Manual › Balance
Chapter 8
From the gameUp to date with v0.298.0
Balance
Every Run earns experience (XP). XP raises your meta level, and every meta level gives Balance points to place on skills. One Balance belongs to your profile and works in every Run. You can take points back out at any time; changes count from the next Run (in Hardcore, straight away).
New skills open as your meta level rises. A skill's steps can cost more than one point.
Experience
| XP from | Counts |
|---|---|
| Rounds cleared | 10 XP a round |
| Points scored | 10% of them |
| Overshoot points | 25% of them |
| Difficulty | × Relaxed 1, Normal 1.25, Hard 1.5, Brutal 2 |
Meta level 2 takes 100 XP, and each level after takes 15 XP more than the one before (100, 115, 130, 145…). Each meta level gives 1 Balance point.
Plays & resources
| Skill | One step | Steps | Points a step | Opens at level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plays | +3 plays | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Plays per round | +1 play for each cleared round | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Refreshes | +2 refreshes | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Refreshes per round | +1 refresh for each cleared round | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Rerolls | +2 rerolls | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Rerolls per round | +1 reroll for each cleared round | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| OP gain | 15% more OP from every round's overshoot | 3 | 1 | 10 |
Board & bag
| Skill | One step | Steps | Points a step | Opens at level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Board tiles | +1 tile on the board (milestones add more, up to 16 in all) | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Submit zone bonus | +3 on every bonus spot of the submit zone (6th letter on) | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Joker | 50% chance of a joker in the starting bag | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Affix tile | 50% chance of an affix tile (-ERS, -ING, UN-, RE-…) in the starting bag | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| Special tile | 50% chance of a starting tile made special (Golden, Spreader, Dot, Initial, Diamond or Emerald) | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| Symbol tile | 50% chance of a symbol tile (!, +, comma or a pair of quotes) in the starting bag | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| Midas | Midas, a unique golden Joker, joins your bag; once drawn, Refresh leaves it on the board | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Phoenix | Phoenix, a unique Joker, joins your bag; after its word it goes back into the draw pile and grows +3 for every word | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Keystone | Keystone, a unique Joker, joins your bag; it doubles the points of the special tiles in its word | 1 | 5 | 12 |
| Magnet | Magnet, a unique Joker, joins your bag; after its word, the refill draws the best word in the draw pile | 1 | 5 | 12 |
Perk columns
| Skill | One step | Steps | Points a step | Opens at level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modifier slots | +1 modifier slot | 2 | 2, 3 | 1 |
| Upgrade slots | +1 upgrade slot | 2 | 2, 3 | 1 |
| Found modifier | 10% chance of a random Normal-quality common modifier at the start of a run and after each round | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| Found upgrade | 10% chance of a random Normal-quality common upgrade at the start of a run and after each round | 5 | 1 | 15 |
| Modifier strength | Modifier bonus points 10% stronger | 5 | 1 | 17 |
| Upgrade strength | Points from upgrades 10% stronger | 5 | 1 | 17 |
| Upgrade uses | +1 use on every upgrade | 3 | 2 | 19 |
Offers & luck
| Skill | One step | Steps | Points a step | Opens at level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter quality | Starting perks come at Flawless quality (1 step above Improved) | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Starter choices | +1 perk to choose from in the starting pick | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Modifier quality | 10% more likely to roll a higher quality on modifiers in the slot machine | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Modifier rarity | 10% more likely to roll a rarer modifier in the slot machine | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| Upgrade quality | 10% more likely to roll a higher quality on upgrades in the slot machine | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| Upgrade rarity | 10% more likely to roll a rarer upgrade in the slot machine | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| More offers | 40% chance of an extra perk offer every time you clear a round (5 offers at most) | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Gift quality | 10% more likely to roll a higher quality on gifts in the slot machine | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| Banish | +1 banish per run: banishing an offer keeps that perk or gift out for the rest of the run | 3 | 1 | 19 |