Enemies Wave Battler
Wave Battler Enemies: A Field Guide to Every Wave Survival Foe
Every Wave Battler enemy in Deep Drift and Neon Grid: when each one appears, what it does and how to handle it, plus elites and the special one-enemy waves.
Wave Battler's waves are built from a roster. The early ones are simple chasers. Later waves mix in shooters, ambushers and a few things that fight like small bosses. Every enemy has a Deep Drift name and a Neon Grid name; this field guide gives both, with the wave it can first appear on.
The six base enemies
| Deep Drift / Neon Grid | From wave | What it does | How to handle it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puffer / Hexa | 1 | The basic chaser. | Keep moving; pierce and twin shot thin them fast. |
| Dartfish / Dart | 3 | Fast and fragile. | Let them come into your fire; do not run in a straight line. |
| Ironclaw / Monolith | 5 | Slow, big and hits hard on contact. | Never let one pin you against a rock. |
| Anglerfish / The Eye | 6 | Keeps its distance and spits orbs. | Circle in close enough that your gun reaches it. |
| Bell Jelly / Nova | 6 | Hangs back and lobs mortar shells where you stand. | A circle shows the landing. Step out before it lands. |
| Gat Urchin / Suppressor | 8 | Plants, winds up for half a second, then empties an 8-round magazine. | Move sideways during the wind-up. One or two at most per wave. |
On Easy the shooters arrive two waves later. From wave 5 the shooters start leading their aim, and their shots get faster and their reloads quicker as the run goes on. You cannot outrun a wave forever either: enemies left far behind are brought back near you.
The newer enemies
These join normal waves by their own rules, each with a chance to appear once its wave is reached.
Reef Piranha / Vector (from wave 4)
A pack circles you, and two or three dive at once, aimed where you are going. The last one or two get bold and dive constantly. Change direction when a dive starts.
Snapper Kelp / Cable Head (from wave 7)
Rooted to the edge of a rock, it lunges when you pass. If it is one of the last left and nobody has hit it for a few seconds, it re-roots somewhere you can see it. Give rocks a wide berth.
Sea Hex / Glitch Caster (from wave 7)
Fires five homing sparks, then blinks to a new spot near you. It also blinks when you hurt it. Dodge the sparks in a wide curve; your gun will find it again.
Mimic / Fake Pickup (from wave 8, rare)
It looks exactly like a Shield, Nova or Overdrive power-up until you come close. Then it wakes with fists, high health and armor. It charges three times (a short line shows each), then freezes for a moment. Step off each line. Killing it pays two real power-ups and a fat purse.
The Drowned / Ghost Packet (from wave 9)
A hunter you cannot see. While hidden it drifts through rocks and nothing affects it, though it leaves a faint shimmer. It strikes, then surfaces for about two seconds and backs off. That is your window. A dash slips straight through it.
Mirror Shrimp / Deflector (from wave 11)
Big and plated. It spins six seconds out of every eight, and while spinning it cannot be hurt and sends your bullets back at you. Back off while it spins, then hit it during the two-second opening.
Sea Serpent / Data Snake (from wave 12)
A mini-boss worm that lives under the rocks and off the map. Only the head can be hurt; the body swallows bullets and hurts to touch. A dashed line shows its whole path through you, then it charges the full length. Get off the line and shoot the head as it passes.
Spore / Cell (from wave 12)
Kill it and it bursts into four blobs. If any blob is still alive a couple of seconds later, they pull together and the Spore comes back at full health, faster, with one fewer blob next time (4, then 3, then 2). Kill every blob in time and it is gone for good.
You will also meet Nautilings / Gyro Bits, the small ramming shells THE NAUTILUS spits out during its boss fight.
Elites and their traits
Any normal enemy can roll an elite trait, and the chance grows as the waves go on. The tag above it tells you which.
- SWIFT: much faster.
- ARMORED: more health and heavy armor.
- VOLATILE: explodes when it dies. The dashed ring shows the reach.
- VAMPIRIC: keeps healing the hurt enemies around it. Kill it first.
- GIANT: almost twice the size and five times the health, a little slower.
- SPLITTER: splits into two smaller, faster copies when it dies.
- BUNDLED (from wave 12): a warm hat and scarf. Your chill, freezes and stuns do nothing to it.
Special one-enemy waves
From wave 8, about one normal wave in six is a special wave: one kind of enemy only, and a lot of it. Never on a boss wave and never two in a row.
| Special wave | From wave | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Ghost wave (The Drowned) | 8 | Hidden hunters arriving in three groups. Keep moving and punish each one when it surfaces. |
| Shrimp wave | 10 | A crowd of Mirror Shrimps. Fire only lands in their open windows, so stay mobile. |
| Snake Storm | 12 | A survival wave: 20 to 30 serpents (more on harder difficulties) for 35 seconds, arriving a few at a time and aimed at you or where you are heading. Survive the clock and the rest dive away. |
In the Snake Storm the snakes are lighter than normal and still pay when killed, so take the easy heads. For the boss fights, see the boss guide.
How waves change later in a run
- Each wave buys more enemies than the last, and from wave 15 enemy health climbs a little more every wave.
- Enemies come in pulses: half the wave first, the next pulse when the field thins out.
- Mini-bosses (THE LANTERN, BELLMOTHER, THE HAILSTORM) join normal waves from wave 5.
- Co-op adds more enemies with more health. The co-op guide has the details.
Why can't I hit the invisible enemy?
That is The Drowned (Ghost Packet in Neon Grid). While hidden nothing affects it. Wait for it to strike and surface, then shoot it during those two seconds.
Why are my bullets coming back at me?
A Mirror Shrimp (Deflector) is spinning. It reflects shots six seconds out of eight. Back off and hit it when it stops.
What is the power-up that attacked me?
A Mimic. It looks like a Shield, Nova or Overdrive drop until you get close. Killing it pays two real power-ups.
When do special waves start?
From wave 8, roughly one normal wave in six. Ghost waves from 8, shrimp waves from 10, the Snake Storm from 12.
Ready?
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