The Gauntlet Walkthrough

On Medium you start with a Commander on an island at the south end of a long sea, and a Searcher and a Snake off its western shore. You win when an Envoy, Core's unarmed transport ship, sails north past a line beyond the Gauntlet, a gap between two cliffs near the top of the map. Arm holds the sea with 55 units, among them 3 Guardians, 4 Sentinels, 9 Torpedo Launchers, a Millenium, a Conqueror and 7 Crusaders.

Arm has no factories and no builders on this map, so its army never grows. Everything that can hurt you is already placed: a few patrols, air raids from 21:40, and Crusaders that wake when two of the gap's Torpedo Launchers are hit. Build an economy and a fleet of Executioners, clear the sea from south to north at ranges Arm cannot answer, and build the Envoy last. Every raid from 21:40 onwards has Envoys on its list of targets.

The Battlefield

Your island fills the bottom of the map. North of it is open sea with five small islands, each holding a Sentinel, a Guardian or a Defender. Near the top, two long cliffs run in from the west and east edges and leave one gap of water between them. Guardians and Sentinels stand on the cliffs on both sides of the gap, and Torpedo Launchers float in front of it and in its mouth. The finish line lies in the water north of the cliffs, where a Millenium patrols.

The numbers on the map are the plan; the letters are Arm's positions. The units shown are those of Medium, and hovering over a dot shows its orders.

Map of The Gauntlet 123456ABCDEFGHI
The planEnemy positionsYour unitsEnemy unitsObjectiveHover a dot to see the unit and its orders. · Map 3,072 × 5,120 pixels · Scroll or pinch on the map to zoom; drag to move. Hover over a feature or a resource for its details.
  • 1Your Commander. Four deposits worth 223 and a geothermal vent lie within about 650 pixels of it.
  • 2Gaat Guns beside your Metal Extractors on the north-west shore, ready for the Tritons at 20:00.
  • 3Your Shipyard, in the water off the north shore.
  • 4Gather the fleet here. An Arm Torpedo Launcher floats at (1336, 2760), between here and the islands.
  • 5The firing line. From here Executioners reach all three Torpedo Launchers in the gap, and both cliff Guardians are out of range.
  • 6The finish. Once the Envoy is this far north, the mission is won.
  • AA Torpedo Launcher in the middle of the gap. Attacking it wakes the four Crusaders at D.
  • BA Guardian on the western cliff, with a Sentinel and a Defender beside it.
  • CA Guardian on the eastern cliff. A Sentinel stands at the cliff's western tip, at (1944, 920).
  • DFour Crusaders. Two attack when A is attacked, one more 2:00 later and the last 5:00 later.
  • EA Torpedo Launcher at the south-east corner of the gap. Attacking it wakes the two Crusaders at F.
  • FTwo Crusaders that wake when E is attacked. They hunt Missile Frigates, Enforcers and Envoys.
  • GThree Tritons. At 20:00 they cross the sea to attack your island.
  • HA Guardian on a small island. Its range of 1250 covers the eastern approach to the gap.
  • IThe Millenium. It patrols north of the cliffs, east to (2178, 509) and back.

Arm's Timetable

These are the moves that matter on Medium, counted from the start of the mission.

Time What happens
From the start The Millenium patrols between I and (2178, 509). A Piranha patrols through the gap, between (1240, 488) and (1272, 1499). A Lurker patrols across the middle of the sea, between (184, 1768) and (2615, 2802).
1:00 A Crusader starts a patrol from (2840, 1576) west to (345, 1679).
2:00 A Conqueror starts a patrol from (216, 1224) east to (2863, 1262), just south of the cliffs.
16:00 Five Skeeters and a Ranger in the north-east corner get attack orders. The orders name Arm ship types, so they have no target of yours.
20:00 The three Tritons at G attack your Punishers, then your Solar Collectors, then your Metal Extractors.
21:40 A Freedom Fighter attacks your Construction Ships, then Envoys, Enforcers and your Commander.
24:00 A Piranha from (1320, 648) attacks your Snakes, Enforcers and Envoys.
26:40 A second Freedom Fighter leaves, with the same targets.
28:20 A third Freedom Fighter leaves, with the same targets.
31:40 Three Thunder bombers attack your Shipyards, Envoys, Enforcers and Commander. Two Lurkers, from (616, 1368) and (1912, 1256), attack your Missile Frigates, Enforcers and Envoys.
When A is attacked Two Crusaders at D attack your Enforcers, Snakes, Searchers and Envoys. A third follows 2:00 later and a fourth 5:00 later.
When E is attacked The two Crusaders at F attack your Missile Frigates, Enforcers and Envoys.

The Plan on Medium

Build on the Island (0:00 to 16:00)

  1. Put Metal Extractors on the four deposits around the Commander at 1. All four are worth 223, and the rest of the ground holds almost nothing.
  2. Reclaim the rocks on the island with the Commander. Together they hold about 1575 metal, more than your starting 1000.
  3. Build a Kbot Lab and a Construction Kbot for the Geothermal Powerplant on the vent at (1368, 4568). The Commander cannot build it. Add Wind Generators and Tidal Generators.
  4. Build the Shipyard at 3. Keep the Searcher and the Snake close to it. Both are targets for the Crusaders at D, and the Snake is a target for the Piranha that leaves at 24:00.
  5. Before 20:00, put two or three Gaat Guns at 2. A Triton's cannon reaches 320 and a Gaat Gun's 400. The Tritons go for Punishers and Solar Collectors first, so if you build neither on the island, they come straight for the extractors and the guns beside them.

