Just a few quick disclaimers before we jump into the guide:

• I created this guide mainly because there is so little solid information on Sanctum 2, and much of the information that is usable is outdated. It seems most people tend to just make a guess at what a certain tower or perk does or does not do without really testing it -- I'd like to dispel as much of that as possible.
  
  
• The intent of this guide is to complete each level with no core damage. I do not advocate strategies that involve Lumes hitting the core, purposely or not. Because of this, some maps may say they are "really hard", when in reality there's just one wave where a handful of Lumes may hit the core and the rest is easy.
  
  
• Criticism, suggestions and corrections are more than welcome. This is a pretty extensive guide, so there's bound to be some incorrect or non-ideal information inside. In the event of discrepancy (for example, over what % damage something does, or the range of a perk's effectiveness), I will test whatever it may be and update the guide if necessary.
  
  
• I am *not* one of the top-ranking Sanctum 2 players in the world. I am decent at the game (as of the time of this writing, I have all levels completed with 5 FoS and a few hundred hours logged), but I have only lightly delved into Survival and I rarely play with 4 players.
  
  
• The "Maps & Builds" section is primarily for completing the game solo with 5 Feats of Strength, although it does contain helpful information for those just starting out with the game as well. It's important (and a lot more fun!) if you learn how the core features of the game work on your own, so there isn't quite as much hand-holding here.
  
  
• Because of the above, most of my strategies & builds can (and should) be expanded upon when playing with more than one person. I have tested most of them and many of them still work when playing with 2 or 3 competent players, but a lot of the builds can become much more effective in co-op when paired with a Range Spire, AMP, Slow Fields, etc.
  
  
• All of the listed builds (except for maybe The Depths) allow you to complete each map without taking any core damage, provided you practice enough. I am very adamant about this -- I feel that it's a tower defense game, so the thing you're protecting should never take any damage! However, I do take the game more seriously than most, and I tend to place restrictions on myself when I play -- so take it with a grain of salt. It isn't necessary to be so "hardcore" about it; as long as you make it to the end of the level you're golden! :)

Cheers, and enjoy the guide!
Foffy

I see this question getting asked a lot -- "Should I build a bunch of towers and upgrade them evenly, or just build a few towers and overcharge one or two of them?" I'd say that in most cases, the latter option is the better of the two, regardless of whether you're playing solo or with others. For example, an overcharged ACP plus an overcharged Range Spire can give you a super-fast, super-powerful ACP that hits everything on the map -- invaluable on some levels!

It's worth trying both and seeing for yourself, although I'd generally say that building one (or maybe two) towers of each type needed and overcharging them as is necessary for the upcoming waves is your best bet.

However, when playing solo (and on very specific maps), it can be beneficial to build many small towers (such as Lightnings) first to get additional firepower early on. TigerHawkins has released some videos showcasing this.


There is no best character, regardless of what others tell you. Haigen is great for close-range playstyles and for holding off Lumes by tanking & kiting them. Skye is great for innate mobility and all types of sustained damage, especially when using one fast-firing weapon and one slow, hard-hitting one. Sweet is invaluable for burning through larger enemies and stopping their health regeneration, and her explosive capabilities with hard-hitting weapons are great. SiMo is great for sniping anything extremely vulnerable to weakspot hits, and his accuracy boost even makes him a solid choice with weapons like the Assault Rifle. TSYGAN is great for providing huge burst when played correctly, as well as her added ability to get around the map faster than anyone else.

Play who you like, but do take note of which character is the most useful for any given situation and switch appropriately. Sometimes your regular playstyle may simply not work for a given map or strategy.

More questions to come as people ask them...

Skye is the "main character" of Sanctum 2, and to my knowledge was the main character in the original Sanctum. She has the unique innate ability to double jump. This can become a triple jump using the Rymdskor perk! Skye's damage increases with each consecutive Lume hit -- this works well with her default weapon, the Assault Rifle.



Sweet is the younger sister of Skye, and she's a lot more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed than her relative. Every shot she makes inflicts a burn; the burn's damage is equal to a percentage of the shot's damage. She also jumps incredibly high -- coupled with a perk like Rymdskor (double-jump), this can be amazing for getting around the battlefield and blasting enemies from afar.



Look at that adorable little face! SiMo is a coffee-loving robot who fights (by default) with a sniper rifle. His main point of interest involves his weakspot hits, which become more powerful with each successful shot. He's also got increased accuracy to help you hit your mark. More importantly, though, his voice acting is incredible. Maybe time for a cup of coffee...



Haigen is the obligatory "meat shield" character. He has substantially more health than the other characters, and coupled with perks like Hydra Blood, he becomes practically unstoppable. His battle perk involves proximity to enemies: when you are within about 1 1/2 blocks of a Lume, your shots do more damage to it. This synergizes well with his default weapon, the shotgun.



Gotta go fast? Playing as TSYGAN might be a good idea. Her increased baseline speed means she can get around the map faster than any other character -- and coupled with a perk like Adrenaline Rush or Rymdskor, things get crazy. As TSYGAN, the last shot fired from your mag will cause major damage. This has great potential with weapons like the Drone Launcher.

The first secondary weapon you start the game with. The primary fire shoots an electric ball that has the added benefit of piercing the armor of enemies. The second fire does not do this, but it does home in on enemies. Not a super great weapon, but good to start out with, especially when you're learning to aim properly.

For being the first weapon, the Hand Cannon is surprisingly solid to use with Tactical Juxtaposition. It fires at just the right rate and still does a decent amount of damage -- and the armor piercing can be useful as well. Plus, with all those homing shots, you can get a bit lazy. ;)


The Battle Rifle is interesting in its uses. It's primary shot explodes on impact and can put out a decent amount of damage; its secondary fire gets more interesting. Secondary shots can be placed on the ground, where they will detonate after a short period of time -- alternatively, you (or others) can shoot them to blow them up in advance.

I tend to dislike the increased rate-of-fire and low damage that Tactical Juxtaposition brings to this weapon -- but that's my own playstyle. It just doesn't seem to do enough to be effective.

One thing to note is that friendlies *will* be knocked back by this weapon's primary fire, so use this one with care during co-op.


I love this thing. The primary fire is a channeled energy beam that fires for as long as you hold down the button, and is great for obliterating single enemies. The secondary fire is great for taking out crowds -- it fires an electrical burst that can jump to other enemies on hit. Coupled with a perk like Lightning Discharge, you can have beams of lightning jumping all over the map. This weapon will last you quite some time and can even be used in later levels and maps to decent effectiveness.

Tactical Juxtaposition makes your channeling damage a lot slower when using the primary fire, but gives it a lot more "oomph". The same applies to the secondary fire.


I have to say that at first I completely underestimated this weapon -- mostly because I was using it wrong. The primary fire works best at mid-to-close range, when you can get right up in their face to shoot their weakspot. Because of this, it's not *super* effective against things like Hoverers that you just can't get close enough to. The poison darts seem more effective in a "support" role rather than an "attacking" role; the damage applied over time by the poison can activate the effects of Perks (I believe), such as Slowing Rounds -- this makes it great for multiplayer scenarios where a little backup never hurt anybody. It's also great for racking up hits on Soakers!

Nothing notable about this one with Tactical Juxtaposition -- just slower & fewer shots, but stronger.


This is Skye's default weapon and will be unlocked for all characters at Rank 20. The primary fire is a decently hard-hitting, fast-firing shot that can deal out rapid damage to enemies. The secondary fire is an area-of-effect bomb that can take out swarms of weak enemies when used properly, but uses up a massive amount of ammo -- so use it wisely. This is a spectacular all-around weapon -- I've found great results using it with SiMo, believe it or not. His accuracy + weakspot damage bonuses work wonders with this thing.

It should be noted that the secondary fire can also cause a small knockback on friendlies when playing in multiplayer. This can get a bit annoying (though not as bad as REX), so try to exercise caution when using it.


Shotguns are great, and this one is no exception. However, it plays a little differently than you might expect. You don't necessarily *always* want to be directly up in a Lume's grill to use it most effectively -- you want to be a couple steps back. The shots seem to be most effective if you can fit the part of the Lume you want to hit within the targeting box snugly. Too close and your shots will just plain go right through them -- too far away and it won't do much damage at all. The secondary on this weapon allows you to charge it up to give it some ridiculous power at the cost of more ammo.

Not a huge fan of Tactical Juxtaposition with this weapon -- it lowers your mag size down to a measly 3 shots, which only provides two levels of charging -- those shots also take a very long time to charge up, and the reload time becomes absurd. However, the damage is absolutely RIDICULOUS!


The sniper rifle is SiMo's default weapon, and it's great if you like that sort of playstyle. With a low magazine size but very high damage, the sniper rifle is ideal for hitting weakspots. The secondary fire uses more ammo, but explodes when it hits its target and has the potential to damage others in an area behind (and slightly to the side of) the blast.

If you use the Tactical Juxtaposition perk, you get an interesting sort of hip-fire quality to the weapon -- it gets a super high rate of fire and still deals moderate damage. This doesn't sound very effective, but it can be a great boon (and very fun) if played correctly.


REX is a giant, crazy-ass rocket launcher; it's also Sweet Autumn's default weapon. With a small magazine size, but crazy explosive capability, the REX is best used for large enemies or crowds. The primary fire shoots a single rocket which is perfect for taking out swarms of enemies; the secondary fire is where things get a little more interesting. Holding down the secondary fire button allows you to "lock-on" to one or more enemies -- releasing the button fires a barrage of rockets at the Lumes you locked on to. I've found that it's best to aim straight up into the air before firing the secondary -- this way more of the shots will reach their target without colliding into obstacles.

The major drawback to this weapon is that its knockback affects friendlies when playing Co-op. If you want to bug people, it's great, but otherwise you're not doing much but screwing up everybody's aim. Exercise caution when using REX in multiplayer, for your teammates' sake!

REX becomes...interesting when under Tactical Juxtaposition. You can fire tons of rockets and lock-on an additional three times, but at the cost of damage -- you do, in a way, get increased area damage -- so it's an interesting tradeoff.

The primary fire on the Gatling Laser works a bit like the SMG's, but with a longer range and a little less spread. It also totally feels like you're in a Star Trek movie or something! The secondary fire is where things get more interesting: it can be charged up (a bit like the Shotgun) to deal pretty substantial damage to Lumes around you -- usually enough to take out Walker Pups when playing the solo campaign, which is pretty decent. The range on the secondary is actually a bit longer than you'd think, which is useful, too -- you don't have to be right up next to a Lume in order to damage it.

Tactical Juxtaposition doesn't change too much about the Gatling Laser -- but interestingly enough, the secondary fire's charge can take up the whole bar, and unleashing it deals some pretty crazy damage to everything around you -- so it can be great in a pinch.


This is TSYGAN's default weapon, and it's interesting to say the least. Its primary fire works a bit like that of the sniper rifle, but with the added effect of gravity -- so it can be a bit tougher to aim. The secondary fire is where this thing really shines -- the shot sticks into a Lume (or even the ground!) and pulses several times over a few seconds, dealing area-of-effect damage with each pulse. This can also apply various passive perks (like Slowing Rounds), making the Ballista a great choice for a support character in multiplayer.

Tactical Juxtaposition presents an interesting take on the weapon, allowing you to fire a barrage of AoE-damaging rounds. This lets you add additional damage over time to a choke point or help deal light damage to a few weakened Lumes.


A melee weapon! Interesting. I have seen this weapon used to extreme effectiveness in some Survival videos, generally played by pros. I can't seem to find a good use for it myself, though, simply because it requires you to be in melee range. The secondary shot is good (does great damage, coupled with a damage-over-time effect), but I'm not a huge fan of being in melee range. Haigen seems to make the best use of this when playing at a "normal" level -- his increased HP and the fact that he does more damage when close-up are both great for this weapon. This weapon is spectacular for Soakers and Heavies, though.

Tactical Juxtaposition simply makes this weapon stronger (the secondary fire almost ridiculously so), but cuts your ammo down. I preferred the weapon with Tactical Juxtaposition -- I can spend less time in "getting smashed in the face" range!


