# Waves 🌊

The number of waves depends on the difficulty: **Easy** has 10 waves, **Normal** has 20, and
**Hard** has 50. Each wave is split into two parts:

* **Build phase** - You place or upgrade defenders
* **Wave phase** - Enemies spawn and march toward the gate

## How a Wave Works

1. The build phase starts.
2. You spend your gold on new defenders or upgrades.
3. The wave phase begins.
4. Enemies spawn in small groups with short delays.
5. The wave ends when all enemies are gone or have reached the gate.
6. You get gold from kills and wave completion.
7. The next build phase starts.

![Wave HUD with defenders fighting enemies](images/showcase/hud-overview.png)

*The HUD shows wave progress, enemy count, gate health, gold, and your current defender setup.*

## Gold Rewards 💰

| Event                    | Gold |
|--------------------------|------|
| Wave completed           | 30g  |
| Bonus: no enemies leaked | +20g |
| Swarm kill               | 3g   |
| Walker kill              | 5g   |
| Runner kill              | 8g   |
| Berserker kill           | 10g  |
| Shaman kill              | 12g  |
| Tank kill                | 20g  |
| Miniboss kill            | 50g  |
| Boss kill                | 100g |

If no enemy reaches the gate during a wave, you get an extra 20g bonus.

## Wave Progression (Test Arena / Easy)

The list below shows the 10-wave flow on Easy difficulty. Normal (20 waves) and Hard (50 waves)
follow a similar buildup but run longer, add more Tanks, Shamans, and Berserkers, and bring in
Minibosses and Bosses on later waves. Other arenas follow a similar pattern, even if exact wave
files differ.

| Wave | Main threats                                       |
|------|----------------------------------------------------|
| 1    | Walkers only, simple introduction                  |
| 2    | More Walkers                                       |
| 3    | Walkers with the first Runners                     |
| 4    | Walkers and Runners                                |
| 5    | Walkers, Runners, and a Tank                       |
| 6    | Runners, Berserkers, and Walkers                   |
| 7    | Swarms and Walkers                                 |
| 8    | Tanks, Swarms, and a Shaman                        |
| 9    | Runners with Tank support                          |
| 10   | Swarms, Berserkers, and a Shaman in the final wave |

## Difficulty Differences

|                      | Easy        | Normal      | Hard        |
|----------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| Starting gold        | Higher      | Standard    | Lower       |
| Enemy health         | Reduced     | Standard    | Increased   |
| Enemy speed          | Slower      | Standard    | Faster      |
| Enemies per sub-wave | Fewer       | Standard    | More        |
| Miniboss / Boss      | Not present | Later waves | More common |

Different difficulties do not only change stats. Wave compositions can also change.

## Tips 🧠

* Use the build timer well because it is your main planning window
* A perfect wave gives bonus gold, so clean defense matters
* Waves 7 to 10 are much more dangerous, especially on Hard
* Try to have your core defense ready before wave 6