Hacks

Hack node marker

Hacks are the run items that stick. Where a Mod is something you buy in the Shop, slot, and can sell again, a Hack is a long-lasting modifier you earn on the Monolith — and it rewrites a rule for the rest of your climb. The in-game onboarding says it plainly: "These are hacks — earned through <Hack> Wave mastery," and Hack Waves "contain long lasting Hacks." No slot, no upkeep, no selling them back. Pick one and it just works for the rest of the run.

There are two tiers: the 28 Hacks (the standard pick) and the 8 Elite Hacks (rarer, stronger, build-warping). This page lists every one, exactly as the game's data defines it.

Quick facts

What it is: a long-lasting, run-wide modifier earned at a Hack node — not a Shop Mod, and it takes no Mod slot.
How many: 28 Hacks + 8 Elite Hacks = 36 total, plus one special Monolith Shard.
Where you get them: at a Hack node ( "Hack available") on The Monolith. Elite Hacks come from Elite Hack nodes () — and since 0.9.7 those "only appear in a specific range on the Monolith."
The Augment alternative: at an Augment node the game offers a trade — "Alternatively, you can pick a powerful Elite Hack." You take the Augment or the Elite Hack, not both.
Other ways in: Glitches and node Rewards can roll a random Hack (it's one of the reward kinds in EnemyReward and MonteReward).
Some are Tool-locked: a handful only work on a specific Tool (e.g. Strong Coffee is Pistol-only, Firestarter is SMG-only). Most work on every Tool.
They don't sell, can't be slotted, and don't compete with your build — they sit on top of it.

Hacks vs. Mods — the one-line version

A Mod lives in a Mod slot, costs Coins, and can be sold. A Hack is a free, permanent rule-change you earn on the climb and can never lose. If you ever see a "permanent" effect that isn't in the Shop and isn't eating a slot, it's a Hack.

How you get a Hack

Climbing The Monolith, you pick your route one node at a time. Two of those node types hand you a Hack:

Hack node icon Hack node — "Hack available." Clear the Wave and you choose a standard Hack as the reward. The onboarding calls these "long lasting Hacks" earned "through Wave mastery."

Elite Hack node icon Elite Hack node — "An Elite Hack is available here." The stronger tier. Since update 0.9.7, Elite Hacks "only appear in a specific range on the Monolith," so you won't see them everywhere.

And there's a third route worth planning around — the Augment node trade. When you reach an Augment node the game tells you: "Alternatively, you can pick a powerful Elite Hack." So an Augment stop can become an Elite Hack stop instead. That's a real decision: a playstyle-defining Augment, or a flat run-wide power-up. Read your build and pick the one that does more for it.

A Hack is not a Shop Mod. It never appears in the Shop, it never takes a Mod slot, and it can't be sold. That's the whole point — it's pure upside layered on top of whatever Mods you're running. (Glitches and Reward nodes can also grant a random Hack, so the occasional Hack lands without a dedicated node.)

The 28 Hacks

These are the standard-tier Hacks. Effect text below follows the in-game description (game data build 1.0.1), with the Coin/Cash sprite icons written out as words. The Tools column says where each one works — All means every Tool; otherwise it lists the specific Tool(s).

Hack	Effect (in-game)	Tools
Robot Arm	Reloading happens automatically.	Pistol, Shotgun, Burst, SMG
Deep Search	Refreshing the Shop starts at 0 Coins.	Pistol, Shotgun, Burst, SMG
Extra Bounty	Node Rewards are worth +5 Coins.	All
Loaded Dice	+2% Critical Hit chance for each slot in your mag.	All
Glitch Guarantee	Hits on Glitches have +100% Critical Hit chance.	All
Miracle Wax	All Mods sell for double value in the Shop.	Pistol, Shotgun, Burst, SMG
Exploding Rounds	Projectiles explode when hitting the environment as well.	All
TurboCharger	Explosion radius increases by 0.1m after each shot in mag.	Pistol, Shotgun, Burst, SMG
Glitch Injector	Spawn 1 more Glitch each Wave.	All
Buffet	Add an extra option in the Shop.	Pistol, Shotgun, Burst, SMG
Dead Center	One pellet is always dead center.	Shotgun
Bouncy Ball	Projectiles ricochet off the environment.	Shotgun, Auto Shot
Frost Shots	Projectiles create a Freeze-splosion when hitting the environment.	All
Glitch Hunter	Glitch rewards are worth double.	All
Frozen Glitch	Hits on frozen Glitches are worth double.	All
Glitchy Timer	Glitches last twice as long.	All
Combo Glitch	Hitting a Glitch sets your current Combo to the max.	All
Glitchy Reload	Hit a Glitch to reload instantly.	All
Firestarter	Start the Wave with 5 Heat.	SMG
Jackpot	Instantly gain 50 Cash.	All
Laser Sight	Adds a laser sight.	All
Capacitor	Last cartridge in your magazine gives an extra lightning arc.	All
Static Overload	Adds 5x when the lightning can't Arc.	All
Fork Lightning	Lightning arcs to two targets instead of one.	All
Strong Coffee	Start each Wave at Max Combo.	Pistol
Boomerang	First bullet that misses after a hit is instantly loaded back into mag.	SMG
Charged Spring	Reloading increases your Combo by 2x (if not at max already).	Pistol
Ice Cube	Freeze as many items in the Shop as you like.	Pistol, Shotgun, Burst, SMG

