Difficulties

See also: Player Mechanics, Enemies, Game Mechanics

Difficulties are varying options which affect the mechanics and behaviors present in the gameplay of ULTRAKILL. Each difficulty is found in the Difficulty Select screen, with a small descriptor attached that lets the player know what challenges the difficulty possesses.

There are six difficulties in ULTRAKILL split across three different categories:

• Accessible difficulties consist of Harmless and Lenient.
• Hard difficulties consist of Standard and Violent.
• Very Hard difficulties consist of Brutal and Ultrakill Must Die.
  

The intended difficulty for most new players is Standard, but all difficulties are available to be played on a new save file or at any point otherwise.

Difficulties affect a number of mechanics such as the player's health/stamina system, environmental hazards, enemy speed and behaviors, and boss health. Depending on the difficulty, these factors can be made either easier or harder to play around and combat. The changes each one introduces are compared relative to Standard, as it is intended to be the baseline for the game's mechanics.

When selecting difficulties, the completion of level challenges, Soul Orbs, and weapon unlocks will always carry over between any difficulties on the same save file, but level ranks and Chapter Select level progress unlocked on a specific difficulty are not shared to other difficulties. Best runs, starting waves, and leaderboard statistics in The Cyber Grind are also separated based on difficulty, and Prime Sanctums can only be unlocked on a difficulty where the player possesses the required level ranks.

Difficulty Characteristics

All difficulties are compared against Standard unless stated otherwise.

Accessible

Accessible is the first category of difficulties. Compared to higher difficulties, the mechanics present in these difficulties are simplified, and intended primarily for those who prefer a less stressful and less challenging experience in their gameplay.

In these difficulties, Hard Damage is not present, and many enemies have reduced speeds and simpler attacks.

Harmless

Absurdly slow enemies and attacks.

Damage is still high, but even a mountain could dodge them.

Recommended for players who want a stress-free experience.

Harmless is the lowest difficulty in the game, and generally the least challenging. It features major changes to the player's health and stamina system, greatly reduces the speed of most attacks or behaviors, and removes some enemy attacks to simplify combat.

General Changes

• The player has 200 maximum health by default.
• Hard Damage is not present.
• Stamina regenerates much faster (0.7/s faster, totaling to 1.4/s).
• Enemy movement and attacks are reduced in speed by 50% (Applies to all enemies and bosses unless stated otherwise).
• Hell Orb projectiles move at a reduced maximum rate of 32.5 u/s.
• Environmental hazards deal one-fifth of their normal damage to the player.

Enemy Changes

Enemy Changes
Filth Attacks have a cooldown of 0.4 seconds. Filth move at a max speed of 10 u/s, accelerate at 15 u/s², and turn at 400 °/s. While readying a lunge during a Bite, Filth can only turn at 360 °/s.
Stray Strays move at a max speed of 5 u/s.
Schism Only the center 3 projectiles are shot from their barrage. Schisms move at a max speed of 5 u/s.
Soldier Soldiers no longer block explosions. Projectile Blasts fire in a cone of 2°. Soldiers move at a max speed of 7.5 u/s.
Stalker Sand Explosions deal no damage.
Insurrectionist Attack cooldowns are 1 second longer. Insurrectionists swing and extend their arms 50% slower while attacking. Insurrectionists do not use their Stomp attack. Insurrectionists do not produce shockwaves.
Ferryman Attacks are 33.3% slower. Ferrymen no longer predict their target's movement in melee. Ferrymen no longer use their Lightning Bolt attack. Roll cooldowns are 4 seconds longer.
Drone Drones do not dash. Drones dash 75% slower. Drones suicide bomb 50% slower. Drone projectiles move 57.14% slower.
Mindflayer Beam attack moves 35% slower.
Sentry Sentries will not kick the player if they are too close.
Malicious Face Malicious Faces only fire 3 hell orbs per barrage.
Hideous Mass Hideous Mass does not use its harpoon. The vertical shockwave from its clap is very small.
Virtue Virtues are unable to enrage. Virtues do not move sideways.

