window shows more above and below instead of cropping the cast), the maidens and bosses turn a little towards it, the braziers flicker and embers rise.
5. The click (a button, or anywhere else: Continue if a save exists) leaves the choice in game.shared.resume, unlocks the sound, starts the ambience and captures the mouse (this is why it must be a click).
6. TitleScene.update returns 'vigil'; TitleScene.exit hides the menu and disposes the diorama to free what it holds; VigilScene.enter hands the choice to Waves.begin: a new game starts wave 1, Continue restores the saved run.

The camera starts at (0, 1.2, 11.5) looking at (0, 2.4, 0); it sways by ±0.05 rad round the target every 45 s and leans up to 0.06 rad with the mouse. Everything is built the way the game builds it (the maidens like captives, the bosses by the enemy prefab, the loot by the pickup prefab), so a new model appears on the title screen by editing title.json.

Update 26 Oct 2026Animation & Combat Polish

The sword swing was reworked so it no longer snaps: it has a windup you can read, a strike that accelerates through the cut, and a follow-through that slows to a stop. The numbers below are read from src/data/weapons.json (sword.slash) and the curves are drawn by the same functions the game runs (src/util/slash.js).

Windup, strike, follow-through

A click starts the swing (player:swing: the windup begins, the stamina pause restarts). The blow comes part-way through it (player:strike, at hitAt of the swing): that is when the one-tick hit box is made, the Moon Wave leaves and the whoosh sounds. A swing cut short by a fall never strikes. The click is no longer the same tick as the damage: about 137 ms of readable windup came in between, which is the price of a swing that looks like it has weight.

The path and the torso behind the hand

Where the hand goes (the path) is separate from how fast it goes there (the tempo above). Each key of the path holds the hand's offset, the blade's turn and a body channel: the yaw, pitch and roll of the torso behind the sword hand. In first person there is no body to see, so the camera takes it: the world leans away from the cut in the windup and into it in the strike, by no more than 3.4° of yaw and 2.1° of roll. The off hand (the shield) sways against it. sword.slash.bodyScale (1 by default) scales it, or turns it off with 0.

Timing by weapon, and the blend

Some cooldowns are shorter than their swings (the standard swing takes 0.36 s, a Moonsteel Blade can swing again after 0.33 s). A swing that begins while the hand is still in the last one, or one that is cut short, would make the hand jump. Instead the difference is carried and faded out over sword.slash.blend = 0.09 s with a smoothstep (inertialization), so the hand always flows from where it is into the new windup.

The slash trail

While the blade is between 34% and 90% of its arc (the strike and the first of the follow-through) a ribbon is laid down between the tip and 50% of the way down the blade, one slice per drawn frame, in the camera's own space. A slice glows for 0.15 s and fades; the tip edge is the hot one (brought towards white), the guard edge nearly black. It is added to the picture, so black is nothing: no sorting, no alpha. Its colour is the sword's own glow, steel white for a plain blade. Code: src/fx/SlashTrail.js.

1. player:swing (windup starts)
2. Stamina: the recovery pause restarts
3. windup: the blade loads, the torso coils
4. player:strike at 0.38
5. Combat: the one-tick Hitbox
6. Audio: the whoosh · Spells: the Moon Wave
7. strike → follow-through → ready

Hit-stop and the slow-motion kill

A blow that connects has a weight you can feel: for a few milliseconds of real time the world holds still while the screen, the camera (it still looks where the mouse goes), the shake and the sound go on. It is the game's logic that stops, not its drawing: the loop runs the same 60 Hz step but feeds it speed × real time, and a speed of 0 means no ticks. A key pressed during the freeze is waiting for the first tick after it. Everything is player.json hitStop; intensity (1) multiplies every pause and the slow-motion's length, and is what a settings slider will change (add ?o.player.hitStop.intensity=0 to the page address to play without it).

