Game Modes

Overview

Universal Tower Defense offers three core modes: Story Mode, Challenges, and the Virtual Realm. Each mode targets a different goal: progression, upgrade materials, or relic farming, so knowing which one to queue helps you grow faster.

How to enter a mode

1. Open the left-side menu, choose Expand, then select Play.
2. In the lobby, each aisle represents a mode. Walk down the aisle you want.
3. Use any door on the sides to enter, then create or join a match.

Story Mode

Story Mode is the main campaign and your first stop as a new player. It has three anime-inspired stages (Naruto, One Piece, Bleach themes). Each stage contains 6 acts and every act ends with a boss on wave 15.

You can pick Easy, Hard, or Nightmare. Higher difficulty pays out more, especially for relics. Clearing on Hard can award Super Relics, which outclass standard drops.

Tip: after redeeming starter codes, you often get a strong unit. Use it to push into Hard/Nightmare earlier and accelerate your rewards.

Stages at a glance

Stage 1: Ninja Forest

Stage 2: Marine Base

Stage 3: Hollowed Moon

Challenges

Challenges are short, repeatable runs that hand out the materials and reroll items you need for upgrades. There are three variants with different timers and reward pools.

Challenge types

Daily Challenge (resets every 24 hours, 1 Act)

This is the must-do daily run. It's quick (usually 5-10 minutes) and rewards items like stat locks, trait rerolls, stat rerolls, and gems.

Half-hourly Challenge (resets every 30 minutes, 3 Acts)

Great for grinding reroll materials because it refreshes twice an hour. Set a timer and loop it when you're actively farming.

Featured Challenge / Hunt (timer varies, 1 Act)

Rotating special challenges often grant stat points plus extra upgrade resources. Check the timer and jump in when it's live.

Virtual Realm

Virtual Realm mirrors Story Mode's wave structure but adds roguelike buffs. Every five waves you pick a card that boosts your run. The Lover's Card is a top-tier choice because it buffs all unit stats, and multiple copies stack extremely well.

This mode is the main way to farm top-slot (head) relics like hats and headgear. Relics can be equipped across your roster and upgraded with gold, so a strong relic set translates into a huge power spike. Come here once you understand which head relics you want to target.

What to focus on first

• Early game: push Story Mode on the highest difficulty you can clear to unlock more content and better rewards.
• Daily routine: finish the Daily Challenge every day, then add Half-hourly runs when you need reroll materials.
• Mid/late game: farm Virtual Realm when you're specifically hunting head relics or optimizing unit stats.