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The Monolith ​

Every run in HYPER BULLET is a climb up the Monolith — a branching tower of Waves that is generated fresh each time you play. You start at the bottom, pick your path upward one node at a time, and try to reach the top. As the game's own How to Play screen states it:

Beat 15 Waves to defeat the Monolith.

No two climbs are the same: the Targets you face, the Zones you fight in, the rewards on offer, and the branches you can take are all rolled at the start of the run. Learning to read the map and pick a good route is just as important as your aim.

Quick facts

  • What it is: the procedurally generated tower you climb each run (the in-game "map").
  • Length: Beat 15 Waves to reach and defeat the Monolith.
  • A node = a Wave: each combat node is a timed round — the tutorial's baseline is about 30 seconds ("You have 30 seconds."), though Mods and Hacks can lengthen or shorten that.
  • Lives: lives are shown as hearts (the <sprite=4> icon). Fail a Wave and you lose a heart but gain +10 seconds to keep going. Run out of hearts and the run ends.
  • Branching: most steps offer a choice of which node to take next — safe Wave, Elite, reward, or Curse.
  • Win condition: defeat the Monolith on the final Wave, then submit your score.
  • Goes forever (paid): Endless Mode continues past the Monolith with its own leaderboard.

A run in progress — Targets bursting into 10-point pickups, a Coin drop, and a live multiplier

How a climb works ​

The Monolith is laid out as a grid of nodes connected by paths. You climb it one Wave at a time:

  • Each combat node is a timed Wave (the tutorial's stated baseline is "You have 30 seconds."). Hit the Target score before time runs out to clear it — "Processing Complete" — and advance. The map then shows you the next set of branches.
  • At most branches you get a choice of where to go next. That choice is the whole game: take the safe Normal Wave, detour through an Elite for more Coins, grab an Augment or Hack, or risk a Curse.
  • Fail a Wave (don't reach the Target score in time) and you lose a heart and gain +10 seconds to try again. In the game's words: "When reaching 0 seconds remaining, a life will be lost to give another 10 seconds." (The tutorial hands you three hearts to learn with; the exact starting count in a full run isn't stated in the game text.)
  • Between Waves you visit the Shop to spend Coins on Mods, and at reward nodes you Choose a reward from a few options. Since update 0.9.7, "Mods can now be seen in Reward Select after completing a Wave."
  • Reach and defeat the Monolith on the final Wave to win the run — then post your score to the leaderboards. Update 0.9.7 also added a bonus score for Hearts remaining at the end of the Monolith, so finishing with lives to spare is worth points.

The Monolith map — node icons floating along the path you climb

Tip: Look at the path before you commit. Plan a route that lines up the rewards and Augments your build wants, and threads enough Elite/Curse nodes to stay rich on Coins.

Node types ​

As you climb you'll see different icons on the path telling you what each node holds. The wording below is the game's own (from the How to Play and tutorial text); the icons are the real in-game markers (NodeIcons/* in the asset registry).

IconNodeWhat it is
Normal WaveA standard timed round — "Normal Wave." The safe, bread-and-butter node.
EliteElite Wave"Harder, but more coins." A tougher fight that pays out extra Coins — the engine of a rich build.
AugmentAugment"Augment available." Grab one of the build-defining Augments here. Augments also unlock extra Mods in the Shop.
HackHack"Hack available." These Waves "contain long lasting Hacks" — powerful, run-wide modifiers earned through Wave mastery. The Elite Hack Elite Hack version offers a stronger pick, and since 0.9.7 Elite Hacks "only appear in a specific range on the Monolith." See Hacks for all 28 Hacks and 8 Elite Hacks.
Super SocketSuper Socket"Super Socket available." A Socket enhancement that empowers the Mod placed in the Socket position. The elite socket elite version is stronger. Sockets were added in update 0.9.6 — "Find these on the Monolith!" See Sockets for how they break the level-5 cap.
BonusBonusA Bonus node. The icon exists in the game (NodeIcons/nodeIconBonus), but the How to Play screen and tutorial text don't describe exactly what it grants, so treat it as an extra reward stop until the game spells it out.
CurseCurse"Curse, but more coins." Take a Curse — a negative effect — in exchange for a pile of Coins. High risk, high reward.
BossBoss / MonolithThe big fight at the top of the climb. Defeat it to finish the run.

