Survival Mode

The Survival Mode sub-menu on the game's title screen. Note that "Normal Survival" is actually on the bottom.

Survival Mode (which includes Survival Hell) is unlocked by clearing the Lapis Ruins dungeon in Endless Mode. (In version 1.105, Survival Mode is available upon completion of a New Game.) Both types of Survival Modes are covered here.  Once the option is unlocked, Survival Mode is accessible from the main menu; choosing it will allow you to select whether you'd like to play a Normal Survival, or try your luck at Survival Hell.

A Survival Mode game is mostly the same, objective-wise and starting-materials-wise, as either a New Game or New Game +, depending which you choose (although there are a few differences), but instead of being done after 5 weeks, you're allowed to keep playing indefinitely, and your debt payments just keep getting bigger every week until it becomes impossible for you to pay.

You must choose a file to use for playing Survival Mode, as the game needs to know which data to use for the things that will carry over; you can use any Endless Mode file (regardless of its progress), or a cleared New Game or New Game + file.

Starting a Survival Mode game increases your Loop count by 1.

Starting Atmosphere & Space

• Depends which mode you're playing:
  • Normal Survival: You keep your size expansions and atmospheric decorations.
  • Survival Hell: You lose your size expansions and atmospheric decorations.

Starting Money & Merchant Level

• 1,000 pix (regardless of Normal or Hell).
• Merchant Level:
  • Normal Survival: You keep your Merchant Level.
  • Survival Hell: You start over from Level 1.
• Customer Reputation:
  • Normal Survival: You keep your Customer Reputation.
  • Survival Hell: Customer Reputation is reset.

Starting Items

• Depends which mode you're playing:
  • Normal Survival: You keep your items.
  • Survival Hell: You lose your items and must start from scratch.

Starting Adventurers & Dungeons

• You will keep any Adventurers whose True Cards you own (regardless of Normal or Hell).
• You will also keep any dungeons you unlocked other than Crystal Nightmare (regardless of Normal or Hell).

Other Aspects of Survival Mode

• The main point of Survival Mode is that the weekly payments just keep getting bigger until it overwhelms you so much that you cannot pay.  For a listing of known weekly payments, see below.
• Since there are no tutorials in Survival Mode, you can really get started immediately, and thus all due dates are decreased by 1.
• You cannot acquire additional True Cards in this mode.
• Customers don't sell items. This doesn't include Euria.

Repaying the Debt

You must repay an ever-increasing amount of debt every week until you cannot possibly pay anymore.  Payments are the same regardless of whether you are playing Normal Survival or Survival Hell:

Known Payments for Survival Mode

• Week 1: Ends on Day 7.  You must pay 20,000 pix.
• Week 2: Ends on Day 14.  You must pay 80,000 pix.
• Week 3: Ends on Day 21.  You must pay 200,000 pix.
• Week 4: Ends on Day 28.  You must pay 500,000 pix.
• Week 5: Ends on Day 35.  You must pay 1,000,000 pix.
• Week 6: Ends on Day 42.  You must pay 2,000,000 pix.
• Week 7: Ends on Day 49.  You must pay 3,000,000 pix.
• Week 8: Ends on Day 56.  You must pay 4,000,000 pix.
• Week 9: Ends on Day 63.  You must pay 5,000,000 pix.
• Week 10: Ends on Day 70. You must pay 6,000,000 pix.
• Week 11: Ends on Day 77. You must pay 7,000,000 pix.
• Week 12: Ends on Day 84. You must pay 8,000,000 pix.
• Week 13: Ends on Day 90. You must pay 9,000,000 pix.
• Week 14: Ends on Day 97. You must pay 10,000,000 pix.
• Week 15: Ends on Day 104. You must pay 11,000,000 pix.
• Week 16 Ends on Day 111. You must pay 12,000,000 pix.
• Week 17: Ends on Day 118. You must pay 13,000,000 pix.
• Week 18: Ends on Day 125. You must pay 14,000,000 pix.
• Week 19: Ends on Day 132. You must pay 15,000,000 pix.
• Week 20: Ends on Day 139. You must pay 16,000,000 pix.

**Every 7 days, the payment increases by 1,000,000 pix.

What Happens When You Get a Game Over

Rather than raising the Loop count by +1, and letting you start again with extra stuff, the game considers that play to be completed.  If it was a new score record, it will be recorded in your Survival Stats.