Pure Strategy is a game mode similar to Survival where only the heroes' defenses can fight enemies.
It is generally less difficult than standard Survival, but the stats of loot and pets earned are significantly worse by comparison.
Key Differences from Survival Mode[]
- The rewards of Pure Strategy are identical to those of Survival (see Survival Rewards)
PC ( Version 9.3.0+ )[]
- Heroes can now attack during the build phase & combat phase.
- During the combat phase, players are now able to use abilities, etc like normal survival.
- Pets can now attack during the combat phase.
- Loot Quality is fixed & Hardcore mode is able to be used.
- More Sharkens, Djinns & Coptors arrive.
- Enemies now have elemental resistance.
- Ogres are less common on most maps.
- Summoning more than 2 of the same tower or minion increases the cost of DU/MU per summon.
Redux[]
- Pure Strategy has been overhauled in Dungeon Defenders Redux, removing ALL Vanilla restrictions from the mode on players and enemies. General loot quality is also on-par with Survival.
- Regardless of the map and starting wave a Pure Strategy run is initiated, the first-wave chests always contain 2,020 mana each. Defense and Minion Unit capacities are permanently set to 0 once the first Combat Phase begins. Players are therefore unable to recover any sold or lost defenses going forward.
Console Only / Total Conversions[]
- Heroes cannot attack at all.
- Heroes do not collide with physical defenses or enemies.
- During combat, the player(s) can only move around the map, upgrade defenses and pickup mana and items.
- Pets never attack enemies; guardians and other passive pets will still function as normal though.
- Enemies completely ignore heroes and are unable to damage them.
- Enemies do not have any elemental resistances.
- Ogres will spawn, albeit less frequently and with much smaller health bars.
Strategy[]
Because repairs are not allowed during the combat phase, upgrades become the only way to restore a tower's health during the combat phase. The party must balance between the effectiveness of their defenses and the number of times they can be upgraded. In preparation for longer waves, it may become necessary for the party to replace upgraded defenses with non-upgraded ones to ensure that they last the entire wave. Monk auras and Huntress traps generally expire relatively quickly, and are often the first to be replaced.
Equipping Guardian pets will make things much easier since they still boost defenses in combat.