The primary fire of the Nailgun is a pretty standard shot at a pretty standard rate that does higher-than-standard damage. Not much to say about that. The secondary fire, however, makes things interesting: You can shoot it at the ground, and any Lumes that walk through it will take moderate-to-high damage one time. It can also be shot directly at the Lumes to damage them normally. Pretty nice!


This is such a fun weapon! The Drone Launcher does exactly as its name implies -- it fires Drones. These drones are nearly identical to the ones fired from the Drone tower (but these don't ignore armor), and you can get tons of them flying above a single Lume, in turn dealing some pretty insane damage! Plus, you get to see tons of little damage numbers, which feels nice. The secondary fire detonates the drones, causing them to crash into the ground and explode, dealing damage to everything around them. This is great for crowds of small Lumes, particularly those with a big Lume in the middle.

Notably, the Drone Launcher can actually be aimed -- by having a target in your crosshair, the Drones will tend towards that target. Tactical Juxtaposition takes this weapon into awesome territory, allowing you to launch 12 drones per mag. The damage drop doesn't matter all that much since each individual hit deals marginal damage anyway. This weapon is SUPER fun, but I find it limited in use during single-player -- it shines big-time in co-op on certain maps like The Depths.


At first I wasn't a huge fan of this weapon, but after spending some time with it I like it a bit more. The primary shot shoots a small grenade which bounces a bit before exploding. Unfortunately, it doesn't explode on Lume contact -- but it's still solid for area damage. The secondary shot is a much larger grenade that explodes after quite some time, releasing shrapnel into the air which also explodes after just a moment. This makes it a spectacular all-around weapon for area damage.

Tactical Juxtaposition, unfortunately, makes this weapon even slower -- only being able to fire a few grenades seems like it will only find a niche at best. The few grenades you do fire are, of course, decently powerful -- so give it a try and see if you like it.


This is one of the weapons introduced in the 4th DLC. Its primary fire almost acts as a sniper rifle, with a slightly faster firing rate. It deals pretty great damage on weakspot hit, and has the nice benefit of still doing decent damage to armored enemies like Screamers. The secondary shot is great, too -- it's a light orb that explodes when shot (by players or towers), or when it contacts an obstacle (like the ground, a tower base, or sometimes Lumes). It deals small area damage at an extremely rapid rate, and when it explodes it deals large area damage.

Tactical Juxtaposition makes this thing spectacular. Try firing a slew of secondary-shot orbs into a group of enemies -- if they haven't exploded yet, fire off a shot and watch as the Lumes crumble. Awesome!

In multiplayer, this weapon's secondary has the potential to become useless, since there are often so many towers and player shots flying around that the orbs explode as soon as you shoot them.


This weapon is a lot of fun to use. In many ways, it acts a lot like the Grenade Launcher -- almost like its secondary fire was tweaked a bit and turned into a weapon all its own. The primary shot was a bit confusing to me at first, but it should actually be shot *at* Lumes and not on the ground. The shot will then stick to the Lume and erupt in a flurry of explosions after a second or so, dealing decent damage.

The secondary fire is just like the first, but should be shot on the ground instead. It's also much heavier, so you can't shoot it straight across a map like the primary. It explodes in much the same way as the primary shot does, but over a larger radius and for greater damage.

Tactical Juxtaposition makes this weapon much faster, allowing you to scatter bombs everywhere. Pretty nice, although the damage is somewhat low.

The very first tower you start with -- you place these in the Introduction stage. Not particularly exceptional in any particular regard, although they do have one interesting perk: as they level up, their fire rate actually decreases; however they gain a significant boost in firepower to make up for it. These only hit one target at a time.


A versatile tower which can be used on just about any map, the Gatling is your go-to solution for Soakers. When overcharged enough it can even easily take down heavier enemies, and can be used rather effectively against Walkers. Another draw is its price; it only costs 100 to build and 220 total to upgrade to 3, so it can be placed easily even when resources are scarce.

Make sure you adjust the tower's targeting properties to hit whatever you need it to hit on that particular wave -- "Most Health" for Soakers, or "Least Health" if you've got a bunch of small Lumes and want it to try and ignore the big guys.


A relatively expensive tower -- but it comes with a great strength. Its base power is quite high, and as you upgrade it, its shot bounces to other targets. TigerHawkins has a series of videos showing how to cheese a lot of the early maps on 5 FoS solo by simply stockpiling level 1 Lightning towers.


This tower does not actually do any damage itself -- rather it acts as a dispenser for AR Mines, which you can also find around most of the game's maps. Each upgrade level causes the Dispenser to generate an additional Mine. Do note that if you grab the Mines from the Dispenser during each wave, it will spawn more in the following wave even if they haven't exploded yet -- doing this allows you to stockpile them for a wave where you might really need them. If you don't grab the mines, more won't spawn, so make sure you pick them up!

It should be noted that these Mines are spectacular against Walker Patriarchs -- just place a handful of them on top of a tower base, so when the Patriarch smashes the base he steps on them...and BOOM! Dead Patriarch. (Your mileage may vary when playing with 3+ people -- it may pay to overcharge it -- or build an additional dispenser -- in those cases!)


The be-all end-all of area-of-effect towers, the ACP hits rapidly for a medium amount of damage in a localized area around itself. It only effects ground targets. When playing solo, just one ACP is enough to annihilate all Walker Pups & Snorkers that pass through it -- with just a little overcharging it can also easily handle Runners and Broodmothers in Solo 5 Feats.

It should be noted that the fire rate gets significantly faster with each upgrade -- so these should generally be upgraded to 3 ASAP to get their full effect.


The poor man's Slow Field Dispenser. Kairos towers periodically fire an orb from their base which slows all Lumes in an area around wherever it lands. It's an alright tower if you absolutely need the slow (and it has the plus side of not effecting your movement speed), but the resources are often better spent elsewhere.


These towers are the only base-game towers that can hit those obnoxious Bobbleheads. They also have the added perk of ignoring enemy armor, making them somewhat effective against Armored Heavies and Screamer Matriarchs as well. They are also decent at hitting Hoverers.


I tried really, really hard to like this tower...but I can't see any reason why you would. It costs more than a Lightning to build, does only slightly more base damage, and costs far more to build. It also fires at less than half the rate -- and, on top of that, the Lightning's fire bounces to additional targets at levels 2 & 3. The only real upside to this tower is its absolutely massive range, and, when upgraded enough (generally with 3+ players) it can be used to take out specific threats more easily -- but I'd still recommend other towers over it.


Kinda like the ACP, but with much higher damage, much larger range and a much lower rate of fire. Due to their airborne nature, the shots also take a little while to home in on whatever it is they're trying to hit. Good for groups of little guys.


A solid support tower when used correctly, the AMP Spire upgrades the attack power of all towers within its radius. This is a good choice when you have a group of closely-packed towers that you want to increase the effectiveness of -- however it starts to lose its usefulness when you have fewer towers (especially if they are low-damage towers, since the increase is percentage-based).

Used with care, this can be a very effective support tower.


A stronger, slower Gatling Tower that fires at a different randomly-selected target with each shot. This may seem a bit odd, but consider that this is one of the few towers that doesn't really care about Bobbleheads -- it won't necessarily get stuck on them if there's a group of them with other Lumes in-between, which is good.


A very solid single-target tower, the Focus tower increases in power over time as it holds the same target. Because of this, it's best placed in an area that Lumes will be in for a long period of time (like most other towers). I generally set this one to "Most Health", as you'll want it to take out the bulkiest threat that it can.

All of these towers can only be obtained after purchasing the relevant DLC. All towers are listed in the order in which they are unlocked (assuming you own all 4 DLCs).


The Slow Field Dispenser is the most effective tower-based way to slow down Lumes (and also the most expensive). It acts much like the AR-Mine Dispenser, except it only generates three total Slow Fields when fully upgraded as opposed to three each wave. The range is rather small, but when playing with two or more people you can use a Range Spire to upgrade it (it's a bit resource-intensive to do solo on most maps).

With enough time and people in Survival mode, you can have a truly massive Slow Field covering a good portion of the map. The only downside is that it also slows you down while you're inside it, including your movement speed, fire rate and reload time. It also slows down your speech when typing in the in-game chat...which makes for hilarious results.


This tower works like the AMP Spire in that it supports the towers that fall within its range. Rather than increase their strength, however, it increases their effective range. (Yes, it increases the range of the AMP Spire too!) They cannot increase the range of other Range Spires, however, nor will they increase their own range.

These can be utilized to awesome results, especially when you've got enough resources to play with. There have been numerous Survival matches where I've had a map-wide ACP constantly slamming everything...fun times!


This tower acts sort of like the original Cannon, although its listed stats are a bit misleading. As you upgrade this tower, its fire rate does NOT drop as the Cannon's does -- but its power does not increase as much, either. It also appears to hit in a small area. (May need to be corrected on this).

In addition to these differences, it has a strange quirk -- every shot has a chance to either stun the Lume it hit for a second or two...or deactivate the tower completely for a second or two. It's more of a luck-based tower and not my personal cup of tea, but give it a try -- you may find that you like it a lot. It would seem to have greater overall damage-per-second potential than the Cannon with some luck due to its speed.


This works much like the AR-Mine Dispenser, except at max level you can pick up six traps per wave instead of three. The bear traps you can pick up from this tower do damage based on how far the enemy travels while the trap is attached to them, and are as such quite effective against anything that travels fast -- including Lumes in Survival mode, especially Runners and Broodmothers. It's a very situational tower, but it can have its uses.


These towers are interesting. If you place two within range of one another, you'll notice they "link up". All Friendship Lasers on the map fire at a fixed interval -- so every second or two, all Friendship Lasers on the map will fire simultaneously. Linked Friendship Lasers who have no target will forward 50% of their power to any adjacent towers that DID fire.

Example: Tower A (4,000 damage) and Tower B (4,000 damage) are both linked Friendship Lasers. One single Lume is in range of Tower A, but not Tower B. Tower B will forward its power to Tower A and Tower A will fire, dealing its own damage (4,000) + 50% of the damage of Tower B (2,000) -- 6,000 total damage.

These do NOT chain together -- it only works for the first tower and one of its linked towers (even though it shows they are linked). Linking multiple towers in a mesh will not produce insane damage numbers.


This tower is very unique -- it has a very slow fire rate (about once every 10 seconds), but it causes the Lume that it hits to start fighting for you for a brief period of time. A purple marker will appear over its head and most other Lumes around it will start attacking it. If the Lume doesn't attack players (Runners or Soakers, for example), the Lume will simply sit there in a daze while everything else beats up on it.


As the name implies, this tower is meant for aerial Lumes. Lumes that are considered "aerial" are Spitflies, Healers, Bliskeblaskes and Spore Pods. The Anti-Air does a spectacular job of taking all of these out all by itself -- however, it should be noted that this tower is rather stupid, and often needs a second or even third backup tower. It will often fire two shots at the same Lume -- the first will kill it, and the second will explode in midair harmlessly, doing nothing.

When on an air-heavy map (as all the 4th DLC maps are), I tend to place one Anti-Air as close to the air spawn as possible, followed by another right in the back by the core. If necessary, I place a third one in the middle of the map, somewhere in the path of most of the fliers.

In standard maps, even with Feats, this tower allows you to completely ignore Spitflies, which is a huge boon. When playing solo there is no need to overcharge it if only Spitflies are spawning; with multiple people it should be overcharged as necessary.


This is like a Violator, if Violators were good. It has an extremely high resource cost for both building and upgrading, a massive range, and a very high damage rate -- just like the Violator. However, it calls down a gigantic laser of death from the sky which sits in one spot for several seconds, dealing massive damage multiple times to everything that runs through it. Woah.

As cool as that sounds, it can be a bit fickle -- it's known to bug out and just not fire at all if it loses its target while firing. It also has problems with aerial units. The slow fire rate means it should be used with care, lest it ends up wasting all of its shots for the entirety of the wave...It happens.

This is a comprehensive list of all the perks that can be unlocked within the standard Sanctum 2 game, without purchasing DLC. I've gone to great lengths to check the properties of each individual perk; if you find anything that you can prove is wrong, let me know and I'll test it and update!


