Threat Levels: what each one actually changes
Two dials decide how hard a run is, and they are on the mission screen next to each other. Depth is not one of them any more.
Start on Threat 2 with Standard pace. Threat Level controls enemies and damage; Assault Pace controls how much time you get per floor and how much XP you leave with. Threat 5 is locked until you finish a run on Threat 4.
Two settings on the mission screen decide how hard a run is, and neither of them is Depth any more. Threat Level sets enemies, damage and swarm frequency. Assault Pace sets the timer and the XP you walk away with.
Update 2 is where this changed. Before it, deeper meant harder. Now Depth only decides which boss and which biome you meet, and a Threat 5 Depth 1 run is harder than a Threat 1 Depth 4 run.
Five Threat Levels, decoded
The official description of the scale lists five things: the number of enemies, the frequency of swarms, enemy health and movement, enemy aggression (attack frequency and projectile speed), and overall damage. The community wiki puts numbers on the damage side.
| Threat | Enemy damage multiplier (solo) | Hazard pay bonus | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.55x | +15% | A tutorial that still bites |
| 2 | 0.85x | +30% | Fair, if you keep moving |
| 3 | 1.4x | +45% | Mistakes cost armour |
| 4 | 2.8x | +60% | A swarm can end the run |
| 5 | 4.2x | +75% | Locked until you clear a Threat 4 run |
Damage multipliers and hazard pay are from the community wiki, checked 2026-11-15. On Threat Levels 4 and 5, waves can stack instead of queueing, which is the single biggest jump on this table.
Three Assault Pace settings
Pace is a timer setting, not a difficulty setting, but it changes how the run feels more than one Threat Level does. Cautious buys you 50% more time per floor and 15% XP. Standard is the baseline and pays 30% XP. Reckless takes 25% of the time away and pays 45%.
| Pace | Time per floor | XP bonus | Pick it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cautious | +50% | +15% | You are learning a Gatekeeper |
| Standard | baseline | +30% | Default for everything |
| Reckless | -25% | +45% | You are farming a depth you know |
Pace numbers are from the community wiki, checked 2026-11-15. The timer only stops for upgrades and full pauses, so a longer floor is not free time, it is more Expenite before the Reaperworms arrive.
What to pick first
Take Threat 2 with Standard pace for your first five runs. Threat 1 does not teach you to fight, because enemies die before their telegraphs matter, and Cautious gives you so much time that you never learn when to leave a floor.
Then move to Threat 3 on Cautious once you can clear a Depth 1 run without being downed. The extra time cancels the extra damage while you learn the swarm rhythm, and the XP loss is small.
Official Ghost Ship Games announcement art.
Depth is not difficulty
A floor that feels impossible is usually one dial, not three. Spongy enemies and constant swarms are Threat Level. A floor that ends before you have explored it is Assault Pace. A Gatekeeper you have never seen is Depth, and no setting makes a new boss easy except fighting it again.