Survival is a cooperative single-player/multiplayer mode that is featured in Uncharted 4 multiplayer. Survival is a wave-based mode where you and up to two additional friends can take on swarms of increasingly powerful enemies and unique objectives. From new enemy types and powerful new bosses to a dedicated progression system and expansive upgradable arsenal.
Overview[]
Survival was first released on 10 December 2016 through Patch 1.18.
Survival can be played solo with an NPC ally or with two other players. Unlike with other multiplayer game modes, players must cooperate with each other against NPC enemies. Survival is a wave-based game mode. To win, you will have to survive 50 waves against enemies that get increasingly harder every wave. The 50 waves are split into ten segments of five waves, which may or may not be played in one run. At the start of every tenth wave, you will face a boss, known as a Warlord, whom you have to kill to advance further or to complete the segment. Some waves will have a special objective mode (e.g. collecting treasures within a time limit) which you will also need to complete to advance further.
Survival has its own in-game currency, used to buy weapons, mysticals, and gear. It has its own progression system, challenges, and loadouts separate from other game modes. As you level up, you’ll earn upgrades for your weapons, new items, and survival-exclusive boosters. Playing this mode will reward you with vanity items which can be equipped for both survival mode and multiplayer.
Survival has a range of difficultly settings: Light, Normal, Hard, and Crushing.[1][2]
Hardcore Mode[]
Hardcore mode was added after the initial release of the game. It was introduced on 3 February 2017 through Patch 1.20.[3]
In Hardcore mode, you only have one life, and must complete all 50 waves in one run. If you and your teammates die at any time, you will have to start from the beginning.
Progression system[]
Each pistol and long gun has five levels of improvements.
Unlocks for long guns[]
| Level | Difficulty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Light & Moderate | Faster reload, more ammo when purchased |
| 3 | Light & Moderate | Improved recoil & handling |
| 4 | Hard | Increased clip capacity |
| 5 | Crushing | Increased damage |
Unlocks for pistols[]
| Level | Difficulty | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Light & Moderate | Improved reload speed and blind fire |
| 3 | Light & Moderate | More ammo when purchased |
| 4 | Hard | Increased clip capacity |
| 5 | Crushing | Increased damage |
In order to level up pistols, a player will have to defeat Warlords on stages 2 or 4. For long guns, the player will have to defeat Warlords on levels 6, 8 or 10.
Time requirements[]
| Stage | Light & Moderate | Hard | Crushing | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stars | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1. Train Wreck | 07:15 | 05:00 | 03:30 | 07:15 | 05:00 | 03:30 | 08:35 | 06:05 | 04:25 |
| 2. Madagascar City | 13:25 | 09:10 | 06:20 | 15:40 | 10:40 | 07:20 | 14:05 | 09:50 | 07:00 |
| 3. Prison | 11:45 | 08:00 | 05:30 | 11:10 | 07:40 | 05:20 | 14:10 | 08:50 | 06:00 |
| 4. Auction House | 16:15 | 11:30 | 08:20 | 23:10 | 16:25 | 11:55 | 26:20 | 17:10 | 12:00 |
| 5. Scotland | 15:00 | 10:30 | 07:30 | 21:00 | 14:45 | 10:35 | 19:15 | 12:40 | 09:00 |
| 6. Remnants | 20:45 | 14:15 | 09:55 | 28:55 | 19:55 | 13:55 | 28:35 | 19:00 | 13:20 |
| 7. Sunken Ruins | 20:50 | 14:05 | 09:35 | 36:20 | 24:35 | 16:45 | 26:55 | 18:40 | 13:10 |
| 8. Pirate Colony | 28:00 | 19:00 | 13:00 | 42:00 | 28:30 | 19:30 | 32:05 | 22:20 | 15:50 |
| 9. River | 26:30 | 17:45 | 11:55 | 22:35 | 15:05 | 10:05 | 20:00 | 17:00 | 15:00 |
| 10. New Devon | 33:30 | 23:00 | 16:00 | 39:50 | 27:20 | 19:00 | 47:45 | 33:30 | 24:00 |
Waves[]
Wave types[]
- Survival: Kill a specific number of enemies.
- Siege: Kill a specific number of enemies from within a designated area on the map. Occasionally appears as a tenth wave in Survival Arena.
- Marked Man: Kill a specific number of marked enemies.
- Treasure Hunt: Collect 100 treasures spread throughout the map within the allotted time.
- Warlord: Defeat a Warlord. Only available as a tenth wave, with the exception of Wave 49 in New Devon.
- Bonus Wave: Complete a random objective. A modified wave halfway through a Survival Arena game.