Boss Changes

Boss Changes
V2 Shoots only one Revolver shot at a time.
The Corpse of King Minos (Hand) Slam shockwaves travel at 30 u/s. Attacks are 35% slower.
The Corpse of King Minos The Corpse of King Minos will not use its Black Hole attack. Parasites no longer use their Homing Projectile attack. Projectiles' initial velocities are 50% slower Parasites' attack cooldowns last 50% longer. Attacks and Slam cooldowns are 35% slower.
V2 (2nd) Shoots only one Revolver shot at a time. Only throws one coin at a time. Coins have weaker lock-on.
Minotaur Acid attacks deal 3 Damage per tick.
Big Johninator Big Johninator moves significantly slower. Big Johninator attacks significantly slower. Rocket Barrage only fires one rocket, and has an increased cooldown. Landmine Drop takes far longer to occur. Malicious Blast charges significantly slower.
1000-THR "Earthmover" Laser grid is much slower. 1000-THR "Earthmover" does not summon its Homing Orb attack.
Flesh Prison Flesh Prison will only summon 5 Eye Spawn (6 below half health), and they will not dash sideways. Flesh Prison only recovers 3.5 HP from consumed Eye Spawn. Flesh Prison will only summon 35 Hell Seekers per barrage (50 below half health). Flesh Prison's Divine Beams are smaller. Flesh Prison does not use its Black Hole attack.
Minos Prime Upon running out of stamina, Minos Prime will have to wait 4 seconds before attacking again. Minos Prime no longer gains additional stamina in his second phase. His dropkick and ground slam explosion radius is smaller. No shockwave will be produced from his ground slam or rider kick.
Flesh Panopticon Flesh Panopticon will only summon 3 Supreme Eye Spawn, and they will not inflict Hard Damage. Flesh Panopticon only recovers 7 HP from consumed Supreme Eye Spawn. Flesh Panopticon will only summon 11 Hell Mortars per barrage (16 below half health). Flesh Panopticon's Divine Beams are smaller. Flesh Panopticon does not use its Black Hole attack.
Sisyphus Prime The Explosion attack will only summon the smaller explosion. Sisyphus Prime will not create any shockwaves. Phase 2 will not add more stamina to Sisyphus Prime. Sisyphus Prime's cooldown after running out of stamina is twice as long.

Lenient

High damage but slower attacks and passive enemies.

Tension is still high, but damage is easier to avoid.

Recommended for players who want a less strict gameplay experience.

Lenient is the second lowest difficulty in the game, and as such is still strict, but less challenging than normal. It features small changes to the player health and stamina system, as well as somewhat reducing the speed of certain enemy attacks and behaviors.

General Changes

• Restarting from the same checkpoint 3 or more times grants the player 101 health on the next restart, and sets their maximum health to 200.
• Hard Damage is not present.
• Stamina regenerates somewhat faster (0.35/s faster, to a total of 1.05/s)
• Enemy movement and attacks are reduced in speed by 25% (Applies to all enemies and bosses unless stated otherwise).
• Hell Orb projectiles move at a reduced maximum rate of 48.75 u/s.
• Environmental hazards deal one-half of their normal damage to the player.

Enemy Changes

Enemy Changes
Filth Attacks have a cooldown of 0.3 seconds. Filth move at a max speed of 15 u/s, and turn at 400 °/s. While readying a lunge during a Bite, Filth can only turn at 720 °/s.
Stray Strays move at a max speed of 7.5 u/s.
Schism Only the center 3 projectiles are shot from their barrage. Schisms move at a max speed of 7.5 u/s.
Soldier Soldiers no longer block explosions. Projectile Blasts fire in a cone of 3°. Soldiers move at a max speed of 11.25 u/s.
Stalker Sand Explosions deal no damage.
Insurrectionist Attack cooldowns are 0.5 seconds longer. Insurrectionists swing and extend their arms 25% slower while attacking. Stomps are 14.29% slower.
Ferryman Attacks are 11.1% slower. Ferrymen no longer predict the player's movement in melee. Ferrymen no longer use their Lightning Bolt attack. Roll cooldowns are 2 seconds longer.
Drone Drones dash far less often. Drones dash 50% slower. Drones suicide bomb 20% slower. Drone projectiles move 28.57% slower.
Mindflayer Beam attack moves 15% slower.
Sentry Sentries will not kick the player if they are too close.
Malicious Face Malicious Faces only fire 3 hell orbs per barrage.
Hideous Mass The vertical shockwave from its clap is very small.
Virtue Virtues are unable to enrage. Virtues move sideways far less often.