1. Combat / Boss: hit · parried · boss:died (facts)
2. HitStop: one request for the tick, the longest freeze
3. ctx.time.slow → Loop.slow
4. TimeScale: the speed of each drawn frame (the slowest wins)
5. Loop: fewer ticks, or none; the frame is still drawn
6. the camera look, the shake and the sound go on

Executions

An enemy that cannot act is marked: a pale diamond with a blade pointing down floats over its head for as long as it is staggered, has a broken guard or (a boss) is stunned. A sword blow on a marked enemy is a finisher instead of a hit: the player is held for 0.5 s and nothing can hurt them, the blow lands 0.14 s in, and the target dies outright, whatever health or guard it had. The click and its windup are exactly as before: it is the blow that is replaced, decided on the tick it lands. Everything is weapons.json execution.

1. click: the swing and its windup (as ever)
2. the blow lands: Combat asks what the sword reaches
3. a marked enemy: execution:began (no hit box)
4. Player: held 0.5 s · Boss / AI hold the target
5. 0.14 s: execution:struck → Combat kills it
6. executed: health, mana, the sting, 80 ms hit-stop

Wall-splats and swept shoves

Every blow of the player's shoves what it hits: a sword's knockback (the table of swords in Phase 1), the shield bash's 1.6 m and a Rune Bomb's 2.5 m. A shove is a displacement carried out in one tick, not a speed, so how hard an enemy hits a wall is how much of the shove the wall took. An ordinary enemy thrown into a wall, a pillar or the stub of a choke takes a wall-splat: a share of the blow's own damage for every metre the wall took, and a stagger (so it wears the execution mark). A wall torch near where it hit makes it worse. Bosses and champions are never shoved. Everything is weapons.json splat.

1. a blow shoves: knockback (with the blow's damage)
2. Movement: the shove is carried in steps and a wall stops it
3. wall:impact: the metres lost, the surface, the place
4. Combat: a splat (a share of the blow) and a stagger
5. splatted: dust, a crunch, a shake
6. a staggered enemy is a marked one: execute it

Update 26 Oct 2026Stamina & Movement

Sprinting now costs a stamina pool, and so does the dash. The pool drains while you sprint, drops you to a walk when it runs dry and comes back after a short pause. Everything below is read from src/data/player.json (stamina, bindings) and src/data/progression.json (the passives).

Try it

This bar is driven by the same rules (the page copies Stamina.update and the sprint test in Player.js, with the numbers above). The Guard bar above it is the shield's meter (Phase 1): hold the shield up and take blows on it, and watch it drain by the blow times the shield's guard drain, break at 0 and refill only with the shield down. Hold the button, or hold Shift with the pointer over the demo, to sprint; let go and watch the pause, the recovery and the resume tick. Swing restarts the pause. The passives change the numbers as they do in the game; the level slider lengthens the pool.

The rules

How long a sprint lasts

The dash

A short burst of speed on F, the Vigil's answer to a charge: it takes the player 4 m along the move keys in 0.2 s, and for the first 0.12 s nothing can hurt them. It is the one thing besides the sprint that spends stamina, and it spends it as a price, not a rate.

The Ghoul Hound is what it is for: a dash sideways takes the player out of the charge line (the hound runs on and meets the wall), and a dash into the line lets the charge arrive inside the invulnerable moment and be dodged. The slam of the Iron Knight and the Bone Colossus is dodged the same way; none of it is a parry, so a parry's reward (an empowered next blow) is not earned by a dodge.

With the other moves

• The dash (F) costs 30 points at once and restarts the pause (Stamina listens to player:dash). It never cancels a swing: the blow of a swing begun before or during a dash still lands on its own tick, from where the player is by then.
• Sword swings and shield bashes cost nothing but restart the recovery pause (Stamina listens to player:swing and player:bash). A fighter who keeps swinging keeps the pool where it is.
• Blocking and parrying cost no stamina: the shield has a guard meter of its own (the second bar in the demo above, and Phase 1), so the pool for running never competes with the one for blocking. A perfect parry gives mana back (Phase 1), not stamina, and a broken guard does not touch the stamina pool.
• Casting is Shift + click, and Shift alone does not sprint: the pool is only spent while you are also moving. A cast on the move still drains the sprint it rides on.
• Jumping costs nothing.