A pretty simple perk, Hollowpoint Rounds causes every 3rd hit from your gun to deal 100% of its normal damage. Coupled with TSYGAN's bonus to weapon damage, this can cause your last shot to do tons of damage. Do note that it's based on *hits*, not shots fired -- so hitting a group will cause this to go off a lot more often. Can be great for normal mode/feats solo.


Your shots bounce to an additional nearby target for half their normal damage. This can only happen once every 0.25 seconds. This can be a solid perk to help you with crowds when using just about any character. Obviously this perk starts to fall a bit flat when you aren't dealing with crowds.


Heals the core for 10% of its health (400 HP) after every wave. These DO stack, so if multiple people have this perk in co-op it will heal 800, 1200 or 1600 per wave (!).



Causes the core to deal 2000 damage to any Lume that hits it. This works repeatedly for every hit a Lume delivers to the core. This perk DOES stack if multiple people have it in co-op, dealing 4000, 6000, and 8000 damage for 2, 3, and 4 stacks respectively. Loses much of its effectiveness in late-game survival, but can be great for solo/co-op normal play.


Increases your weakspot damage by 45%. Not much to say about this one; it can help a lot in all forms of play, even in Survival (Soakers)!



Increases your flat weapon damage by 40%, but disables your weakspot hits. This means that even if you hit something that should be a weakspot, it will just deal normal damage. I personally do not recommend this perk unless you're using a setup that will never get any weakspot hits anyway, or if you're extremely bad at hitting weakspots for some reason.


This is a great perk in anything other than Survival. When you personally kill an enemy with your weapon (or burn damage, etc.) it explodes, dealing 25% of its base health as damage to all Lumes around it. This can cause a chain reaction -- if one explodes and kills another, that one can explode as well and so on.


This perk allows you to instantly respawn rather than having to wait 10 seconds beforehand. With hardcore mode on, this perk allows you to bypass the "respawn in the next build phase" restriction, allowing you to respawn after 10 seconds instead. Can be a great perk if you die a lot, although the general idea is not to die at all!


If you like mobility, Rymdskor is the perfect perk for you. It increases your movement speed by 25% (try it with TSYGAN...woah!), and gives you the ability to double-jump. Skye gets the awesome advantage of gaining a triple-jump -- although Sweet's is still just a tad higher and more manageable.


This is a perk that I don't personally use, but I've seen used to some great effectiveness by pros. It deals 4,000 damage to any enemy you land on, as the titular plumber does in his games. Can be good if used properly, although it's very dangerous to use on things like Walkers and Rhinos.


Deals 600 damage to any Lume that gets within x grid squares of you. Can be good for small, weak enemies on low difficulties, especially while playing as someone like Haigen. The range is only about 1 1/2 grid squares max.


Your weapon damage is increased by 10% for each Lume within about 2 grid squares of your location, up to a maximum of a 50% increase. This is a little better than Overcharge, as it works a bit farther away, which keeps you out of "getting smacked in the face" range. Again, however, this begins to lose effectiveness in Survival modes.


With this perk, you, too can GO FAST! Every time you damage an enemy your movement speed will increase by 5%, up to a maximum of SIXTY TIMES. You can get up to some ridiculous speeds with this perk -- even higher with TSYGAN. If you don't hit anything for 7.5 seconds, the speed boost will wear off.

This is a useful and very deep perk. Essentially it reverses the usability of your weapons -- most fast weapons become slow weapons and most slow weapons become fast weapons (although this is not always the case -- for example, the Shotgun becomes even slower and stronger). For in-depth details on how each weapon operates under Tactical Juxtaposition, see the Weapons section above.


Every time a Lume attacks the core, it will release a shockwave that stuns everything around it for 3 seconds. It can only activate once every 10 seconds. These DO NOT stack, so only 1 is necessary on a team in co-op. The range on it, however, is pretty large. I personally don't find much use for it -- it can buy you some time -- but if things are leaking a lot, give it a try.


I think this perk is currently bugged. It's meant to cause Lumes that you shoot to take 15% additional damage from all sources for 5 seconds, however it currently only seems to increase the damage that you personally do to the Lume. I submitted a bug report for this and I'm awaiting a response.


This perk slows down enemies within about 2 grid squares of your character by 25%. This can be a solid perk for Haigen, who likes to be up close. This does NOT appear to stack when other people have the same perk and stand within range.


Engineer causes all towers within about 1 1/2 grid squares of you to do 25% more damage. This is a great perk -- provided you don't need to move away from your towers. It's especially powerful in Survival, but again, you can't move away from your towers -- if you do it's a wasted perk slot.


All weakspot hits cause an additional target behind the enemy to take double the damage of the initial weakspot hit. A solid perk, especially if you can pull off a lot of weakspot damage at once time (through something like a Soaker, or just through passive innate abilities like SiMo's weakspot damage multiplier).


Each of your shots that hits a Lume will slow its movement speed by 20% for 2.5 seconds. This DOES NOT stack with either itself or other people using the same perk. It can be effective in certain situations, although the slow isn't quite as noticeable on modes with Impeccable Accuracy enabled.


This perk increases the amount of damage you do when you're closer to death, up to a maximum of 50% additional weapon damage. I do not personally reccommend or like this perk as I generally try not to get hit, but if you're a glutton for punishment you may find it useful.


In the wave after any wave where the core took damage, your towers will deal (0.6 * percentage of core health lost) additional damage, rounded down to the nearest whole number. If the core lost 99% of its health in the previous wave, your towers would all do 59.4% more damage. This is a very dangerous perk to use and I don't really use it personally, but if things are leaking a lot (which they shouldn't be) it might be a good option.

This damage bonus also applies to all towers you build during the next wave. This perk does NOT stack if multiple people on your team have it; you will only get the bonus once.


The explosion size of your projectiles (such as the Battle Rifle) will increase based on the amount of distance your shots travel before exploding, up to an additional 100% of their original size. You also get an added bonus of significantly increased accuracy. This perk is great for things like Sweet's REX and the Battle Rifle.


Towers deal 30% additional damage to enemies you have recently attacked. This is a great perk, especially for Survival where your towers are doing most of the damage and you are trying to keep Lumes in range of them for as long as possible.


Increases your damage by up to 50% based on your distance from the core. You do not begin to gain a damage bonus until you're within about 4 grid squares of the core, and you get the highest bonus when you're touching the core (or on top of it). Again, not a *super* great perk, although it has potential with weapons like the Drone Launcher that don't necessarily require you to be up close.

These perks are only available in the various Sanctum 2 DLC packs. Perks are listed in the order in which they are unlocked.


LOOK AT HIS LITTLE FACE! This perk gives you a bulky (but pretty unintelligent) sidekick who follows you around and fights things. He often has a hard time figuring out where to go, but he does have quite a bit of health and can take a pretty heavy beating, provided he actually succeeds in getting something to attack him. Can be very useful in the right circumstances.


With Trickster, you gain the ability to dodge by double-tapping in any direction. This can be done while on the ground on in the air, and can help you get out of harm's way quickly. In addition to the dodge, it gives you a flat 10% extra damage done by your weapon. It's not a lot, but a nice little bonus.


Tinkerer is a great perk -- it causes the last 3 damaging towers you built to do 30% more damage. Note that non-damaging towers are not factored into this perk -- only the last three damaging towers are counted, which is great. This perk is almost essential for long Survival runs as well, as your towers can ramp up to do a ridiculous amount of damage.


Attacking an enemy causes both itself and all Lumes around it to take 1,000 flat damage. They are also weakened, causing them to take a very minor amount of damage over time for a few seconds, much like Sweet's burn does. This perk has a 10 second cooldown.


This perk causes you to deal 35% extra damage if you switch weapons while reloading, which you should be doing often. It amounts to what is basically a permanent 30% damage increase as long as you are still firing away.


Deals 2,000 damage to enemies who attack you. This perk works much like Unstable Core, only with you instead of the core! It can be a bit scary if you're getting hit a lot, but with a character like Haigen using a perk like Hydra Blood it can become powerful. In Survival it's relatively useless.


With this perk, you deal 2,500 damage to all Lumes within a significant radius (about 3-4 grid squares) whenever you switch weapons. It can activate once every three seconds. Not a bad perk for normal play due to the low cooldown, but starts to get a bit lacking in later Survival matches. If a Lume is struck by Explosive Exchange, it can also activate Electrical Outburst if you have it equipped.


Whenever a tower of yours kills an enemy, it will emit a shockwave that deals 1,250 damage to everything around its base. This can occur once every second. It's not a super great boost (especially due to the flat damage done), but it can help provide some additional damage on easier maps or maps with a lot of small Lumes.


This perk causes you to deal more damage the further you are from the Lume you're targeting, up to a maximum of 50% additional damage. It works best with weapons like the Drone Launcher or Sniper Rifle, which don't require you to be close to the enemy anyway. It should also be noted that you need to be a significant distance away from the Lume you're attacking in order to get the full boost -- this means it has the greatest effectiveness on maps like Roadworks where you can easily be super far away. It synergizes well with Core Guardian.


You deal 30% more damage and move 10% faster when at full health. Not anything special to note here -- take it for the damage boost if you need it. If you're only looking for speed, however, Rymdskor or Adrenaline Rush might be more up your alley.


Sets Lumes around you on fire when you take damage. This deals a flat 1,500 damage over 3 seconds and has a 3-second cooldown; essentially, it's an area-of-effect version of Spiked Armor, and should be used in much the same way.


You deal 100% more damage for 12 seconds after killing 4 enemies. This effect does not stack with itself, but does grant a significant damage bonus, so it may be worth taking a look at.


Every time you kill a Lume, you gain 20% increased damage for 7.5 seconds. This effect unfortunately does not stack with itself, so something like Fast Hands may be more useful as a singular perk.


Towers deal 1,000 damage when their shot makes contact with a Lume. This is basically the single-target version of Thor Module -- with a slightly longer cooldown, but guaranteed to hit something. Again, not super amazing due to the flat damage rate, but it can help you in the right situation.

This one does exactly what it says it does, but the wording is a bit tricky -- when you attack an enemy, all other enemies who are not already focused on you will pretend you don't exist for a short period of time. It would appear that this may actually have a cooldown of 5 seconds in addition to the 4 seconds where Lumes are ignoring you, as it doesn't seem to trigger on repeated shots. (Correct me if I'm wrong -- it's a bit hard to tell.)


Damaging a Lume in its weakspot will deal 20% of the damage you dealt to all Lumes around the one you damaged. This perk essentially turns Soakers into giant walking murder machines -- yum. A great perk all around -- plus the noise it makes when you hit a weakspot is satisfying.


Whenever you kill a Lume, it will spawn a Shield Explorer. A Shield Explorer is basically a regular Explorer Conscript, minus the gun but plus a shield. They have significantly more health than a Conscript (225, to be exact) but they can't attack, so they make decent meatshields to help hold off a Lume for a few additional seconds while you or your towers pick it off. They can be great for playing solo with Feats.


This is the same as Reinforcements, but it spawns 8 Shield Explorers around the core at the beginning of each wave. If any of the 8 die, they will be replaced on the following wave. BFF is an alright perk -- if you're getting leaks, it can buy you some extra time until the Lumes actually start attacking the core.


You deal 40% more damage when within 2 grid squares of a tower. This perk provides a solid damage boost, but with the limitation of needing to be very close to a tower -- which, much like Engineer, can severely hamper your ability to take care of specific threats if you want to get the full effectiveness out of the perk. It can, however, be a solid and reliable damage boost if your playstyles allows for it. Sniping on top of a Range tower in the middle of a cluster of other towers would be a great way to make good use of this perk.


Your shots are no longer effected by armor. This means you can shoot directly into the body of a Heavy and it will take full damage. It does NOT, however, remove the Hoverer's frontal armor damage decrease -- you still have to hit them in the back. This thing can be immensely powerful against Heavy enemy types.


