Elite Buff: Hardy

Internal engine status effect. This is the status applied to elite enemies with the Hardy modifier. Hardy increases the enemy's maximum health and damage resistance, making them significantly tankier than their normal counterparts. The elite trades 20% max health for the Hardy modifier, but the resistance and bonus health more than compensate.

Hardy elites require sustained burst damage or armor-piercing effects to take down efficiently. Their damage resistance reduces the effectiveness of small, frequent hits, so high-damage single strikes or guaranteed-crit setups via Marked are preferred. Damage-over-time effects like Bleed, Burn, and Poison are strong alternatives since they bypass resistance and pressure the elite over multiple turns.

In encounters with multiple elites, Hardy enemies should generally be dealt with last unless they are also dealing significant damage, since their threat is primarily durability rather than offensive output. Focus fire from multiple cats is more efficient than spreading damage across Hardy and non-Hardy targets. The boss-specific variant, Elite Buff: Hardy (Boss), provides even stronger defensive bonuses.