Update 26 Oct 2026Leveling System

There is no experience. The player's level goes up by one each time a boss or champion falls (the Iron Knight every 5th wave counts, as it is fought like a boss), and by nothing else: killing ordinary enemies never levels. Each level adds health, stamina and attack, and one passive. All of it is read from src/data/progression.json and worked out by src/util/progression.js.

The rules

• Only a boss or a champion gives a level (progression.kinds: boss, champion). It is awarded when the fighter dies (boss:died), in the same tick the elf is freed.
• Once per wave. The waves already won are kept (Level.milestones): dying after a boss and fighting it again does not level twice.
• Permanent for the run. A fall does not take a level back, as it takes back neither gear nor score; a new run starts at level 1.
• Saved. Every checkpoint carries the level, the milestones won, the passives chosen and the seed of the offers, and the sizes of the health and stamina pools (player.level, player.maxHp, player.maxStamina); Continue restores them, works the attack and the passives out again and makes an offer that was still open again, the same; a save from before levels loads as level 1.
• The reward is immediate. The maximum health and stamina grow by the level's amount and the added points are filled in at once (health and stamina are not refilled otherwise: the boss's death does that in Waves). Attack scales sword, shield bash, Moon Wave and spells by the multiplier: damage × (1 + total attack bonus).
• Past level 10 each level is smaller, so the first ten are the strong ones and an endless run slows down. A passive is a choice (below) until the open pools are empty (the core's 18 alone: to level 19); later levels are stats only unless a maiden has added hers.

Choosing a passive

Before 27 October 2026 each of levels 2 to 9 unlocked one passive in a fixed order. Now every level owes a choice: when a boss or champion falls, 3 passives of the pools that are open (the core of 18, and 5 more for each maiden rescued) are put on the screen as cards and the player picks one with the number keys; the next wave waits for the pick. The stat steps above are unchanged. A passive does one of two things: it changes a number every system reads (an effect), or it grants something once (more maximum health, mana or stamina). The ten new ones each read one number where the thing they change happens: the dash, the bash, the kill, the wall-splat, the execution, the spell.

The maidens give the branches

A freed maiden is a teacher. Each of the five has a pool of her own (fire, ice, stealth and the Shades, light and healing and loot, ward and growth); the pool opens when she is rescued (the fall that frees her already offers hers) and stays open for the play session with her. She also swaps: standing near her between waves, the player lays down one of their passives and takes one of hers in its place.

The wave of milestone n is the nth boss or champion wave: with a champion every 5th wave and a boss every 10th (Bone Colossus then Drowned Lich then Veiled Matron then Ember Tyrant then Forge Golem), level L is reached at wave 5 × (L − 1), up to level 40 at wave 195.

The level crest and the banner

The crest (a gothic gem in a gold rim, src/ui/HUD.js setLevel) sits beside the health and stamina bars. Its ring fills as the next boss comes nearer: the share of the stretch between the last boss wave and the next that the current wave has reached, full while the boss lives (milestoneProgress). Under the bars a line names the next boss and how many waves away it is; hovering the crest says the same. When a level is won a gold flash crosses the screen, the crest pops and a banner states the level, the boss that fell, what it adds and Choose your passive, the three cards come up (key, name, what it does) and stay until one is picked, while the health and stamina bars lengthen to their new maximum (a width transition, a gold glow and a sheen along the bar).

Update 26 Oct 2026Maze Generation & POIs

The maze is no longer only a spanning tree of identical corridors. After the walls are carved the planner breaks the sameness with wide halls, narrow gates, an open landmark and a few places worth a detour, and dresses every crossroads so the player can map their route. The plan is pure data (src/util/layout.js), seeded like the maze, so ?seed= replays it.