This spawns a SiMo unit (only one at a time) when an enemy dies. The unit can then be commanded by using the F key and clicking a location to tell it where to go. They are attackable by Lumes and as such serve as a great distraction, since they also fire back. They can also act (somewhat) like an additional tower by placing them on top of a base.


If you kill an enemy with a weakspot hit, the overkill damage will be added to your next weakspot hit -- "overkill damage" meaning the damage that you did that didn't go towards killing the Lume. For example, if the Lume had 500 health and you killed it with a 1,000-damage weakspot hit, your next weakspot hit would deal 500 additional damage. Like many 4th DLC perks, this can be very useful if your playstyle lends itself to it.


Doubles the speed of your health regeneration and cuts the time you need to wait to regenerate HP in half. This is a great perk for Haigen, who is often at risk of being hit, but can work quite well for other characters as well. It does NOT, however, increase your actual HP value, so keep that in mind.


Your damage increases by 5% while standing still, up to a maximum of 50%. This could be used in tandem with Core Guardian and Long Range Superiority to create a very interesting long-range build. I personally find it necessary to almost always be on the move, but if your playstyle allows for it, this can be a solid perk.


It's Hip Fire 2.0! This one increases your damage by 40%, but decreases your accuracy rather than disabling your weakspot hits. Another solid boost if you don't mind the accuracy drop.


When a Lume dies from a weakspot hit, it will leave behind a poison cloud that applies a damage-over-time effect to any Lumes that walk through it. SiMo is great at weakspot hits and so this perk may get a little more use with him, although anyone can make good use of it.


Deals up to 75% additional damage based on how high above an enemy you are. This perk is basically MADE for Sweet, who jumps high enough to begin with, but along with Rymdskor can get some crazy height in each of her jumps. Worth a try if your playstyle supports it.


This is a very interesting and very varied perk. Every time you DON'T hit an enemy in its weakspot, your weakspot damage multiplier is increased by 12%. This can stack with itself up to 10 times and lasts for 15 seconds. This can be extremely powerful with Skye, SiMo and TSYGAN; Skye can increase her damage with a fast weapon, then get a huge bonus with a slow one; SiMo has a great weakspot multiplier to begin with; and TSYGAN has her massive end-of-mag damage bonus which, coupled with this perk, can cause some crazy damage. Again, however, your playstyle really needs to support this perk.

The standard enemy of Sanctum 2. They march through your maze without a care in the world -- unless you or another player gets in their way. Then they'll stop to bash you in the face repeatedly. Their weak spot is the "eye" on the front of their body.


The baby version of Walkers. They are much smaller and have significantly less health, but other than that they act the same as their older brothers. Their weakspot is also the eye on the front of their body, although it might be easier to just blow them all up with area attacks.


The scary, angry parent of the Walker. They're a little faster and have significantly more health. They will also perform a scary two-punch combo attack as opposed to the regular Walkers' single hit. Sometimes (often following their combo attack), they will launch themselves in the air, slamming down on the ground nearby you. Anticipate this and jump as they land or you'll take damage! Like their smaller bretheren, their weakspot is the red eye on their front.


Runners are about as small as Walker Pups and are much, much faster, making them somewhat obnoxious to hit. They are, however, no match for strong area attacks and towers such as the ACP. Rupture Mines (if you have DLC #2) also deal a decent amount of damage to them, but in normal play an ACP (or any fast-firing tower like a Gatling) is probably your best best.

Broodmothers are just larger Runners with more health. Both Runners' and Broodmothers' weakspots are in the red area on the front of their bodies.


Snorkers are like slower, weaker Runners. When you get close to them, however (even on top of a nearby tower base) they will charge at you and explode when they get close enough, dealing heavy damage. They'll also explode on your core -- don't let that happen. It's best to let your towers kill them or hit them with area attacks. If you can get some room to work with, you can snipe their backsides (which is where their weak spots are located).


Screamers will approach you and spit green blobs at you which deal moderate damage. They are shielded in the front (although they still take just about normal damage from all weapons), with their weakspot on their backside. It can be tough to get behind them in order to hit their weakspot unless you can get at them from a distance. Watch out -- don't always rely on "holding them off" by letting them spit at you and dodging -- sometimes they'll ignore you completely!


It's a Screamer mommy! Screamer Matriarchs are just like Screamers, but with heavily-armored frontsides and much more health. They are also somewhat faster, and their spitballs deal large area-of-effect damage on impact. Take them out in the same way you'd take out a regular Screamer.


Soakers do just what their name implies -- they soak up tons of bullets. Their weakspot is their ever-growing head -- with each shot it takes, it will get larger and the amount of weakspot damage the Soaker takes will increase. This means the best way to deal damage to a Soaker is to hit it multiple times. Sweet's burn also helps greatly, as does SiMo's weakspot multiplier bonus. The Gatling tower is also great against Soakers. Alone they aren't too much of a threat, but paired up with other Lumes they can hinder your day a bit.


Spitflies are the only "aerial" Lumes in the base game. They fly through the air, bypassing your maze completely (except on Train Station). If you get within range, they will fire a glob of goo at you much like Screamers do -- but this glob also slows your movement speed and dampens your jump height. It should be a priority not to get hit by these!

Their weak spot is the red "eye" near their front, slightly underneath their bodies. If you have the Anti-Air tower (in DLC #4), these guys can be ignored, more or less. Without it, they still aren't too much of a threat; you just need to remember to look up!


Don't get too close to these guys! They will release a shockwave, blowing away anyone that gets within range. Their weak spot (and the only place they can take damage!) is on their back -- do note that their wavy tentacles are also collidable, and do not count as weakspot hits -- so you may not get a weakspot hit 100% of the time, even while aiming at their backs.


These are armored Lumes who just LOVE when you leave straightaways in your maze. If a Rhino does not hit any turns in your maze, they will continuously speed up, charging faster and faster straight through everything! Hitting a turn will drop their speed to almost nothing while they figure out what to do. Dont stand in front of them -- if they charge you, you'll get severely hurt (or killed outright). Their weakspot is the teeny tiny eye on the front of their bodies -- it can be difficult to hit, so take care.


These are heavily-armored Lumes who take highly reduced damage from the front. In order to do full damage, you must shoot them from behind in the red spot on their backsides. They will not attack players, so you can feel free to get up close and personal. Focus towers are a good choice against these guys.


These guys can be your worst nightmare or completely trivial depending on your loadout and towers. The only place in which they take damage is on the bulbous, glowing mounds on the very top of their head. Aiming towers (except the Scatter Laser) are also completely baffled by Bobbleheads, opting to shoot for their centers rather than their heads and effectively doing nothing. Drone towers, however, can aim at and kill Bobbleheads effectively, so they are your best bet if you can't snipe them directly. SiMo is spectacular at killing these.

Do NOT ever let a Bobblehead get to your core -- otherwise it starts slamming its already-obnoxious head around, making it even tougher to hit. These guys should generally be a top-priority threat!

Mutators should be your top priority in (almost) every single wave they appear in. They do not attack on their own, but they do launch a globule into the air which seeks out a Lume and strengthens it, adding a "+" to its name like in Survival mode. Each + greatly increases the Lume's HP and defenses -- they can continuously add on a seemingly infinite number of times. I've seen a Walker Warrior with 21 plusses before!

Because of this, Mutators should generally be your first targets whenever they come up in a wave. However, something to note is that if Mutators have nothing left to mutate in a given wave, they will instantly drop dead -- there are a few waves (one in Laser Bridge comes to mind) where it's more effective to just kill all the other Lumes and let the Mutators die on their own.


These are flying Lumes who do not have an attack of their own. Instead, they actively seek out weakened Lumes and channel a beam into them which heals them slowly over time. Because of this they should be a top-priority target. Their weakspot is the red, glowing lump on their lower back.

It should be noted that Healers cannot heal other Healers. I've also never seen one get mutated (although it may be possible). In certain situations they like to stack up, which means area-of-effect weapons can be very useful. The Anti-Air tower from DLC #4 can also help greatly against them, as they can be a tough threat to single out with other towers.


Your stereotypical zombie, more or less. Their weakspot is the spore-like blob on the back of their head. When these Lumes lose all their health, they will drop to the floor and begin crawling -- their health will also fill back up. You must drop their health to zero again within a short period of time, or they'll stand back up and revive completely. When playing solo (and only when playing solo), Corpse Explosion is invaluable against these guys. Drones and the Focus tower are also good as they will keep holding their target even after it drops to the floor.


"Obnoxious" is a good word to describe Jumpers. They will jump over any section of your maze that's only one block thick, and they will also sometimes jump over smaller towers (although they may, rarely, just jump over the side of a block with a tower on it instead, or the very edge of the block next to it). Their weakspot is right on their front and looks a bit like that of a Walker. The best way to counter these guys is to build your maze two blocks thick in the most cost-effective way so as to guide them to your choke point.


The Walker of Heavies. These guys are basically Armored Heavies, but much smaller and more adorable. Their weakspot is in their eye socket (ew...). If you have Armor Shredder from the 4th DLC, these guys are completely trivial. If you don't...they're still completely trivial. SiMo may have some trouble with them if he can't effectively snipe them, but the Drone Launcher (which you get in this DLC) makes quick work of them regardless.


Yet another flying Lume, you meet Bliskeblaskes for the first time in the 3rd DLC. They are extremely slow, and their weakspot is the glowing lump that sits underneath them. When you deal damage to them, however, they will flip up a protective cover which hides their weakspot for a while, greatly increasing their armor. Because of this, Drones and Focus towers can be effective -- but even better is the Drone Launcher, which is conveniently obtained in the same DLC. If you have the 4th DLC, Anti-Air towers and Armor Shredder can both also be very useful.


Spore Keepers appear to be very threatening, but they can be handled very easily. Their weakspot is the red glowing segment that seems to act as their face. When you come within range of them, they will launch a globule into the air which wil start to home in on you -- if you shoot it, it will bounce back at them and they'll get stunned, which is pretty awesome. During this time you can freely shoot the approximate area of their head and they'll take weakspot damage.


These are the simplest fliers to handle. They do not actively attack you, but if they reach the core they will suicide bomb into it a la Snorkers. Their weakspot is the glowing red plate on their front side. They are mostly trivial once you get the Anti-Air tower (which is included in this DLC), and even without it they can be sniped down pretty easily. Doing the final four maps on Feats with no Anti-Air would be a bit silly, though.

If the Walker Warrior is the parent Walker...I guess this guy went to the gym or something, I don't know. But he's huge, has tons of health, and can even destroy your tower bases! The most effective strategy against this guy is to use AR-Mines -- build a Dispenser at the beginning of a map when you know a Patriarch will spawn, then place all the Mines you accumulate throughout the level on top of a tower base that you know he will smash. Once he smashes it, he'll walk over the mines and they'll explode, killing him. Done and done!

If you get within range of the Patriarch (which you shouldn't really be doing unless you absolutely need to) he will perform one of two attacks -- the first is a punch which applies a tremendous amount of knockback to you, and the second is a large area-of-effect smash that destroys all tower bases around it's impact area. If you're speedy, you can run "through" the Patriarch to juke it into attacking, but you need to take plenty of caution with this. In general it isn't recommended unless there's some special reason you need to kite/stall the Patriarch.

Otherwise, his weakspot is on his front, just like all Walkers. He is a top-priority threat and needs to be taken down as fast as possible, lest he destroy your entire maze!


Oooh, scary! This boss, like the Armored Heavy, takes greatly reduced damage all over its body. Unlike the Armored Heavy, however, this guy's weak spot is underneath his body on the inside of his legs. If you get within range of him, he will take a few seconds to aim a laser at you -- during this time, make sure to aim the laser away from any important towers! The laser completely obliterates anything in its path, including you! The plus side to the laser firing is that it gives you some time to get behind him and unload some bullets into his inner legs.

If you have the Drone Launcher (from DLC #3), you can simply sit by the core and fire Drones at it -- it will practically melt, presenting no challenge whatsoever. Next!


