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v0.5.0 · 29 September 2026
The difficulty overhaul: hard modes are systems now
What changed on Hard, Epic and Legendary in The Ember Depths: summon hunters, boss enrage, bigger packs, stingier stairs, and the full table of numbers.
A Legendary player wrote in to say they were breezing through. Quillon took it personally. The hard modes used to be the same dungeon with bigger numbers; now each one takes away a crutch: minions that tank everything, gear far above the curve, potion chugging, long careless boss fights and over-levelled heroes strolling through gentle dungeons.
What the hard modes do now
- Summon hunters: on Hard 30% of foes walk straight past your minions and pets to reach you (50% on Epic, 70% on Legendary). Summons also take more damage, and melee swings cleave into the summons in front of them.
- Bosses enrage: a boss still standing after 240 s on Hard (200 s Epic, 160 s Legendary) flies into a rage and hits harder every 15 seconds. A damage check, not a wipe timer.
- Bigger packs, more elite packs and more affixes per elite (up to 4 on Epic and Legendary).
- No rubber-banding down: on Epic and Legendary a fragile build no longer makes foes softer, and an over-geared hero meets tougher foes than before.
- Stingier stairs: less healing between floors, and on Legendary no free flask charge. Potions drop less often. You lose 25% of carried gold when you fall on Legendary.
- Over-levelled heroes back in early dungeons now meet foes raised to match them, without the gentle early-act discount.
Loot scarcity
Legendaries were raining. They drizzle now: the pity timer is slower, a boss's first kill no longer guarantees one, set pieces and Mystery Cache jackpots are rarer. The hard modes still pay more (XP, gold, magic find and a faster pity), just less than the danger they add. Legendary is for players who want the fight.
Every number, every mode
| Easy | Medium | Hard | Epic | Legendary | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foe HP / damage | ×0.7 / ×0.6 | ×1 / ×1 | ×1.1 / ×1.1 | ×1.3 / ×1.2 | ×1.6 / ×1.4 |
| Rescaling floor (HP / dmg) | ×0.85 / ×0.75 | ×0.85 / ×0.75 | ×0.9 / ×0.85 | ×1 / ×1 | ×1 / ×1 |
| Rescaling ceiling (HP / dmg) | ×1.35 / ×1.35 | ×1.35 / ×1.35 | ×1.45 / ×1.45 | ×1.6 / ×1.55 | ×1.8 / ×1.7 |
| Pack size · elite packs | ×1 · — | ×1 · — | ×1.05 · +3% | ×1.1 · +5% | ×1.15 · +8% |
| Elite affixes | -1 · max 3 | baseline · max 3 | baseline, 50% chance of +1 · max 3 | +1, 30% chance of +1 · max 4 | +1, 50% chance of +1 · max 4 |
| Elite HP / damage (extra) | ×1 / ×1 | ×1 / ×1 | ×1.05 / ×1.05 | ×1.1 / ×1.05 | ×1.15 / ×1.1 |
| Boss damage (extra) | ×1 | ×1 | ×1 | ×1.05 | ×1.1 |
| Boss soft enrage | never | never | after 240s, +10% per 15s | after 200s, +15% per 15s | after 160s, +20% per 15s |
| Elite & boss special cooldowns | ×1 | ×1 | ×0.95 | ×0.9 | ×0.85 |
| Foe speed · aggro range | ×1 · ×1 | ×1 · ×1 | ×1 · ×1.1 | ×1.04 · ×1.15 | ×1.06 · ×1.2 |
| Summon hunters | none | none | 30% of foes | 50% of foes | 70% of foes |
| Damage summons take | ×1 | ×1 | ×1.3 | ×1.5 | ×1.75 |
| Melee cleave onto summons | — | — | 25% | 40% | 50% |
| Stairs: heal · flask | 50% · +1 | 35% · +1 | 35% · +1 | 25% · +1 | 20% · none |
| Potion drops | ×1.3 | ×1 | ×0.9 | ×0.75 | ×0.7 |
| Gold lost on death | 5% | 10% | 15% | 20% | 25% |
| XP | ×0.85 | ×1 | ×1.2 | ×1.4 | ×1.6 |
| Gold find · magic find | −15% · −15% | — · — | +20% · +25% | +35% · +50% | +50% · +80% |
| Legendary pity | normal | normal | 87% as long | 74% as long | 63% as long |
Settings → Gameplay → Difficulty changes it at any time (in a dungeon, from the next floor's foes). Hardcore heroes choose between Hard, Epic and Legendary only.
See also