RETROPIXELSXR // INTERNAL STATS BIBLE // v0.5

Defender VR

Full Stats & Mechanics Reference

pest_controlEnemy Database

ENTRY 01

Lander

LOW THREAT

Base HP

100 HP

Shield Dmg

−8% / hit

Speed

3 m/s

Attack Rate

On contact

40 XP 100 pts

Marches straight at the bubble. No ranged attack — its only threat is contact. Must be killed before it arrives. Spawns in groups of 6–10 from Wave 4 onward. Kidnaps Humanoids on contact → transforms Humanoid into a Mutant after 3 seconds.

💡 Pistol: 7 shots to kill. Assault Rifle: dead in 1 sec burst.

ENTRY 02

Mutant

EXTREME THREAT

Base HP

1,200 HP

Shield Dmg

−18% / slam

Speed

1.5 m/s

Attack Rate

1 slam / 2s

500 XP 1,000 pts Front: −50% dmg received Back vents: +1.5× dmg

Heavily armored brute. Frontal plate absorbs 50% of all incoming damage. The exposed glowing vents on the back deal 1.5× damage — player must physically move around in VR to hit them. Slowly lumbers toward the bubble and slams it every 2 seconds when in range.

💡 Circle around using VR movement. Smart Bomb auto-targets the back vents = 270 effective dmg / shot = ~5 shots to kill.

ENTRY 03

Baiter

HIGH THREAT

Base HP

250 HP

Shield Dmg

−5% / bolt

Speed

8 m/s

Attack Rate

1 bolt / 0.8s

200 XP 400 pts Dodges 40% of manual shots

Built to outrun manual aiming. Changes direction sharply every 0.3 seconds. Fires energy bolts constantly while closing in. At close range, 40% of manual shots physically miss. Smart Bombs are the only reliable answer — they auto-lock and never miss.

💡 Never waste Assault Rifle time on Baiters. One Smart Bomb lock-on = 180 dmg, dead in 2 shots (1.5 sec).

ENTRY 04

Bomber

SEVERE THREAT

Base HP

600 HP

Shield Dmg

−22% (AoE)

Speed

2 m/s

Drop range

5m from bubble

350 XP 700 pts Chain reaction: +300 AoE

Slow but devastating. Bomb bay doors open at 5m from the shield — 1.5-second window to shoot the open bay, triggering a chain reaction (+300 AoE damage to all enemies in 4m). If missed, the payload detonates against the shield for −22% in a wide AoE.

💡 Destroy during approach (6 sec with Assault Rifle). If missed, shoot the open bay immediately for the chain bonus.

ENTRY 05

Pod

MEDIUM → CRITICAL

Base HP

200 HP

Spawn rate

1 Swarmer / 4s

Death Burst

Releases stored Swarmers

120 XP 250 pts ☠ Death burst on destroy

Doesn't attack directly. Every 4 seconds it ejects a Swarmer. Left alone for 60 seconds = 15 Swarmers spawned = potential −30% shield damage from collisions alone. In Wave 15+, 4–6 Pods spawn simultaneously — ignoring even one is catastrophic.

💥 DEATH BURST — When a Pod is Destroyed

When a Pod dies, it does not go quietly. Its casing ruptures and instantly releases all Swarmers it has been storing internally. The number of Swarmers released depends on how long the Pod was alive before it was killed:

Pod alive for	Swarmers released on death	Threat
< 4 sec (instant kill)	0 Swarmers	Safe — kill fast, no burst
4–12 sec	1–3 Swarmers	Minor burst
12–30 sec	3–7 Swarmers	Significant burst — clear area first
30–60 sec (ignored)	7–15 Swarmers	Dangerous burst — use EMP immediately
60+ sec (very late kill)	15+ Swarmers MAX BURST	Screen-filling chaos

💡 Kill Pods instantly (within 4 sec of spawn) for 0 death burst. If you can't — use Assault Rifle spray to clear the Swarmers mid-burst before they scatter. EMP Shockwave after a late Pod kill wipes all released Swarmers instantly.

