Core Zone

Core Zone is a campaign/survival map region modifier that applies special status effects to units spawned as part of a Wave. It functions as a zone-wide buff set that alters enemy (and sometimes friendly) unit attributes for the duration of waves in the affected sector. Core Zone effects are applied automatically by the Wave system and are not represented as individual items or blocks a player constructs; rather, they exist as hidden or induced status effects tied to wave generation.

Core Zone commonly includes two primary classes of wave-based enhancements. The first class increases both offense and survivability, applying a 1.3x damage multiplier and a 1.5x health multiplier to affected units; this is typically used for bosses in that sector. The second class grants higher damage and mobility at the cost of some durability, giving units 1.4x damage, 1.15x speed, passive healing at 0.6 HP/s, and a reduced effective health multiplier of 0.95x. These modifiers are permanent for the spawned wave units while they remain part of that wave.

Several other hidden or induced status effects can be present in Core Zone contexts or applied to wave-spawned units. One notable hidden effect is an effectively invincible state used briefly on units spawned from a wave; this uses an extremely large health multiplier (listed as 21474672x) to make units temporarily immune to damage on spawn. Core Zone waves may also combine other status types documented elsewhere (speed boosts, slows, disarm, and various terrain-based effects) depending on the sector design and wave composition.

Practical implications and interactions:

• Wave-applied multipliers affect incoming damage calculation via the health-multiplier mechanic: the multiplier does not change the unit's raw HP readout but divides incoming damage after armor subtraction. A lower health multiplier therefore causes incoming damage to be larger per hit.
• Boss-type units in Core Zone sectors are significantly tougher due to the 1.3x damage and 1.5x health multipliers; plan defenses and damage output accordingly.
• Overdriven-style waves favor faster, harder-hitting units with built-in regeneration; these are vulnerable to sustained burst damage but can outpace slow defenses.
• The brief invincibility on spawn prevents instant-kill strategies against newly spawned wave units; delaying turret focus or using long-duration damage-over-time effects can mitigate this.
• Core Zone effects are applied by the Wave system itself and cannot be removed by the player; counterplay relies on adapting builds (higher sustained DPS, piercing armor, crowd control) rather than manipulating the status application.

Core Zone behavior is integrated with other map and weather-derived status systems (tar, burning, scorched, slowing effects, etc.), so sector design often layers multiple status effects to create distinct tactical challenges.