Combat RNG

Combat RNG describes the random XP gains received from the “Random Combats” modifier. Each enemy in our path can be worth differing XP, and therefore sometimes less. This is a feature exclusively of hallway fights, as neither boss, nor event combats have random enemies.

Due to XP clamping, combat RNG is seldom a relevant factor in any given run, but can at times pop up. If you feel like you are behind on score at any point during a run, but youve followed the node guide perfectly, this is likely the next factor to think about. As discussed in the clamping page, most of the XP differences in the early acts are irrelevant, as long as the XP gains are generally optimized. But as we get into act 3 and especially act 4, this factor becomes relevant and can have minor score differences.

Lets use an example. At aqua_10 we find this combat. It is a random combat with random enemies. Using the DataSheet, or Bestiary we can determine the exact XP gains from this combat.
hugo_plus_b: 58 XP

dragonfly_plus_b: 58 XP

archerfish_plus_b: 53 XP

skyhunter_plus_b: 61 XP

Data Sheet
Four fantasy characters in a forest battle scene, including a large zombie-like creature, a small insect-like creature, a blue fish-warrior, and a bird-human hybrid, with health bars underneath.

All of this, plus the 40% for great combat performance, plus jade scarab(not affected by combat performance) minus clamping is…

((58 + 58 +53 +61)*1.4) + 200)/10)/4) = 13.05

Rounded down to 13 XP per character.

Loading a save before the fight, then using Seed_Changer, we shuffle the combat to a new set of enemies.

Screenshot of a fantasy role-playing game with four characters and their health bars. From left to right: a large armored knight with shield and mace, a green ogre with a club, a woman in a black and red outfit with a horned mask, and a blue dragon with a necklace.

((58 + 58 + 70 +60)*1.4)+ 200/10)/4) = 13.61

Rounded up to 14 XP per character.

We can see that by rerolling the enemies, we have managed to get a small XP gain. A 1-2 XP difference per combat is extremely small, but if we did this for every combat, it can add up overtime. The difference between a run that is optimised in this way and one that isn’t is likely in the score differential of about 50-100.

Screenshot of four character cards from a game, each with options to choose one, showing different characters with various armor and accessories. Each card displays the number of cards and icons indicating game stats.
In this image, a game screen displays four different character card decks with options to select one. Each deck shows the number of cards, gold coins, and star tokens required, along with animated character illustrations. The decks are labeled as 25, 18, 16, and 17 cards, respectively, and the characters depicted are a winged blue-skinned figure, a purple-armored figure, a lion warrior, and a female with pink hair and a crown.
Clamping
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As of December of 2025, this page is OUTDATED. Due to the new mod EXP Normaliser, none of this information is relevant. The page remains as a lesson in why the mod exists.

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