Adversaries
Adversary Overview
Understanding the 10 threat actors in Stamp Collector Simulator — mechanics, tiers, and strategy.
Adversary System
Adversaries are AI-controlled threats that attack players based on resource thresholds. They’re persistent — tied to the world, not individual games — and cycle between awake (attacking) and sleep states.
How Adversaries Work
Wake Conditions
Each adversary has a trigger threshold (stamps or money). When any player in the world exceeds that threshold, the adversary wakes up and starts its attack cycle.
Attack Cycle
While awake, adversaries:
- Check for targets at regular intervals
- Select a target based on their targeting rules
- Launch a network thread (attack) against the target
- The attack deals its normal effect (steal money, inject malware, etc.) AND SI damage
- Wait for their attack interval, then repeat
System Integrity Damage
Every adversary attack deals SI (System Integrity) damage in addition to its normal effect. When your SI reaches 0, your run ends. See the System Integrity guide for the full damage table and survival strategies.
Killing Adversaries
Hit adversaries with hack spells to deal damage:
- Hack Level 1 = 1 HP (e.g., Foreign Script, Targeted Attack)
- Hack Level 2 = 4 HP (e.g., Trojan, System Breach)
- Hack Level 3 = 9 HP (e.g., Banking Intrusion, BIOS Exploit, Buffer Overflow)
When HP hits 0, the adversary:
- Drops kill rewards (stamps + money)
- Returns to sleep state with full HP
- Stays asleep for
sleepTimeHours
Whitelist (Immunity)
Favor From Above (Communications tree) adds your game to an adversary’s whitelist, granting immunity from targeting. However, the whitelist is cleared when the adversary is killed or goes to sleep — you must re-cast after each cycle.
Complete Adversary Roster
| Adversary | Tier | HP | Wake Trigger | Attack Interval | Kill Reward | XP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script Kiddie | 1 | 3 | 1K stamps / 10K money | 72h | 2 stamps + 500 money | 50 |
| Corporate Spy | 1 | 5 | 5K stamps | 144h | 5 stamps + 1,200 money | 50 |
| Hacktivist Collective | 2 | 8 | 8K stamps | 54h | 8 stamps + 2,000 money | 50 |
| Cyber Police | 2 | 12 | 10K stamps / 100K money | 72h | 15 stamps + 5,000 money | 50 |
| Ransomware Gang | 2 | 16 | 80K money | 36h | 20 stamps + 8,000 money | 50 |
| PLEX-9 (Rogue AI) | 2 | 18 | 20K stamps | 24h (accelerating) | 25 stamps + 10,000 money | 50 |
| Gideon | 3 | 28 | 75K stamps / 750K money | 36h | 40 stamps + 25,000 money | 50 |
| The Agency | 3 | 32 | 50K stamps / 500K money | 108h | 50 stamps + 30,000 money | 50 |
| Darknet Collective | 4 | 36 | 3K stamps / 30K money | 18h (x2 attacks) | 60 stamps + 40,000 money | 50 |
| The Overmind | 4 | 50 | 500K stamps / 5M money | 18h | 100 stamps + 100,000 money | 50 |
Kill Efficiency
How many hack spells to kill each adversary:
| Adversary | HP | L3 Spells Needed | L2 Spells Needed | L1 Spells Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script Kiddie | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Corporate Spy | 5 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Hacktivist Collective | 8 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
| Cyber Police | 12 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| Ransomware Gang | 16 | 2 | 4 | 16 |
| PLEX-9 | 18 | 2 | 5 | 18 |
| Gideon | 28 | 4 | 7 | 28 |
| The Agency | 32 | 4 | 8 | 32 |
| Darknet Collective | 36 | 4 | 9 | 36 |
| The Overmind | 50 | 6 | 13 | 50 |
Threat Priority
Not all adversaries are equal threats. Consider both their damage output and attack frequency:
Most Dangerous (by DPS):
- Darknet Collective — 2 attacks every 18h using heavy spells (Buffer Overflow, BIOS Exploit)
- PLEX-9 — accelerating attacks (down to every 3h after 15+ attacks)
- Ransomware Gang — escalating attack tiers, Banking Intrusion at tier 3
Easiest to Manage:
- Corporate Spy — attacks every 144h (6 days), weak spell pool
- Script Kiddie — attacks every 72h, weak spells, only 3 HP
SI Damage by Adversary
Each adversary’s attacks deal SI damage. Here’s the average SI damage per attack cycle:
| Adversary | Avg SI/Attack | Attacks/Day | Avg SI/Day | Worst Single Hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Script Kiddie | ~4 | 0.33 | ~1.3 | 8 (Targeted Attack) |
| Corporate Spy | ~5 | 0.17 | ~0.8 | 12 (Storage Compromise) |
| Hacktivist Collective | ~6 | 0.44 | ~2.7 | 12 (Storage Compromise) |
| Cyber Police | ~7 | 0.33 | ~2.3 | 10 (Contracted Support) |
| Ransomware Gang | ~8-15 | 0.67 | ~5-10 | 20 (Buffer Overflow, Tier 3) |
| PLEX-9 | ~10 | 1-8 | ~10-80 | 20 (Buffer Overflow) |
| Darknet Collective | ~7 | 2.67 | ~19 | 20 (Buffer Overflow) |
| Gideon | ~7 | 0.67 | ~4.7 | 8 (BIOS Exploit) |
| The Agency | ~10 | 0.22 | ~2.2 | 20 (Buffer Overflow) |
| The Overmind | ~14 | 1.33 | ~19 | 20 (Buffer Overflow) |
See the System Integrity guide for survival strategies and perk recommendations.
Strategy
- Kill or whitelist? — cheap adversaries (Script Kiddie, Corporate Spy) are worth killing for rewards. Expensive ones (Darknet Collective, The Agency) are worth whitelisting.
- SI management is critical — adversary attacks now deal SI damage. Multiple active adversaries stack SI drain and can end your run.
- Darknet Collective is the early-game threat — wakes at only 3K stamps but has 36 HP. Consider whitelisting early.
- PLEX-9 accelerates — the longer it’s awake, the faster it attacks. Kill it quickly or whitelist it.
- The Agency is sticky — once it picks a target, it stays on them until it sleeps. If you’re the target, act fast.
- Every kill gives 50 XP — adversary kills contribute to your account level and perk progression.