Anomalith features several challenging activities, but the real challenge begins after you finish the main story. Once you complete the main quest, you can unlock Tuned Zone, a post-game mode where you explore different locations, fight enemies, and take on powerful bosses.
In this Anomalith Tuned Zone guide, we will explain how this game mode works, how to earn points, which curses you should choose, and what rewards you can unlock. I will also share some gear recommendations to help you survive longer and complete dives without wasting too much ammunition or healing items.
If you are planning to reach the higher ranks or unlock all the available weapons and apparel, choosing the right curses and preparing your equipment is very important. So, let’s go through everything you need to know before starting your next Tuned Zone dive.
Anomalith Tuned Zone Guide – Best Curses, Gear Rewards
Tuned Zone is Anomalith’s post-game mode, which becomes available after you complete the main story quest. It works like a randomized dungeon mode where you explore different locations, fight enemies, collect resources, and eventually face a boss.
One of the best things about this mode is that you carry over all your equipment and upgrades from the main game. This means you don’t need to start from scratch, and you can use your existing weapons, artifacts, and character upgrades.
Each Tuned Zone dive consists of four main stages:
- First Map Node: You enter a normal map area taken from one of the game’s regular dive zones.
- Second Map Node: After reaching the exit door, you are transported to another randomly selected area.
- Third Map Node: You complete another randomized map before reaching the final encounter.
- Final Boss: The last stage features a boss fight from the main game. This can also include the optional boss Ishigami, which you only encounter if you have completed the optional quest chain.
Although the locations are taken from regular game zones, some areas will have walls and blocked sections that weren’t present during the original story. Your main objective is to find the correct exit door and move to the next location.
Once you clear all three normal map nodes and defeat the final boss, you successfully complete the dive.
Tuned Zone Scoring and Rewards
Every Tuned Zone run gives you a score based on the curses you activate before starting the dive. The more challenging curses you select, the more points you can earn.
Your scores accumulate over multiple runs, allowing you to progress through the available reward ranks.
There are 15 ranks in total, and reaching higher ranks is important if you want to collect all the available rewards.
If you are aiming for 100% completion, I recommend working towards Rank 14. This is because several weapons and apparel pieces are locked behind the rank reward system.
Some of the important weapon rewards include:
- Prototype Shotgun
- Prototype SMG
- Light Machine Gun
Rank 14 also contains apparel rewards that you need if you want to collect all the non-DLC equipment.
You don’t necessarily need to activate every difficult curse to progress. Instead, you should focus on choosing curses that provide good score bonuses without making the dives unnecessarily difficult.
All Tuned Zone Curses and Recommendations
Curses are modifiers that make your Tuned Zone dives more challenging in exchange for additional points.
Some curses increase enemy health and damage, while others change how you explore the maps or limit your equipment. Choosing the right combination is important because certain curses can make specific rooms extremely difficult.
Here is a breakdown of the available curses and which ones I recommend taking.
1. Robust Frame
Effect: Enemies have more health.
Robust Frame increases the health of enemies throughout your dive. The exact health increase is not confirmed, but enemies can feel significantly tankier when this curse is active.
I generally recommend avoiding this curse because one of the biggest dangers in Tuned Zone is getting overwhelmed inside Monster Rooms.
When enemies have more health, these encounters become much harder because you need to spend more ammunition to eliminate them. This also increases the chance of running out of resources before reaching the boss.
There is also a particularly dangerous Apartments tileset where a Monster Room can spawn in a small hallway outside the rooms. The space is extremely limited, making it difficult to move around or avoid incoming attacks.
If you cannot eliminate the enemies quickly enough, you may lose most of your healing items or die before escaping.
Recommendation: Avoid this curse, especially if you are playing on higher difficulties.
2. Heavy Blows
Effect: Enemies deal more damage.
Heavy Blows increases the damage enemies inflict, making mistakes much more punishing.
This is one of the curses I would avoid because certain enemies can deal enough damage to take you from full health to zero very quickly.
Some particularly dangerous enemies include:
- Stitched Visitor
- Hollowbite
- Hollowpede
These enemies are already threatening without additional damage modifiers. With Heavy Blows active, they become even more dangerous.
