What Is a Wave Bonus in Games? Points for Clearing a Wave

If you searched for what is a wave bonus in games, you probably finished a round of enemies, saw a number pop up, and want to know where it came from. A wave bonus is a score reward the game pays you for clearing a whole wave, on top of the points you got for each kill. This post explains how those bonuses work in general, then shows the exact formula from one game.

If you want to see a real one, Tank City Reboot is a free browser tank game with no account needed to play, and its second game pays a wave bonus you can work out by hand.

What is a wave bonus in games?

A wave is a batch of enemies that arrives in a group. When the last one is gone, the wave is cleared and the game moves on. A wave bonus is the points paid at that moment for finishing the batch.

It is separate from kill points. Kill points reward each enemy you destroy. The wave bonus rewards the whole round, and it often depends on how well you did, not only on whether you finished.

How a wave bonus is calculated

Games use a few common building blocks. Most bonuses are made from one or more of them.

• The wave number. Later waves pay more, so the bonus grows as you progress.
• A condition. Something you can lose during the wave, such as health, lives or a structure you defend.
• A multiplier or a share. The game takes a base value and scales it by how much of the condition you still have.

A simple version looks like this: base value times wave number times the share of something you kept. If you kept all of it, you get the full amount. If you kept half, you get half.

Common types of wave bonuses

You will see these patterns across many games.

• Flat bonus. The same points for every cleared wave. Easy to understand, easy to ignore.
• Scaling bonus. The reward rises with the wave number, so surviving longer pays more.
• Time bonus. The faster you clear, the more you get.
• No-damage or perfect bonus. Extra points if you took no hits, or a reduced payout the more you took.
• Defense bonus. Points based on how intact the thing you protect is at the end.

The last two matter most for how you play. They turn a clear into a question: not just "did I win the wave" but "how clean was it".

Why games reward clearing a wave

Kill points alone can push you toward reckless play. If every enemy is worth the same whether you take a hit or not, the safest way to score is sometimes to rush in and trade damage for speed.

A wave bonus fixes that. It gives the end of a round a payout of its own, and the payout can be tied to what you want the player to protect. That gives you a reason to care about the state of your run, not just the count of kills.

It also gives each wave a clear finish line. You get a beat of reward, then a short break, then the next group. That rhythm is part of why wave games feel easy to pick up and hard to put down.

Wave bonus vs kill points: what is the difference?

Kill points are earned during the wave, one enemy at a time. A wave bonus is paid once, when the wave ends.

The other difference is what each one tests. Kill points test how well you shoot and how fast you chain. A wave bonus tests how well you survived and defended. In a game where both exist, the best runs usually need both skills at once.

That also affects how you spend risk. A risky play that earns a few extra kills can cost you more in bonus than it gains, if it lets damage through. Knowing the size of the bonus tells you how much risk is worth taking.

How to earn a bigger wave bonus

The advice is the same in most games with this system.

1. Find out what the bonus depends on. Read the game's tips or watch the number after each wave. Change one thing and see if it moves.
2. Protect the scaling condition first. If the bonus depends on something you can lose, guard it before you chase kills.
3. Repair when you can. If the game lets you restore the condition between waves, a repair can be worth more than another offensive upgrade.
4. Remember the wave number. The same mistake costs more points on wave 10 than on wave 2.

Wave bonuses in Tank City Reboot

The wave bonus lives in the second game, Tank City Zero Day, where you survive as many waves as you can.

In Zero Day, clearing a wave adds a core bonus. The formula is: 250 times the wave number times the share of core integrity you have left, rounded. The share is your current integrity divided by its maximum. You start with a core integrity of 3, and it can go up to 5. The game's own tip says it plainly: "Keep the core whole: the wave bonus grows with its integrity."

A worked example

Say you clear wave 6 with a core at its starting maximum of 3.

• Integrity 3 of 3: 250 x 6 x 1 = 1500 points.
• Integrity 2 of 3: 250 x 6 x 2/3 = 1000 points.
• Integrity 1 of 3: 250 x 6 x 1/3 = 500 points.

Compare that with kills. A worm is worth 100 points, multiplied by your chain. At the lowest multiplier, losing one point of core integrity on wave 6 costs you 500 points, the same as five worms. The bonus is not a small extra.

Now suppose you took the RAID upgrade twice and your core maximum is 5. On wave 6, a core at 4 of 5 pays 250 x 6 x 4/5 = 1200. At 3 of 5 it pays 900. The same hit costs you fewer points in share terms, because each point of integrity is a smaller slice of a bigger total.

What threatens the core

Different enemies go after different things, so you can plan around them.

• A worm splits in two when destroyed, so one worm becomes two more targets to stop, and ransomware takes three hits and locks firewall into silicon with its shots.
• Botnet drones hunt your tank, not the core. They put pressure on you, which can pull you away from guarding the core.
• Every fifth wave is a boss wave. The zero-day boss breaks through the walls, so plan for a busy wave when it is on the field.

Upgrades that protect the bonus

After each wave, Patch Tuesday offers three upgrades and you pick one. Two of them speak directly to the bonus.

• RAID raises core integrity by 1 and repairs it fully. You can take it twice, taking the core from 3 up to 5. Because it repairs the core, it helps the bonus on the next wave.
• Hot patch can be taken once. From then on, every wave's arena starts with the wall around the core built as silicon.

Upgrades last until the run ends, and the three cards offered are different upgrades not yet at their limit, so RAID or Hot patch may not show up when you want it. When RAID does, a damaged core is a good reason to take it.

Staying alive helps too. The Sandbox upgrade gives your tank a shield that stops one hit and recharges, so you can keep covering the core instead of respawning.

Balancing the bonus against the chain

Kill points in Zero Day are multiplied by your chain. Every kill within 2.5 seconds of the last one adds to it, and the multiplier climbs by one for every three kills in the chain, up to x8. Losing a tank resets the chain.

The two systems pull in different directions. The chain rewards pushing forward and killing fast. The bonus rewards holding the core together. A good run does both: kill quickly, but let no worm slip through to the core.

Frequently asked questions

What is a wave bonus in games?

It is a score reward paid when you clear a whole wave of enemies. It is separate from the points you earn for each kill.

Is a wave bonus the same every wave?

It depends on the game. Some pay a flat amount, while others scale with the wave number or with how well you did.

How is the wave bonus calculated in Tank City Zero Day?

It is 250 times the wave number times the share of core integrity you have left, rounded. At full integrity on wave 6, that is 1500 points.

How do I keep my core integrity high in Zero Day?

Stop worms and ransomware before they reach the core, and take RAID or Hot patch when the upgrade menu offers them. RAID repairs the core fully.

Get started

The quickest way to understand a wave bonus is to watch one. Play two or three waves of Zero Day, note your core integrity at the end of each, and compare the bonus you got with the formula above.

Play Tank City Reboot: it is free, plays in your browser on a computer or a phone, and needs no account.