Be home before dark
The single biggest defence decision is where you are when the wave arrives. An empty dome eats damage you cannot undo. Everything else below is arithmetic on top of that.
Two axes, not one
Defence in Dome Keeper has two distinct axes, and most players over-invest in only the first:
- Damage — kill monsters faster. The dome’s built-in weapon plus combat gadgets.
- Delay — slow the night down. Gadgets that push the next wave later, buying you time to finish a dig or repair.
A balanced dome uses both. Pure damage leaves you scrambling when a wave lands while you are still underground; pure delay lets monsters pile up. The waves guide explains how the gap between waves is timed.
Damage gadgets (Dome Surface and combat slots)
- Auto Cannon (Dome Surface) — heavy damage to approaching monsters.
- Buzz Saw (Dome Surface) — patrols the cupola and hits nearby enemies.
- Stun Laser (Dome Surface) — slows approaching monsters; can delete ticks without damage upgrades; upgrades add area stun, area damage and autonomy.
- Missile Launcher (Dome Backside Secondary Combat) — manually fired homing missiles with splash, strong against grouped enemies like Ticks and Big Ticks.
- Shockwave Hammer (Dome Surface Secondary Combat) — two hammers that deal 5 damage to all on-screen enemies when triggered.
- Spire (Dome Backside) — shoots down incoming projectiles and traps them.
The Dome Surface slot is contested (Auto Cannon, Buzz Saw, Stun Laser, Dome Armor all want it), so your dome’s weapon usually decides the pick. See the gadgets guide for the full slot table.
Delay gadgets (the underrated axis)
- Furnace (Cellar Dome Backside) — delays the next wave by 10 seconds by default, and 6 more per iron fed into it.
- Repellent (Primary) — sprays a monster-repelling liquid; delays the next wave by 0.25 cycles after a 1.5-cycle charge.
Delay is underrated because it does not feel like defence — but it lets you finish a dig instead of abandoning it, which is often the difference between a good day and a dead run.
Surviving the hit
- Dome Armor (Dome Surface) — +100 HP by default.
- Shield (Primary) — absorbs damage and recharges to full between waves; its three mutually exclusive battle abilities add an electro-blast field, brief invulnerability, or projectile reflection.
Related guides
- Waves Guide — how nights escalate.
- Gadgets Guide — the slot economy behind every pick.
- Difficulty Guide — why the night comes sooner as you climb.