s&box

Core & Bosses Update

Core & Bosses Update

1.3.0

9 September 2026

Areas

24 changes in this update

Progression

Run upgrades - choose one of three deterministic upgrades between rounds starting at level 2
Upgrade pool - Heavy Rounds, Rapid Chamber, Thrusters, Reinforced Hull, Dash Capacitor, Power Reservoir, Forked Fire, and Chain Reaction
Core upgrades - permanently improve Weapon Damage, Movement, Hull, and Dash Recovery
Credits - earn currency from enemies, elites, and bosses

Bosses

Boss rounds - fight a Round Core every fifth round
Boss variants - encounter 20 rotating bosses with unique behaviors
Boss attacks - bosses can use projectiles, shotguns, lasers, minion fire, radial patterns, charges, and danger zones
Boss interface - boss names, descriptions, health bars, and attack telegraphs

Enemies

Elite enemies - Swift and Armored variants can appear from level 3 onward
Elite rewards - elites award double score and 2 Credits

Controls

Cursor aiming - aim using a locked virtual cursor and in-game reticle
Auto Fire - continuously fire using a persistent Settings option

Gameplay

Round continuity - surviving enemies and projectiles remain during upgrade selection

UI

Level announcement - displays a large animated level number instead of ONE MORE ROUND

Balance

Heavy Rounds - grants 10% weapon damage per rank
Rapid Chamber - reduces fire interval by 6% per rank
Thrusters - grants 6% movement speed and acceleration per rank
Reinforced Hull - grants 10% maximum health per rank
Dash Capacitor - reduces dash cooldown by 8% per rank
Power Reservoir - increases power-up duration by 15% per rank
Forked Fire - angled shots deal 45% damage while center and Triple Shot lanes retain full damage

Gameplay

Run rewards - Credits are banked exactly once when dying or deliberately quitting

UI

Health display - health always uses a percentage and can display values above 100%
Cursor release - the system cursor is restored during menus, pause, upgrades, focus loss, and game over