ENTRY 06

Swarmer

LOW → OVERWHELMING

Base HP

80 HP

Shield Dmg

−2% / contact

Speed

5 m/s

15 XP 10 pts

Individually harmless. One Assault Rifle burst destroys it instantly. Threat comes from volume — 20 Swarmers hitting simultaneously = −40% shield in seconds. Fly in curved, semi-random paths to avoid predictable tracking.

💡 Use Assault Rifle sweeping fire to clear groups. EMP Shockwave instantly kills all Swarmers on screen.

ENTRY 07

Mine

CRITICAL THREAT

Dormant HP

500 HP

Active HP

1 HP (!)

Shield Dmg

−35% / blast

Trigger range

3m proximity

80 XP 150 pts

When dormant, 500 HP makes it nearly impossible to destroy accidentally. Get within 3m and it activates → 1 HP → immediately homes toward the shield at 3 m/s. Shoot it instantly or absorb a −35% hit. Advanced tactic: trigger a Mine near a Mutant = 420 AoE explosive damage to the Mutant.

💡 Shoot dormant Mines from long range (Pistol at distance = safe). Or use them as bombs by luring near Mutants.

ENTRY 08

Humanoid

RESCUE TARGET

None

Attack

None — ally!

Start Count

10 Humanoids

300 XP on rescue 500 pts on rescue −500 pts if shot

Humanoids are fragile civilians scattered across the planet's surface at the bottom of the screen. They do not fight back and have no HP. You must protect them at all costs.

1. The Starting Count

You start the game with exactly 10 humanoids scattered across the bottom of the screen.

2. Surviving Between Rounds

When you complete a wave, any humanoids left alive on the planet's surface stay there for the next wave. They do not regenerate. However, you are rewarded for keeping them alive: you earn a point bonus at the end of each wave for every surviving humanoid (100 points per humanoid multiplied by the wave number for the first five waves, and a flat 500 points per humanoid after that).

3. How You Lose Them

Alien "Landers" will descend and attempt to abduct your humanoids. You can lose a humanoid in three ways:

Abduction: A Lander successfully drags the humanoid to the top of the screen. If this happens, the humanoid transforms into a highly aggressive Mutant.
Fatal Fall: You shoot the abducting Lander, but the humanoid falls from too high up. If you don't catch the humanoid with your ship before it hits the ground, it goes "splat" and dies.
Friendly Fire: You accidentally shoot the humanoid yourself (a constant risk with the game's fast-paced laser fire).

4. Total Loss (The Planet Explodes)

If you fail to protect them and all 10 humanoids are killed or mutated, the ground beneath you explodes in a flash of light. The planet is gone, and you are left floating in deep space. At this point, every Lander on the screen instantly transforms into a fast, erratic Mutant, resulting in an incredibly difficult survival wave.

5. The Reset (Every 5 Waves)

You do get extra humanoids, but only if you survive long enough. Every 5 waves (Wave 5, 10, 15, etc.), the game completely resets the planet. If the planet had exploded, it is restored, and regardless of how many you had left, you are given a fresh set of 10 humanoids.

💡 Priority: Pods first → Landers near Humanoids → everything else. Never panic-fire near a Humanoid — you'll shoot them. Catch falling humanoids with your ship to save them!

psychologyEnemy AI Behavior & Dodge Intelligence

Enemies don't just walk into fire. From early waves they move predictably, but as rounds progress their AI unlocks projectile awareness — they detect incoming shots and attempt to evade. Each enemy type has its own dodge pattern, reaction time, and unlock wave. By Wave 15+, enemies feel alive and tactical, not scripted.

DODGE DETECTION RULE: Enemy detects a projectile when it enters within [Detection Radius] of the enemy's center.
On detection: a dodge vector is calculated perpendicular to the projectile's travel direction.
Enemy then applies a lateral burst move at [Dodge Speed] for [Dodge Duration] seconds.
Cooldown between dodges prevents infinite evasion loops.

Dodge Chance = Base Chance + (Wave − Unlock Wave) × Chance Per Wave, capped at Max Chance.
Example — Lander at Wave 10: 5% + (10 − 5) × 3% = 20% dodge chance per incoming shot.

