Wavecrashers makes the next difficulty step a choice inside the fight

Wavecrashers advertises two ways for a defense run to become harder. A victory unlocks the next Tide, with harsher conditions. Within a Tide, Ordeals present choices during battle about how the struggle will develop. In the official description, choosing the next difficulty and reacting inside it are separate tasks.

That distinction matters for the trio defending the core. Talents and Perks carry progression across runs, so preparation has a place; an Ordeal then asks the group to make another decision after that preparation. A build is a starting answer, not the last answer the run requests.

The listing does not name an Ordeal precisely enough to prescribe a team response. Its useful promise is the change of timescale: assemble a plan between runs, then negotiate a complication together inside one. For a group that likes adapting collectively rather than merely executing a rehearsed defense, that is the part of Wavecrashers worth examining.