ASTRORIFT CODEXEnemy CodexPilot CodexMission Guide

ASTRORIFT · MISSION GUIDE

8hubs
8story missions
7route missions
8contract types
8bosses
9mutators

A hub-by-hub guide: how contracts work, every contract type, then each hub's story and route missions with their walkthroughs, bosses and radio. Hull and damage are in the game's own units (the HUD shows ×10); distances are px on the 360×640 field. Companions: enemy-codex.html and player-codex.html.

The campaign route

Story missions (gold) move the story; route missions (cyan) open the next hub. Each is pinned to its hub's board once your reputation there reaches its mark.

  1. M1Approachtutorial · Rask
  2. Frontiertier 1
  3. S1Lone SignalRescue · Easy · RASK
  4. R1Priority: Corridor ClearanceDelivery · Hard+ · BLACKTIDE
  5. Dusthaventier 2
  6. S2Blacktide Spoof RunDelivery · Medium · IRONHOOK
  7. R2Priority: Sail ApproachDelivery · Hard+ · VEX
  8. CLV Sailtier 3
  9. S3Black-Box RecoveryExtraction · Medium · VEX
  10. R3Priority: Transit to Theia-XDelivery · Hard+ · MORDO
  11. Theia-Xtier 3
  12. S4The GatekeeperHunt · Hard+ · MORDO
  13. R4Priority: Anomaly TelemetryDelivery · Hard+ · COLOSSUS
  14. Ishtar-IIItier 4
  15. S5First ContactSurvival · Hard
  16. R5Priority: Anomaly HandoffDelivery · Hard+ · COLOSSUS
  17. Zipacna-Itier 4
  18. S6Shepherd ProtocolEscort · Hard+ · MORDO
  19. R6Priority: Deep Transit ClearanceDelivery · Hard+ · MORDO
  20. FTL-Bargetier 5
  21. S7Syndicate PurgeElimination · Hard+ · MATRIARCH
  22. R7Priority: Garden Corridor ClearanceDelivery · Hard+ · MATRIARCH
  23. Gaia-VIItier 5
  24. S8Garden SiegeSurvival · Hard+ · MATRIARCH
  25. ★The endingchorus · epilogue · credits

How missions work

The board, the pay, the bands and what changes a contract.

The mission board

  • Slots Three contracts: SAFE (one band below your best, ×0.90 pay), STANDARD (×1.00) and RISKY (×1.12, +1 mutator from level 3). A fourth standard slot opens at level 3.
  • Band Your best unlocked band (Hard at level 2, Hard+ at 4, Extreme at 6), clamped to the hub's range: from Dusthaven on there is no Easy.
  • Faction Rolled per slot from the hub's mix. Hunts are always pirates, and only pirate contracts carry named minibosses.
  • Reroll 50 cr; the board rerolls free after a won contract (story and daily cards don't reroll it).
  • Pinned cards Story and route missions sit at the top once their reputation mark is reached; the daily too, from level 4.

What a contract pays

  • Credits band credits × type factor × slot × ±10 % × each mutator × 1.1 with a named miniboss × the hub's pay × backtrack, rounded to 5.
  • Partial wins Escort, rescue and delivery scale the credits by how much you saved.
  • XP 30-45 × the band's XP multiplier × backtrack, plus every orb you collected (graze orbs too).
  • Fragments Whatever you picked up, plus +1 at the band's chance on a win.
  • Loss 25 % of the credits and XP; orb XP and fragments kept; the hub's reputation drops. Abandoning pays nothing but orb XP.
  • Backtracking Below your best hub's tier: one tier ×0.75 credits / ×0.8 XP, two ×0.45 / ×0.55, three ×0.25 / ×0.35. Story and route missions are exempt.

The flight

  • FTL in A loading jump, then a 1.5 s entry in which nothing can hit you. Then the mutator banner, the briefing and the story cold open.
  • Hull carries over You start at your ship's current hull, not full (Mission 1 aside), and the end hull is saved. Repair at the hub.
  • Bosses In a patrol the heavy follows a WARNING. In a story, route or daily mission the boss arrives once the objective is done, with its own music.
  • Cleanup After a win nothing new spawns and you can't drop below 1 hull: everything is pulled in, LEAVE when you like (45 s at most).
  • Wingman A hired wingman flies with you and takes 15 % of the take.

Difficulty bands

BandOpensCreditsXP+1 fragmentEnemy hull / dmgPressureElitesMinibossMutatorsRep
EasyL1120 cr×0.80 %×0.90 / ×0.90×0.850 %0 %0+3 / -2
MediumL1135 cr×1.010 %×1.00 / ×1.00×1.000 %0 %0+6 / -4
HardL2170 cr×1.425 %×1.15 / ×1.10×1.125 %30 %0+10 / -6
Hard+L4215 cr×1.740 %×1.25 / ×1.15×1.2210 %60 %1+13 / -8
ExtremeL6270 cr×2.060 %×1.40 / ×1.25×1.3518 %100 %2+17 / -10

Hazards

RockHullSpeedRam damage (HUD)
Shard3-6958 (80)
Chunk7-147812 (120)
Boulder15-306216 (160)
Cluster30-605220 (200)

Big rocks (boulders, clusters) are scaled by the band (×0.5 Easy to ×1.2 Extreme) and the hub. Rocks break when they hit you and are not scaled by band.

Minibosses

  • Rocketeer Brak 80 hull, a homing missile pod; flies like a raider.
  • Flak-Jack Tolliver 90 hull, a flak cannon; flies like a flanker.
  • Longshot Vey 75 hull, a locking railgun; flies like a sniper.
  • Rammer Gorr 85 hull, a shockwave dash; flies like a raider.

Pirate patrol, survival, elimination and escort contracts only: 30 % on Hard, 60 % on Hard+, always on Extreme. They pay ×1.1 and always drop an elite crate.

Mutators

MutatorEffectHow to handle itFromPay
No shieldAn EMP takes the shield offline for the whole mission.No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.Hard++×1.22
Gravity pullA gravity well drags the ship towards it.A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.Hard+×1.15
Low visibilityFog hides everything but the space around the ship.Fog: you see 215 px around the ship, your bolts spread and your handling drops.Easy+×1.08
Homing minesMines drift in from the top and steer towards the ship.Homing mines every 7-9 s: shoot them for free kills, XP and loot.Hard++×1.13
Splitting asteroidsLarge rocks break into smaller ones.Big rocks you shoot split: a boulder into two chunks, a cluster into two boulders.Hard++×1.16
Enemy shieldsEnemy ships carry a shield layer.Enemies carry a shield layer on top of their hull.Hard++×1.18
Fast raidersRaiders move and fire faster.Raiders and their counterparts are faster.Hard++×1.14
Double spawnEvery squad arrives doubled.Every squad is followed by a mirrored copy 1.6 s later.Hard+×1.18
Aggressive enemiesShorter fire cooldowns and less retreating.Enemies fire more often and break off less: thin each squad before the next arrives.Easy+×1.12

Contract types

Eight kinds of contract, opened by pilot level. Story and route missions use the same rules, then add a boss.

Patrol

Clear the lane until the heavy shows up, then kill it.

L1
  • Lane Squads every 9-14 s, tightening as the clock runs; one debris surge somewhere in the middle.
  • Miniboss On a pirate contract with a named miniboss, it arrives at about 42 % of the way to the heavy.
  • Heavy A WARNING banner, then 5 s later the faction's heavy: Pirate Captain, Drone Warden or Brood Mother. On Hard+ and Extreme drone and alien patrols it's that faction's boss instead.
Win
The heavy (or boss) is dead and the field is clear.
Lose
Only by losing your ship.
HUD
patrol N %, then captain / warden / brood mother / boss.
Pay
Full pay on a win.
Opens at
pilot level 1
Nominal length
180 s
Pay factor
×1.00
Miniboss
42 % of the way

Tips

  • The heavy comes 80-105 s in: save Overdrive and your big side weapon for it.
  • A captain speeds up every pirate near it: kill it first, the rest slow down.

Survival

Stay alive for 150 s.

