The Shield Skeleton has been reworked: it now raises and drops its shield instead of draining a chip-damage pool. Hits under 8 are deflected while the shield is up; a hit of 8 or more knocks the shield aside, soaking some damage and letting the rest through. Fire always burns through, and a knocked-aside skeleton takes full damage until it raises its shield again on its next turn. It only attacks from the front row.
The Wolf Alpha is now a genuine rushing threat — when the lane ahead is clear it bounds forward two tiles in a single turn, and it shows up less often as a top-tier danger.
Lowered biome music volume by 25% across every track so music sits better under sound effects.