Similar to a Hoverer, only giant and beefy. This is one Hoverer you really, REALLY don't want to set off -- if it generates a shockwave near your towers, they will be disabled for a period of time! Its weakspot is also on its back, but it's very small -- SiMo excels here, as do Drone and Focus towers. Mines work well against this boss too, but you need to ensure that it will actually run over the mines and not some other Lume.


The only new boss through all four DLCs (and a flying one at that!), Friskeplaske is a massive pain. Its weakspot moves between its very front, underneath its two sides and its backside, and it ONLY takes damage through weakspot hits -- (almost) everything else does zero damage. Most towers will ignore it as they are unable to damage it. The only tower that does anything of worth to it is the Drone tower, which can pierce its armor.

Friskeplaske shoots blue globs into the air which choose a player and home in on them. If you get hit by all of them and you're not Haigen (and sometimes even if you are), you'll most likely die. Avoid them by strafing constantly or running away. If it reaches your Core, it will (generally) ignore all players and keep firing directly at the Core...this causes severe damage and should be avoided at all costs.

If you have the Drone Launcher from DLC #3, BRING IT!! It is the one weapon that can completely obliterate Friskeplaske's armor, knocking it down a few pegs from "scary" to "trivial". See the Coastline section of "Maps & Builds" for more details on this boss and the map he is found in.

Waves: 4
Starting Resources (Solo): 160
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 225
Notable Lumes: None
Notable Waves: None
Character Used: SKYE!


Very simple map -- just follow the instructions on-screen. It's important to understand how to build as it is one of the fundamental aspects of the game. You'll also learn how to aim, fire, etc. -- all good stuff to know -- so get some practice in here. You'll need it later on!

You COULD go all-out and build in a zig-zag pattern directly up by the door -- it's more efficient and you can kill Lumes faster -- but it's really not necessary to min-max on a map like this.

It doesn't seem that there is any increase in difficulty for turning on Feats of Strength (backed up by the fact that there are no Feat icons on the level select map).


Waves: 6
Starting Resources (Solo): 250
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 225
Notable Lumes: Soakers
Notable Waves: None
Character Used: Whoever


Nothing really too special about this one. It's a good level to teach you about the various Lumes and how they operate. Experiment with building and see what works for you. Soakers are a new Lume type: they can take a huge beating, but they also take more damage for each weakspot hit. The weakspot is tough to miss -- it's the giant, ever-expanding bulbous orange mass on their head. There are also Screamers, which spit yucky globs of...something-or-other at you. Their weakspot is on their back, and will be tough to hit solo.

The listed build is primarily for 5 Feats. The toughest Lumes will be the Walker Warriors around Wave 4, but the Focus will help greatly with them. Just remember to be on your toes and make each shot count.


Waves: 6
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 250
Notable Lumes: None
Notable Waves: None
Character Used: Skye


A lot of builds for Bio Lab seem to advocate stockpiling towers near the core; I'm not a fan of this. You can complete this level with relative ease without taking any Core damage! This was one of the first levels I practiced a lot on -- it's not terribly difficult, but can be a very entertaining level, especially when starting out. It presents an interesting layout with which to learn various strategies. In normal mode, play around with it -- I won't give explicit strategies here.

5 Feats can be a lot more fun. As soon as the map starts, you should probably sell off the Violators -- they will not really be useful. If you aren't confident in your shooting ability, build the Gatling during Wave 1 as well as the 4 blocks on either (horizontal) side of it and set the Gatling to target "Least Health". Upgrade it to level 3, but hang on to the extra tower bases for now. Stand near the "exit" to the small row you've created and fire away. The Lumes should all go down easily. The second wave should be much the same -- hang on to your resources and bases and start the wave right away.

During wave 3, build out the entire right side of the map. Pour all your resources into the Focus tower. During wave 3 you should assist the Focus -- overcharge it again at the start of Wave 4 and the right side should take care of itself. If you don't have a Focus yet, you can opt for a whole boatload of level 1 Lightning towers.

After wave 3, you can safely overcharge your Gatling tower as much as necessary, or even add some more towers on either side if you want to play around. It's not too difficult after this point.


Waves: 8
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Armored Heavy, Walker Patriarch
Notable Waves: 8
Character Used: Whoever


A new map introducing some new Lumes: Snorkers, The Armored Heavy and your first boss Lume!

Snorkers are simply small Lumes that act much like slower Runners. Snorkers, however, explode when you get too close to them...so don't do that. Their weakspot is the bulbous spore-y stuff on their backs. ;)

The Armored Heavy is, as its name implies, armored. It takes reduced (or even zero) damage from most of your shots, unless you shoot it in its weak spot -- its red, glowing backside.

The Walker Patriarch is a boss, and he spawns a few seconds into Wave 8. He has the unique ability to completely destroy your tower bases, which is a bit daunting at first.

Especially when dealing with 5 Feats, I highly recommend building a Mine Dispenser, and on top of that utilizing the mines laying around the map (seven in total). Place them on the lower of the two X blocks in the screenshot, on top of and as close to the edge of the block as possible. If you put mines on top of a tower base, the only thing that can run over them is the Walker Patriarch after he smashes it. Placing the mines appropriately will completely eliminate the Patriarch before it even becomes a threat to your other towers!

If you have troubles with the Armored Heavies, you can try using a Focus in place of the Gatling. Either can work. Remember to set your target priorities!

This was the first map that began to challenge me when I first started playing with 5 Feats. Once you get the hang of it, it's a surprisingly fun map to play through!

Waves: 11
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Spitflies (Plenty), Hoverers (A few), Rhinos (A few)
Notable Waves: Wave 11
Character Used: Not SiMo

Spitflies show up right from the first wave -- these Lumes are the first flying Lumes you encounter. If you get within range, they will start to shoot poisonous globs at you much like Screamers do -- except these globs slow your movement speed on impact. This effect stacks if multiple globs hit you and can render you incredibly sluggish if you aren't careful, so stay on the move.

The last wave is filled with all sorts of new Lumes! Hoverers are dangerous only at close-range: If you get too close to them, they will release a large shockwave that pushes back everyone within range -- this includes your friends in co-op! Their weakspot is on their back; they need to be shot from far away. Of note are their tentacles, which are fully collidable -- this means you'll often miss their weakspot if you just shoot aimlessly at their back.

Rhinos are armored Lumes which increase in speed as long as they are moving in a straight line. This is why I recommend building in a "wave" pattern rather than a straight line -- it doesn't really effect your ability to control the other waves, but does help you greatly in the 11th wave.

When playing on 5 Feats, a few waves get a bit more difficult, namely the waves with the Walkers. If you have the Mind Control Spire available to you, it could be beneficial to build just one (maybe two if you prefer) at the location indicated. I didn't upgrade either of mine in this particular build -- things die too fast for the extended duration to be of any use. It gives you that added bit of time to take out the Walkers in the waves that contain tons of them. You could also opt for a Range Spire instead, although there aren't too many resources to work with when playing solo, so you'll be missing out on some firepower. You would also be just fine with continuing to overcharge your Focus, although I prefer the added support of a Mind Control Tower/Range Spire.

One Anti-Air tower is also a boon on this map, as it allows you to completely ignore the Spitflies, which is nice.

The only reason I don't particularly recommend SiMo for this map is because there isn't much for him to take advantage of when playing solo, barring the last wave.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: None
Notable Waves: Waves 1, 2 & 10
Character Used: Haigen


You can use just about any character for this, but I prefer Haigen. The first two waves are the toughest because you have a very low resource count. I generally build the ACP first, however you could opt for building the Focus right away and overcharging that -- only a few waves actually use the ACP, but you should have it for when those waves arise.

If you are really, really confident in your shooting you can just build a Focus and overcharge it for the entirety of the map...but it can get dangerous quickly, even with Haigen's health bonus. I find the ACP helps.

For soloing this map I like using Haigen with the Tesla & Battle Rifle, along with Tactical Juxtaposition, Corpse Explosion and a third perk (Hollowpoint Rounds, Static Discharge, Against all Odds, etc). There are much better setups you can use but this one is applicable to those without DLC.

The 10th wave is only of note because it's got Spitflies -- and the tricky part is they can fly either way. They will *GENERALLY* fly towards the towers in this setup, but occasionally I've had them fly out of the other spawn, so just keep an eye out.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 325
Notable Lumes: Bobbleheads (Multiple), Walker Patriarch (1)
Notable Waves: 10
Character Used: Skye, SiMo

This is, first and foremost, the first level where you get to experience the joy of Bobbleheads. While simple for sniper characters and moderately difficult for everyone else, the prime difficulty of Bobbleheads comes from the fact that towers do not hit them (except for the Drone tower). Incidentally, the Drone Launcher (a DLC weapon) makes short work of them, although it does so slowly.

5 FoS makes this level significantly more interesting -- it's mostly a pain due to the presence of 2 cores; there's also no way to merge the two spawns into a single chokepoint. I've tried just one set of ACP & Focus at one single spawn, with a ton of overcharge, but it didn't seem to work as well.

This is the most effective build I've found for 5 FoS (short of Lightning tower spam, which also works). You will need to use your own judgement as to when to place and when to upgrade each tower. I normally end up with the right-side Focus overcharged just a bit, and all other towers upgraded to 3. During the waves with Spitflies, if you'd like to be able to ignore them, throw down an Anti-air. (It isn't necessary, but can save you some hassle.) The left-side Anti-Air does not need to be upgraded when playing solo; the right side may need to be level 3 since there are 6 Spitflies.

My personal build for this level was Skye with the Plasma Rifle & Drone Launcher. My perks were Tactical Juxtaposition, Armor Shredder (for Heavies -- this could be switched out easily) and Rymdskor.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 250
Notable Lumes: Walker Patriarch (1), Super Heavy (1), Spitflies
Notable Waves: 1, 2, 9
Character Used: Whoever

What's with the lack of tower bases?

I suggest selling the initial Focus before even moving, however if you choose to use it you can do that too (since on Hardcore it gives you a measly 75 resources). I generally sell it.

The level starts off with a surprise Patriarch fight. It's not too hard since there is no maze for him to destroy, and there are no other Lumes involved. Simply backpedal around the map -- occasionally turning and running forward to get some distance -- and don't get smacked in the face.

Other than that, this map is not too difficult. I reccommend slapping down an Anti-Air (if you have one) during the first build phase and upgrading it to Level 2. (Don't upgrade it to 3 -- you won't have enough to upgrade your ACP twice). The Level 3 ACP is essential for the next wave due to the mass of Walker Pups + a handful of Rhinos (if you can't gun them down yourself) -- this might actually be the toughest wave on this map -- so drop that next. It's up to you if you need the Focus or not -- I reccommend it for both the Super Heavy and the various bigger Lumes that come through, but your mileage may vary. If you have the Drone Launcher + Armor Shredder perks, the Super Heavy is basically a wet paper bag. If not -- just remember to aim him away from your maze. The problem during the boss wave is the Walkers -- not the Heavy.

Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Super Heavy (1)
Notable Waves: Waves 8 & 9
Character Used: Whoever


This build ended up completely crazy -- and it also pretty much goes against all the usual rules I use when building. Basically 90% of this build revolves around successfully completing waves 8, 9, and to some extent 4/5. 8 & 9 flood you with an absolutely crazy amount of Lumes, primarily Brood Mothers at a steady pace mixed with heavier Lumes. The problem arises when you do this solo -- there is nobody to take out the heavy lumes (Soakers, Heavies, Bobbleheads) that spawn at some of the other spawns.

This is possible without the DLC, but it's made much easier (if you'd call it that!) by the Drone Launcher and the Armor Shredder perk. The Drone Launcher allows you to effectively cover the "hidden" spawn that spits out Soakers, Heavies etc. without actually being there, which is a major boon. Incidentally, the boss wave isn't the issue here -- it's the sheer number and strength of the various Lumes throughout the other waves that causes an issue.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 280
Notable Lumes: Hoverer Queen
Notable Waves: Waves 1 & 10
Character Used: Skye, Haigen, TSYGAN


Oh my lord, that first wave! I feel like the waves on this map are out-of-order, and the first wave should be somewhere towards the middle of this map! The first and last waves are really the only difficult parts of this map. The only major thing I can suggest is Corpse Explosion -- this will help you at some pretty ridiculous levels with the swarms of Rhinos & Walkers that spawn throughout the map. The Hoverer Queen isn't too tricky.