L2
  • Clock The timer is the win. A halfway call at 75 s and a 30 SECONDS banner at the end.
  • Rocks Debris thickens every 40 s: from a rock every 1.7 s (max 10 on the field) to one every 0.65 s (max 18).
  • Squads Every 9-13 s, tightening to about half that by the end. Harder bands start with tougher squads.
  • Miniboss At 70 s on a pirate contract that has one. No captain.
Win
The clock runs out with you alive.
Lose
Only by losing your ship.
HUD
hold M:SS counting down.
Pay
Full pay on a win.
Opens at
pilot level 2
Nominal length
150 s
Pay factor
×1.00
Miniboss
70 s

Tips

  • You don't have to kill anything: dodging is winning. Graze for Overdrive and use it to wipe the screen when it gets thick.
  • The squad schedule is fixed by the contract's seed, so a retry plays the same way.

Elimination

Make the kill quota, then kill the captain.

L2
  • Quota Credited kills by band: Easy 30, Medium 34, Hard 40, Hard+ 46, Extreme 52. Rams and retreating ships don't count.
  • Pressure A dense feeder: 4-10 ships alive, a squad every 5-8 s.
  • Captain When the quota is met the feeder stops and the faction heavy arrives. It never retreats.
  • Miniboss At 75 s on a pirate contract that has one.
Win
The captain dies.
Lose
Only by losing your ship.
HUD
kills N/Q, then captain.
Pay
Full pay; finishing under 160 s adds score.
Opens at
pilot level 2
Nominal length
200 s
Pay factor
×1.00
Miniboss
75 s

Tips

  • Kills after the captain is called don't count: focus the captain.
  • Don't ram for kills: a ram gives no credit. Area weapons (Flak, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) feed the quota fastest.

Escort

Get the convoy to the top of the field.

L3
  • Convoy 2 freighters on Easy and Medium, 3 from Hard. Hull 100 each (HUD 1000). They creep from the bottom to the top in about 135 s.
  • They fight Freighters dodge shots and rocks (up to 45 px out of lane) and fire 3-bolt bursts every 2.2 s.
  • Ambushes AMBUSH INCOMING, then 4 s later a squad lands on the convoy: one at 36-46 s, a second at 88-100 s from Hard, a third at 118-126 s on Extreme.
  • Hunters Each squad has a 40 % chance to go for the freighters; the miniboss (85 s) always does.
Win
Every freighter has arrived or been lost, with at least one arrived.
Lose
All freighters lost: CONVOY LOST.
HUD
convoy alive/total.
Pay
0.6 + 0.4 × the share that arrived (2 of 3 pays ×0.87).
Opens at
pilot level 3
Nominal length
200 s
Pay factor
×1.10
Miniboss
85 s

Tips

  • Nothing heals a freighter: protect, don't repair. Nano Repair only mends you and your wingman.
  • Arrived freighters jump out and are safe. Push your fire to whichever is lowest and furthest behind.
  • Get between an ambush and the convoy the moment the banner shows: you have 4 s.

Hunt

Kill a named pirate ace before it escapes for good.

L4
  • Target Always pirates. A captain hull ×2.4, firing 30 % faster, hitting 15 % harder, flying 20 % faster, dodging 60 % of the time.
  • Three visits First at 7 s, then 11 s gaps. Visit 1 it leaves at 72 % hull or after 15 s; visit 2 at 40 % or 15 s; visit 3 it stays up to 32 s.
  • Damage sticks Hull it loses carries over between visits.
  • Squads Light: 1-4 ships, paused for 8 s each time the ace arrives.
Win
The ace dies, by any means (rams and blasts count).
Lose
It escapes after visit 3: TARGET ESCAPED.
HUD
target v/3, the bar shows the ace's lost hull.
Pay
Full pay on a win; the ace drops an elite crate.
Opens at
pilot level 4
Nominal length
180 s
Pay factor
×1.15
Miniboss
never

Tips

  • Spend everything on visit 1 and 2: every point carries, and the 15 s timer runs only while it's engaged.
  • Ion stuns and the Gravity Pulse pin it; Railgun and Orbital Strike are worth saving for it.

Rescue

Reach a crippled ship, repair it, then defend it through a final wave.

L4
  • Approach The wreck (hull 70, arrives with 40) drifts down to the lower field. Squads have a 55 % chance to go for it.
  • Repair A REPAIR ZONE of 74 px: 24 s inside it brings the drive back. The timer pauses (never drains) while you're outside, and the ship regains 30 hull while you hold.
  • Final wave ALLY ONLINE: it fights beside you (hull at least 49). Then waves at +2, +9, +17 s; +25 s from Hard+; a heavy at +33 s on Extreme. The +9 and +25 s waves go for the ally.
Win
Every final-wave ship spawned and the field clear.
Lose
The rescue ship is destroyed at any point: SHIP LOST.
HUD
repair N %, then final wave.
Pay
0.85 + 0.15 × the rescued ship's hull left.
Opens at
pilot level 4
Nominal length
150 s
Pay factor
×1.10
Miniboss
never

Tips

  • Stepping out of the zone to fight costs nothing but time: the repair pauses, it doesn't drain.
  • The +9 s wave is rushers that go for the ally: be ready to body-block or burst them.

Delivery

Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left.

L5
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
Win
The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
Lose
The 4th miss: CARGO LOST.
HUD
gates passed/total.
Pay
0.5 + 0.5 × cargo left: ×1.0, ×0.875, ×0.75, ×0.625.
Opens at
pilot level 5
Nominal length
200 s
Pay factor
×1.15
Miniboss
never

Tips

  • The pod can't be hit: only your position at each gate matters. Line up early and let the gate come to you.
  • Every route mission (the Priority runs) is a Hard+ delivery with No Shield and Gravity Pull: the well drags you toward the upper middle, so lead your gates.

Extraction

Winch a package, then outrun the pursuit to the exit.

L5
  • Locate The package drops on the side opposite you and parks in the lower field (about 9 s).
  • Winch A WINCH ZONE of 62 px: 26 s inside. It drains 4.5 % a second while you're out (empty in about 22 s).
  • Pursuit PACKAGE SECURED: your handling drops to ×0.88, two rushers spawn at once, the feeder tightens to a squad every 4-6 s, and the exit opens at the top centre (46 px, 1.4 s inside).
Win
Reach the exit.
Lose
Only by losing your ship.
HUD
winch N %, then exit.
Pay
Full pay; done by 130 s adds score.
Opens at
pilot level 5
Nominal length
160 s
Pay factor
×1.10
Miniboss
never

Tips

  • Unlike the rescue zone, the winch drains: clear the field first, then commit to the zone.
  • Towing makes you sluggish: clear a lane up the middle before you start for the exit.
Hub 1

Frontier Station

Coordinator Alma Sterling · tier 1 · Pirates

Alma Sterling
Frontier Station

The station

Frontier Station hangs at the ragged edge of mapped space: a lattice of reclaimed freighter hulls welded around a decommissioned survey buoy. Every contract posted here is someone's gamble that the belt still has room for honest work.

Pirate skiffs prowl the outer asteroids while corporate scouts argue salvage law on the comms net. Alma Sterling's mission board runs on caffeine, duct tape and the belief that a green pilot can still make a name before the void collects its due.

Most commanders dock here first. The workshop is modest, the threats are familiar, and Needle-class scouts outnumber everything else in the berths. But the frontier has a way of keeping score.

At a glance

Tier
1
Bands
Easy – Hard+
Pay
×1.00
Reputation gain
×1.00
Enemy threat
none
Big rocks
×1.00
Story mark
25 reputation
Route mark
75 → Dusthaven
Reached
from the start
Control
FRONTIER CONTROL

Pirates 100 %

Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 1.00 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 25; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +20 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Easy+3 / −2910
Medium+6 / −455
Hard+10 / −633
Hard++13 / −823

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard none new at this tier
  • New gun marks in the Workshop Laser Mk.II, Laser Mk.III, Laser Mk.IV, Laser Mk.V
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstFRONTIER CONTROL Welcome to Frontier Station.
  • againFRONTIER CONTROL Frontier Control. Good to see you back on the board, commander.
  • againFRONTIER CONTROL Docking clamps ready. Alma's board has fresh work.
  • againFRONTIER CONTROL Back on the frontier. The pirates kept your seat warm.