If you are playing on Hard difficulty, I strongly recommend avoiding this curse unless you have a build that can consistently keep enemies away from you.
Recommendation: Avoid this curse because it significantly increases your chances of dying.
3. Anomalization Progression
Effect: More enemies appear.
This curse increases the number of enemies you encounter during your dives.
At first, this might not seem too bad, but it becomes a problem when you enter Monster Rooms. More enemies mean longer encounters, more ammunition consumption, and a greater chance of getting surrounded.
It also seems to increase the number of waves you need to clear before leaving certain encounters.
This creates a similar problem to Robust Frame because you spend more time fighting instead of progressing towards the exit.
Recommendation: Avoid this curse, particularly if you are already using other difficult enemy modifiers.
4. Fuel Deficiency
Effect: Skills cost more MP to execute.
Fuel Deficiency increases the MP cost of your skills.
However, this curse is relatively manageable if your build focuses mainly on gun damage rather than skill damage.
For example, if you mostly use your weapons to eliminate enemies and only activate skills for crowd control, the increased MP cost will not affect you too much.
You can still use your main weapons for most encounters without depending heavily on skills.
Recommendation: Take this curse if your build focuses on ranged weapon damage.
5. Frenzy
Effect: Enemies become more aggressive.
Frenzy makes enemies more aggressive during combat.
However, the difference isn’t particularly noticeable compared to normal enemies in the main game.
If you are already comfortable fighting regular enemies, this curse should be manageable.
Recommendation: Recommended. It provides additional points without making combat dramatically harder.
6. Artifact Limit
Effect: Body and Weapon Artifact slots are reduced by one.
This curse reduces the number of available Artifact slots for your Body and Weapons by one.
Essentially, the artifact equipped in the bottom-most slot of each affected equipment category will be removed automatically.
While losing an artifact can affect your build, this curse is relatively easy to manage if you don’t have many powerful artifacts equipped.
Personally, I would recommend taking this curse because finding three useful artifacts for every equipment slot can already be difficult.
Recommendation: Recommended, especially if your build does not depend on every available Artifact slot.
7. Unstable SUR Index
Effect: Bird Cage spawn rate increases.
Unstable SUR Index increases the Bird Cage spawn rate.
The exact mechanics are not entirely clear, but it appears to increase the chances of Monster Rooms appearing on certain map tiles.
Without this curse, you may encounter around one or two Monster Rooms per floor. With it active, you can sometimes encounter three or more.
This naturally increases your ammunition and healing consumption because you have to fight more enemies.
However, the curse also provides an additional 1,000 points, making it an interesting option for players who want to increase their cumulative score.
I recommend taking it if you are avoiding the more dangerous curses like Robust Frame, Heavy Blows, and Anomalization Progression.
Recommendation: Recommended if your build can handle additional Monster Rooms.
8. Awakened
Effect: Enemies are more resistant to stun.
Awakened increases enemy resistance to stun effects.
Stun is an important crowd-control mechanic, especially when you are fighting multiple humanoid enemies inside Monster Rooms.
For example, the High Caliber SMG can frequently stun certain humanoid enemies in one to three shots, although the exact conditions behind stun activation are not entirely clear.
Removing some of this crowd-control effectiveness can make fights more difficult.
I would recommend taking Awakened if you are not using other dangerous enemy modifiers.
However, if you activate Robust Frame, Heavy Blows, or Anomalization Progression, I would avoid it because stun can be one of your best ways to control large groups of enemies.
Recommendation: Situational. Take it if your build doesn’t rely heavily on stun.
9. Gun Ordinance
Effect: You can only carry two weapons.
Gun Ordinance limits you to carrying two weapons during your dive.
This might sound restrictive, but it is actually manageable if you have a reliable primary weapon and enough ammunition.
You can complete a dive using just one Assault Rifle or SMG, assuming you bring enough ammo. This also leaves your second weapon slot available for another useful weapon.
The main problem appears when you combine this curse with Robust Frame, Heavy Blows, or Anomalization Progression.
Monster Rooms can become extremely dangerous when enemies take longer to eliminate, deal more damage, or appear in larger numbers. Having fewer weapons also means fewer options when you need to reload or switch strategies.