Wave modifiers[]
| Modifier | Description |
|---|---|
| Djinn enemies | Enemies appear as Djinn. |
| Djinn Marked Man | Marked Men appear as Djinn. |
| El Dorado spectres on KO | Two El Dorado spectres will spawn on the site where an enemy has just been killed. |
| Enemies drop grenades | A live grenade will spawn on the site where an enemy has just been killed. |
| Glass Hunters | A Siege-like wave wherein players face off against large numbers of Hunters with far lower health than usual. |
| Head shots and melee only | Enemies only take damage from headshots and melee attacks. |
| Hunter Horde | Wave consists primarily of Hunters. |
| Hydra Wave: KO'd enemies multiply | Enemies respawn in pairs when one is killed. Enemies consist of Lost Minions of the Djinn as armoured soldiers, Brutes, Hunters, and occasionally grunts. Sometimes takes the place of a Warlord wave as a tenth wave in Survival Arena. |
| Indra's Eternity spawn on KO | An Indra's Eternity field will spawn on the site where an enemy has just been killed. |
| Lost Minions of the Djinn | Lost Minions of the Djinn replace all enemies except for Marked Men. Wave consists primarily of armoured soldiers with the Carrigan 53. |
| Melee only: charge melee gives extra cash | Enemies consist only of standard soldiers with the Spezzotti 12 Gauge and only take damage from melee attacks. Killing an enemy with a charge melee attack will spawn a smokescreen and give players a cash bonus. |
| Pistols and melee only | Enemies only take damage from sidearms and melee attacks. |
| Rope tackle gives extra cash | Performing an aerial takedown will give players a cash bonus. |
| Saviors revive enemies | Enemies will be downed instead of directly killed and must be finished off before enemy Saviors can revive them with RevivePaks. Regardless of enemy type, downed enemies can be killed with a kick or shot. |
| Time limit | The wave must be completed within the allotted time; otherwise, the wave has been failed and must be restarted. This modifier always applies to Treasure Hunt waves. |
| You deal 3x explosive damage | Players deal triple the damage from Gear and explosive weapons as usual. Enemies with RPGs will spawn, giving players an opportunity to use the modifier to their advantage. |
| You deal 3x headshot damage | Players deal triple the damage from headshots as usual. |
Warlords[]
The Warlord symbol.
Every 10 waves of Survival will culminate in an intense boss battle. From heavily armored Brutes to the undead Pirate Lords of Libertalia, these powerful Warlords will require skill and carefully measured tactics to overcome.
Naughty Dog's official description of Warlords
There are four Warlords that appear at the end of every tenth round. Alongside them will spawn Lost Minions of the Djinn, soldiers with Djinn skulls for heads that don't move around as much as standard Djinn enemies. These minions spawn in practically every variety, bar Brutes.
At Wave 49 and 50 (the last two waves), you face Adam Baldridge and Henry Avery again. This time, they're a lot stronger and deal much more damage, and will be accompanied by one of the two Brute Warlords. Only Baldridge and Avery need to be killed to advance, though.
Adam Baldridge: Lord of the Djinn[]
Baldridge in Madagascar City.
The pirate captain with the power of the Djinn.
- Be on the lookout for Djinn grenadiers with China Lake GLs. Explosions from these weapons, RPGs, and gear will stun Baldridge. This will incapacitate him for a few seconds, lowering his defense and giving players a good opportunity to deal a decent portion of damage.
- Being a Djinn, Baldridge runs around a lot and can't be shot at when "teleporting". When he floats in the air and screams, he is about to summon a small firestorm at your current location, which has a blast and damage radius comparable to a grenade. This attack can be avoided by simply running out of the way.
- He can also throw powerful explosive bursts that visually resemble plasma balls and are orange in color.
Henry Avery: Indra's Warlord[]
Avery at the Auction House.
The pirate lord with the power of the Path of Indra.
- He creates decoys of himself that drop Flintlocks when killed. These dropped Flintlocks can be used to stun Avery and deal more damage to him.
- Don't let your guard down when attacking Avery while he's stunned; there's a good chance that a decoy or two will spawn on him and attack you.
- Sometimes, he will use Path of Indra to teleport a player to a random location on a map and put them in a chokehold, which requires a QTE to escape. A successful QTE will result in the player character grabbing Avery's flintlock and shooting him in the face with it, stunning him.
- A player can tell when this is about to happen if they notice the screen darkening around the edges and going grainy.
- As with Baldridge, Avery also has the power to throw explosive charges, but his are purple instead of orange.
Indra's Disciple[]
Indra's Disciple in Remnants.
A heavily armoured Djinn Brute wielding a DShK. He has the power of the Path of Indra and Indra's Eternity.
- Unlike the pirate Warlords, he cannot be stunned for more than a couple of seconds. Shooting him in the head will cause him to stumble.
- On higher difficulties, the Indra's Eternity field he spawns can become a nuisance if players are caught in one. Not only does it reduce your movement speed, it affects your fire rate as well.
- If Indra's Disciple is close enough and you have a level 2 or higher pistol, don't be afraid to blindfire. If he is within three metres of you, blindfiring a long gun with a fast rate of fire (such as the Copperhead SR7 or Mettler M-30) can also help.
El Dorado Disciple[]
The El Dorado Disciple in the Pirate Colony.
A heavily armoured Djinn Brute carrying a DShK. He uses the Path of Indra and the Wrath of El Dorado, and can throw individual El Dorado spectres at players.
- Immediately after completing wave 39, make sure to collect Harbinger Snipers left over from enemies before wave 40. These are effective against the El Dorado Disciple, especially with headshots.
- During the actual battle, snipers carrying Harbingers will spawn. Use them to your advantage.
- Just like with Indra's Disciple, headshots will stun him for a couple of seconds.
- The El Dorado spectres he summons can hit players through cover, and the only way to escape unscathed is to simply run out of range (they will fizzle out after flying for some time).