Bestiary
Every host in the rift: what it does, what it drops, and how to beat it.
PLAY FREE IN YOUR BROWSERQuick reference
Base values at wave 1. Enemy damage and speed grow as waves pass, so the same host hits harder at wave 30 than at wave 3. The Unlocks column shows the first wave a host can appear.
| Host | Health | Speed | Damage | First wave |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wretch | 22 | 132 | 14 | 1 |
| Skitter | 10 | 200 | 10 | 1 |
| Spitter | 38 | 96 | 15 | 2 |
| Flicker | 28 | 150 | 16 | 3 |
| Marksman | 34 | 78 | 22 | 4 |
| Brute | 160 | 72 | 28 | 6 |
| Aegis | 90 | 88 | 20 | 6 |
| Cinder | 36 | 110 | 18 | 7 |
| Chanter | 48 | 84 | 12 | 7 |
| Shard | 44 | 118 | 16 | 8 |
| Leech | 52 | 100 | 13 | 8 |
| Raven | 30 | 175 | 17 | 9 |
| Howler | 60 | 92 | 15 | 9 |
| Mote | 12 | 160 | 9 | from Shards |
Every host and how to counter it
Wretch
meleefodder
The basic body. It walks at you and hits. Kill it fast and move on.
Drops: Scrap kinetics: plain guns that still fire.
Skitter
meleeswarm
Fast and fragile, arrives in numbers. Spread weapons and splash clear them cleanly.
Drops: Attack-speed relics and light triggers.
Spitter
rangedvenom
Stays back and lobs venom globs. Close the gap or break line of sight.
Drops: Venom chambers, strong against shielded fronts.
Flicker
meleeblink
Blinks around to flank you. Do not run in straight lines.
Drops: Dash ash that shortens your own dash cooldown.
Marksman
rangedsnipe
Lines up a telegraphed shot, then fires a hard-hitting bolt. Dash sideways when it aims.
Drops: Precision rifles with tight spread and long reach.
Brute
meleetank
Slow, huge health pool, heavy hits. Kite it and keep your distance.
Drops: Plate armor: more HP and damage soak.
Aegis
meleeshield
Carries a frontal shield. Flank it, or use venom, which eats through the plate.
Drops: Face armor that soaks frontal damage.
Cinder
meleeblast
Explodes when it dies. Shoot it before it reaches the pack, and never at point-blank range.
Drops: Blast tips: your hits gain splash.
Chanter
supportmend
Heals nearby hosts. Priority target in any mixed group.
Drops: Regen and stim relics, marrow armor.
Shard
meleesplit
Splits into Motes on death. Pierce and splash are your friends.
Drops: Pierce relics.
Leech
rangeddrain
Tethers to you and drains health while the link holds. Kill it quickly; its lifesteal relics are worth having.
Drops: Lifesteal relics.
Raven
skirmishfly
Dive-bombs from above, fast and evasive. Pays a lot of ash for its size.
Drops: Speed and magnet relics.
Howler
supporthowl
Hastes nearby hosts with an aura. Kill it first when a pack suddenly speeds up.
Drops: Execute: your weapons finish wounded hosts.
Mote
meleeswarm
Spawned when Shards split. Weak on its own, dangerous in a cloud.
Drops: Almost nothing, sometimes a sliver.
Bosses
Sovereign
bossmeleeranged
Appears on every third wave from wave 6 and brings an escort. Drops guaranteed rare-or-better tribute, often a named piece. Base health 520, speed 90, damage 34.
Archon
bosssnipemend
Takes over from Sovereigns from wave 12 on. Snipes and heals its court. Its drops are court patterns that the Ledger records. Base health 740, speed 84, damage 38.
At wave 100 a finale host closes the campaign. You can then finish the run and keep your ash, or enter Endless, where a harder finale host returns every ten waves.
The in-game bestiary
In the game, the Bestiary screen logs each host the first time it meets you. Unknown hosts stay redacted until they try to kill you. Logging certain hosts also unlocks rigs: seeing a Spitter unlocks the Gland, and seeing a Flicker unlocks the Afterimage. See the full list on the rigs page.