A Gauntlet is a private fight behind an unstable Span rift. Only the pilot who opens the rift can go in. Three waves come at you, then a boss, and a countdown runs the whole time. Clear a wave faster than its par and the rift runs hotter: more heat brings a nastier boss, and a nastier boss carries better loot.
Steps
- Find a rift: scan down a combat signature in the Frontier or the Void (some are "Unstable Span Rift"), or ask a bounty agent in the Charter Network to Request a Gauntlet. Open the Probe ScannerPlay to try this
- Slip to the rift and approach within 2.5 km.
- Press Enter on the Gauntlet tracker. The rift pulls you into its pocket and the clock starts when you land.
- Clear the three waves, then the boss, before the countdown runs out.
- Loot the Gauntlet cache in the pocket, then Leave pocket to slip back to the rift.
Your ship sets the tier
| Tier | Ships | Time | Par per wave |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frigate | Frigates, destroyers, interceptors, explorers, mining frigates | 12 min | 1:15 · 1:30 · 1:45 |
| Cruiser | Cruisers, logistics, haulers, mining barges | 14 min | 1:30 · 1:50 · 2:10 |
| Battleship | Battleships and carriers | 16 min | 1:40 · 2:00 · 2:30 |
The waves and the boss grow with the tier. Capitals don't fit through a rift.
Heat and the boss
Every wave you clear under par adds one heat: Cold, Warm, Hot, Blazing.
- Cold or Warm: a Cartel Overlord. No tricks; it hits hard.
- Hot: Vex Halloran, a Cartel ace, with two wingmen. While any wingman flies, the ace's shield screen holds and your shots do nothing. Break the escort off first. He carries tackle.
- Blazing: the Choir hears a hot rift. Cantor Isaur of the Broken Hymn phases half out of the world every so often (immune for a few seconds) and calls an Acolyte echo each time. Use the phases to clear the echoes.
Tip
Speed counts twice: it raises the heat, and the leaderboard ranks heat first, then time. A Blazing clear beats a faster Warm one.
What you get
- Every wave cleared: a roll of data chips and Span residue.
- The boss: named modules, Span residue and a chance at a schematic. Hot adds a chance at a Cartel faction module; Blazing a Choir faction module and a chance at a Span core fragment.
- Loyalty points for a clear: 100 / 200 / 450 / 900 by heat, more for bigger tiers. Scanned rifts pay the Wardens; an agent's rift pays the agent's faction.
- Out of time: you keep the waves' loot, but not the boss's. Ship lost or left early: nothing.
Scores
The end screen shows your time, each wave against par, the heat, the loot, your personal best for the tier and your rank this week. The weekly leaderboard (one per tier, from Monday) is on the Record and in the companion app.
Rules of the rift
- The first pilot to enter opens the rift; it's bound to them. Anyone else who scanned it sees who holds it.
- Nobody else can see or reach the pocket, and the enemies in it fight only you.
- Flying more than 300 km from the pocket for 30 seconds gives the run up.
- An agent's rift holds for two hours; you can hold one at a time, and the same agent has a new one for you every four hours.