Build the Fleet (16:00 to 32:00)

  1. Build a Construction Ship and an Adv. Shipyard. The Executioner is the ship for this mission. Its cannon reaches 1300: further than the Guardians and the Millenium (1250) or the Crusaders (660), and as far as the Conqueror. Aim for six.
  2. Ring the Shipyard and the Construction Ship's work area with Pulverizers by 21:40. A Pulverizer missile does 95 damage to a Freedom Fighter (196 hit points) or a Thunder (320). The Freedom Fighters go for Construction Ships first, and the Thunders for Shipyards.
  3. Add two or three Snakes for the Lurkers: two torpedoes sink one. Leave the Piranhas to the Executioners' depth charges, since a Snake's torpedo does only 130 damage to a Piranha.
  4. Do not build the Envoy yet.

Clear the Sea (from about 25:00)

  1. Sail from 4 and sink the Torpedo Launcher at (1336, 2760) from beyond its range of 400. Then hunt the Lurker, Crusader and Conqueror patrols. The lone Conqueror matches the Executioner's range, but it has fewer hit points and a weaker shell.
  2. Destroy the towers on the islands from 1300: the Sentinels at (1704, 2296) and (1016, 1768), and the Guardian at H. Sink the Torpedo Launchers at (1656, 1640), (2440, 2232) and (376, 1672) as you pass.
  3. At 31:40 the two Lurkers and the three Thunders arrive. Meet the Lurkers with the fleet and the Thunders with the Pulverizers.

Open the Gauntlet

  1. Form up at 5. From here the Executioners reach the Torpedo Launchers at (1016, 1112), E and A, and both cliff Guardians are more than 1250 away.
  2. Fire on E first. The two Crusaders from F sail down to you. Their cannons reach only 660, so the Executioners sink them on the way in. Each has 2870 hit points, or 14 shells.
  3. Then fire on A. Two Crusaders come at once, the third 2:00 later and the fourth 5:00 later. Sink each as it arrives, then finish A and the last Torpedo Launcher.
  4. Destroy the cliff Guardians at B and C, and the two cliff Sentinels. The Executioner outranges a Guardian by only 50, so move in until it can just fire, and accept a few 360-damage shells.
  5. Sail into the gap and sink the Piranha, then the Millenium as it patrols past. The Millenium has 5720 hit points, about 26 shells.

Send the Envoy

  1. Build the Envoy now. It has 2120 hit points and no weapon.
  2. Escort it along the cleared route, past 4 and 5 and through the middle of the gap. The mission is won as soon as it is north of the line, just short of 6.

What Changes on Hard

  • You start with the Commander alone. There is no Searcher and no Snake.
  • The four Crusaders at D are not placed, and attacking A wakes nothing. The two Crusaders at F still wake when E is attacked.
  • There are 11 Torpedo Launchers instead of 9. The extra two float at (1008, 1408), south-west of the gap, and at (1952, 2704) in the middle of the sea.
  • Four Tritons attack at 20:00 instead of three.
  • Six Freedom Fighters all leave at 21:40. Two of them skip Construction Ships and go straight for Envoys.
  • One of the three Thunders at 31:40 goes for Shipyards, then Punishers, Enforcers, Metal Extractors and your Commander.
  • Starting resources stay at 1000 metal and 1000 energy for each side. Arm keeps all the income its buildings make, against 70 percent on Medium, but its only power buildings here are two Tidal Generators, two Wind Generators and a Solar Collector.

Which Units Beat Theirs

Arm unit Its threat Your answer
Guardian Plasma cannon, 360 damage, range 1250. 2477 hit points Executioner (range 1300), 12 shells
Torpedo Launcher Torpedo, 400 damage, range 400. 1450 hit points Executioners from beyond 400, 7 shells
Crusader Heavy cannon, 165 damage, range 660. 2870 hit points Executioners, firing from 1300 as it comes in
Conqueror Cruiser cannon, 208 damage, range 1300 Executioners: same range, more hit points, harder shells
Millenium Two cannons, 260 damage each, range 1250. 5720 hit points Several Executioners at 1300
Lurker Torpedo, 350 damage, range 400 Snake (370 damage; two hits sink a Lurker)
Piranha Torpedo, 580 damage against a Snake Executioner or Enforcer depth charges. It has 290 hit points
Triton Plasma cannon, range 320. 1230 hit points Gaat Gun (range 400, 180 damage)
Freedom Fighter, Thunder 196 and 320 hit points Pulverizer (95 damage to either)

Metal and Energy

The four deposits on your island, each worth 223, are the only ones on the map: (968, 4648), (1112, 4760), (1544, 4552) and (1832, 4808). The surface value is 3 everywhere else, so a Metal Extractor off a deposit makes almost nothing. Later, an Adv. Construction Kbot can replace them with Moho Mines.

The rocks on your island give about 1575 metal when reclaimed: 22 of them, worth 25 to 150 each. Reclaim them early, while the Commander has nothing else to build.

For energy, the vent at (1368, 4568) gives a Geothermal Powerplant 250. Wind runs from 600 to 3500, and the tidal strength is 42, so Tidal Generators work well in the water around the island. A Fusion Power Plant makes 1050 once you have an advanced builder.

Traps

  • Two Torpedo Launchers are tripwires. A wakes four Crusaders and E wakes two. Be in position at 5 before you fire on either.
  • Every raid from 21:40 names Envoys. An Envoy built early is a target for three Freedom Fighters, a Piranha, three Thunders and two Lurkers.
  • The Piranha's torpedo does 580 damage to a Snake, which has 590 hit points.
  • The Freedom Fighters and the Thunders end their target lists with your Commander. If you have none of the earlier types, they come straight for him, and losing him loses the mission.
  • The cliff Sentinels reach 430. A ship in the middle of the gap passes more than 590 from both, but one that strays towards a cliff does not.
  • Clearing the gap does not end the mission. Only the Envoy crossing the line wins it.

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