Enemy	Unlocks at Wave	Detection Radius	Base Dodge Chance	+% per Wave after Unlock	Max Dodge Chance	Dodge Speed	Dodge Duration	Cooldown
Lander	Wave 5	2.5m	5%	+3% / wave	35%	2 m/s lateral	0.4 sec	1.5 sec
Mutant	Wave 9	4m	10%	+2% / wave	40%	1.5 m/s (heavy, slow dodge)	0.6 sec	3 sec
Baiter	Wave 6	5m (wide radar)	40%	+3% / wave	70% MAX	6 m/s snap turn	0.2 sec	0.5 sec
Bomber	Wave 8	3m	15%	+2% / wave	45%	1.2 m/s (slow, lumbering dodge)	0.5 sec	2.5 sec
Pod	Never — static	—	0%	—	—	—	—	—
Swarmer	Wave 10	1.5m (short range)	8%	+4% / wave	50%	4 m/s (fast, jittery)	0.15 sec	0.8 sec
Mine	Never — dormant	—	0%	—	—	—	—	—

Dodge Patterns by Enemy

Lander — "The Weave"

Detects shot, sidesteps perpendicular to the shot path. After Wave 15, it does a double-sidestep: dodge left, then immediately dodge right on the next shot. Creates a slow oscillating pattern that is hard to predict with the Pistol but easy to read with the Assault Rifle's spray.

Mutant — "The Shield Turn"

Detects shot early (4m radius). Instead of sidestepping, the Mutant rotates its armored front panel to face the incoming shot. This forces the player to keep circling in VR to stay aimed at the exposed back vents. After Wave 12, it briefly counter-rotates to trick the player mid-circle.

Baiter — "The Snap"

Already fast and erratic. When dodge triggers, it snaps 90° in a random perpendicular direction instantly. No animation delay. This is why manual aiming is impossible — the Baiter changes direction faster than the player can visually track. Smart Bombs bypass the dodge entirely (they track continuously).

Bomber — "The Lumber"

Slow dodge. Detects shot and shifts its mass laterally by 1–2m. Because of its size, the dodge looks dramatic but is easy to compensate for with sustained Assault Rifle fire. After Wave 15, the Bomber will stagger its dodge timing to be less predictable.

Swarmer — "The Scatter"

When any Swarmer in a cluster detects a projectile, it broadcasts a scatter signal to all Swarmers within 3m. The whole cluster micro-scatters in random directions simultaneously — making spray fire less reliable on tight groups at high waves.

Weapon vs AI Dodge — Effectiveness

Weapon	vs Dodging Lander	vs Dodging Baiter	vs Dodging Mutant
Pistol	Poor — single shot easy to dodge	Useless	OK — front armor still applies
Assault Rifle	Good — spray covers dodge	Poor — 40% miss rate base	OK — sustained fire compensates
Smart Bomb	Excellent — tracks through dodge	Excellent — ignores dodge entirely	Excellent — aims at back vents
EMP Shockwave	Perfect — 360°, undodgeable	Perfect — 360°, undodgeable	Perfect — ignores armor & dodge

DODGE UNLOCK PROGRESSION (example — Lander):
Wave 1–4: No dodge. Walk straight into fire.
Wave 5–6: 5–8% dodge chance. Rarely evades. Barely noticeable.
Wave 8–10: 14–20% dodge. Players start missing more shots with Pistol.
Wave 12–15: 26–35% dodge. Assault Rifle now preferred over Pistol for Landers.
Wave 15+: 35% cap. Double-sidestep pattern active. Smart Bomb becomes valuable.

paletteEnemy Visual Scaling by Wave

As waves progress each enemy visually mutates to signal its danger. HP scales +10% per wave for Waves 1–20. From Wave 21–30 HP caps and enemy SPEED begins scaling instead (+8% speed per wave). Wave 30+ is pure speed hell — enemies are fully colored and extremely fast. Players can read threat level instantly without checking any UI.

Waves 1–20: HP = Base HP × (1 + (N − 1) × 0.10) → HP grows each wave
Waves 21–30: HP = Base HP × 3.0 (capped) + Speed = Base Speed × (1 + (N − 20) × 0.08) → now speed grows
Wave 30+: HP capped at ×3.0, Speed capped at ×1.8, spawn delay reduces −5% per wave indefinitely

HP Examples (Lander 100 base): W1: 100 | W5: 140 | W10: 190 | W20: 290 | W25+: 300 (cap)
HP Examples (Mutant 1,200 base): W1: 1,200 | W10: 2,280 | W20: 3,480 | W25+: 3,600 (cap)
Speed Example (Lander 3 m/s): W20: 3 m/s | W25: 4.2 m/s | W30: 5.4 m/s (nearly double!)