Recommendation: Recommended if you have a reliable AR or SMG and enough ammunition.
10. Exploration Toil
Effect: Scans are deactivated.
Exploration Toil disables scans during your dives.
This is one of the easiest curses to manage because you should already recognize most of the lootable objects and their usual locations by the time you reach the post-game.
Most resources and lootable items tend to appear around corners, edges, and other recognizable map locations.
You can simply explore the environment manually instead of depending on scans.
Recommendation: Highly recommended. This is an easy way to gain an additional 700 points.
11. Cognitive Disruption
Effect: Your vision is constantly limited.
Cognitive Disruption applies an effect similar to the Flitterer or Flutterfly illusion from the main story.
Enemies will appear as random objects or props until you shoot them or they attack you.
However, there is one important difference from the main story: every moving illusion you encounter in Tuned Zone is an actual enemy.
You don’t need to worry about accidentally shooting harmless moving furniture like you did during the story.
I recommend taking this curse if you are using automatic weapons such as Assault Rifles or SMGs.
However, it can be problematic if you mainly use Snipers or Shotguns because you may not be able to land weak-point hits while enemies are still in their illusion state.
It can also be dangerous when fighting ranged enemies because you might not notice their attacks until they have already started preparing them.
Stronger elite enemies can also get close to you before you recognize what they actually are.
Recommendation: Recommended for AR and SMG builds, but avoid it if you rely heavily on Snipers or Shotguns.
Best Tuned Zone Curses to Choose
If you want to earn more points without making every dive extremely difficult, I recommend prioritizing curses that have manageable effects.
Here is a quick summary of my recommendations:
| Curse | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Robust Frame | Avoid |
| Heavy Blows | Avoid |
| Anomalization Progression | Avoid |
| Fuel Deficiency | Take |
| Frenzy | Take |
| Artifact Limit | Take |
| Unstable SUR Index | Situational |
| Awakened | Situational |
| Gun Ordinance | Take |
| Exploration Toil | Highly Recommended |
| Cognitive Disruption | Take with AR/SMG builds |
The most important thing is to avoid stacking multiple curses that make enemies harder to kill. Combining increased enemy health, increased damage, and additional enemy spawns can make Monster Rooms extremely difficult.
Instead, choose curses that affect your resources or exploration rather than directly making enemies stronger.
Best Gear and Weapons for Tuned Zone
Your equipment plays a major role in determining how easily you can complete Tuned Zone dives.
I recommend bringing weapons that can handle different enemy types while maintaining good ammunition efficiency.
My preferred setup uses a Lightweight AR, High Caliber SMG, and Semi-Automatic Shotgun. However, if you activate Gun Ordinance, you will need to reduce this setup to two weapons.
1. Lightweight AR
The Lightweight AR is my main damage weapon.
It provides reliable damage against most enemies and works well in different combat situations.
It is a good general-purpose weapon that you can use throughout your dives without needing to switch constantly.
Its biggest weakness is that it doesn’t provide much additional utility compared to some other weapons.
Best Use: General combat and consistent damage against different enemy types.
2. High Caliber SMG
The High Caliber SMG is another excellent option, especially when combined with Knockback Artifacts.
With the right artifact setup, this weapon can repeatedly knock back and stun entire groups of humanoid enemies.
It also provides respectable damage, making it useful for both crowd control and eliminating enemies.
However, there is one major downside: it consumes a lot of ammunition.
You should bring enough ammunition before starting a dive because running out of ammo with this weapon can quickly become a problem.
Best Use: Crowd control and keeping groups of humanoid enemies under pressure.
3. Semi-Automatic Shotgun
The Semi-Automatic Shotgun is particularly useful against enemies that are dangerous at close range.
It can repeatedly stun certain enemies and provides strong burst damage when you are close enough to land your shots.
Some of its useful matchups include:
- Sanctionheads: Useful for keeping them under control.
- Stitched Visitors: Helps stun and interrupt their attacks.
- Sinspeakers: Can knock them down with a close-range headshot.
- Sinskeepers: Can also be knocked down with a close-range headshot.
- Sinshooters: Effective when you can get close enough for a headshot.
The shotgun can also be useful during certain boss encounters.