"Glitch" Hacks are a hidden sub-theme

Seven of the 28 hang off Glitches — Glitch Guarantee, Glitch Injector, Glitch Hunter, Frozen Glitch, Glitchy Timer, Combo Glitch, and Glitchy Reload. If you're already chasing Glitches for Coins and Combo, stacking these turns every Glitch into a payday and a reload all at once. See the Glitch rundown on The Monolith.

The 8 Elite Hacks

The stronger tier, earned at Elite Hack nodes () or taken as the alternative at an Augment node. Every Elite Hack works on all Tools. Four of them — the buff Hacks — quietly add +2 levels to an entire Mod category, which is enormous if your build leans on that category.

Icon	Elite Hack	Effect (in-game)
	Red Feather	All your ADD Mods have +2 levels.
	Gold Nugget	All your COIN Mods have +2 levels.
	Blue Button	All your MULTIPLY Mods have +2 levels.
	Green Marble	All your UTILITY Mods have +2 levels.
	Stack Overflow	Grants another Mod slot.
	Blueprints	Mods start at level 2 where possible.
	Overtime	Waves are 5 seconds longer.
	Dynamo	Reloading is 50% faster.

The buff Hacks are the dark mirror of the category Curses

Red Feather / Gold Nugget / Blue Button / Green Marble each add +2 levels to ADD / COIN / MULTIPLY / UTILITY Mods respectively — the exact opposite of the Curses (Withered Feather, Fool's Gold, Broken Button, Cracked Marble) that subtract a level from those same categories. Take the buff that matches the category your build is built on, and dodge the Curse that would gut it.

Monolith Shard — the special one

Monolith Shard icon

There's one more permanent that isn't a normal Hack: Monolith Shard (extraUpgradeSlots). Its effect — "Adds 2 extra Mod slots." — makes it the single biggest Mod-capacity boost in the game (twice the Stack Overflow Elite Hack's one slot).

It's flagged as a MONOLITH permanent in the data — its own one-of-a-kind category, not a BASIC or ELITE Hack — so it doesn't come from the ordinary Hack nodes the rest of this page covers. It even ships with its own dedicated shard model asset. The data doesn't spell out the exact moment it's granted, but everything about it (the name, the unique MONOLITH type) ties it to the Monolith itself rather than a regular node. Treat it as the prize it is: more Mod slots means more room to stack ADDs and MULTIPLYs, which is exactly how scores explode.

Which Hacks matter most

Every Hack is free upside, but a few are run-makers. When you're choosing, weigh these:

Stack Overflow (Elite) — another Mod slot. More slots = more room for the ADD/MULTIPLY stack that drives your score. Almost never a wrong pick. (And if you can get the Monolith Shard, that's two slots.)
Blue Button / Red Feather (Elite) — +2 levels to all your MULTIPLY / ADD Mods. Because a Target scores as (10 + ADDs) × MULTIPLY × combo, a build with several blues or reds gets a massive, instant jump from these. Match the buff to your build.
Blueprints (Elite) — Mods start at level 2. Quietly cuts the Coin cost of leveling everything for the rest of the run; the value compounds the more Mods you buy.
Strong Coffee (Pistol) — start each Wave at Max Combo. On a Combo Pistol build this is huge: you open every Wave already multiplying instead of grinding the streak back up from scratch. Pair it with Combo Mods and you never waste the early seconds.
Glitch Hunter + the Glitch Hacks — if you're farming Glitches, double rewards (Glitch Hunter), longer-lasting Glitches (Glitchy Timer), an extra Glitch each Wave (Glitch Injector), and instant reloads / max Combo off Glitch hits (Glitchy Reload, Combo Glitch) snowball together into serious Coin and Combo income.
Overtime (Elite) — +5 seconds per Wave. A flat survivability boost; the harder your Waves get, the more those seconds are worth. The opposite of the Dead Seconds Curse.
Robot Arm / Dynamo — quality-of-life that pays off in score: never thinking about reloads (Robot Arm) or reloading 50% faster (Dynamo) means more shots on Target, which especially helps fast Tools like the SMG and Shotgun.

Build-first, not Hack-first

A Hack only matters if it amplifies what you're already doing. Strong Coffee is wasted on a Heat SMG; Firestarter is wasted on a Combo Pistol. Decide your Augment and Tool early, then take the Hacks that pour fuel on that fire.

Hacks ​

Quick facts ​

How you get a Hack ​

The 28 Hacks ​

The 8 Elite Hacks ​

Monolith Shard — the special one ​

Which Hacks matter most ​

See also ​