Boss Changes

Boss Changes
V2 Shoots only two Revolver shots at a time.
The Corpse of King Minos (Hand) Slam shockwaves travel at 60 u/s. Attacks are 15% slower.
The Corpse of King Minos The Corpse of King Minos will not use its Black Hole attack. Parasites no longer use their Homing Projectile attack. Projectiles' initial velocities are 25% slower Parasites' attack cooldowns last 25% longer. Attacks and Slam cooldowns are 15% slower.
V2 (2nd) Shoots only two Revolver shots at a time. Only throws one coin at a time. Coins have weaker lock-on.
Minotaur Acid attacks deal 7 damage per tick.
Big Johninator Big Johninator moves somewhat slower. Big Johninator attacks somewhat slower. Rocket Barrage now fires two rockets. Landmine Drop takes longer to occur. Malicious Blast charges somewhat slower.
1000-THR "Earthmover" Laser grid is somewhat slower. 1000-THR "Earthmover" does not summon its Homing Orb attack.
Flesh Prison Flesh Prison will only summon 7 Eye Spawn (8 below half health). Flesh Prison only recovers 7.5 HP from consumed Eye Spawn. Flesh Prison will only summon 35 Hell Seekers per barrage (50 below half health).
Minos Prime Upon running out of stamina, Minos Prime will have to wait 3 seconds before attacking again. No shockwave will be produced from his ground slam or rider kick.
Flesh Panopticon Flesh Panopticon will only summon 3 Supreme Eye Spawn (4 below half health). Flesh Panopticon only recovers 15 HP from consumed Supreme Eye Spawn. Flesh Panopticon will only summon 11 Hell Mortars per barrage (16 below half health).
Sisyphus Prime Sisyphus Prime will not create any shockwaves. Phase 2 will not give Sisyphus Prime more stamina. Sisyphus Prime's cooldown after running out of stamina is 50% longer.

Hard

Hard is the second category of difficulties. They are the usual intended first-time experience for players, and introduce many of the more challenging mechanics that get expanded upon further in Very Hard difficulties.

These difficulties are where enemy attacks and behaviors start becoming faster and more dangerous, and where Hard Damage is first found.

Standard

Normal enemies and high damage.

Attacks are easy to avoid, but carelessness will result in a swift death.

Recommended for first time players.

Standard is the third difficulty present in the game, and it is the one intended for most new players. Attacks and behaviors are strict and can be quite challenging, but can be played around. This is the first difficulty to introduce the mechanic of Hard Damage, temporarily reducing the player's maximum health whenever they take damage. Hard Damage can dissipate more quickly the more style the player has.

Standard is the difficulty which all others are based off of, and is the difficulty the game is balanced around first and foremost.

General Characteristics

• The player has a maximum of 100 health by default. This does not increase outside of the use of Red Soul Orbs.
• Hard Damage is present. Hard Damage fills 35% of any normal damage taken.
• Stamina regenerates at its normal rate of 0.7/s.
• Enemy attacks and behaviors are at their normal speed.
• Hell Orb projectiles move at their normal maximum rate of 65 u/s.
• Environmental hazards deal full damage to the player.

Violent

Fast and aggressive enemies and high damage.

Quick thinking, mobility options and situational awareness are essential.

Recommended for players who have already gotten used to the game's pace and mechanics.

Violent is the second highest difficulty currently present in the game. It is more challenging compared to Standard, but retains many of the same mechanics and does not have many major changes to enemy behavior. It is intended most for players who are new to the game but looking for a greater challenge, or those who already have more experience with the game's mechanics.

General Changes

• Enemy movement and attacks are increased in speed by 25% (Applies to all enemies and bosses unless stated otherwise).
• Hell Orb projectiles move at an increased maximum speed of 87.75 u/s.
• Getting hit adds one extra second to Hard Damage's regeneration cooldown.

Enemy Changes

Enemy Changes
Filth Attacks have a cooldown of 0.1 seconds. Filth accelerate at 60 u/s², and turn at 2600 °/s.
Stray Initial attack cooldowns are 0.5 seconds faster and subsequent attack cooldowns are 1 second faster. Strays move at a max speed of 12.5 u/s.
Schism Initial attack cooldowns are 0.5 seconds faster and subsequent attack cooldowns are 1 second faster. Schisms move at a max speed of 12.5 u/s.
Soldier Projectile Blasts fire in a cone of 10° and shoot 6 projectiles. Soldiers move at a max speed of 18.75 u/s.
Stalker Sand Explosions replace all missing health with Hard Damage before adding additional Hard Damage.
Insurrectionist Attack cooldowns are 0.5 seconds shorter. Insurrectionists swing and extend their arms 25% faster while attacking. Stomps are 14.29% faster. Stomp explosions are 50% larger and faster when the Insurrectionist is Radiant. Cannonball impact explosions are 51.52% larger and faster.
Ferryman Attacks are 11.1% faster. Ferrymen use their Vault Swing attack instead of their Vault. Lightning Bolt cooldowns are 2 seconds faster. Rolls no longer have a cooldown. Lightning Bolts follow their targets 50% faster.
Drone Drones dash 50% faster. Drone projectiles move 28.57% faster.
Mindflayer Enrages and teleports more frequently when at half health and under.
Malicious Face At half health, Malicious Faces will enrage and start firing two beam attacks quickly in succession.
Virtue Virtues will enrage after three attacks. Virtues can enrage even if blessed.