Note: The Hack node uses the marker the in-game tutorial points to (the <sprite=2> icon) for "long lasting Hacks." It is not a separate "permanent Mod" pickup — Hacks are run-wide modifiers, and the elite version is the Elite Hack.

Boss flavors ​

The Monolith comes in themed varieties, each with its own icon and Target pattern for the final test of the climb:

Arches Coil Firework Spiral Waterfall Whirlwind

Arches · Coil · Firework · Spiral · Waterfall · Whirlwind — each throws a different swarm of Targets at you.

What you fight: Targets ​

Almost every Wave is a wall of Targets to shoot down before the timer ends. From the game data:

  • Targets are worth 10 base points — "Targets are worth 10 points." Different Targets have their own toughness and behaviors (the per-Target hit-point and score values live in each Target prefab and aren't exposed in the extracted data), so treat 10 as the base and expect tougher or special Targets to vary.
  • Some Targets are utility/bonus spawns rather than score Targets — they exist to drop pickups rather than award points directly.
  • Glitches drop rewards (Coins and other goodies). The reward kinds a Target can grant are defined by the game's EnemyReward.RewardType list: Coins, Time, Score, Consumable, a random Mod level-up, a random Hack, Life, Bomb Clear, Restore Pellets, and a Refresh Token. Glitch variants exist for each (Bomb, Coins, Heart, Score, Time, Token Glitches). The exact Coin amount per Glitch isn't stated in the data.

Because your score per Target is (10 + Red ADDs) × Blue MULTIPLY × combo, even basic 10-point Targets become huge once your build comes online. See Scoring, Combos & High Scores.

Rewards: choosing what powers your run ​

As you climb, the node you pick on the map decides what kind of power you grab next. These are the build-defining picks marked by the icons in the table above, and they're the heart of routing a run:

  • Augments — the seven playstyle-defining powers. Grabbing one early and building around it is the key to a big run; they also open up extra Mods in the Shop. See Augments.
  • Hacks (and Elite Hacks) — long-lasting, run-wide modifiers earned through Wave mastery. See Hacks.
  • Super Sockets — Socket enhancements that empower the Mod in the Socket position. See Sockets.
  • Curses — optional negative effects taken for a Coin windfall. See Curses.
  • Permanents — special run-long items that ride along with the Hacks you earn on the climb. See Hacks.

Tip: Augment, Hack, Socket, Curse, and Permanent nodes are safe — there's no timer to beat. Use the breather to plan your Shop trip and your next few branches.

Separate from node rewards: the post-Wave Reward Select

After completing a Wave you also get a quick Reward Select — a short pick of consumables like Combo Keeper, Patience, Sale!, and Bull Market. These come in rarities — COMMON, RARE, and EPIC (UpgradeManager.RoundReward.RoundRewardRarity). That whole system is covered on its own page: see Reward Select.

Endless Mode ​

By default a run ends the moment you defeat the Monolith. Endless Mode is a paid unlock ("Unlock Endless Mode") that keeps the run going for as long as you can survive — in the game, "Enable endless wave processing after the Monolith has been destroyed." The unlock screen lists four bullets:

  • "Continue processing after Monoliths are destroyed." — the climb never stops; new Waves keep generating past the Monolith.
  • "Score targets increase quickly after Monolith is destroyed." — the required Target score ramps hard, so only the strongest builds go deep.
  • "Allows you to submit scores to the Endless leaderboard." — a whole separate leaderboard to conquer.
  • "Supports development of this game." — it's also how you support Protostar.

Endless has its own nodes to choose from, and since update 0.9.7 Sockets can now appear as Endless Wave rewards alongside Hacks. Once unlocked, the menu reads "Endless Mode Unlocked." Endless is also bundled into the Hyper Value Bundle (Shotgun + SMG + Endless Mode + all future Add-ons).

Endless is where the highest scores live. If you're chasing the top of the boards, this is the mode to master. See Game Modes & Difficulty for the full free-vs-paid breakdown.

See also ​