Introduction
Cursed Waves is a permanent roguelite game mode added during Across the Ruined Sea. This mode is continuously updated every patch with new rewards, characters, nodes, and story endings until Sands of Wrath, during which the fifth and final ending, Reader, is added.
In Cursed Waves, the player will progress through multiple nodes that feature story and combat encounters. Throughout their journey, the player must build a team and collect Artifacts that grant various mode-exclusive buffs to help them reach the ending.
Starting Out
Difficulty Levels
For each run of Cursed Waves, the player must begin with choosing a difficulty level. Once chosen, the difficulty level cannot be changed until the end of the current run.
Difficulty Level | Downfall Crystal and Curse-Dispelling Chapter Multiplier |
Consciousness Stability Timer | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Rising Tide (Normal) | x1 | 300s | - |
Surging Waves (Hard) | x2 | 120s | - |
Abyssal Torrent (Nightmare) | x2.5 | 90s | Recommended Minimum BP: 7,500 |
- Consciousness Stability: In Battle Stages, enemies will be enhanced after a set amount of time.
Extra Artifact
If the player reached Chapter 3 in their previous run regardless of the outcome, they will be presented with 3 random Artifacts from which they can choose one to aid them in their upcoming run.
Survey Team
After choosing a difficulty level, the player must then choose a Survey Team. Each Survey Team grants a different set of buffs.
Survey Team Name | Effects |
---|---|
Tide Seeker | Consciousness will stable for 30 seconds longer in the node. |
Scavenger | Has additional Biomimetic Blood x 2 and Tinbread Cookie x 8 at the beginning of the game. |
Traveling Troupe | Recruitment Refresh Attempts +1. Slightly increases the chance of recruiting S-Rank Omniframes. |
Survival Expert | Immediately gives a random Artifact. Gives another random Artifact every two chapters. |
Expedition Team | Each battle node cleared will increase all members’ Extra DMG Bonus by 5%. |
Curse Queller | Doubles the Artifact Box rewards in Hard Battles. |
Starting Character
After choosing a Survey Team, the player is presented with Invitations of all five elements: Physical, Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Dark. A randomly chosen element will have its Invitation upgraded to Level 2, which guarantees that at least one S-Rank character will appear every time the player refreshes the recruitment lineup. The player must choose one of the elemental Invitations, from which they will recruit one starting character of their choice.
Players can acquire additional Invitations to build their team by clearing nodes during the run.
Currencies
Tinbread Cookies
- Uses: Purchasing items in Shark-spear Sale nodes, consumed in certain dialogue choices in Event nodes
- How to Acquire: Completing Battle nodes, awarded in certain dialogue choices in Event nodes
- Tinbread Cookies will not carry over between runs.
Biomimetic Blood
- Uses: Resetting encounter and reviving the entire team in Battle nodes, consumed in certain dialogue choices in Event nodes
- How to Acquire: Purchased from Shark-spear Sale nodes, awarded in certain dialogue choices in Event nodes
- Biomimetic Blood will not carry over between runs.
- If the entire team is defeated when the player has less than 3 Biomimetic Blood, it will result in a game over, and the run will be concluded.
Curse-Dispelling Chapter
- Uses: Purchasing Lost Apocrypha buffs
- How to Acquire: Acquired upon completing a run
Downfall Crystals
- Uses: Increasing the Curse Queller's Path level
- How to Acquire: Acquired upon completing a run
Crimson Insight
Crimson Insight is a feature added in Wintry Shackles. Crimson Insight can be activated by entering the Event stage “The Forbidden Church” in Chapter 1 or 2, and choosing the option “Break through the blockade to investigate the truth”.
This will have three main effects:
- The player will be able to perceive Crimson Insight. This is a required condition for making certain choices in Event Nodes.
- Crimson Insight value can now be accumulated during the current run.
- Crimson Insight values are divided into four levels. Activating Crimson Insight in “The Forbidden Church” node in Chapter 1 or 2 will initially grant 5 Crimson Insight value (level 1).
The maximum value of Crimson Insight is 100; the highest level is 4. Higher levels increase the chance of extra Artifacts dropping at the end of a battle and S-Rank characters appearing in summons. At the same time, enemies will become significantly stronger.
Crimson Insight value can be increased by completing certain battle and event nodes. Nodes that increase the value will be marked with a red eye icon.
- The “The Other Round Table” Event Node will appear in Chapter 3.
Assimilation
Upon activating Crimson Insight in Chapter 1 or 2, the “The Other Round Table” node will appear in Chapter 3.
Choosing the option “Accept Assimilation” here will increase the Star Level of a character of the player’s choice by 1.
In addition, Bond Level 5 for the element that corresponds to the Rejected character will be unlocked. This allows a character’s Star Level to reach 3, which is impossible through regular means (i.e. summoning them multiple times).
Make sure the character who will undergo Assimilation is already at Star Level 2 before entering this node. Choosing a character whose Star Level is at 1 to undergo Assimilation will increase their Star Level to 2; a chance to undergo Assimilation is available only once every run, and thus it will result in never being able to upgrade a character to Star Level 3 during the current run.
Activating Crimson Insight in Chapter 1 or 2, and having a character undergo Assimilation are prerequisites for Ending 4 and 5.
Lost Apocrypha
Phase 1
- ATK Boost: ATK increases by 5%
- Overall Enhancement: All basic stats ( ATK, HP, CRIT, DEF) increases by 2%
- Default Tinbread Cookie Boost: Has 3 more Tinbread Cookies at the beginning of the game
- HP Up: Max HP increases by 5%
- Default Biomimetic Blood Boost: Has 1 additional bottle of Biomimetic Blood at the beginning of the game
- DMG Boost: Extra DMG Bonus increases by 5%
- Shark-speare Sale Enhancement: Sale Slots in Shark-speare Sale +1
- Shark-speare Sale Enhancement: Item Discount Slots in Shark-speare Sale +1
Phase 2
- ATK Boost: ATK increases by 5%
- Overall Enhancement: All basic stats (ATK, HP, CRIT, DEF) increase by 2%
- Default Tinbread Cookie Boost: Has 3 more Tinbread Cookies at the beginning of the game
- HP Up: Max HP increases by 5%
- Default Biometric Blood Boost: Has 1 additional bottle of Biometric Blood at the beginning of the game
- DMG Boost: Extra DMG Bonus increases by 5%
- Completion Rewards Up: Grants 10% more [Downfall Crystal] and [Curse-Dispelling Chapters] following the adventure result calculation
- Shark-speare Sale Enhancement: Increases the discount percentage in Shark-speare Sale
Phase 3
- ATK Boost: ATK increases by 5%
- Overall Enhancement: All basic stats (ATK, HP, CRIT, DEF) increase by 2%
- Default Tinbread Cookie Boost: Has 3 more Tinbread Cookies at the beginning of the game
- HP Up: Max HP increases by 5%
- Default Biometric Blood Boost: Has 1 additional bottle of Biometric Blood at the beginning of the game
- DMG Boost: Extra DMG Bonus increases by 5%
- Advanced DMG Boost: Further increases Physical/Fire/Lightning/Ice DMG by 10%
- Recruitment Refresh Boost: Character Recruitment Refresh Attempts +1