How a maze is made

1. generateMaze: depth-first carve + 10% extra openings
2. planLayout: ruins, halls (inner walls down)
3. dead ends: the vault is walled up, shrines placed
4. chokes and crossroads picked
5. WallWorld: stubs, pillars, seal boxes
6. MazeLevel + LevelDecor: the pictures
7. Landmarks: shrines and the seal at run time

Bone marks, and the shrines used on a key

Three shrines do nothing when the player walks in: they say what they ask, once per visit, and wait for X. They trade in bone marks, the currency of the Vigil (vigil.json marks, owned by systems/Marks.js, shown beside the score, saved in every checkpoint, kept through a fall like the score).

The maidens' song

With no maiden rescued the Halls have only the drone. Every maiden rescued adds one layer of a song over it (the set outlives the run). While a wave is fought the song is ×1.35 quicker and ×1.4 louder, more for a boss; in a break it is calm.

Gates at the chokes

4 of the 12 chokes have a portcullis and a lever on each side. The use key at a lever drops the gate (1 s): it stops bodies, not sight or shots, holds for 12 s and rises by itself (the lever sticks for 20 s). Enemies cut off by it batter it: a 0.9 s telegraph, then twice their damage off its 300 health; a broken gate is mended after 45 s. Flyers pass over.

Moon phases

Each run is under one phase of the moon, rolled when a new game begins (the title screen shows tonight's; Continue keeps the saved run's): Full Moon (30%): Moon Wave ×1.35, Shades seen at 30%, the Moon Fountain also blesses for 30 s, light at 125%; Half Moon (40%); New Moon (30%), 1 more potion and crystal a wave, floor gear ×1.5, light at 55%.

Light matters

A Wisp that flies past a lit wall torch (within 3.2 m) snuffs it, one torch each 8 s; a fireball of the player's that flies past an unlit one (within 3.4 m) lights it again, one torch for each; a torch left dark for 120 s catches by itself. A Shade within 5 m of a lit torch is seen.

Attack tokens and infighting

At most 2 ordinary enemies attack at once: a melee blow or a charge needs a token (held for its wind-up and 0.7 s after a blow with none); an enemy refused one circles the player and asks again. Bosses and champions need none. A fireball that meets another ordinary enemy hurts it for 50% of its damage and turns it on the shooter for 6 s (it strikes back at 50% damage and the shooter turns on it); it ends at 14 m or out of sight.

Bosses that adapt

A boss or champion that falls leaves a lesson for the next of its kind in the same run: what stunned it most, or (for the Iron Knight, which has no stun) what did it the most damage. The next one remembers it and says so: fire (fireball): 40% less damage, and a hit counts for 0.5 of a stun; frost (ice): 30% less damage, and a hit counts for 0.5 of a stun; lightning (lightning): 40% less damage, and a hit counts for 0.5 of a stun; the blade (melee): 20% less damage; the bombs (bomb): 40% less damage. A fall in the boss's wave forgets that fight.

The stolen staff

Carry the Spire of the Drowned Lich into the Drowned Lich's wave and it knows it: it moves 1.15× faster, and the Spire's chill gets through its water shield as 0.5 of a frost stack a blow (3 freeze it, as Ice Shards do).

Corpses

The body of a fallen ordinary enemy lies where it fell for 25 s (it used to vanish after 4 s), fading over 1.5 s; no more than 12 lie at once. A fireball that flies over one burns it away (0.9 s); the Drowned Lich (its drown summon) raises the nearest bodies within 30 m as its thralls, where they lie, and calls the rest in a ring as before.

The Nemesis

An ordinary enemy that kills the player survives the fall as the nemesis, with a generated name, a violet mark and an affix. It returns 1 wave later (on the first ordinary wave), stronger for every time it has killed the player; killing it pays 25 bone marks and a sword or shield one tier up from what the player carries (never above rank 3, Epic). One at a time; saved with the run. A boss, a champion or a thrall never becomes one.

Elemental reactions

Elite affixes

From wave 3, an ordinary enemy of an ordinary wave may spawn as an elite with one affix: 5% at wave 3, 1% more each wave, never above 30%. A ring of the affix's colour shows it.