M1 Approach — Frontier Station

The first flight · tutorial

Easy

The run into Frontier Station that opens the game: fly in, learn the gun and the EMP, and meet Rask.

Pay
100 cr · 40 XP
Loss pay
nothing, retry at full hull
Boss XP
×0.5
Then
the name gate and your first dock at Frontier

Walkthrough

  • 0-25 s A single raider at 5 s, then a rock surge from 12 to 25 s. Collect the green shards.
  • 28-45 s Two raiders, a flanker, then a rusher with a raider. The EMP button lights up the first time three shots close in (by 32 s at the latest): tap it.
  • 65-70 s WARNING, then Rask's bomber: 160 hull, 20 damage a shot.
  • Safety net Once, a killing hit leaves you at 1 hull with a full shield: "Station shields you — hold on!"
  • Limits Only the EMP Blast fitted, no loot or crates, mostly small rocks. A retry starts at full hull.

Boss: Rask "Lanejack" Venn RASK

Pirate boss · hull 150–300 (HUD 1500–3000)

px_rask_bomber
Primary gun all fight

Twin cannons Two parallel shots. The gap between them is narrow: slide fully out of the pair rather than between it.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

S1 Lone Signal

Story mission · Frontier Station

Easy

A Solvault Ledger on a test flight went dark in the outer rocks, its pilot alive and its drive dead. Rask's bomber is circling it. Reach the wreck, hold its repair field until the drive comes back, then finish what you started in the approach lane: Rask was down, not dead.

Type
Rescue
Band
Easy
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
200 cr · 60 XP
Loss pay
50 cr · 15 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+20 on a win, +8 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 25 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
The Crew card; Mira Kade for hire at half fee (flies a Ledger)
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Rescue Reach a crippled ship, repair it, then defend it through a final wave. Every final-wave ship spawned and the field clear.
  • Approach The wreck (hull 70, arrives with 40) drifts down to the lower field. Squads have a 55 % chance to go for it.
  • Repair A REPAIR ZONE of 74 px: 24 s inside it brings the drive back. The timer pauses (never drains) while you're outside, and the ship regains 30 hull while you hold.
  • Final wave ALLY ONLINE: it fights beside you (hull at least 49). Then waves at +2, +9, +17 s; +25 s from Hard+; a heavy at +33 s on Extreme. The +9 and +25 s waves go for the ally.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). From then on losing the convoy or ship no longer matters.

Boss: Rask "Lanejack" Venn RASK

Pirate boss · hull 150–300 (HUD 1500–3000)

px_rask_bomber
Primary gun all fight

Twin cannons Two parallel shots. The gap between them is narrow: slide fully out of the pair rather than between it.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startFRONTIER CONTROL Mayday on the outer lane. A Ledger prototype, one pilot, no drive.
  • startLEDGER PILOT Anyone on this band, there's a bomber circling me and my guns are cold. Please.
  • startRASK That wreck is mine, Frontier. You got lucky once.
  • 20 %FRONTIER CONTROL Beacon's weak but steady. Push through to it.
  • 45 %LEDGER PILOT I see you! Get me into the repair field, I'll do the rest.
  • 70 %FRONTIER CONTROL Her drive's coming up. Keep them off the field.
  • 92 %LEDGER PILOT Weapons online. Let's finish him.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Ledger pilot recovered, and Rask won't be back this time. She's asking about you, commander.

FAIL We lost the Ledger's signal. Get patched up and try again.

R1 Priority: Corridor Clearance → Dusthaven

Route mission · Frontier Station

Hard+

Alma needs a sealed crate carried through the breach lane to Dusthaven Exchange. The lane is an EMP field and a gravity sink, and Kara Blacktide has been spoofing convoy codes on it for weeks. Take the crate through every gate, then deal with whoever is waiting at the end.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
370 cr · 90 XP
Loss pay
92 cr · 22 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while Dusthaven Exchange is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens Dusthaven Exchange
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Kara Blacktide BLACKTIDE

Pirate boss · hull 210–240 (HUD 2100–2400)

Ex-salvage auditor turned raider. Strikes under stolen transponder codes and vanishes into ion storms.

bs_kara
Primary gun all fight

Twin cannons Two parallel shots. The gap between them is narrow: slide fully out of the pair rather than between it.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

EMP A 96 px ring marks where you are and charges for 1.2 s. Be out of it when it pulses or your guns and side weapons go dark for 4 s and your bullets inside are wiped. Every 15 s.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startFRONTIER CONTROL Sealed crate's aboard. Don't scan it, don't ask.
  • startFRONTIER CONTROL The breach lane eats shields. Fly clean, keep the crate in the corridor.
  • startBLACKTIDE Transponder says freighter. Funny-looking freighter.
  • 30 %FRONTIER CONTROL Halfway gate ahead. Dusthaven has you on long range.
  • 55 %BLACKTIDE Every gate you pass costs you more, Frontier.
  • 85 %DUSTHAVEN OPS Holt Vega here. Bring it in and I'll open the doors.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Crate delivered. Dusthaven Exchange has cleared you to dock: it's on your map.

FAIL Crate lost. The breach lane will still be there.

Hub 2

Dusthaven Exchange

Coordinator Holt Vega · tier 2 · Drones, Pirates

Holt Vega
Dusthaven Exchange

The station

Dusthaven Exchange grew out of a relay fault: a comms node that refused to die, patched into a trade floor by belt merchants who needed a neutral port. Today it is half market, half fortress, with prices that move faster than patrol schedules.

Holt Vega coordinates contracts from a glass-walled ops deck over the exchange floor. The shipyard below posts the first paid hull beyond Frontier: Kestrel Rampart interceptors share berths with black-market parts in the same manifest queues.

Heavier hulls and the first ion and plasma guns make Dusthaven the real step up from Frontier. Rogue drone wings and pirates test the perimeter, but the real currency is information: who is flying what, and which corridor is about to go hot.

At a glance

Tier
2
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.12
Reputation gain
×0.40
Enemy threat
none
Big rocks
×1.00
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
75 → CLV Sail
Reached
after Frontier
Control
DUSTHAVEN OPS

Drones 60 % Pirates 40 %

Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols. Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.40 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +22 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+2 / −2252
Hard+4 / −2131
Hard++5 / −3101
Extreme+7 / −481

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard PV-A2 “Shade” (2,250 cr + 6 frag), KV-7 “Rampart” (2,300 cr + 8 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop Ion Mk.II, Ion Mk.III, Plasma Mk.II, Plasma Mk.III
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstDUSTHAVEN OPS Holt Vega, Dusthaven ops. Alma vouched for you, commander. Out here that buys you one contract. Make it count.
  • againDUSTHAVEN OPS Dusthaven ops. Prices moved while you were gone. So did the drones.
  • againDUSTHAVEN OPS Welcome back to the Exchange. The board's thick tonight.
  • againDUSTHAVEN OPS Holt here. Dock, refit, and listen: the lanes are talking.

S2 Blacktide Spoof Run

Story mission · Dusthaven Exchange

Medium

Holt needs unregistered relay firmware carried through the exchange's outer gates. Kara Blacktide wants the keys on that crate, but she won't risk her flagship twice: she is sending her enforcer, Sera "Ironhook" Venn, Rask's kin.

Band
Medium
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
260 cr · 80 XP
Loss pay
65 cr · 20 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+22 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
—
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Sera "Ironhook" Venn IRONHOOK

Pirate boss · hull 220–250 (HUD 2200–2500)

Kara Blacktide's cutter enforcer, Rask's kin. Cuts convoys open with a torch she calls the hook.

bs_ironhook
Primary gun all fight

Single One aimed shot at a time. Keep drifting sideways and it never lands.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Beam A warning line tracks you for 2 s, then locks for the last 0.55 s and fires a 32 px column for 27 damage. Move the moment it stops following you.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Shield Invulnerable for 3 s every 11 s. Save the Railgun, Orbital Strike or Overdrive for the moment it drops.

