Tyrian difficulty levels
Three difficulties are on the menu. Three more are hidden behind key presses. The difficulty sets how tough enemies are, how fast they shoot and, in a few places, which levels you fly.
Looking for cheats? All Tyrian secret codes and cheats: the title-screen codes, the hidden difficulties and the secret levels on one page.
Difficulty levels
After choosing the mode and the episode you pick a difficulty: Easy, Normal or Hard. On that screen:
- Shift+G reveals Impossible;
- then Shift+] reveals Suicide;
- then typing L O R D (or holding the four keys) reveals Lord of Game.
Two-player and Super Arcade games run one difficulty level higher than the one you select.
Enemy armor by difficulty
When an enemy appears, its armor is scaled by the current difficulty. The bestiary lists armor at Normal.
| Difficulty | Enemy armor | Example: armor 20 at Normal |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | × 3/4, plus 1 | 16 |
| Normal | unchanged | 20 |
| Hard | × 1.2 | 24 |
| Impossible | × 1.5 | 30 |
| Suicide | × 2 | 40 |
| Lord of Game | × 4 | 80 |
Results are rounded down and capped at 254. Enemies with armor 255 cannot be destroyed by shots at any difficulty. The Armored mutator doubles armor again.
Enemy fire by difficulty
Enemy guns also fire faster on higher difficulties. On Hard, Impossible and Suicide the wait between two shots of a gun is roughly halved (half the normal wait, plus one frame); on Lord of Game it is halved a second time.
Levels that depend on difficulty
- In episode 1, TYRIAN and SAVARA each exist in two versions: one for Easy and Normal, one for Hard and above.
- In episode 3, the episode ends after FLEET on Easy and Normal. On Hard and above it continues with three more levels: TYRIAN X, SAVARA Y and New Deli.
Title-screen codes
Some codes typed on the title screen start a game at a set difficulty. Type them letters only, with no Enter. The complete guide, with the secret levels, is Tyrian secret codes and cheats.
| Code | Effect |
|---|---|
STEALTH, STORMWIND, TECHNO, ENEMY, WEIRD, UNKNOWN, NORTSHIPZ, LIZARD, PRETZEL |
Super Arcade game with the matching special ship: choose the episode and difficulty, see the ship screen, then play one player with that ship, its weapon and its special, one difficulty level higher. |
ENGAGE | Super Tyrian: a warning sequence, an episode choice, then the Stalker 21.126 with the Atomic RailGun on Lord of Game (Suicide if Scroll Lock is held). |
DESTRUCT | The Destruct artillery mini-game. |
The title screen also reacts to M (side modes) and 2 (two-player Endless).
Secret levels
Some levels hide an item that warps you to a secret level when you pick it up. Each episode page lists the levels with a secret exit and where it leads, for example episode 1.