Enemy	Wave 1–3	Wave 4–7	Wave 8–12	Wave 13–18 (Elite)	Wave 19–25 (Nightmare)	Wave 26–30+ (Void)
Lander	Soft Green	Lime	Amber	Orange	Blood Red	Void Purple
Mutant	Green	Amber	Orange	Red	Void Purple	Pitch Black Glow
Baiter	Blue	Purple	Violet	Magenta	White Flash	Cyan Blur
Bomber	Yellow	Light Orange	Orange	Red	Dark Red Pulse	Void + Pulse
Pod	Grey	Purple	Lavender	Magenta	Magenta Pulse	Red Strobe
Swarmer	Soft Red	Red	Crimson	Dark Red	Plague Pink	Neon Cyan
Mine	Grey	Yellow blink	Orange blink	Red rapid blink	Neon strobe	White Strobe

GREEN

Waves 1–3

Fresh spawns. Learn the game.

AMBER → ORANGE

Waves 6–12

Mid-game. Rifle & Smart Bombs required.

RED → VOID

Waves 13–25

Elite. 2–3× HP. EMP and mastery needed.

VOID → WHITE

Waves 26–30+

HP capped. Pure speed. Almost impossible to track manually.

swordsFull Arsenal — All Weapons

Weapons upgrade sequentially. Each tier permanently replaces the last. XP carries over. New ideas are marked CONCEPT

T1 Laser Pistol FREE

15 dmg / shot 30 DPS 2 shots/sec Infinite ammo

Single-pull trigger. Every player starts here. Accurate but achingly slow vs groups. Kills a base Lander in 7 shots (~3.5 sec). Completely useless against Mutants without 80+ shots.

T2 Assault Rifle 800 XP

12 dmg / shot 96 DPS 8 shots/sec Overheats at 4 sec → 1.5s cooldown

Hold trigger, spray lasers. 3× better DPS than Pistol. The overheat mechanic forces disciplined burst-firing. Melts Swarmers and Pods instantly. Strong against Landers and Bombers. Unreliable against Baiters (they dodge 40% of shots).

T3 Smart Bomb Launcher 2,000 XP

180 dmg direct · 108 AoE (3m) 120 DPS (sustained) 1 shot / 1.5 sec 12 ammo max · 400 XP restock

Auto-tracks the largest threat within 15m. AoE splash at 3m radius. Fires a neon-traced projectile that bends and curves toward the target. Essential for: Baiters (never miss), Mutant vents (270 dmg / shot), Bomber bay chain shots.

T4 EMP Shockwave 4,500 XP

500 dmg — all enemies on screen 360° radius — no range limit 20 sec cooldown 800 XP per extra use Stun: 3 sec all enemies

Activated by physically clapping both VR controllers together. Releases a 360° neon electromagnetic pulse from the cockpit. Instantly kills all Swarmers. Deals 500 damage (ignoring armor) to all enemies. Stuns everything for 3 seconds. The secondary shockwave graphic bounces off arena walls as a visual spectacle.

Future / Concept Weapons

T5 Chain Lightning 6,000 XP CONCEPT

250 dmg primary · 100 dmg chain (up to 5 targets) 1 shot / 2 sec 8 ammo max

Fires a bolt that jumps between up to 5 nearby enemies. Perfect for tight Swarmer clusters and Pod groups. Each jump deals 100 dmg per hop. Does NOT chain to Humanoids.

T6 Plasma Drill 8,500 XP CONCEPT

600 dmg — pierces ALL armor Charge: hold 1.5 sec, then release 5 ammo max

A slow, chargeable beam held with a grip trigger. Hold for 1.5 seconds to charge up a spinning plasma drill projectile. Fires a thin, extremely powerful piercing bolt that punches through multiple enemies in a line — front armor, back armor, no reduction. Kills Wave 15+ Mutants in 5 shots from any angle.