Movement

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startDUSTHAVEN OPS Firmware's aboard. Officially you're carrying air filters.
  • startDUSTHAVEN OPS Ironhook's cutter left Kara's yard an hour ago. She'll come for the crate.
  • startIRONHOOK Kara sends her regards. I bring the hook.
  • 30 %DUSTHAVEN OPS Gate signals are clean. Keep moving.
  • 60 %DUSTHAVEN OPS Spoofed codes on the lane. Those aren't freighters.
  • 85 %IRONHOOK The torch is lit, Frontier.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Firmware's in. Kara just lost her best cutter, and she knows your name now.

FAIL Crate's gone. Holt will find you another run.

R2 Priority: Sail Approach → CLV Sail

Route mission · Dusthaven Exchange

Hard+

The mining guild's manifest has to reach the CLV Sail belt, and Vex Irons taxes every hauler on that approach. The drones out there fly his patterns. Carry it through the gates and get past his hauler-killer.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
415 cr · 100 XP
Loss pay
103 cr · 25 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while CLV Sail Mining Belt is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens CLV Sail Mining Belt
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Vex Irons VEX

Pirate boss · hull 250–290 (HUD 2500–2900)

Belt warlord in a hauler-killer. Treats lane disputes as unpaid tax, and the belt's drones answer to him.

bs_vex
Primary gun all fight

Twin cannons Two parallel shots. The gap between them is narrow: slide fully out of the pair rather than between it.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Drone bay A bay interceptor every 3.5 s, at most 3, leashed to the boss. They are weak: sweep them with the main gun while you work the boss.

Movement

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startDUSTHAVEN OPS Guild manifest's aboard. CLV has waited a month for it.
  • startDUSTHAVEN OPS Vex runs that approach. His drones too, if the rumours hold.
  • startVEX This lane pays tax. You didn't.
  • 20 %DUSTHAVEN OPS Belt approach is clear, for now.
  • 50 %DUSTHAVEN OPS Vex's cutters are moving to intercept.
  • 85 %CLV SAIL CONTROL Torin Pike, belt control. We see you. Bring it in.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Manifest delivered. CLV Sail has opened docking for you: the belt is on your map.

FAIL Manifest lost. The approach is still there.

Hub 3

CLV Sail Mining Belt

Coordinator Torin Pike · tier 3 · Drones, Pirates

Torin Pike
CLV Sail Mining Belt

The station

The CLV Sail Mining Belt is not a station so much as a captured industrial spine: conveyor rigs, sail tethers and hab pods clamped onto an ore carrier that never finished its last run. Ore dust coats every viewport; hazard alarms are background noise.

Torin Pike posts contracts from a crane cab over the belt. Mining guild militia, pirate cutters and corporate auditors share the same traffic lanes. Everyone wants the same rock, and nobody trusts the yield reports.

Hazard tags on the mission board are not decorative. Solvault Ledger prototypes in the shipyard and dense drone traffic make CLV a proving ground for pilots who survived Dusthaven and want to know if their loadout can handle real industrial chaos.

At a glance

Tier
3
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.22
Reputation gain
×0.45
Enemy threat
none
Big rocks
×1.25
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
75 → Theia-X
Reached
about 2 h
Control
CLV SAIL CONTROL

Drones 70 % Pirates 30 %

Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols. Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.45 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +22 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+3 / −2171
Hard+5 / −3101
Hard++6 / −491
Extreme+8 / −571

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard PV-A3 “Viper” (5,500 cr + 12 frag), KV-8 “Citadel” (3,650 cr + 10 frag), SV-X1 “Ledger” (4,700 cr + 12 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop Ion Mk.IV, Ion Mk.V, Plasma Mk.IV, Plasma Mk.V
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstCLV SAIL CONTROL Torin Pike, belt control. You made it through Vex's lane, so you can fly. Out here, read the hazard tags before you read the pay.
  • againCLV SAIL CONTROL Belt control. Mind the tethers on approach.
  • againCLV SAIL CONTROL Torin here. Rigs are running, rocks are moving, and so are the drones.
  • againCLV SAIL CONTROL Back on the belt. Ore's up, patience is down.

S3 Black-Box Recovery

Story mission · CLV Sail Mining Belt

Medium

A mining rig went dark on the belt's edge, and Torin wants its flight recorder before anyone else reads it. The drone swarms out there carry Vex Irons' telemetry. Find the recorder, winch it free and tow it out.

Band
Medium
Enemies
Drones
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
270 cr · 90 XP
Loss pay
67 cr · 22 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+22 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
—
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Extraction Winch a package, then outrun the pursuit to the exit. Reach the exit.
  • Locate The package drops on the side opposite you and parks in the lower field (about 9 s).
  • Winch A WINCH ZONE of 62 px: 26 s inside. It drains 4.5 % a second while you're out (empty in about 22 s).
  • Pursuit PACKAGE SECURED: your handling drops to ×0.88, two rushers spawn at once, the feeder tightens to a squad every 4-6 s, and the exit opens at the top centre (46 px, 1.4 s inside).
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Vex Irons VEX

Pirate boss · hull 250–290 (HUD 2500–2900)

Belt warlord in a hauler-killer. Treats lane disputes as unpaid tax, and the belt's drones answer to him.

bs_vex
Primary gun all fight

Twin cannons Two parallel shots. The gap between them is narrow: slide fully out of the pair rather than between it.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Drone bay A bay interceptor every 3.5 s, at most 3, leashed to the boss. They are weak: sweep them with the main gun while you work the boss.

Movement

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startCLV SAIL CONTROL Rig seven's recorder is still pinging. Bring it home.
  • startCLV SAIL CONTROL Those drones fly Vex's patterns. Expect him.
  • startVEX That recorder's my property. Everything out here is.
  • 25 %CLV SAIL CONTROL Recorder located. Get the winch on it.
  • 55 %CLV SAIL CONTROL It's free. Drag it to the exit, the swarm's waking up.
  • 85 %VEX Bays open. Fetch.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Recorder recovered. With this, the guild can prove Vex hijacked the belt's drones.

FAIL Recorder lost. Torin's marking the rig for another try.

R3 Priority: Transit to Theia-X → Theia-X

Route mission · CLV Sail Mining Belt

Hard+

Theia-X's deep relay has gone quiet, and Greta Lind wants a courier through the long-fall approach with her relay keys. The wreckage out there hides toll cutters, and the transponder at the back of them reads Mordo Rift, a name the inner lanes thought the Theia breach had ended.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
450 cr · 110 XP
Loss pay
112 cr · 27 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while Theia-X Deep Relay is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens Theia-X Deep Relay
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Mordo Rift MORDO

Pirate boss · hull 270–310 (HUD 2700–3100)

Survived the Theia breach in a rebuilt bomber and took the relay gate as his toll booth. Collects from everyone, owes no one.

bs_mordo
Primary gun all fight

3-shot fan Three shots, ±11°. Close in, the fan is tight; further back the gaps open up.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Escapes. At 15 % hull it jumps out: the mission is won, but he lives to fly again. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startCLV SAIL CONTROL Relay keys aboard. Theia's been dark for nine days.
  • startCLV SAIL CONTROL Toll cutters in the long fall. Somebody's collecting out there.
  • startMORDO The breach didn't take me. The long fall won't take you either. I will.
  • 25 %CLV SAIL CONTROL Debris thickening. Thread it, don't fight it.
  • 55 %THEIA RELAY Greta Lind here. We see your keys. Keep coming.
  • 85 %CLV SAIL CONTROL Big bomber on the approach. That's him.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Relay keys delivered and Mordo burned out of the lane. Theia-X has opened docking: the relay is on your map.

FAIL Keys lost in the long fall. Theia stays dark.

Hub 4

Theia-X Deep Relay

Coordinator Greta Lind · tier 3 · Pirates, Drones

Greta Lind
Theia-X Deep Relay

The station

Theia-X is a deep-relay station strung between gravity wells, built to keep signal latency tolerable for sectors the inner hubs forgot. Its corridors hum with coolant loops and old military-grade shielding, relics of a build spec that assumed the relay would never see combat.

Greta Lind runs mission control from a bunker tier that still carries faded fleet insignia. Contracts here skew toward long-range patrols and extraction runs where a missed window means drifting until someone notices your beacon.

Pilots call the approach "the long fall": a slow spiral through debris fields that used to be a mining consortium. The shipyard lists Viper scouts and Citadel interceptors; the void outside carries tier-three consequences.

