Curse explained — the Abyssal Terrors stat that makes runs richer and deadlier
Updated 2026-11-03 · for v1.1 + Paws & Claws
Curse arrived with the Abyssal Terrors DLC and it is the least understood stat in the game. It does two things at once, and both cut both ways.
Cursed enemies
Curse is a chance for enemies to spawn cursed: more health, more damage, and more materials on death. Higher Curse means more cursed spawns, which means a harder wave and a richer one. On a character that can kill them, it is an economy stat. On one that cannot, it is how the run ends.
Cursed items
Curse also makes shop items appear cursed: stronger versions with a downside stat attached (enemy health or damage). Buying them raises the pressure further. Read the downside before clicking.
Who wants Curse
- Creature — weapons gain damage from Curse directly, and gains +1 Curse per level.
- Sailor — Naval weapons deal triple to cursed enemies; the character starts at +25 Curse.
- Lich — the Abyssal kit's sustain character pairs with cursed drops.
- Jack — likes anything that makes enemies rarer and richer.
Who should avoid it
- Romantic — loses Damage for every 5 Curse.
- Any character with no armor and no dodge; cursed enemies hit hard.
How much is too much
A rough feel: under 10 Curse the wave is barely different; 20–40 is the sweet spot for a damage character that scales with it; above 60, every wave contains several enemies that take as long to kill as a mini-boss. Naval weapons add Curse through their set bonus, so a six-Naval rack already sits around +5 before items.
In co-op
Curse is shared across the arena, so one player stacking it raises the difficulty for everyone. Pair a Creature or Sailor with a partner who has Armor, and agree on it before wave 5.