Boss Changes

Boss Changes
The Corpse of King Minos (Hand) Has 3 stamina at phase 1, 4 stamina at phase 2 and 5 stamina at phase 3.
The Corpse of King Minos Black Holes don't collapse upon phase transition. The Corpse of King Minos will use its Black Hole attack in its second phase. Homing projectiles turn at 200°/s.
Gabriel, Judge of Hell Summons his Spiral Swords attack around himself when transitioning to second phase, and upon every second taunt thereafter.
V2 (2nd) Coins fire faster and more accurately.
Gabriel, Apostate of Hate Summons his Spiral Swords attack around himself when transitioning to second phase, and upon every second taunt thereafter.
1000-THR "Earthmover" Laser grid rotates significantly faster. Begins firing homing orbs immediately instead of at half health.
Flesh Prison 2 Eye Spawn (3 below half health) will be replaced with Malicious Spawn. Flesh Prison summons 3 Divine Beams at a time (4 below half health). Divine Beams are larger in radius.
Minos Prime Minos Prime has 10 stamina on his first phase, and parrying his dropkick no longer cancels it. In his second phase, he gains infinite stamina and his melee attacks can no longer be parried.
Flesh Panopticon 1 Supreme Eye Spawn (2 below half health) will be replaced with Malicious Spawn. Flesh Panopticon summons 3 Divine Beams at a time (4 below half health). Divine Beams are larger in radius.
Sisyphus Prime The Clap attack and the Sumo Combo will always create a shockwave, even when parried. Sisyphus has much more stamina in Phases 1 and 2.

Very Hard

Very Hard is the third and most challenging category of difficulty options. These difficulties introduce a number of traits designed to force the player to reconsider enemy encounters and be constantly aware of their situation.

Compared to Hard and Accessible difficulties, they are much more unforgiving and punish the player much more greatly for mistakes mid-combat, with high speed and devastating power.

Brutal

Extremely aggressive enemies and high damage.

A full arsenal and extensive knowledge of the game are expected. Any slip-ups are punished harshly.

Recommended for players who already have considerable experience with the game and are looking for a fresh challenge.

Brutal is the fifth difficulty and currently the highest present in the game. It features great changes to enemy movement, speed, and behaviors, and is intended primarily for those who already have experience with the game's mechanics, and possess all or most obtainable weapons. It is also the first difficulty that introduces the player to bosses with greater health.

General Changes

• Enemy movement and attacks are increased in speed by 50% (Applies to all enemies and bosses unless stated otherwise).
• Hell Orb projectiles move at an increased maximum speed of 87.75 u/s.
• Getting hit adds one extra second to Hard Damage's regeneration cooldown.
• All bosses have their health increased by 50%.