At a glance

Tier
3
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.22
Reputation gain
×0.35
Enemy threat
none
Big rocks
×1.40
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
75 → Ishtar-III
Reached
about 3 h
Control
THEIA RELAY

Pirates 55 % Drones 45 %

Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up. Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.35 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +22 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+2 / −1252
Hard+4 / −2131
Hard++5 / −3101
Extreme+6 / −491

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard PV-A3 “Viper” (5,500 cr + 12 frag), KV-8 “Citadel” (3,650 cr + 10 frag), SV-X1 “Ledger” (4,700 cr + 12 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop Ion Mk.IV, Ion Mk.V, Plasma Mk.IV, Plasma Mk.V
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstTHEIA RELAY Greta Lind, Theia relay. You came down the long fall in one piece; most of what's out there didn't. Mordo Rift is sitting on our gate, so mind your shields.
  • againTHEIA RELAY Theia relay. Gate's humming, debris is drifting, Mordo's still out there.
  • againTHEIA RELAY Greta here. Long-fall approach is clear enough. Mostly.
  • againTHEIA RELAY Back at the relay. The board has long-range work for steady hands.

S4 The Gatekeeper

Story mission · Theia-X Deep Relay

Hard+

Mordo Rift has taken the relay gate itself and sells passage through it. His best cutter captain holds the gate's approach; take her down, and Mordo will come out to protect his toll booth. Drive him off the gate.

Type
Hunt
Band
Hard+
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
450 cr · 120 XP
Loss pay
112 cr · 30 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+22 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
—
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Hunt Kill a named pirate ace before it escapes for good. The ace dies, by any means (rams and blasts count).
  • Target Always pirates. A captain hull ×2.4, firing 30 % faster, hitting 15 % harder, flying 20 % faster, dodging 60 % of the time.
  • Three visits First at 7 s, then 11 s gaps. Visit 1 it leaves at 72 % hull or after 15 s; visit 2 at 40 % or 15 s; visit 3 it stays up to 32 s.
  • Damage sticks Hull it loses carries over between visits.
  • Squads Light: 1-4 ships, paused for 8 s each time the ace arrives.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Mordo Rift MORDO

Pirate boss · hull 270–310 (HUD 2700–3100)

Survived the Theia breach in a rebuilt bomber and took the relay gate as his toll booth. Collects from everyone, owes no one.

bs_mordo
Primary gun all fight

3-shot fan Three shots, ±11°. Close in, the fan is tight; further back the gaps open up.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Escapes. At 15 % hull it jumps out: the mission is won, but he lives to fly again. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startTHEIA RELAY Relay gate breach. Mordo is sitting on it.
  • startTHEIA RELAY His gate captain flies point. Take her and he'll have to show himself.
  • startMORDO You scratched my flagship. The long fall still has a gatekeeper.
  • 30 %THEIA RELAY Remnant cutters on scope. His tax men never left the corridor.
  • 60 %THEIA RELAY Gate captain's hurt. She'll run to him.
  • 90 %MORDO Gate's mine until your reactor cools.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Mordo's off the gate and the relay is ours again. Greta is reading something strange in the relay logs: telemetry from beyond Ishtar.

FAIL Mordo still holds the gate. The relay stays his toll booth.

R4 Priority: Anomaly Telemetry → Ishtar-III

Route mission · Theia-X Deep Relay

Hard+

The relay caught something Vex's drones were tracking all along: a pattern of signals from the Ishtar sink that no ship sent. Senna Okonkwo's platform wants Greta's recordings. Whatever made them is in the way.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Aliens
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
450 cr · 120 XP
Loss pay
112 cr · 30 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while Ishtar-III Research Platform is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens Ishtar-III Research Platform
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Brood Colossus COLOSSUS

Alien boss · hull 150–300 (HUD 1500–3000), +35 % per hub tier above 1 · loadout rolled per run

bs_alien_dreadnought
bs_alien_colossus
bs_alien_colossus_b
Primary gun all fight

One of these, rolled per run:

5-shot arc Five slower shots (×0.82) across ±36°. Pick a gap early and hold it rather than crossing the arc.

3-shot fan Three shots, ±11°. Close in, the fan is tight; further back the gaps open up.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

One of these, rolled per run:

Shockwave An expanding ring every 5 s for 25 damage, growing over 1.5 s. Watch its edge; a Shockwave Dash's invulnerability carries you through it.

Beam A warning line tracks you for 2 s, then locks for the last 0.55 s and fires a 32 px column for 27 damage. Move the moment it stops following you.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

One of these, rolled per run:

Shield Invulnerable for 3 s every 11 s. Save the Railgun, Orbital Strike or Overdrive for the moment it drops.

Brood Births a swarmling every 3 s, at most 4. They orbit and lunge; kill them as they come or they stack.

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

One of these, rolled per run:

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startTHEIA RELAY Telemetry crate sealed. Senna's expecting it.
  • startTHEIA RELAY Unknown signatures on the Ishtar lane. Not pirates. Not drones.
  • startTHE BROOD YOUR SIGNAL DISTURBS THE STILLNESS.
  • 25 %THEIA RELAY Contacts are... organic. Commander, those are alive.
  • 55 %ISHTAR CONTROL Senna Okonkwo. Keep that crate shielded, whatever happens.
  • 85 %THEIA RELAY Something big is coming up out of the sink.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Telemetry delivered. Ishtar-III has opened docking, and Senna has her first look at what is out there: a brood.

FAIL Crate lost. Ishtar never saw what we saw.

Hub 5

Ishtar-III Research Platform

Coordinator Senna Okonkwo · tier 4 · Aliens, Drones, Pirates

Senna Okonkwo
Ishtar-III Research Platform

The station

Ishtar-III sits in a deep-sector sink where navigation beacons drift and something older than the pirate coalitions tests the edges of charted space. The station's spine is a refitted research platform: labs converted to armories, observation domes turned into firing arcs.

Senna Okonkwo's mission control runs on strict comm discipline: channels are monitored, manifests are verified, and every outbound pilot gets a threat brief that assumes the worst. The anomaly in the containment well is the reason the platform was built, and the reason nobody sleeps well.

Tier-four rewards draw veterans who have outgrown frontier patrols. The shipyard opens Kestrel Arsenal gun platforms, hulls that change how a run feels, and the threat on the board is a step past anything the inner hubs post.

At a glance

Tier
4
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.28
Reputation gain
×0.35
Enemy threat
hull ×1.15, damage ×1.10 on top of the band
Big rocks
×0.90
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
75 → Zipacna-I
Reached
about 4 h
Control
ISHTAR CONTROL

Aliens 60 % Drones 20 % Pirates 20 %

Drifters, splitters, leeches, rift seeders, swarmlings; the Brood Mother; the Brood Colossus on Hard+ patrols. Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols. Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.35 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +22 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+2 / −1252
Hard+4 / −2131
Hard++5 / −3101
Extreme+6 / −491

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard KV-9 “Arsenal” (7,000 cr + 16 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop none new at this tier
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstISHTAR CONTROL Senna Okonkwo, Ishtar control. Your telemetry matches ours: something out there is probing us. Every pilot gets a threat brief here. Read it.
  • againISHTAR CONTROL Ishtar control. Channels monitored, manifests verified. Welcome back.
  • againISHTAR CONTROL Senna here. The anomaly is quiet. That's what worries me.
  • againISHTAR CONTROL Back on the platform. Domes are sealed, the board is not.

S5 First Contact

Story mission · Ishtar-III Research Platform

Hard

The brood has started probing the platform's perimeter. Senna needs a full threat profile before she asks the inner hubs for a fleet: fly the anomaly zone and record everything for as long as you can stay alive in it.