Drop both towers at the beginning, since you don't have enough to make the ACP very great and you need as much firepower as you can get. You could also opt for the Level 1 Lightning spam as seen in many videos (originating from TigerHawkins, I believe, and adopted by many), but I don't think this will help in some of the later waves (or that hectic first wave). Get the ACP and Focus to Level 3 as fast as possible and then overcharge whichever you need more at that moment (primarily the Focus on this map).

If you don't have Anti-Air towers, you could slap any number of other small, weak towers down in its place; or, better yet, man that spawn yourself until the fliers are taken care of. I'm not super sure how to utilize the space on the upper-right of the minimap; I've tried quite a few builds and this one (or some very similar variation) always seems to work the best for me.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 200
Notable Lumes: Super Heavy (1), Walker Patriarch (1)
Notable Waves: 10
Character Used: Whoever

Still not as bad as Train Station, but pretty tough on 5 Feats without DLC weapons. The biggest thing here is, once again, Corpse Explosion. It's extremely invaluable for the herds of Walkers coupled with Screamer Matriarchs. Alternatively, you can build your chokepoint on the platform where the Walker Patriarch spawns in Wave 10, but that generally results in him almost immediately smashing your towers and that's no good.

If you build your chokepoint on the remaining platform (bottom-right on minimap), the Screamers will walk up the adjacent tree trunk and spit at your core...whoops. Not too much else of note here...just keep plowing through.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Super Heavy (1), Hoverer Queen (1)
Notable Waves: 6, 7, 8, 10
Character Used: Whoever

This can be a rough map your first time through -- it relies a lot more on your ability to shoot than the maps before it do. You need to be able to help out at least a little at both spawn points yourself. When playing this map normally, you can actually build just one ACP on the bottom along with a Range Spire, and it will hit both levels. Without the Range Spire, you can use a similar strategy to 5 Feats.

This one can be pretty tough to complete on 5 Feats without taking core damage. There isn't much you can do but (mostly) cover one single chokepoint and man the other one yourself. Waves 1 through 3 can (and should) be completed without any towers. You'll want to upgrade the ACP to 3 first, but then leave it as-is in favor of the Focus, which you should upgrade to 3 afterwards, then overcharge for the remainder of the level.

Wave 6 is notable for having five Spitflies. You should man that spawn yourself and take them out. You could place a tower over that way if you want, but I see it as a waste -- you could be putting that firepower into your Focus.

Wave 7 doesn't contain too much of note up top, but down below there are 25 Walkers which spawn in packs of five. You need to be on your game (or just use a lot of Corpse Explosion) to take them out while still paying attention to what's going on up top. The Walkers below should be taken out within just a few seconds after they spawn -- then the top is free for you to destroy. If you have the Plasma Rifle, just fire a horizontal line of shots just outside the spawn -- they'll explode and kill each pack of five. Just as the fifth pack of five dies, the Lumes should be reaching the top spawn and you can carry on with that.

Wave 8 contains a Super Heavy. It's not tough in and of itself, but be wary of the 15 Walkers that spawn alongside it -- try not to let it kill you or the maze. The Drone Launcher, of course, makes this wave a million times easier, but it's still doable without any DLC weapons.

Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 250
Notable Lumes: Hoverer Queen (1)
Notable Waves: None
Character Used: Whoever


I highly recommend taking Resilient Core for this map. I'm not sure how to build this map "properly" -- the way I cleared it on 5 FoS was just sticking a Focus by the core and overcharging it as high as it'd go. I completed it on the first try with 5 FoS and no Resilient Core -- it wasn't "difficult", per se -- but it is incredibly frustrating that no matter what, it seems my core will always take damage. With more than one person this map becomes much easier, but when playing solo with 5 Feats, it seems core damage is (nearly) unavoidable. I'm still experimenting with this one -- better builds would be much appreciated!



Waves: 7
Starting Resources (Solo): 200
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 200
Notable Lumes: Walker Patriarch (1)
Notable Waves: 7
Character Used: Whoever


This map is also kind of a pain. Just as The Depths, Labyrinth isn't particularly difficult, it's just a bit annoying. You are given a very slim number of walls and a very low number of resources -- this map is more about killing Lumes yourself than bringing them to a chokepoint and killing them. That being said, I don't think this build is ideal in any way -- I do it this way on purpose specifically to clear the map normally/on 5 Feats. There is a much better way to build this map which leads the Lumes all around the entire map a few times and streamlines them all to one core; this is probably much better for Survival.

That being said, build a Mine dispenser as soon as you can. If you have one, throw down an Anti-Air during the first wave with Spitflies -- you only really have to upgrade it once -- this way, you can ignore the Spitflies completely and focus on the Soakers/Walker Warriors.

During Wave 7, drop your mines on the block marked by the Red X. Due to the way this maze is built, standing on that block and shooting the Patriarch should make him follow you and smash the block (I've never seen him go any other way with this build after thorough testing -- let me know if he does). The mines detonate and boom -- dead Patriarch. The rest of the wave is just cleanup, and the 2 Focus towers by one of the cores help with that; the Pups in that wave will all head to that particular core after the block is smashed.

I personally build it this way because I find the "ideal" build sometimes causes the Patriarch to go where I don't want him to go -- and it's frustrating to lose the whole maze. Again, I would NOT recommend this build for Survival mode.



Waves: 9
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Walker Patriarch (1)
Notable Waves: 6 & 9
Character Used: Skye


The only tough part about this level is the first three or so waves. The first wave requires you to take down 10 Walkers basically on your own (since your chokepoint is very weak); the second wave has a few Bobbleheads and three Walker Warriors (which you also must, more or less, kill on your own); and the third wave has 25 or so Brood Mothers/their smaller kin. After this, your chokepoint should be good enough and all three spawns should be heading through it.

The ACP should be upgraded to 3, but not overcharged. The Focus took all my resources during my most recent runs of this level.

Skye makes this map a cinch, without the need for Corpse Explosion (though it doesn't hurt). I finish this level with ease using Skye with the Battle Rifle + Plasma Rifle. For perks I take Tactical Juxtaposition, Armor Shredder (DLC perk) and Fast Hands. She shreds through those poor Walkers, and the rest is easy.

There are a number of mines (glowy mushrooms) around the map which can be placed on top of towers for the Patriarch to smash, and consequently blow up. It's ideal if he leaves through the right side (when facing the spawn), but still very doable if he smashes your towers -- you just need to rely on yourself rather than your chokepoint.

The last wave (20 Spitflies, 10 Bobbleheads) kinda renders most of many builds useless -- this is what the Anti-Airs are for. If you don't have those towers, you can use pretty much anything small and fast that's capable of taking out Spitflies. Kill the Bobbleheads yourself (or use Drone towers, if you want to sell the ACP & Focus).



Waves: 1
Starting Resources (Solo): 6,000
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 6,000
Notable Lumes: Walker Patriarch (2), Super Heavy (2), Hoverer Queen (2), Lumes (lots)
Notable Waves: Wave 1
Character Used: Whoever


Finally...we're here. Believe it or not, this isn't as bad as it looks, even with 5 Feats! I recommend using the above build, although just about any similar build will work. You could throw in an Anti-Air for Spitflies but it's not really necessary. The only real issue here is the first Walker Patriarch. He'll crush your towers, of course -- so for this, we build a diagonal line or two across the map. This confuses the hell out of him and he'll run around smashing them, buying you ever-important time to bring him down before he ruins your maze. The second Patriarch is still an issue, but the Lume spawning starts to slow down by the time he shows up, so it's not nearly as awful. Sit down, buckle up, and fight your way through -- you're almost there! (Kinda)

If you don't have a Range Spire yet or don't have one available, you can omit it from the build. Just cut off one row of the 3x3 square in which the towers reside. I like to keep the Slow Field dispenser as far out of the way as possible so it doesn't end up smashed. I overcharge the ACP and Focus about evenly; other builds might work too, although I'd recommend going about 50/50 between the two. The Slow Field & Range Spire get no overcharge.

Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 400
Notable Lumes: Healers (Plenty), Mutators (A few)
Notable Waves: All waves with Mutators, 10
Character Used: Skye

This is a nice introduction to the DLC. You'll meet two new enemy types, and you're eased into them. First there are the Mutators: relatively quick, waddling creatures who can shoot a spore-like ball into the air. This ball will home in on a Lume and mutate it, adding a plus sign (+) to the end of its name. This greatly increases the Lume's HP and defenses, a la Survival mode. Mutators *NEED* to go down as soon as possible! When paired with Lumes like Walker Warriors or Soakers they can be absolutely devastating. The Mutators' weakspots are on their front "eyeball" -- try to focus on it if you can.

Healers are a bit simpler, but can be very tricky if you don't have Anti-Air (which you may not if you're playing this map for the first time). They simply seek out injured Lumes and slowly restore their HP by firing a beam of energy at them. They are flying Lumes and the beam is brightly-colored, so they are easy to spot. Their weakspot is on their back. The problem arises when they come in packs, such as on the Jellyfish Cove map (which we'll get to later).

With 5 Feats...Oh...oh wow. I don't know who this map was designed for, but it clearly wasn't me! This is decently difficult...I still can't get through it without leaks. Above is my personal build for the level...but I used Mind Control towers, which are from a later DLC. A decent alternative is to simply continue to overcharge the Focus tower, but the Mind Control Spires are pretty strong on this map, even for waves with Soakers (they stun them). I use Sweet (for the burn on Soakers) with Corpse Explosion, Armor Shredder (again, a later perk), and Fast Fingers. The first waves are, as always, the toughest (but Wave 2 is basically a freebie; I don't build towers until Wave 3). Wave 10 can get hectic (there are a lot of Screamer Matriarchs), so stay on your toes. I take Armor Shredder for the Armored Heavies -- priority should go to not letting those get mutated.

I am very open to suggestions on this map as I'm certain my build is not optimal. It's not easy!



Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 500
Notable Lumes: Healers, Mutators
Notable Waves: All waves with Mutators
Character Used: Whoever


As is often the case, the first wave is the toughest. Thankfully you are given a lot of resources to deal with waves after the first. Make sure you make good use of The Smasher itself; shoot the green panel in front of it and it will obliterate everything standing in its way.

With 5 Feats, the only thing I could do to successfully complete the first wave (without core damage) was to use an area-of-effect weapon (Plasma Rifle is best, but is unfortunately from the 4th DLC) with Corpse Explosion. Follow the build in the image's inset. Start near Spawn A to take out the first Mutator that spawns, then back up slowly towards the chokepoint you've constructed until you are positioned where the arrow is in the inset, killing Lumes along the way. Otherwise, the first wave is way harder than it needs to be. If you don't care about core damage it will be a lot easier; you could even take Resilient Core or the perk that damages Lumes when they touch the core if you wanted to go that far. I personally dislike the core taking intentional damage though, and this setup allows you to avoid that damage.

You could also opt for Build B instead, although it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, except that if the Screamer Matriarchs get through your defenses they can't spit at your core.

Wave 10 is, much like on the last map, much easier than the prior 9 simply because there are no obnoxious combinations of Mutators.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 500
Notable Lumes: Healers (Plenty), Mutators (Plenty), Walker Patriarch (1)
Notable Waves: 7, 9, 10
Character Used: Whoever

I hope you're ready for this map!

Wave 7 can be tricky as there are Mutators from each spawn. They need to be taken care of ASAP, but they shouldn't mutate anything too much.

Wave 9 is notable for having a whopping SIX Mutators from EACH of the three spawns, coupled with 2 Hoverers, 2 Screamer Matriarchs and 2 Walker Warriors. This seems easy, but the Mutators will quickly cause the Lumes they spawn with to become overpowered. However, there is one flaw -- if there is nothing for the Mutators left to Mutate, they'll all die. Focus on taking out the Lumes themselves in this wave rather than the Mutators and you'll be much better off. Start with the Hoverers -- the Focus should be able to cover the other spawn, and the Screamers are easy to distract. If things get too hectic and there's only 1 or 2 non-Mutator Lumes left, start pulling back and try to take out the Mutators (Corpse Explosion helps).

