Gauntlet/Enemies

Generators
Generators are the primary threat to your survival. While some monsters already exist in each level, most appear from these. Enemies are generated out of the 8 directions around the generator.

There are two types: bones and blocks. Ghosts spawn from bones, while everything else spawns from blocks. There are a couple of differences between the two types. One is that bones can be destroyed by enemy fire from Lobbers or Demons, while blocks can only be weakened by them. The other difference is that bones are slightly more resistant to the Valkyrie's magic than blocks are.

Generators come in 3 levels: 1, 2, and 3. The level of the generator dictates the level of the monster that will be spawned from it. The level of the generator also dictates how many HPs it has: 1, 2, or 3. A shot that does 1 HP of damage, such as that of the Elf, will have to hit a level 3 generator 3 times to destroy it, each hit decreasing it by one level. A shot that does 2 HP of damage, such as that of the Warrior, will reduce a level 3 generator to level 1. And so on.

Since generators continually make new enemies, and since the enemies will head for you, you'll find yourself having trouble hitting the generator. You'll need to employ certain tactics to hit the generator.

One method is to simply hold down the shot button, and utilize the auto-fire in an attempt to overpower the enemy stream. You'll have to inch yourself closer and closer so that the rate of fire stays high as you destroy the waves of monsters pouring out. This will only work well if the enemies aren't zig-zagging as they come toward you.

Another method is to scroll the generator off the screen. If the generator isn't on the screen, it can't make any enemies. By firing a shot, and walking it onto the generator, you can score a hit from a distance the instant it appears on the screen, effectively depriving it of the chance to make an enemy to "chaff" your shot. If you time it right, you should only have to move a few pixels toward the generator to land the hit. Beware of the swarm of enemies that will spawn if you mess up.

If the enemies aren't, you can try melee attacks to kill enemies while stunting the reproduction of them by causing a traffic jam. This is only really a good idea if you can kill the enemies in one melee attack each.

You can melee a generator, but shots are far more effective.

Enemies
A single enemy usually isn't too dangerous, but a pack can be deadly.

Like generators, enemies come in 3 levels, with the level being equivalent to that of the generator that made them. The higher the level, the more HP they have and the more damage they'll deal out.

Enemies will zig-zag as they walk toward you, provided there is enough room to do so. This can make it difficult to land a hit, and a missed shot can leave you defenseless for a few precious milliseconds. Make use of choke-points or hug walls to prevent this if you can. Otherwise, consider tapping the fire button instead of holding it to control it more precisely.

Ghosts
Ghosts don't use melee attacks like other enemies. Instead, they kamikaze into you. This is a far more dangerous motif. By destroying themselves, they permit instant access to the next Ghost in line. Worse, they deal much more damage on contact than a melee attack: 10, 20, and 30 base damage respective to their level. The result is a very high rate of damage.

Ghosts are arguably the hardest to deal with. You will need to be extra cautious in dealing with them, lest they slip past your defenses and sap your health.

Grunts
Grunts simply attack repeatedly with their club when standing next to you. They are a low tiered enemy, although definitely threatening.

They do 5, 8, and 10 base damage.

Demons
Once within a certain range of a Demon, they will shoot fireballs at you, which do 10 damage regardless of the level of the Demon. If you get close, they will use bite attacks that have equal strength to Grunt club attacks.

Demon fireballs will damage anything. They will also open fire if they are in range, no matter what is in the way. If one hits a breakable piece of food or blue potion, it will destroy it (potions won't activate). You must be careful not to accidentally train their shots onto such items. In contrast, you can also train their shots onto enemies and generators to damage or destroy them. Look for opportunities to use this to your advantage.

Their bites do 5, 8, and 10 base damage. Their fireballs do 10 base damage no matter their level.

Sorcerers
These magic users make use of a blink spell, and flash invisible constantly. Shots will pass through them when they turn invisible, making them more difficult to hit. This can be annoying, and allow them to get in range for their melee attack, but it also leaves their generator less well defended.

Melee attacks can hit them when they turn invisible.

They do 5, 8, and 10 base damage.

Lobbers
These enemies can throw rocks quite a distance, even over walls. They have no melee attack however, so once you get within about three tiles of them they will start running.

Their rocks only do 3 base damage, making them one of the weaker enemies offensively. However, they are often situated behind barriers, meaning you'll have to deal with them for a while. The damage does add up fairly quickly if they can get a bead on you.

Lobber rocks can also destroy potions, food, and other enemies. Because they can be thrown over walls, it's possible to hit almost anything if you can train them. The Lobbers have a strange lead-off AI that doesn't consider walls, and can't predict erratic movements. It takes some getting used to, but would be wise to learn since you can take out threats that would otherwise cause you much grief.

This monster rarely has a generator that makes them.

Lobbers do 3 base damage with their rocks, no matter what level they are.

Death
Death is a special enemy. You can't kill it normally. Any type of potion attack will kill it instantly, no matter how weak.

When it comes into contact with the player, it begins to drain HP at a rapid rate. It will drain up to 200 HP if permitted to do so. If it reaches the limit of 200 health, it will disappear. Since this is a considerable amount of your health, make sure it doesn't happen. Either use a potion or, if you can get a sufficiently open space, dodge around it.

If you shoot Death, it will give you a single point for every hit. This isn't very lucrative, even if you can do this from behind a pair of blocks - you'd be far better off camping over a corridor leading to a generator.

However, what is very lucrative for scoring is using a potion on Death. By default, you score 1000 points. There is actually a variable points value for killing Death with a potion. Every time you hit Death with a shot, you cycle the value. By default, it is 1000 points. If you shoot Death, the value changes to 2000, then back to 1000, then to 4000, 2000, 6000, 2000, 8000, and then back to 1000 (the default 1000 that you started with).

Some levels have around 30-50 Deaths in a single location. Suffice it to say, setting them to 8000 points, and using a potion will increase your score by a LOT. This is such a treasure trove of points, that you should try to set your level order up so that you'll get these Death filled levels when the ranking system has stolen most of the food spawns.

Death is not generated.

Thieves
The Thief is a very fast enemy that appears in some levels later on in the game. He does 10 points of damage, and also steals something from you. The item he steals depends on what you have. If you have any upgrade potions, he will go for those first. Otherwise, he might nick your potions, keys, score, or multiplayer bonus multiplier.

The Thief spawns at the beginning of the level, and runs toward you. If you hear the Thief tone, get into a choke-point and turn around to start shooting. He will run right into your shot, and leave behind a treasure bag worth 500 points.

If you get robbed, you can kill the Thief right away to recover what he stole. If he exits safely, you can find your stolen item on the next level. Unfortunately, upgrade potions become regular potions when stolen.

Thieves are not generated, they just spawn once every few levels.