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Hard Mode in DOORS

Hardcore mode in DOORS doesn’t turn on with one button. You build it yourself with Modifiers in the elevator: darker rooms, slower movement, meaner entities—and you earn Knobs for every added challenge. Modifiers unlock after you beat The Hotel.

Hard Mode
Updated · Author: Mark K

What is this mode?

Modifiers were added on August 26, 2023, for the game’s anniversary. Each one changes one or two rules, like speed, entity behavior, or health. You can choose them if you’ve beaten The Hotel and earned Rock Bottom. Otherwise, you can join someone else’s elevator as long as the Modifiers don’t make the game easier.

Some Modifiers only unlock when you earn other badges—for example, many require Not Five Stars. You can’t use conflicting Modifiers together. Electrical Work and Bad Electrical Work, for example, both change dark rooms.

Which Modifiers should you pick?

  • Electrical Work, +10% — lights don’t flicker or break, and you get warnings about entities.
  • El Goblino Was Here, +5% — less Gold, with almost no effect on survival.
  • Gone Fishing and Soundproofing, +5% each — fewer Moonlight hints, and no ringing from Keys or books.
  • Small Hands, +5% — you can hold no more than three optional Items.
  • Tripped, +5% — you start with half your health, but you can heal it.
  • Bad Time, +10% — most entities attack more often.
  • Lights Out, +25% — every room is dark. Pick this only if you’re confident.

Tips for Hard Mode

  • Start with one or two Modifiers and see how they change familiar places—the Library, the Seek chase, and the Greenhouse. I test each new Modifier this way before using it in a serious run.
  • With Electrical Work, Rush won’t make the lights flicker. If a room has four or more hiding spots, expect him.
  • Slowdown effects can be dangerous together: My Legs Are Killing Me no longer slows Seek down in The Mines, and Injuries never slows him down.
  • Go through The Archives and The Outdoors without Modifiers—the entrance is blocked by a red barrier when you use them.

Climb the difficulty ladder with badges

Hard Mode has clear steps, and each one earns you a badge with a reward:

  1. Not Five Stars — beat The Hotel with a bonus of at least 50%. 50 Knobs, a Revive, and 20 Stardust.
  2. Rocky Road — do the same in The Mines.
  3. Hotel Hell — beat The Hotel with a bonus of at least 150%, 100 Knobs.
  4. A Hard Place — beat The Mines with a bonus of at least 150%.

Not Five Stars is worth getting first for more than just the reward. It unlocks a bunch of Modifiers: Lights Out, Key Key Key Key, Last Breath, Really Bad Time, Chaos, Chaos.

Focus on the bonus, not the number of Modifiers

A regular Modifier can give up to +25%, while random ones can give up to +50%. Anything over +150% won’t earn you more Knobs—the extra bonus gets cut off. Easier Modifiers lower your reward, but the total won’t go below −90%.

So here’s the simple rule: there’s no point going over +150%. Without the cap, you could build up to 495%, but the game wouldn’t pay out that much.

Easier Modifiers can cost a lot. Didn’t Skip Leg Day is −50%, and More Stuff and Good Time are also −50%. One easy Modifier cancels out five small challenges.

Here’s how I build my set: first, add a few +5% Modifiers that barely get in the way, then one or two +10% ones, and only then think about the tough ones. For a detailed +150% set, check out the Hotel Hell page.

Avoid dangerous combos

  • Lights Out darkens even the Reception, rooms up to Door 9, Seek chases, and the entrance to The Archives. But it doesn’t affect The Library or Jeff Shop after the Content Update.
  • Wear And Tear cuts the working time of your Lighter and Flashlight in half. With Lights Out, that’s a double hit to your light sources.
  • Last Breath — any damage kills you instantly, and your speed is also 25% lower. Star Potions let you survive a fatal hit.
  • Out Of Stuff removes Bandages and Batteries, so you can’t heal or recharge.
  • Battle Of Wits puts Dupe at almost every exit, with no sound.

I once picked Wear And Tear with Power Shortage and ran out of light before reaching the Greenhouse. Light is the first thing you run out of in Hard Mode.

Know how The Mines work differently

Some Modifiers work differently in The Mines. Power Shortage creates fewer dark rooms there, and Lights Out is broken in The Mines, so it doesn’t affect dark rooms. You can’t add Locked And Loaded or Key Key Key Key in The Mines at all.

Electrical Work also stops earthquakes in The Mines. And Keys for locked rooms don’t appear there, so you can get stuck without Lockpicks.

The maximum bonus in The Mines would be 420% without the cap, compared to 495% in The Hotel. But the +150% cap applies everywhere, so it makes no difference to your Knobs.

Don’t trust old lists

Some Modifiers from videos don’t exist anymore. Again & Again & Again was removed because it was too hard to fix in older versions. You Really Can Run was removed in The Hunt Update because it was too easy for experienced players, and Roundabout was removed in The Mines Update in older versions. SUPER HARD MODE!!!, HOTEL-, and BATTLE MODE used to be Modifiers, but now they’re in Visions in older versions.

Related badges

all badges
Not Five StarsChallenges
Hotel HellChallenges

Frequently asked questions

How do you turn on Hard Mode in DOORS?
Beat The Hotel and earn Rock Bottom. Then you can choose Modifiers when you create an elevator.
How many Knobs does Hard Mode give?
It depends on your set: up to +25% for a regular Modifier, up to +50% for a random one, and no more than +150% total.
Can you reach The Archives with Modifiers?
No. Any Modifier blocks the entrances to all sub-floors with a red barrier.
Why can’t you turn on two Modifiers together?
You can’t combine conflicting Modifiers or ones that change the same thing—for example, Electrical Work and Bad Electrical Work.
What are Modifiers marked fatal?
They let an entity kill you even if it normally can’t. For example, without Modifiers, Snare, Sally, and Timothy can’t kill you.

See also

Hotel HellModes

What’s Still Unconfirmed (4)

This information comes from announcements and rumors, or is outdated. The label will disappear once it’s confirmed.

  1. 1The Again & Again & Again Modifier was removed because it was too difficult to fix.
    outdated; this was in older versions · source
  2. 2You Really Can Run was removed in The Hunt Update because it was too easy for experienced players.
    outdated; this was in older versions · source
  3. 3The Roundabout Modifier was removed in The Mines Update.
    outdated; this was in older versions · source
  4. 4After the Chaos Mode Update, the HOTEL-, SUPER HARD MODE!!!, and BATTLE MODE Modifiers were moved to Visions.
    outdated; this was in older versions · source

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