How a Run Works: Survive 9 Minutes
Part 3 of 8
Every stage in Endless Curse is a survival fight that lasts about 9 minutes. The clock at the top of the screen is your progress bar: hold out until 9:00, and the stage guardian appears. Beat it and walk into the portal to clear the stage. This part lays out everything you'll run into, in order.
01Timeline
| Time | What happens |
|---|---|
| 0:00 | A trickle of small monsters. Grab experience and start building your skills. |
| From 0:32 | "Monster swarm!" A huge wave of monsters rushes in at once, then again every 38–56 seconds. |
| From 1:30 | Elite monsters start showing up (blue Champions, gold Uniques). |
| From 2:00 | The weather may start to change, and you may run into a Goblin Thief. |
| 3:00 and 6:00 | A boss arrives, drawn from that stage's boss list. |
| Every 4–5 minutes | A 30-second event: a horde of a single monster type, or "Golden hour! Double experience". |
| 8:00 | A warning: "The stage guardian arrives in one minute…". |
| 9:00 | The stage guardian appears. |
| After the guardian falls | A blue portal opens. Walk into it to clear the stage. |
While a boss is on the field, regular monsters drop to a quarter of their usual numbers and there are no monster swarms; events are put off until the boss is down.
02Bosses and guardians
The bosses at 3:00 and 6:00 are drawn from each stage's own list. In the Shady Forest, for example, it's: Grisbon, Necromancer, Skeleton Knight, Scathelocke, Lord of the Winds. The guardian at 9:00 is always the same for each stage, and beating it always drops a legendary.
| Stage | Stage guardian |
|---|---|
| Shady Forest | The Butcher |
| Deep Cavern | Plague Lich |
| Frozen Plains | Frost Lord |
| Forgotten Ruins | Mirror King |
| Burning Crypt | Abyss Lord |
For every boss's attacks and how to beat them, see the boss guides.
03Events, elites and the Goblin Thief
30-second events
- Horde: for 30 seconds, every monster that spawns is the same type, and 6 of them show up right at the start.
- Golden hour: monsters turn gold, and gold monsters give double experience. A great time to level up.
The same event never happens twice in a row.
Elite monsters
| Champion (blue) | Unique (gold) | |
|---|---|---|
| How they appear | Packs of three: same monster, same affixes | Alone, with one extra affix |
| Health | ×2.2 | ×5 |
| Experience | ×2.5 | ×7 |
| Gear drops | 12% (the first 6 packs each run always drop a Magic item) | 60%, with a chance of a legendary |
There are nine elite affixes: Fire Enchanted, Cold Enchanted, Lightning Enchanted, Teleporter, Vampiric, Molten, Escorted, Chilling Aura and Extra Fast. After 8:00, and on Hell difficulty, elites have two affixes.
Goblin Thief
It shows up at most twice a run, the first time between 2:00 and 4:00. If you don't take it down within 15 seconds, it escapes. One in four is golden and carries better loot.
04Weather
From 2:00 on, there's a chance each minute that the weather changes, and each spell lasts about a minute. Weather changes elemental damage, for you and the monsters alike:
| Weather | Effect |
|---|---|
| Harsh sunlight | Fire ×1.5, Ice ×0.5 |
| Rain | Lightning ×1.5, Fire ×0.5 |
| Sandstorm | Physical ×1.3 |
| Snowfall | Ice ×1.5 |
| Fog | Shadow and Holy ×1.3 |
For the full matchups, see the element chart.
05After the guardian: the portal
When the guardian falls, the screen shows "The guardian has fallen! Enter the portal to clear the stage", and a blue portal appears nearby, where the legendary drops too. No more bosses come after that, but small monsters keep coming, so grab your loot and get in quickly.
The stage only counts as cleared once you walk into the portal: your first clear gives bonus coins and unlocks the next stage, and the first clear on Normal also brings that stage's hero to your town.
06What do you lose when you fall?
When your health hits zero, the run is over. The good news: you keep almost everything:
| When you fall | |
|---|---|
| Coins | Kept (based on survival time, kills, bosses beaten and coins picked up) |
| Gear you picked up | Kept: it goes into your stash the moment you pick it up (if the stash is full, the worst item is salvaged automatically) |
| Hero experience (talent points) | Kept |
| Quest progress | Kept |
| The guardian's legendary | It's in your stash as soon as you pick it up, so it's kept even if you fall afterwards |
| Stage clear | Doesn't count: no first-clear reward, the next stage stays locked, and no hero joins |
So even when you lose, every run makes you stronger. Go back to town, spend your coins on upgrades, put on your new gear, and head out again.
07Three difficulties
The five stages of a difficulty unlock in order; clear all five to unlock the next difficulty.
| Difficulty | Monster health | Monster damage | Coins | Legendary drop rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | ×0.5 | ×0.5 | ×1 | ×1 |
| Nightmare | ×2.5 | ×1.6 | ×1.8 | ×1.5 |
| Hell | ×6 | ×2.4 | ×3 | ×2 |
On Normal, monsters have only half their health and damage, which makes it great for beginners. Once you clear all five stages on a difficulty, a red portal also appears in the top right of town. For each stage's terrain and monsters, see the stage walkthroughs, or head back to the Endless Curse home page for the game overview.
08FAQ
How long is a run?
The guardian appears at 9:00; beat it and walk into the portal to clear the stage. A run takes about 9–10 minutes.
Do I lose my gear when I fall?
No. The gear, coins and hero experience you picked up are all kept; the stage just doesn't count as cleared.
I beat the guardian. Why didn't I clear the stage?
You have to walk into the blue portal next to the guardian to clear the stage.
When do bosses appear?
One boss each at 3:00 and 6:00, and the stage guardian at 9:00, with a warning at 8:00.
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