Into The Hive difficulty levels: Normal, Hard and Insane

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Choose your difficulty before confirming a mission. Normal, Hard and Insane have different Cash and Rank XP multipliers, while the Layer 1 Boss Encounter uses fixed difficulty.

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Normal gives a ×1 Cash and Rank XP multiplier, Hard ×1.5 and Insane ×2.25. Select a standard mission in Mission Select, choose an available difficulty, then press Select Mission. If a locked option requires a Normal mission in Layer 1, complete that prerequisite first.

Choose difficulty in Mission Select

  1. Enter an open Pod Bay and open Choose Mission in Squad Setup.
  2. Select your layer and a standard mission.
  3. Choose Normal, Hard or Insane in the difficulty panel.
  4. Press Select Mission to confirm.

If a locked difficulty asks you to complete a Normal mission in Layer 1, finish a Normal mission in that layer before selecting it.

Difficulty Cash multiplier Rank XP multiplier
Normal ×1 ×1
Hard ×1.5 ×1.5
Insane ×2.25 ×2.25

These multipliers apply to Cash and Rank XP. After entering the cave, read the current objective and its counter to see what your mission requires.

Mission Select with Normal selected, locked Hard and Insane options, and the Select Mission button.

Normal

Normal uses the ×1 Cash and Rank XP multiplier. Choose it to satisfy a locked option's Layer 1 Normal-mission prerequisite.

A Granite Caverns Normal Nest Clearing run starts with a 0/3 nest counter. Destroy the required nests, then follow the extraction objective after ALL NESTS DESTROYED. For the full route and nest combat steps, use the Nest Clearing walkthrough.

Hard

Hard uses a ×1.5 Cash and Rank XP multiplier, 50% higher than Normal's multiplier.

In the four-player Granite Caverns Hard Brood Hunt example, Follow the brood's trail starts at 0/4 progress units. Follow your mission's displayed counter rather than treating four units as a target for every Hard mission. Use the Brood Hunt walkthrough for the trail, Brood Mother fight and extraction.

Insane

Insane uses a ×2.25 Cash and Rank XP multiplier. That is 125% higher than Normal's multiplier and 50% higher than Hard's.

A solo Layer 1 Granite Caverns Insane Nest Clearing run starts at 0/5 nests. Use the target shown in your own mission.

For a completed solo setup and its equipment rotation, follow the solo Layer 1 Insane Nest Clearing loadout.

Layer 1 Nest Clearing selected on Insane with the ×2.25 Cash and Rank XP multiplier.

Fixed-difficulty Boss Encounter

The Layer 1 Boss Encounter against Velgrund, the Undermaw in Granite Caverns uses fixed difficulty, separate from the standard Normal, Hard and Insane options. Its entry requires Rank 10.

Select the Boss Encounter entry in Mission Select. See boss encounters for Velgrund's unlock conditions and the distinction between this encounter and Brood Mother missions.

Mission routes and payouts