Enemy Changes

Enemy Changes
Filth Attacks have a cooldown of 0.1 seconds. Filth accelerate at 120 u/s², and turn at 9000 °/s. Filth will use their Jump attack. When fighting the player, Filth will attempt to predict where it will be in 0.2 seconds upon lunging during a Bite. Filth move forward at 50 u/s while biting.
Stray Initial attack cooldowns are 0.5 seconds faster and subsequent attack cooldowns are 1 second faster. Strays move at a max speed of 12.5 u/s. Attacks attempt to predict the player's momentum.
Schism Initial attack cooldowns are 0.5 seconds faster and subsequent attack cooldowns are 1 second faster. Schisms move at a max speed of 12.5 u/s. Can rotate their attacks to aim at the player more accurately.
Soldier Projectile Blasts fire in a cone of 10° and shoot 6 projectiles. Soldiers move at a max speed of 18.75 u/s. Soldiers roll and crouch before doing an attack, charging while rolling (Does not happen underwater). Soldiers will jump off high ledges to get closer to the player. Soldiers block 100% of damage from standard explosions while grounded.
Stalker Sand Explosions replace all missing health with Hard Damage before adding additional Hard Damage. Does not die when performing a Sand Explosion attack.
Insurrectionist Attack cooldowns are 1 second shorter. Recovers from being downed twice as fast. Attack cooldown is 1 second upon spawning. Insurrectionists swing and extend their arms 25% faster while attacking. Stomps are 14.29% faster. Stomp explosions are 50% larger and faster when the Insurrectionist is Radiant. Cannonball impact explosions are 51.52% larger and faster.
Ferryman Attacks are 11.1% faster. Ferrymen use their Vault Swing attack instead of their Vault. Lightning Bolt cooldowns are 2 seconds faster. Rolls no longer have a cooldown. Lightning Bolts follow their targets 50% faster. Lightning Bolt attack does not stop its summoning while the Ferryman executes other actions. Can perform Lightning Bolt attack at close range.
Swordsmachine Staggered for significantly less time when changing phases or after enraging. Can rotate towards the player while shooting its Shotgun to accurately aim. Can punch the player using the same attack patterns as it does with its sword while said sword is thrown. Each punch does 10 damage to the player. Can perform ranged attacks even when enraged.
Drone Drones dash far more often. Drones dash twice as fast. Drone projectiles move 28.57% faster.
Streetcleaner Fire attack has a larger area of effect, and can now be aimed upwards.
Mindflayer Enrages and teleports more frequently when reaching half health. Immune to the friendly fire damage of their own projectiles unless parried. Beam tracking is more accurate and efficient.
Sentry Fires two shots in quick succession after charging.
Gutterman Enrages for 10 seconds when shield is broken, or when parried. While enraged, Gutterman cannot be parried.
Guttertank Cannot slip when its punch attack is dodged, unless standing on top of Gasoline.
Malicious Face Will enrage at half health and start firing two beam attacks quickly in succession. Fires 10 projectiles in its barrage at a greatly increased fire rate and with slightly random spread.
Cerberus Dashes twice in a row, with the second dash being indicated by a blue flash. Sends out a second smaller shockwave immediately after the first when performing a stomp.
Hideous Mass Can now shoot its harpoon when enraged. Harpoon now has 3 health instead of 2.
Virtue Virtues will enrage after three attacks. Virtues can enrage even if blessed. Beam attack is performed in quicker succession. Beam attack lingers for much longer. Virtues move sideways far more often.

Boss Changes

Boss Changes
V2 Grounded movement no longer becomes 10% slower when the player’s health is below 33. Can dash.
The Corpse of King Minos (Hand) There are no cooldowns between attacks.
The Corpse of King Minos Black Holes don't collapse upon phase transition. The Corpse of King Minos will use its Black Hole attack in its second phase. Black Holes move 50% faster. Homing projectiles turn at 200°/s. In its second phase, The Corpse of King Minos will punch twice in a row before the cooldown.
Gabriel, Judge of Hell Summons his Spiral Swords attack around himself when transitioning to second phase, and upon every second taunt thereafter. Uses his Storm Swords attack to surround the player. Can attack with any angle using his spear.
V2 (2nd) Coins fire faster and more accurately. Grounded movement no longer becomes 10% slower when the player’s health is below 33. Can dash.
Gabriel, Apostate of Hate Summons his Spiral Swords attack around himself when transitioning to second phase, and upon every second taunt thereafter. Uses his Storm Swords attack to surround the player.
Minotaur Acid attacks last twice as long.
1000-THR "Earthmover" Defence System All defence system components are active immediately from the start of the fight.
1000-THR "Earthmover" Laser grid rotates significantly faster. Laser grid contains an additional, stationary set of lasers with no gaps. Begins firing homing orbs immediately instead of at half health.
Flesh Prison 3 Eye Spawn (4 below half health) will be replaced with Malicious Spawn. Eye Spawn and Malicious Spawn attack much more frequently and move more erratically. Flesh Prison summons 4 Divine Beams at a time (5 below half health). Divine Beams are larger in radius.
Minos Prime Minos Prime has 15 stamina on his first phase. Parrying his dropkick attack no longer cancels it. In his second phase, he gains infinite stamina and his melee attacks can no longer be parried. His attack pattern is now highly varied and he uses his Snake Throw much more often. His ground slam and rider kick have significantly less delay between call-out and attack.
Flesh Panopticon 2 Supreme Eye Spawn (3 below half health) will be replaced with Malicious Spawn. Malicious Spawn moves much more erratically. Flesh Panopticon summons 4 Divine Beams at a time (5 below half health). Divine Beams are larger in radius.
Sisyphus Prime The Clap attack and the Sumo Combo will always create a shockwave, even when parried. Clap and Sumo Combo will cause delayed explosions upon completion of said attacks on his second phase. Sisyphus Prime has 10 more stamina in Phase 1. Sisyphus Prime gains infinite stamina on his second phase. Sisyphus Prime will no longer taunt his opponent.

Ultrakill Must Die

Ultrakill Must Die is an upcoming, unreleased difficulty. It is expected to be the hardest present in the game.