Wave 10's got a Patriarch, and he's paired with 17 Healers -- this can be tough. The rest of the wave should be cleaned up by your towers, but the Patriarch may cause some problems...or a lot of problems. AoE shots work wonders on the Healers, who like to bunch together in one place while healing their boss. Corpse Explosion is great in general for this whole map (as long as things don't get too mutated).

On 5 Feats, Wave 7 becomes absolutely ridiculous. Regardless of how I spread my towers, it always seems that at least 1 or two Lumes get mutated beyond belief. I'm honestly not sure how to fix that so if you have any suggestions, feel free to make them. After Wave 7, Wave 8 is incredibly easy. Not sure what the deal is there. Wave 9 can be dealt with in much the same way as on Normal, and Wave 10 could really, really, really use an anti-air if you have one -- otherwise it's much the same as on Normal, just beefed up a bit. Hang in there!


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 400
Notable Lumes: Friskeplaske (1)
Notable Waves: 10
Character Used: Whoever


Take Corpse Explosion...and watch just about everything on the map die. Of note are the lasers on the sides of the map, which can be activated by shooting the green indicator above them. This makes them melt everything in their path, so you should activate them at a time when they will hit the most Lumes.

If you have a Drone Launcher, the boss is a joke. Just do nothing but fire your drones at it and the boss's weakspot doesn't even matter (The Drones ignore armor). Throw in a Drone tower or two as well (definitely throw in some Drone towers if you don't have a Drone Launcher) -- put them in the middle, upgrade each to 3 and set to attack "Most Health". The boss will fall easily.

If you don't have the Drone Launcher, the only other surefire way to kill the boss is with Drone towers and by hitting its weakspot, which constantly moves all over its body. This can be a massive pain since it's flying in the air and the weakspot periodically appears on its backside, meaning you've got to go scuba diving in droves of Lumes to hit it properly. Honestly, I recommend getting the Drone Launcher or stockpiling Drone towers so you can make this boss a piece of cake. It's extremely frustrating any other way. On Normal it's decently doable but on Feats it's more of a hassle than anything.

Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 400
Notable Lumes: Jumpers (A bunch)
Notable Waves: 9, 10
Character Used: Whoever


This isn't a super difficult map, but it does a good job of introducing one of the new Lume types in this DLC: the Jumper. These little annoyances have the ability to jump over any walls you build that are a single block in width. One way to deal with them is to simply double up on your wall thickness while trying to build the most cost-effective choke point possible, so you don't waste too many walls funneling them to where they need to go.

I prefer to place the choke where it is in the image, and I like to use an area-of-effect weapon like the Battle Rifle alongside a strong single-target weapon.

There isn't too much to note on the map when it comes to 5 Feats -- compared to a lot of what you've been through, it's not all that tough. The difficulty ramps up pretty nicely. I recommend building the Focus first, upgrading to 3, then building the ACP and upgrading that. Overcharge the Focus afterwards, except for the wave with the Runners where you should overcharge your ACP just a bit so it can surely handle them itself.

There are several variations on this build -- a Mind Control Spire wouldn't hurt for 5 Feats if you have it -- it will help greatly with the last wave, as the Walker Warriors & Screamer Matriarchs might end up leaking when mixed with the Hoverers. The wave's composition, like a few others on this map, results in most of the Lumes reaching your choke point simultaneously, which can be dangerous.

If you have the Drone Launcher, it can help greatly with the Hoverers while also helping to clear whichever spawn you aren't manning -- a Drone tower might not hurt either, even if you have the Drone Launcher. Putting it up by the lower spawn might not be such a bad idea, where it has the capacity to hit both sets of Lumes that spawn. You should build it after setting up your primary defenses -- same with the Mind Control. You could use either of these (or even both!) but I'd say just one or the other when playing solo -- otherwise your Focus will be too weak. I also highly suggest the Tinkerer perk to increase your towers' damage, especially if you've decided on using the Drone tower (I'd opt for the Mind Control, but a Drone could also be useful).


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 350
Notable Lumes: Infected Explorers (Plenty), Jumpers (A bunch), Hoverer Queen (1)
Notable Waves: 5, 10
Character Used: Skye/TSYGAN

This map introduces you to another new buddy: The Mutated Explorer. These are your stereotypical zombies, more or less, and they have what essentially amounts to two lives -- dropping their health to zero causes them to drop to the ground and crawl instead of walk, but their health bar fills back up. You have to deplete it again (and you only have a short period of time to do this) in order to actually kill them (and activate Corpse Explosion, if you have it). If you don't re-kill them fast enough, they stand back up and start all over again!

On Normal mode you don't need to go to extreme lengths by using something like a Mind Control tower. Based on your playstyle this can be one of the hardest maps so far or one of the easiest maps in the entire game. Drones and/or the Drone Launcher are highly recommended -- there are quite a few Hoverers, and Wave 5 has Bobbleheads along with a fun-time party of a bunch of other stuff.

With 5 Feats, Wave 5 is notable because it has an absolute butt-ton of Bobbleheads, plus a few Soakers and a bunch of Rhinos. I personally focus on taking out the Bobbleheads first, as I choose not to use a Drone on this map. If you don't have the Drone Launcher (or you just have bad aim), I highly suggest using a Drone or three in place of the MC tower. You could even throw them in front of the Bobbleheads' spawn if you want. It wouldn't hurt.

Wave 10 throws you a Hoverer Queen, plus a smattering of Walker Warriors (ouch), plus some Hoverers...not fun. This is where Drones can help you greatly as well. If you have the Drone Launcher, you should probably be using it on this map with 5 Feats!

In the waves with Jumpers, start the wave by focusing on the non-Jumper Lumes that come out, but keep a close eye on the Jumpers in case they slip through your defenses (which they may, early on). And another thing -- CORPSE EXPLOSION!! This perk works wonders on this map.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 350
Notable Lumes: Infected Explorers (Plenty), Jumpers (Too many)
Notable Waves: 10
Character Used: Skye

Once you can figure out how to build it, this level isn't too bad. The only major issue is the massive hoard of Walker Warriors in Wave 10...stuff will start leaking on Feats and I'm not too sure how to combat it. The main issue with this map is you need to essentially build the entire thing around getting Jumpers where they need to go, which is kind of obnoxious.

Wave 10 + Feats...not really sure what to make of it. Corpse Explosion normally helps, but not so much against this wave. There may be a better way to build it...suggestions are more than welcome. Regardless, Wave 10 is the tough stuff. Just make sure you bring along something to deal with the Bobbleheads & Hoverers in the waves prior (there aren't too many) and you should be OK.

This map is so ridiculous it gets its own section.


Waves: 11
Starting Resources (Solo): 500
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 350
Notable Lumes: Jumpers (Too many), Walker Patriarchs (4) (!!!)
Notable Waves: 11 (On Feats, all of them)
Character Used: TSYGAN

I am very, very pleased to say that after a very long time, I've finally completed this map solo, with 5 Feats and without taking any core damage at all. Big, BIG thanks goes to Ress (in the comments below) who gave me the push I needed to find an optimal strategy and finish this after giving up some time ago.

The above diagram is pretty close to the build I used on 5 Feats, although it leaves some wiggle room. However there are "hard requirements" you absolutely need to be able to pass certain waves (detailed below). I used TSYGAN with REX and the Ballista. My perks were Corpse Explosion, Hollowpoint Rounds and Explosive Exchange. This IS completable on 5 Feats solo with NO core damage using ONLY DLC 1 and 2 weapons!

Wave 1: you want to get your Focus down so you can take out the left side, then get over to the right ASAP to deal with the Armored Heavies.

Waves 2 & 3: Build your Mine Dispenser. Upgrade it until you don't have enough to upgrade it to the next level. Do not touch the Focus until the Mine Dispenser is done. Once the Focus & Dispenser are upgraded to 3, build the first Drone and start upgrading it to 3.

Wave 4: Double-up the left side and take down the Jumpers as fast as possible. Make sure you swap weapons when close to them to benefit from Explosive Exchange, and use the Ballista's primary fire. Aim the REX at the ground beneath them, not directly at them -- it's too risky. As soon as you've killed them all, get over to the right to assist with the Walker Warriors. On the right side, focus on building and upgrading your first Drone -- you will need it for Wave 6.

Wave 5: Revert the left side to the original design and build it out. Stand close to the entrance of your maze and fire the Ballista's secondary fire into the ground to take them out. Make sure to switch weapons amidst the swarm of Lumes to take most of them out. If a Runner slips through, let it come around and switch weapons on top of the tower bases to take it out without letting others slip past. On the right-hand side you should build your Focus and upgrade it as much as you can. Make sure that during these waves you drop Mines as necessary (on the right-hand side ONLY!) to help support the tower. You will need at least one or two Mines over there for this Wave. Continue stockpiling the rest.

Wave 6: On the right, build your second Drone and upgrade it to 2. You'll have just enough resources. You will not touch the Drones from now until Wave 11 when you sell them. The left side isn't very difficult with the Ballista's secondary fire and Rex, along with TSYGAN's boosts. You can stall the Screamers right when they spawn and, along with Corpse Explosion, take out almost everything that spawns before it's even out of the gate.

Wave 7: Now you'll build your second Mine Dispenser. The rule from now on is to only upgrade your Mine Dispensers when you have enough to get them to the next level -- don't bother putting resources into them if you can only get half a level. Put the rest into your second Focus until it's at level 3. One a Dispenser reaches Level 3, build a new one.

Wave 8: You're going to change the whole left-hand side again to accomodate the Jumpers. With the Ballista's secondary fire and REX this shouldn't be too hard, just make sure you get the most out of your Explosive Exchange and be on top of your game.

Wave 9: Broodmothers on the right. Yuck. The zombies are easy; just make sure you have enough Mines to hold off the Broodmothers while you're killing Explorers on the left. Kill them quickly enough and you can jump over to the right so you're not wasting too many Mines. By now you should have plenty stockpiled.

Wave 10: With your two Level 2 & 3 Drones and two Level 3 Focus towers at the ready, continue building out the last of your Mine Dispensers. Lay down PLENTY of Mines on the right (from about midway through the maze, right up until the exit) to take out the Screamer Matriarchs. Most of the Bobbleheads should die on their own, but you may need to jump over to assist in killing one or two. The priority on the left side is to take out the Jumpers ASAP, generally by Corpse Exploding things around them in addition to REX & the Ballista's splash damage.

Wave 11: Here we are...Sell all of your towers except the Mines. Build one Focus on the left side as indicated and upgrade it to 2. This will ensure the Patriarchs go where you want them to. On the right, again build a Focus as indicated. You shouldn't have much of a pressing need to upgrade it. Use the remaining resources to build and upgrade Mine Dispensers to 3 (ONLY 3 -- don't bother if you can't get it to 3), and then put the rest into your left-hand-side Focus.

You will want to place about 10-15 Mines at each of the X marks on the graphic above. You should put above 10 spread evenly across the walking path and about 5 right next to them on the tower base. The Patriarchs will simply walk down the path if you only put Mines on the tower bases, so give them no option. The Focus will prevent them from smashing any other rows of towers. The Mines should take care of both of them.

You should have just enough Mines left (about 10 or 12) to take out the first Patriarch on the left side. You should then utilize any remaining Mines to kill the remaining Patriarch, coupled with REX's secondary fire and the Ballista's primary (ending your clip with a secondary, of course). Try to shoot it in the eye as much as possible. If it starts getting close to the core, kite it! Put your back to the central ramp and let it smack you around. Once you take down that Patriarch, you are done with what is easily the hardest map to complete solo with no core damage. Congrats!

For the duration of the map, you will be on the left-hand side taking care of all the small Lumes. You MUST be able to take them out completely by yourself -- no tower help is allowed!

Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 250
Notable Lumes: Heavy Pups (Lots), Bliskeblaskes (Several), Super Heavy (2)
Notable Waves: 5, 6, 8, 10
Character Used: TSYGAN

Welcome to yet another world of new Lumes! The good news is that these guys are MUCH less annoying than Jumpers and even Mutated Explorers.