Band
Hard
Enemies
Aliens
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
325 cr · 110 XP
Loss pay
81 cr · 27 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+22 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
—
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Survival Stay alive for 150 s. The clock runs out with you alive.
  • Clock The timer is the win. A halfway call at 75 s and a 30 SECONDS banner at the end.
  • Rocks Debris thickens every 40 s: from a rock every 1.7 s (max 10 on the field) to one every 0.65 s (max 18).
  • Squads Every 9-13 s, tightening to about half that by the end. Harder bands start with tougher squads.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.
Radio log
  • startISHTAR CONTROL Anomaly zone. Unknown contacts. Record everything.
  • startISHTAR CONTROL And survive. The data's no good without you.
  • startTHE BROOD WE HAVE WAITED FOR YOUR ARRIVAL.
  • 20 %ISHTAR CONTROL Scanning... reading signatures. Those aren't asteroids.
  • 50 %ISHTAR CONTROL They know we're here. All contacts hostile.
  • 80 %ISHTAR CONTROL This is a coordinated response. Hold on, we need this.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN You held the zone and brought back clean telemetry: a brood with a single will behind it. Senna calls it the Matriarch.

FAIL Signal lost in the anomaly zone. Ishtar still has no picture of what is out there.

R5 Priority: Anomaly Handoff → Zipacna-I

Route mission · Ishtar-III Research Platform

Hard+

Senna's threat profile has to reach Zipacna-I's long-range relay before the brood learns to jam it. The handoff lane runs through the same probe screens that met you at Ishtar.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Aliens
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
475 cr · 130 XP
Loss pay
118 cr · 32 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while Zipacna-I Refuel Node is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens Zipacna-I Refuel Node
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Brood Colossus COLOSSUS

Alien boss · hull 150–300 (HUD 1500–3000), +35 % per hub tier above 1 · loadout rolled per run

bs_alien_dreadnought
bs_alien_colossus
bs_alien_colossus_b
Primary gun all fight

One of these, rolled per run:

5-shot arc Five slower shots (×0.82) across ±36°. Pick a gap early and hold it rather than crossing the arc.

3-shot fan Three shots, ±11°. Close in, the fan is tight; further back the gaps open up.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

One of these, rolled per run:

Shockwave An expanding ring every 5 s for 25 damage, growing over 1.5 s. Watch its edge; a Shockwave Dash's invulnerability carries you through it.

Beam A warning line tracks you for 2 s, then locks for the last 0.55 s and fires a 32 px column for 27 damage. Move the moment it stops following you.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

One of these, rolled per run:

Shield Invulnerable for 3 s every 11 s. Save the Railgun, Orbital Strike or Overdrive for the moment it drops.

Brood Births a swarmling every 3 s, at most 4. They orbit and lunge; kill them as they come or they stack.

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

One of these, rolled per run:

Sweep Tracks your lane with a slow sway near the top.

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startISHTAR CONTROL Threat profile aboard. Zipacna's relay is the only one that reaches the inner hubs.
  • startISHTAR CONTROL Probes on the handoff lane. Same burns as the breach.
  • startTHE BROOD YOUR TELEMETRY IS OURS.
  • 30 %ISHTAR CONTROL Hold course. Keep the profile shielded.
  • 60 %ZIPACNA DOCKS Dex Holloway. Fuel's warm, berth's open. Get here.
  • 85 %ISHTAR CONTROL Brood carrier locked on your vector.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Profile delivered and relayed inward. Zipacna-I has opened docking: the comet is on your map.

FAIL Profile lost on the handoff lane.

Hub 6

Zipacna-I Refuel Node

Coordinator Dex Holloway · tier 4 · Pirates, Aliens, Drones

Dex Holloway
Zipacna-I Refuel Node

The station

Zipacna-I is a relay-and-refuel node carved into a captured cometary nucleus: ice mined for reaction mass, rock mined for patience. Its docks creak under heavy traffic from the deep transit lanes; every hull that passes through leaves a story and a debt.

Dex Holloway coordinates from a pressurized spine that still smells faintly of ammonia. Contracts here mix relay maintenance with high-value convoy work, and the Arsenal berths beside difficulty bands that assume you have already paid for tier-four kit.

The station's lore among pilots is simple: Zipacna does not care about your résumé, only your fuel state and your shield margins. Dock if you must; launch when you are ready to be tested.

At a glance

Tier
4
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.28
Reputation gain
×0.25
Enemy threat
hull ×1.15, damage ×1.10 on top of the band
Big rocks
×1.30
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
75 → FTL-Barge
Reached
about 5 h
Control
ZIPACNA DOCKS

Pirates 50 % Aliens 25 % Drones 25 %

Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up. Drifters, splitters, leeches, rift seeders, swarmlings; the Brood Mother; the Brood Colossus on Hard+ patrols. Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.25 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +22 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+2 / −1252
Hard+3 / −2171
Hard++3 / −2171
Extreme+4 / −3131

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard KV-9 “Arsenal” (7,000 cr + 16 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop none new at this tier
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstZIPACNA DOCKS Dex Holloway, Zipacna docks. Fuel state? Shields? Good. That's all we care about here. Mordo's toll cutters work our lanes, so expect company.
  • againZIPACNA DOCKS Zipacna docks. Ice is cold, fuel is hot, pay is fair.
  • againZIPACNA DOCKS Dex here. Docks are creaking. Means business is good.
  • againZIPACNA DOCKS Back at the comet. Mind the ice on approach.

S6 Shepherd Protocol

Story mission · Zipacna-I Refuel Node

Hard+

Zipacna's refuel queue lives on reaction-mass tenders threading the comet's hazard lane, and Mordo Rift has moved his toll here. Dex won't berth tenders that arrive venting mass. If you fly without a wingman, one of the crew on the pool flies with you, on Dex's account.

Type
Escort
Band
Hard+
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
455 cr · 130 XP
Loss pay
113 cr · 32 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+22 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
—
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Escort Get the convoy to the top of the field. Every freighter has arrived or been lost, with at least one arrived.
  • Convoy 2 freighters on Easy and Medium, 3 from Hard. Hull 100 each (HUD 1000). They creep from the bottom to the top in about 135 s.
  • They fight Freighters dodge shots and rocks (up to 45 px out of lane) and fire 3-bolt bursts every 2.2 s.
  • Ambushes AMBUSH INCOMING, then 4 s later a squad lands on the convoy: one at 36-46 s, a second at 88-100 s from Hard, a third at 118-126 s on Extreme.
  • Hunters Each squad has a 40 % chance to go for the freighters; the miniboss (85 s) always does.
  • Guest pilot Fly without a wingman and a tier-2 level-4 crew pilot joins you for free: no salary, no share.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). From then on losing the convoy or ship no longer matters.

Boss: Mordo Rift MORDO

Pirate boss · hull 270–310 (HUD 2700–3100)

Survived the Theia breach in a rebuilt bomber and took the relay gate as his toll booth. Collects from everyone, owes no one.

bs_mordo
Primary gun all fight

3-shot fan Three shots, ±11°. Close in, the fan is tight; further back the gaps open up.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Escapes. At 15 % hull it jumps out: the mission is won, but he lives to fly again. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startZIPACNA DOCKS Shepherd convoy through the hazard lane. Keep the tenders whole.
  • startZIPACNA DOCKS Mordo's on scope. Of course he is.
  • startMORDO You opened the gate once. My toll moved. The flock pays in mass or scrap.
  • 25 %ZIPACNA DOCKS Hazard drift ahead. Hold their flank.
  • 55 %ZIPACNA DOCKS Cutters on the tenders. Break them off.
  • 85 %MORDO Lane's warm enough. Dread-hull will finish what my escorts start.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Tenders berthed and Mordo burned off again. Dex's queue is moving, and he says Mordo's next stop is the deep transit lane.

FAIL The convoy went dark in the hazard lane. Dex's queue stays empty.

