Noobs in Combat Difficulties Explained

Difficulty choice is how Noobs in Combat scales every PvE map after you leave Boot Camp. The ladder is always Normal → Tryhard → Rigged: beat a map on the current rung to unlock the next one for that map. Rewards, enemy evolutions, starting veterancy, and whether buildings pay Tix all change with the rung. Use this page with the campaigns unlock order, the currency payout rules, and a solid starter loadout so you farm Nuggets and Gems without brick walls.

If you are brand new, finish the day-one checklist on Getting Started first. Difficulty farming is wasted if your research tree, starting Tix, and Capture / AT / Supply roles are not online yet.

Normal — teaching baseline

Normal is the first difficulty available on a newly unlocked map. In-game copy describes it as no advantage for the enemy. Most opposing units spawn at their base evolution and must earn veterancy through knockouts instead of starting already ranked. There are no extra income handicaps: Headquarters, Outposts, and other income buildings still produce Tix on your turns, so capture races matter.

Normal is where you learn spawn directions, Ambush nests, fog pockets, and which tiles feed artillery Radio. First clears pay Research Points and open Tryhard for that map. Treat Normal as a scout run even when you feel overpowered — higher rungs evolve the same compositions rather than inventing a totally new army from nothing.

Fog of war historically varies by map on Normal. Community notes and older patches report that some medium campaigns such as Guest War and Home Madness reduced or disabled fog on Normal (with exceptions like Doomspire-style missions that may keep fog off across difficulties). Patches can re-enable fog on medium Normal campaigns, so never assume an open board after a balance update — confirm in the live match and skim the changelog after major releases.

Boot Camp maps are Normal-only. They teach controls, logistics, and artillery radio. There is no Tryhard or Rigged grind on the tutorial tab, so finish Normal and move into Guest Rebellion for specialty currency farms.

Guest Rebellion Tryhard difficulty clear

Tryhard — evolved enemies and Nugget farms

Tryhard unlocks after you beat the same map on Normal. In-game text summarises it as evolved enemies plus veterancy for enemy units. Maps often take on a reddish atmosphere that matches the lobby colour for this mode.

Enemy units step to their next evolution (for example Scout Cars into Armored Cars, Riflemen lines into Grunts or SMG-style troops). Documented exceptions you should plan around:

• Heavy Tanks sometimes evolve into Super Heavy tanks instead of Battle Tanks.
• Light Tanks sometimes evolve into Medium Tanks instead of Recon Tanks.
• Anti-tank guns placed in bunkers sometimes evolve into Recoilless rifles.

Enemy units also begin with veterancy: infantry commonly start two ranks up, while other unit types often start one rank up. That means first contact trades hit harder than the same chassis on Normal. A few units (such as Super Artillery in historical lists) may appear only from Tryhard upward — treat any Tryhard-only spawn as a reason to bring extra AT or long-range pressure.

Gold Nuggets are the signature first-clear reward on many Tryhard maps. Specialty Nugget payouts are generally one-time per map per qualifying clear, so sweep many maps rather than repeating one mission forever. Pair Nugget farming with evolution spends on the units you already deploy; see currency for market trades and daily Nugget days.

Loadout tip: keep the five-role skeleton from best loadout — Capture infantry, anti-infantry gunner, AT, transport or breakthrough armor, and Supply — then upgrade those lines before adding luxury air. Check role value on the tier list and unit pages under Players → Units when a Tryhard map suddenly fields bunker Recoilless or Super Heavy surprises.

Rigged — max evolutions and no building income

Rigged is the hardest PvE rung. It unlocks after a Tryhard clear of the same map and was introduced around v5.0 as the final difficulty for campaign-style PvE. Maps often tint purple to match the lobby label.

Enemies spawn at maximum evolution for their lines (for example Medium Tanks into Battle Tanks, Field Guns into Mobile Howitzers). Building income is disabled for the player: you gain Tix mainly by destroying enemy units (plus your starting Tix budget). That single rule flips mid-game economy — capture still denies the enemy production, but it no longer prints a steady paycheck. Starting Tix upgrades purchased with Research Points matter more on Rigged than on any other mode.

Special evolution rules appear on Rigged. Community and wiki lists commonly include:

• Riflemen variants and their mid evolutions resolving into Commandos.
• Multi Light Tank lines resolving into Super-Heavy tanks.
• Super-Heavy chassis sometimes resolving toward Battle Tank or Heavy Tank CW style endpoints depending on the Normal composition.

Important nuance: Rigged evolutions are derived from what the map fields on Normal, not from the Tryhard intermediate step. That is why a Normal Light Tank map can show different mid and max forms on Tryhard versus Rigged. Exact special mappings can patch — hedge any printed list against the live match and the changelog.

Enemy units on Rigged typically do not start with the free veterancy Tryhard grants; they still gain ranks through knockouts. Maps may still let enemy bots spend Tix from production buildings based on loadout and knockouts even though structure income is off for both sides in the usual Rigged economy. First clears commonly pay Gems (sometimes described as diamonds in older notes). Like Nuggets, treat specialty Gem map rewards as first-clear style payouts.

Some maps never offer Rigged (Boot Camp, certain legacy or experimental PvP entries). If the difficulty button is missing, move to another campaign instead of hunting a bug.

V6.1 campaign tabs and difficulty unlocks

V6.1 reorganised the lobby browser into tabs such as Historical, Campaign, Misc, Legacy, PvP, Live, and Tutorial. Each tab has its own unlock path. A tab opens once you have reached the difficulty of its easiest campaign. Inside a tab, beat every campaign of the current difficulty to unlock the next difficulty for that tab. Progress in Campaign does not automatically finish Historical or Misc ladders — farm the tab you care about.

Practical loop for most accounts:

1. Tutorial / Boot Camp on Normal only.
2. Campaign tab Guest saga on Normal, then Tryhard for Nuggets, then Rigged for Gems when income-less wins are realistic.
3. Open Historical and harder tabs only after research and starting Tix keep pace.
4. Recheck codes and dailies between sweeps so free Points fund the next unlock.

Co-op shortens Tryhard and Rigged clears when teammates already know Ambush nests. Coordinate roles before deploying oversized armor columns that starve Supply. More grouping context lives under Players and the wider Guides hub.

Difficulty checklist before you queue

• Normal clear done for map knowledge and Points?
• Loadout covers Capture, AT, gunner, mobility, and Supply inside starting Tix?
• Tryhard: ready for next-evo enemies plus starting veterancy and Nugget first clears?
• Rigged: ready for max evo enemies, Commando / Super-Heavy style specials, and zero building Tix?
• Correct V6.1 tab ladder cleared so the next difficulty button actually unlocks?

Climb one rung at a time, cash the currency that rung pays, and reinvest into research before forcing Expert tabs. When a map bricks, fix vision, AT density, or income planning — do not skip Normal and hope Tryhard teaches the board for you.