Wave 3 is full of Bobbleheads, so man their spawn yourself. The ACP means you don't have to worry about the other spawn.

Wave 5 has your other new friend: The Bliskeblaske! Besides having an awesome name (we like to Americanize it and pronounce it "Bliskey-blaskey"), they are also FLYING Lumes! Wooo! Their weakspot is underneath them -- if you shoot them, they clam up and become super armored for a brief period of time. This makes SiMo great against them, although the Armor Shredder perk (from DLC 4) makes quick work of them too. Thankfully, they're also very slow, so you have a lot of time to learn how they work during this wave. The other spawn is also not all that interesting, so you can focus on the Bliskes.

Wave 6 is only of note due to the Hoverers -- as always, make sure you keep them under control. The maze is built in such a way as to stagger the Lumes so they don't all reach your maze at once.

Wave 8 is absolutely full of flying Lumes -- 10 Bliskeblaskes and 10 Spitflies. If you've got an Anti-Air it shouldn't be a challenge -- without out, just remember to keep an eye out. You should be able to focus mostly on them throughout this wave.

The last wave has two -- count 'em, TWO -- Super Heavies. If you've got the Drone Launcher (which you probably should) this is cake -- just stand by the core and target one of them at a time. If you have Armor Shredder as well, this wave might as well not even exist. ;)


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 200
Notable Lumes: Hoverer Queen (2)
Notable Waves: 10
Character Used: SiMo


Normally I prefer building from the Core, but on this map I find it beneficial to build from the spawns in straight, long rows. There are no Rhinos, so there's no real downside to it -- plus it allows you to more easily hit the Hoverers/Bobbleheads that spawn over the course of the map.

Wave 10 is scary not because of the 2 Hoverer Queens, but because of the 15 (!!) Soakers. SiMo is best at taking out both types of Lumes, although Sweet often makes quicker work of the Soakers.

Other than that, there's not too much of note here -- just make sure your ACP is overcharged enough to kill the Runners in one of the later waves. Corpse Explosion is still good here (as it generally is in single player non-survival), and the Drone Launcher is also awesome, as it generally is. There is no real need for the Anti-Air when just doing Feats, but it does help you ignore those Lumes if you have it.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Walker Patriarch (1)
Notable Waves: 6
Character Used: Whoever


In theory, SiMo would be great for this map because he can deal with Bobbleheads well, and that's the only troublesome wave. However he has a hard time dealing with the first few waves, which is when you need help the most...so I'd recommend Skye/TSYGAN/Haigen as they can easily handle the first 2 or 3 waves on their own.

On feats, Wave 6 is the only real notable wave due to the Bobblehead/Rhino combo. The Rhinos will take advantage of this maze design and will probably end up hitting your Core -- then you'll panic and start trying to kill them while the Bobbleheads start slamming your Core too, which makes a big mess. However other designs that are better for this wave cause the first 4-5 waves to become a much large issue, so I still opt for a build such as this.

Wave 10 has a Walker Patriarch, but you know how to deal with those by now. ;)

Drone Launcher is, as always, a plus, and Anti-Airs can be great if you have them so you don't have to take down the Bliskeblaskes.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Super Heavies (3)
Notable Waves: 5, 10
Character Used: Whoever


This might be one of the simplest maps in the game with Feats. I used Sweet with the Drone Launcher and Plasma Rifle (although you could easily use something like the Battle Rifle instead), with Tactical Juxtaposition, Corpse Explosion and Armor Shredder (which is from DLC 4, but not necessary if you have the Drone Launcher).

Prep your ACP over the course of the first 2 waves. Everything will die easily before it even reaches the choke as long as you're actively fighting. Wave 3 has 20 Runners, but they'll fall to your ACP.

Wave 5 can be a bit tricky due to the Hoverers & Screamers, but it shouldn't be a huge deal.

Wave 10 spawns 3 Super Heavies from the same spawn. By now you should have the Drone Launcher, which makes quick work of them -- and if you've got Armor Shredder, this wave might as well not even exist. The rest of the wave does not spawn anything of note.

If you've completed the rest of the game on 5 Feats, this series of maps will more than likely be trivial to you. If you're just starting these maps on Normal for the first time, you can expect a relatively decent challenge, but nothing as jarring as, say, The End or Jellyfish Cove for the first time.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 400
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: Spore Keepers, Spore Pods
Notable Waves: 4, 5, 8, 10
Character Used: Whoever


GUESS WHAT! All your old buddies are back! And that includes Mutators and Jumpers! OH BOY! Thankfully, they are much easier to deal with in this particular DLC.

There a few important things to take note of in this DLC: First of all, on each map there are two separate lanes of Lumes -- the normal ground spawn points and an additional spawn point in the air, through which all flying Lumes will come. Make sure you pay attention to what is spawning when!

In addition to this, you are given the Anti-Air as you progress through the final 5 ranks of the game. This tower is invaluable, but it has a few quirks. If it fires two shots at a particular Lume and the Lume dies after the first shot, the second shot will just explode without doing anything. Because of this, I find it's best to have at least two Anti-Airs when playing solo -- one in the front of the maze and one at the back. I generally set both to different configurations -- "Closest" and "Least Health", for example. This way the one in the back will pick up the front turret's stragglers.

Spore Keepers are interesting - they can't attack directly. Instead, they shoot a big spore ball up into the air, which you should shoot. This reflects the ball back at them and it explodes, stunning all Spore Keepers within its radius and making it a bit easier to hit their weakspot (which is, for all intents and purposes, their face).

Wave 4 is notable because it contains your old pals, the Mutators. There are 7 of them and they all spawn from the same side. You can either focus down the Walkers or the Mutators -- I'd suggest the Mutators. However, with the Drone Launcher and your Focus tower, even a Walker Warrior with 10 pluses or so is pretty simple to deal with as long as you can lead him around a bit.

Wave 5 contains JUMPERS! Hooray! There are 7 from either spawn -- make sure you back up your Focus tower.

Wave 8 has more Mutators along with some Infected Explorers. As (almost) always, take out the Mutators first.

Wave 10 spawns a little bit of everything from all the DLCs: It's got Spitflies, Mutators, Healers, Jumpers, Heavy Pups, Bliskeblaskes, Spore Pods and Spore Keepers -- thankfully it only has just a few of each, so it's not too bad -- however it's a fun recap on all that we've been through.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: None
Notable Waves: None
Character Used: Whoever


There is honestly not much to say about this map. The toughest part is probably the first two waves, simply because I generally drop an Anti-Air before doing anything else, but Corpse Explosion makes quick work of the Walker Pups and Snorkers. The only tower you really need to use is an upgraded Focus. I used Sweet simply because it makes the Soakers melt, and nothing else is really all that challenging.

There are a few Jumpers on one of the waves, but since they are so few and far between, they don't really present a challenge as you can focus on killing them yourself along with your Focus tower.


Waves: 10
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 400
Notable Lumes: None
Notable Waves: 8
Character Used: Whoever


Again, there isn't much to say about this map. There are more clever builds than this, but this build is focused on Feats (meaning you shouldn't be selling any towers). You can drop the first Anti-Air in the first wave, upgrade it to 3, and drop the Focus and put your last remaining points into it so it can help you out with the Walker Warriors.

I generally don't advocate using the Rolfinator when playing solo -- it can be useful, but this map is so simple it ends up being a waste of time. With a second player it can be utilized much more effectively.

You should probably build your second Anti-Air on Wave 5 (there's 30 Spore Pods -- a significantly higher number than on the previous waves).

Wave 8 might call for a third Anti-Air somewhere in-between the first two. 60 Spore Pods is quite a bit, and they do move fast with Feats on. I generally configure all 3 towers to target different Lumes. One uses "Most Health", another is set to "Least Health" and the third uses "Closest".

When playing with multiple people, remember to overcharge your Anti-Airs enough during the later waves so they can handle all the Spore Pods!



Waves: 2,147,483,647
Starting Resources (Solo): 300
Resources Per Wave (Solo): 300
Notable Lumes: None
Notable Waves: None
Character Used: Whoever

All you've gotta do is make it past Wave 10. Good luck. ;) Feats are granted automatically as you progress through the waves.

(If enough people complain I'll write a guide here, but I don't think you need one at this point!)

Just a section for any cool and interesting builds I pick up along the way. These are not necessarily "good" in many (or even any!) situations, but they can be interesting and fun to try, especially when grouped with others. Feel free to suggest your own!

Perks are listed in order of priority, since you may not have some DLC perks.

Character: Sweet/TSYGAN
Weapon 1: Battle Rifle
Weapon 2: REX/Grenade Launcher/Smatter Band
Perk 1: Long Range Specialization
Perk 2: Long Range Superiority/Upper Class/Armor Shredder/Spray & Pray/Hip Fire
Perk 3: Long Range Superiority/Upper Class/Armor Shredder/Spray & Pray/Hip Fire

Stand far away from Lumes and fire away! This build takes advantage of Sweet's burn (based on damage done) and TSYGAN's "last shot does tons of damage" perk. Long Range Specialization makes your explosion reach much, much farther, giving it massive area capacity. The second and third picks are your choice and will probably change based on amp. Long Range Superiority and Upper Class are both great, and the others are okay as well. REX is great for the massive bursty damage, but if you dislike the knockback (or can't position yourself with your back to a wall) you can go with another explode-y weapon. If you do pass up on REX, consider using a perk like Steady Aim since you won't be moving much, if at all. This build works spectacularly in multiplayer.

Character: Skye
Weapon 1: Battle Rifle/REX/Grenade Launcher
Weapon 2: Smatter Band
Perk 1: Long Range Specialization
Perk 2: Tactical Juxtaposition
Perk 3: Long Range Superiority/Upper Class/Steady Aim/Armor Shredder

Much like Sweet's build, but utilizes weapons that hit more times and faster to take advantage of Skye's perk. Tactical Juxtaposition makes the chosen weapons fire faster. You could also opt for something like the Grenade Launcher, although I wouldn't recommend Tac Jux for that -- and I'd only pair it with the Smatter Band in this build.

Character: Haigen
Weapon 1: Your choice
Weapon 2: Your choice
Perk 1: Overcharge/Hydra Blood
Perk 2: Spiked Armor
Perk 3: Desperate Measures/Explosive Exchange

Try mixing and matching the above perks based on skill level and where you prefer your damage to come from. This build basically assists in dealing damage to anything that gets within range of you, and is probably the "Tankiest" build I can think of.

Character: Whoever
Weapon 1: Plasma Rifle
Weapon 2: Drone Launcher
Perk 1: Tactical Juxtaposition
Perk 2: Armor Shredder
Perk 3: Fast Hands/Warming Up/Other damage perks

This is just a solid build all-around, usable in almost any situation. The Plasma Rifle provides great single-target damage (which a high weakspot multiplier!) as well as spectacular area damage. The Drone Launcher practically provides you with a second player and is great for stuff like Soakers and Heavies -- they can almost be completely ignored. With Armor Shredder involved, forget it! Many maps become trivial.

Character: Whoever
Weapon 1: Your choice
Weapon 2: Your choice
Perk 1: Resilient Core
Perk 2: Shocking Revelation/Unstable Core/Core Guardian
Perk 3: Shocking Revelation/Unstable Core/Core Guardian

Stand on top of the core and fire away. Works best with long-range weapons, but you can do it with just about anything. Things will hit the core and take damage (or get stunned), and you'll do more damage on top of it if you pick Core Guardian. Not really a build I'd personally recommend, but an interesting one, and good if you're relatively new and get a lot of leaks. Resilient Core DOES stack with multiple players, so that's something to note too.

Character: Not Haigen!
Weapon 1: Drone Launcher
Weapon 2: Your choice
Perk 1: Core Guardian
Perk 2: Long Range Superiority/Armor Shredder
Perk 3: Tactical Juxtaposition

Stand right on top of the core and fire away. Watch as everything dies. You can complete The Depths on normal by simply sitting on top of the core and firing Drones with a single Focus tower built.