R6 Priority: Deep Transit Clearance → FTL-Barge

Route mission · Zipacna-I Refuel Node

Hard+

Pax Orion's drydock barge needs its transit manifest, and Mordo Rift has staked everything he has left on the deep transit lane. This time there is nowhere for him to run.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Pirates
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
475 cr · 140 XP
Loss pay
118 cr · 35 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while FTL-Barge Drydock is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens FTL-Barge Drydock
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: Mordo Rift MORDO

Pirate boss · hull 270–310 (HUD 2700–3100)

Survived the Theia breach in a rebuilt bomber and took the relay gate as his toll booth. Collects from everyone, owes no one.

bs_mordo
Primary gun all fight

3-shot fan Three shots, ±11°. Close in, the fan is tight; further back the gaps open up.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Homing mines A mine every 3 s (faster in phase 3), 15 damage in 80 px. Shoot them on the way in: a mine you set off is your blast, not his.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Reinforcements Calls a squad every 9 s, at most 4 alive. Area weapons (Flak, EMP, Arc Lightning, Missile Pod) keep the adds from swamping you.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Fight to the death. The mission is won when it dies. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startZIPACNA DOCKS Manifest for Pax Orion. The barge moves in six hours; be there.
  • startZIPACNA DOCKS Mordo's whole fleet on the lane. Last stand, by the look of it.
  • startMORDO You opened every gate. My toll moved. The manifest pays or your hull does.
  • 25 %ZIPACNA DOCKS Deep transit lane ahead. Hold the manifest together.
  • 55 %ZIPACNA DOCKS Continuous ambushes. He's throwing everything.
  • 85 %BARGE OPS Pax Orion. We see the dread-hull. Finish it.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Mordo Rift is scrap at last, and the manifest is aboard. FTL-Barge has opened docking: the drydock is on your map.

FAIL Manifest lost. Mordo still owns the deep lane.

Hub 7

FTL-Barge Drydock

Coordinator Pax Orion · tier 5 · Aliens, Drones, Pirates

Pax Orion
FTL-Barge Drydock

The station

FTL-Barge is a mobile drydock: a sub-light barge rigged with fabrication bays and a mission spine that never stops moving. It trades position for security; by the time hostiles vector in, the barge has already rotated its approach corridor.

Pax Orion runs ops from a command blister that tracks transit windows across three sectors. Solvault Dossier and Syndicate hulls come off the line here first, and the berths are never empty for long.

Unlocking FTL-Barge is a statement. The contracts pay accordingly, and the threat assumes you wanted the hardest board in civilized space, not a sightseeing stop on the way to somewhere calmer.

At a glance

Tier
5
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.35
Reputation gain
×0.30
Enemy threat
hull ×1.30, damage ×1.20 on top of the band
Big rocks
×1.00
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
75 → Gaia-VII
Reached
about 6¼ h
Control
BARGE OPS

Aliens 50 % Drones 30 % Pirates 20 %

Drifters, splitters, leeches, rift seeders, swarmlings; the Brood Mother; the Brood Colossus on Hard+ patrols. Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols. Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.30 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50; the route mission at 75. The story win's own +22 counts toward the route.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+2 / −1252
Hard+3 / −2171
Hard++4 / −2131
Extreme+5 / −3101

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard SV-X2 “Dossier” (4,900 cr + 14 frag), SV-X3 “Syndicate” (7,400 cr + 20 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop none new at this tier
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstBARGE OPS Pax Orion, barge ops. We never stop moving, so neither do you. The brood's probes are mapping our corridors; we want them gone.
  • againBARGE OPS Barge ops. Approach corridor rotated. You found us anyway.
  • againBARGE OPS Pax here. Fabrication bays are hot. So is the board.
  • againBARGE OPS Back aboard. Transit windows are short; pick your contract.

S7 Syndicate Purge

Story mission · FTL-Barge Drydock

Hard+

The brood's probe network is mapping the barge's transit windows; Pax calls them the syndicate. Purge the probes, and when their flagship comes to see who is killing her children, make her pay for it.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Aliens
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
435 cr · 150 XP
Loss pay
108 cr · 37 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+22 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
—
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Elimination Make the kill quota, then kill the captain. The captain dies.
  • Quota Credited kills by band: Easy 30, Medium 34, Hard 40, Hard+ 46, Extreme 52. Rams and retreating ships don't count.
  • Pressure A dense feeder: 4-10 ships alive, a squad every 5-8 s.
  • Captain When the quota is met the feeder stops and the faction heavy arrives. It never retreats.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: The Hollow Matriarch MATRIARCH

Alien boss · hull 380–420 (HUD 3800–4200)

The brood's mind, a hollow ring of shell round a core that has outlived a hundred bodies. She sends probes ahead of the swarm and comes herself only for gardens.

bs_matriarch
bs_matriarch_core
Primary gun all fight

5-shot arc Five slower shots (×0.82) across ±36°. Pick a gap early and hold it rather than crossing the arc.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Shockwave An expanding ring every 5 s for 25 damage, growing over 1.5 s. Watch its edge; a Shockwave Dash's invulnerability carries you through it.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Brood Births a swarmling every 3 s, at most 4. They orbit and lunge; kill them as they come or they stack.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Withdraws. At 33 % hull she pulls back: the mission is won, she waits at the garden. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startBARGE OPS Barge purge. Probe signatures everywhere.
  • startBARGE OPS Clear the lane before they learn our next window.
  • startTHE BROOD YOU COUNTED US AT ISHTAR. WE COUNTED YOU.
  • 30 %BARGE OPS Assault wave committing. This is coordinated.
  • 60 %THE BROOD THE BROOD MEASURES YOUR REACTOR HEAT.
  • 90 %BARGE OPS Flagship on deep scope. The Matriarch is coming in.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Probes purged and the Matriarch driven off. She left toward the garden at the edge of the map. Gaia-VII.

FAIL The purge failed. The brood still reads our transit windows.

R7 Priority: Garden Corridor Clearance → Gaia-VII

Route mission · FTL-Barge Drydock

Hard+

Gaia-VII, the garden at the edge of the map, has gone silent behind a wall of brood. Carry Pax's drydock clearance token through the corridor so Uma Priya can open her doors to the fleet.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Aliens
Mutators
No shieldGravity pull
Win pay
500 cr · 160 XP
Loss pay
125 cr · 40 XP (25 %)
Reputation
none (route missions don't move reputation)
Offered
Pinned at 75 reputation here while Gaia-VII Garden Habitat is closed; gone once it opens.
Unlocks
Opens Gaia-VII Garden Habitat
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Delivery Fly through every beacon gate with cargo left. The last gate judged with cargo above 0.
  • Gates By band: Easy 5, Medium 6, Hard 7, Hard+ 7, Extreme 8. One about every 24 s, 48 px wide each side, at least 90 px sideways from the last.
  • Judging A gate counts the moment it crosses your height: pass if you're within 48 px of its centre, else CARGO LOST −25 %.
  • Chasers Only rushers and flankers (faction-mapped), 1-5 alive. No miniboss.
  • No shield No shield for the whole mission: every hit lands on the hull. Repairs drop ×1.5 as often; fit Nano Repair or Guardian Drone.
  • Gravity pull A gravity well near the upper middle pulls you at 22 px/s and handling drops a little: lean against it.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: The Hollow Matriarch MATRIARCH

Alien boss · hull 380–420 (HUD 3800–4200)

The brood's mind, a hollow ring of shell round a core that has outlived a hundred bodies. She sends probes ahead of the swarm and comes herself only for gardens.

bs_matriarch
bs_matriarch_core
Primary gun all fight

5-shot arc Five slower shots (×0.82) across ±36°. Pick a gap early and hold it rather than crossing the arc.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Shockwave An expanding ring every 5 s for 25 damage, growing over 1.5 s. Watch its edge; a Shockwave Dash's invulnerability carries you through it.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Brood Births a swarmling every 3 s, at most 4. They orbit and lunge; kill them as they come or they stack.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Withdraws. At 33 % hull she pulls back: the mission is won, she waits at the garden. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startBARGE OPS Clearance token aboard. Gaia's last message was forty hours ago.
  • startBARGE OPS The corridor is full of them.
  • startTHE BROOD YOUR TOKEN IS OURS. THE GARDEN IS OURS.
  • 25 %BARGE OPS Garden approach ahead. Keep the token intact.
  • 55 %GAIA CONTROL Uma Priya. We're still here. Please hurry.
  • 85 %BARGE OPS Matriarch committing at the breach.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN Token delivered and the Matriarch pushed back again. Gaia-VII has opened docking. She'll be waiting at the garden.

FAIL Token lost in the corridor. Gaia stays cut off.

Hub 8

Gaia-VII Garden Habitat

Coordinator Uma Priya · tier 5 · Aliens, Drones, Pirates

Uma Priya
Gaia-VII Garden Habitat

The station

Gaia-VII marks the outer edge of the charted network: a garden habitat cylinder grafted onto a deep-space anchor, built by optimists who believed the frontier needed something green before it needed another gun deck.