Best Use: Close-range combat, knockdowns, and crowd control against dangerous enemies.
4. Unstable Bullet Artifacts
Unstable Bullet is another useful option for your weapon build.
Bronze and Gold Unstable Bullet effects can stack together.
However, the difference between using both Bronze and Gold compared to using only Gold seems relatively small, especially when dealing non-weak-point and non-critical hits.
It is still worth experimenting with if you want to improve your overall weapon damage.
Recommended Weapon Setup
If you are using the Gun Ordinance curse, I recommend bringing:
- Lightweight AR
- High Caliber SMG
This setup gives you a reliable damage weapon and another weapon that provides strong crowd control.
If you are not using Gun Ordinance, you can also bring the Semi-Automatic Shotgun for additional close-range utility.
Ammunition and Healing Preparation
One of the biggest mistakes you can make in Tuned Zone is entering a dive without enough ammunition and healing items.
You should prepare as if the first three floors will provide absolutely no useful resource drops.
Healing items are particularly important because they do not drop very frequently unless your inventory is completely empty. Even then, you may only receive a couple of small healing items.
Running out of ammunition is another serious problem. You don’t want to be stuck fighting dangerous enemies with only 15 or 20 rounds available.
Here are some important preparation tips:
- Bring enough ammunition for all your primary weapons.
- Carry as many healing items as you reasonably need.
- Do not rely on enemies dropping ammunition or healing supplies.
- Avoid unnecessary fights when you can safely reach the exit.
- Keep track of your resources before entering Monster Rooms.
- Save ammunition whenever possible by using the most effective weapon for each enemy.
You also cannot resupply in the middle of a dive. You can only drop off items at the Portal.
However, some map layouts make visiting the Portal unnecessary or even dangerous.
For example, one Apartments tileset has a Portal inside a medium-sized apartment that can spawn a Monster Room. You can skip this encounter and simply move towards the exit instead.
Best Maps and Example Tuned Zone Runs
The map layouts you receive during Tuned Zone dives can make a huge difference in how long your run takes and how many resources you consume.
Some tilesets are much easier to complete than others, especially when you are playing on higher difficulties.
Hospital Maps
Hospital tiles are generally the best locations to encounter during a dive.
They tend to provide more manageable routes compared to some of the tighter Apartments layouts.
If you get favourable Hospital tiles, you can often complete your floors much faster while saving ammunition and healing items.
Recommendation: Hospital tiles are generally the most desirable maps.
Mall Maps
Mall tiles have some good layouts, but they can also be quite frustrating.
There are certain favourable layouts that allow you to move through the floor quickly. However, most Mall layouts can be less convenient than Hospital maps.
Your experience will depend heavily on which specific tileset you receive.
Recommendation: Situational. Some Mall layouts are good, but others can make your run considerably longer.
Apartments Maps
Apartments maps are generally the most difficult locations, particularly when playing on higher difficulties.
The main problem is the tight terrain.
Small hallways and limited movement space make it easier for enemies to surround you. This becomes even more dangerous when Monster Rooms spawn in enclosed areas.
If you are using curses that increase enemy health or damage, Apartments maps can quickly become a nightmare.
Recommendation: Avoid unnecessary fights and prioritize reaching the exit.
Example Tuned Zone Runs
Two example dives demonstrate how much map generation can affect your overall performance.
Both runs used exactly the same curses, but the results were very different because of the map layouts.
First Run: Around 7 Minutes and 30 Seconds
The first run had very favourable map layouts.
The normal room tiles were easy to navigate, allowing the entire dive to be completed in approximately 7 minutes and 30 seconds.
Because the routes were favourable, ammunition consumption was also relatively low. The run appeared to finish with a positive ammunition balance.
Second Run: Around 15 Minutes
The second run had two unfavourable map tiles.
These layouts made exploration and combat take considerably longer, increasing the total completion time to almost 15 minutes.
The ammunition cost was also much higher. By the end of the run, approximately 300 to 400 rounds had been spent per gun compared to the first run.
This shows why map generation matters so much in Tuned Zone.
Even if you use the exact same equipment and curses, an unfavourable map can double your completion time and significantly increase your resource consumption.
