Hyper Light Breaker is a difficult game, and it only gets harder the longer a run drags out. Players who crave a challenge should have no issues when bigger and badder enemies start popping up, but for everyone else, it can result in gear loss and heartbreak.

What the game doesn't explain from the get-go is that it has a Danger Meter mechanic that players have to worry about. It's a fairly simple mechanic that's similar to ones found in other roguelikes, and it's one that players will want to know more about if they want to maximize their runs without compromising their odds of success.

Exus, one of the bosses in Hyper Light Breaker
Hyper Light Breaker: How to Get Golden Rations

Golden Rations are an important part of Hyper Light Breaker's progression system. Here's how to get them.

What is the Danger Meter?

The Danger Meter in Hyper Light Breaker
Hyper Light Breaker Danger Meter

The Danger Meter in Hyper Light Breaker is the yellow bar under the mini-map. This gradually fills up while you're exploring the Overgrowth, and the more full it becomes, the harder everything gets. More enemies will spawn around the map, and they'll generally be tougher too. You'll eventually encounter stronger enemy types that might be too much for you to handle if you haven't been upgrading your gear.

Defeating enemies and looting chests also contribute to the Danger Meter's incremental increases, which is why players should consider the purpose of their current expedition every time they head to the teleporter in the Cursed Outpost. Ideally, you should separate your loot and boss runs — going for Prisms while the Danger Meter is high can lead to complications leading up to a Crown fight, and since most chests and weapons are guarded by enemies, it'd be wise to loot equipment while the Danger Meter is still low.

How to Reset the Danger Meter

The Danger Meter resets every time you return from the Overgrowth, whether it's from dying or manually extracting from the map. If things are getting a little too spicy, consider escaping by heading to the Extraction marker on your map. You'll have to fight a few waves of enemies while extracting, so be ready to tussle.

Dying will reset your Danger Meter, but this is obviously not ideal. Death will reduce the durability of your Holobytes and equipment, potentially breaking them if they don't have enough life left in them. Also, this will reduce your Rez count in Hyper Light Breaker — if it reaches zero, you'll have be forced into a new cycle (or you can pay to stay).

General Tips

  • Once you start a new cycle, try looting as many items as you can before doing anything else.
  • After looting items, start collecting Prisms next.
  • Extracting won't reduce your Rez count. Use this to refresh before starting a Crown fight.
  • Always find and follow the most efficient path between items on the map.
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Hyper Light Breaker
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Roguelike
Action
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Systems
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Developer(s)
Heart Machine
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Publisher(s)
Arc Games
Engine
Unreal Engine 4
Multiplayer
Online Co-Op
Franchise
Hyper Light
Early Access Release
January 14, 2025
Platform(s)
PC
Genre(s)
Roguelike, Action
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