T3-ALT Cryo Grenade 1,800 XP (alternative to Smart Bomb) CONCEPT

80 dmg on impact + freeze 5 sec (5m radius) Manual throw arc 4 grenades max

Physically thrown using the VR arm gesture — aim and flick the controller forward. Freezes all enemies in a 5m radius for 5 seconds. Low direct damage but allows the player to use Assault Rifle on frozen Mutants or repair shields during the freeze window. A defensive / survival alternative to the offensive Smart Bomb.

trending_upWave Composition Table

Waves 1–20: HP scales +10%/wave. Waves 21–30: HP is capped at ×3.0, enemy speed scales +8%/wave instead. Wave 30+: composition is locked at Wave 30 counts, but enemy spawn delay drops −5% per wave forever until physical reaction time is the only limit.

Wave	Landers	Mutants	Baiters	Bombers	Pods	Mines	Humanoids	HP Scale	Speed Scale	Weapon Needed
1	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	×1.0	×1.0	Pistol
2	8	0	0	0	0	0	6	×1.1	×1.0	Pistol
3	10	0	0	0	0	0	6	×1.2	×1.0	Pistol → Rifle
4	12	0	0	1	1	0	5	×1.3	×1.0	Rifle
5	14	0	0	1	2	0	5	×1.4	×1.0	Rifle
6	14	0	1	1	2	0	5	×1.5	×1.0	Rifle
7	16	0	2	2	2	1	5	×1.6	×1.0	Rifle → Smart Bomb
8	16	1	3	2	3	2	4	×1.7	×1.0	Smart Bomb
9	18	1	4	2	3	3	4	×1.8	×1.0	Smart Bomb
10	20	2	4	3	4	3	4	×1.9	×1.0	Smart Bomb → EMP
12	22	3	5	3	4	5	4	×2.1	×1.0	EMP
15	26	4	7	4	5	7	3	×2.4	×1.0	All weapons
18	29	5	9	5	6	9	3	×2.7	×1.0	EMP timing critical
20	32	6	10	5	6	10	3	×2.9	×1.0	Mastery required
21	34	7	11	6	7	11	2	×3.0 CAP	×1.08	Speed scaling begins
23	36	8	12	6	7	12	2	×3.0 CAP	×1.24	Enemies visibly faster
25	38	9	13	7	8	13	2	×3.0 CAP	×1.40	Dodge windows halved
27	40	10	14	8	9	14	1	×3.0 CAP	×1.56	LAST HUMANOID — do not lose it!
30	44	12	16	9	10	16	1	×3.0 CAP	×1.80 CAP	Composition locks. Speed ramps forever.
30+	44	12	16	9	10	16	1	×3.0 FINAL	Spawn delay −5%/wave ∞	Pure reaction time / endurance

SPEED SCALING (Wave 21+): Enemy Speed at Wave N = Base Speed × (1 + (N − 20) × 0.08), max ×1.80 at Wave 30
Lander (base 3 m/s): W21: 3.24 | W25: 4.2 | W30: 5.4 m/s (nearly double. Humanoids impossible to protect without mastery.)
Baiter (base 8 m/s): W21: 8.64 | W25: 11.2 | W30: 14.4 m/s (impossible to track manually. Smart Bombs mandatory.)
Wave 30+ logic: spawn delay × 0.95 each wave → enemies arrive faster and faster until the screen is constant chaos.

leaderboardScoring & Leaderboard

Points Per Kill

Enemy	Points	XP
Swarmer	10 pts	15 XP
Lander	100 pts	40 XP
Mine	150 pts	80 XP
Pod	250 pts	120 XP
Baiter	400 pts	200 XP
Bomber	700 pts	350 XP
Mutant	1,000 pts	500 XP
Humanoid rescued	+500 pts BONUS	+300 XP
Humanoid shot ⚠️	−500 pts	−50 XP

Combo Multiplier

Consecutive Kills	Multiplier
0–9 kills	1×
10–24 kills	2×
25–49 kills	3×
50–99 kills	4×
100+ kills	5× MAX

Wave Completion Bonus

Bonus = Wave² × 500 pts

Wave 5 → 12,500 pts
Wave 10 → 50,000 pts
Wave 15 → 112,500 pts
Wave 20 → 200,000 pts

RetroPixelsXR Internal Stats Bible v0.5 // Not for Distribution
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