Uma Priya's mission control overlooks hydroponic terraces that double as morale infrastructure. The board posts tier-five extremes and the full corporate hull line, but the station's reputation is quieter: a place commanders go when they have run out of hubs to unlock and still want a reason to fly.

Legends attach to Gaia like moss: salvage claims that never paid out, convoys that arrived empty, pilots who docked for one contract and stayed a season. The lore is half warning, half invitation: the map ends here, but the work does not.

At a glance

Tier
5
Bands
Medium – Extreme
Pay
×1.35
Reputation gain
×0.30
Enemy threat
hull ×1.30, damage ×1.20 on top of the band
Big rocks
×0.80
Story mark
50 reputation
Route mark
none: the edge of the map
Reached
about 7½ h
Control
GAIA CONTROL

Aliens 60 % Drones 20 % Pirates 20 %

Drifters, splitters, leeches, rift seeders, swarmlings; the Brood Mother; the Brood Colossus on Hard+ patrols. Interceptor, sentinel, sniper, shield-emitter and coordinator squads; the Drone Warden; the Drone Overseer on Hard+ patrols. Raiders, rushers, flankers, snipers, suppressors; the Pirate Captain; named minibosses on Hard and up.

The reputation road

Every contract won here moves reputation by the band's value × 0.30 (at least 1). The story mission appears at 50.

BandWin / lossTo storyThen to route
Medium+2 / −1250
Hard+3 / −2170
Hard++4 / −2130
Extreme+5 / −3100

What opens here

  • New hulls in the shipyard SV-X2 “Dossier” (4,900 cr + 14 frag), SV-X3 “Syndicate” (7,400 cr + 20 frag)
  • New gun marks in the Workshop none new at this tier
  • Everywhere Side weapons, upgrades, repairs and crew are sold at every hub.

On docking

  • firstGAIA CONTROL Uma Priya, Gaia control. You're at the edge of the map. Behind us is nothing but the brood. Welcome to the garden.
  • againGAIA CONTROL Gaia control. Terraces are green, the board is red.
  • againGAIA CONTROL Uma here. The garden holds. Let's keep it that way.
  • againGAIA CONTROL Back at the edge. The map ends here; the work doesn't.

S8 Garden Siege

Story mission · Gaia-VII Garden Habitat

Hard+

The brood has come for the garden itself. Hold the terrace ring through every wave the Matriarch sends, and when she comes in person, break her shell and finish what is inside it. There is no next hub. This is the edge of the map.

Band
Hard+
Enemies
Aliens
Mutators
no mutators
Win pay
500 cr · 200 XP
Loss pay
125 cr · 50 XP (25 %)
Reputation
+25 on a win, +10 even on a loss
Offered
Pinned to the board at 50 reputation here; stays until won.
Unlocks
The ending
Seed
fixed: every retry plays the same

Walkthrough

  • Objective: Survival Stay alive for 150 s. The clock runs out with you alive.
  • Clock The timer is the win. A halfway call at 75 s and a 30 SECONDS banner at the end.
  • Rocks Debris thickens every 40 s: from a rock every 1.7 s (max 10 on the field) to one every 0.65 s (max 18).
  • Squads Every 9-13 s, tightening to about half that by the end. Harder bands start with tougher squads.
  • Then the boss Once the objective is done the boss arrives (no warning lead-in, its own music). No miniboss in story missions.

Boss: The Hollow Matriarch MATRIARCH

Alien boss · hull 380–420 (HUD 3800–4200)

The brood's mind, a hollow ring of shell round a core that has outlived a hundred bodies. She sends probes ahead of the swarm and comes herself only for gardens.

bs_matriarch
bs_matriarch_core
Primary gun all fight

5-shot arc Five slower shots (×0.82) across ±36°. Pick a gap early and hold it rather than crossing the arc.

Side weapon phase 2, below 66 %

Shockwave An expanding ring every 5 s for 25 damage, growing over 1.5 s. Watch its edge; a Shockwave Dash's invulnerability carries you through it.

Add-on phase 3, below 33 %

Brood Births a swarmling every 3 s, at most 4. They orbit and lunge; kill them as they come or they stack.

Movement

Dive Every 6 s it drops 150 px towards you, holds 0.6 s and climbs back. Don't sit under it: touching a boss costs 40.

Finale. At 15 % her shell breaks and the Hollow Core fights on: a fresh bar of 30 % of her hull, firing 40 % faster, moving ×1.6, sowing two corruption nodes every 4 s and calling a last swarm of 4. Each phase change gives it a 2.5 s shield; phase 3 fires 28 % faster.

Radio log
  • startGAIA CONTROL Garden siege. Every gun on the terrace ring is yours.
  • startGAIA CONTROL Uma Priya. Hold them off the habitat. Please.
  • startTHE BROOD YOU CULLED MY BROOD TWICE. THE GARDEN IS THE LAST BERTH ON YOUR CHART.
  • 25 %GAIA CONTROL Probe screen on the terrace ring. Here they come.
  • 55 %GAIA CONTROL Assault across the hydroponic band. Coordinated burns.
  • 85 %GAIA CONTROL Matriarch carrier on deep scope. This is it.

Lines past the start fire as the objective's progress passes the mark; they type out at 45 characters a second.

WIN The Hollow Matriarch is dead and the garden holds. The brood has lost its will.

FAIL Signal lost at the garden. The Matriarch still owns the terrace ring.

Daily contract and scoring

A fresh high-paying contract at every hub, every day.

The daily contract

  • One a day at every hub Each hub posts its own daily per UTC day, the same for every pilot, from level 4. You can fly one at each hub every day.
  • What it is Hunt 55 / Extraction 25 / Rescue 20 (of the types you've opened), at Hard 40 / Hard+ 60; from level 6 Hard+ / Extreme 50-50, within the hub's range.
  • Boss Always a boss after the objective, no miniboss. Drone and alien dailies bring that faction's boss; pirate dailies bring Kara, Ironhook or Vex, who escape at 15 % (still a win).
  • Pay ×1.8 credits, and a win streak adds ×1.4 from 3 wins and ×1.8 from 5. A loss or abandon resets the streak, and the daily can be flown again.
  • Unlike story missions Hub pay and the backtrack cut apply, so fly dailies at your newest hub.

Run score and stars

  • Stars From the core score: 10 for the win, up to 35 for hull left, up to 30 for your share of the kills, 10 if no wingman went down, up to 10 for speed. 3 stars at 65, 2 at 38.
  • Caps At most 2 stars if your wingman went down or you end under 20 % hull; 1 star under 10 %.
  • Flourish Up to 20 more score (never stars) for graze XP, peak combo and overkills.
  • What it's for Best score and stars per hub are shown on the board. No other reward.

The ending

After Garden Siege, every coordinator you've met checks in.

The chorus

  • GAIA CONTROL Uma Priya. The terraces are quiet. The garden is still green. Thank you.
  • BARGE OPS Pax Orion. Every transit window in three sectors just opened. Drinks are on the barge.
  • ZIPACNA DOCKS Dex Holloway. Fuel's on the house, commander. Don't tell anyone.
  • ISHTAR CONTROL Senna Okonkwo. The anomaly has gone still. For the first time, I don't know what it's thinking.
  • THEIA RELAY Greta Lind. The relay's carrying your name to every hub on the map.
  • CLV SAIL CONTROL Torin Pike. Belt's back to moving rock. Boring. Good.
  • DUSTHAVEN OPS Holt Vega. Information is currency, and today you're the richest pilot alive.
  • FRONTIER CONTROL Alma Sterling. Welcome home whenever you're ready, commander.

One line every 3.4 s (skippable), over Gaia-VII's sky.

Epilogue

The Hollow Matriarch's flagship broke apart over the garden, and with her the brood lost the single will that drove it. The probes stopped measuring our transit windows. The swarms went quiet in the sink at Ishtar. From Frontier Station to Gaia-VII the lanes are open again: the relay at Theia is carrying traffic, Zipacna's tenders are fuelling the deep lanes, and the barge has turned for home. Nobody thinks the void is empty now. But for the first time since the drones went rogue on the belt, the frontier holds.

Then the credits card, and Return to the hub: the game goes on, every hub and contract still open.