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In-game description |
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Gauntlet is a competitive multiplayer race mode in Asphalt 8: Airborne, added in the 2020 Halloween Update. It combines elements of several older game modes, including Rivals of Asphalt Nitro, Asphalt Tracker (Ghost racing), Tag Racing, Multiplayer League and Time-Limited Events. Players compete in week-long seasons in order to win prizes.
Overview[]
Basic race mechanics[]
In a fashion similar to standard TLEs, players never actually race one another directly, but are instead ranked against one another based on single-player lap times.
Whilst challenging an opponent's lap-time, their "ghost" (from their own single-player lap) appears in the race alongside the player's vehicle. This is also similar to Asphalt Tracker, a minor game mode found in "More Racing Options" where players can race against their friends' ghosts.
Throughout each race, the player switches between five preselected vehicles, in a manner similar to Tag Racing. Switching occurs automatically every 15 seconds. Motorcycles cannot be driven in Gauntlet mode due to their radically different gameplay mechanics from cars.
Dubai, San Diego Harbor, Alps, and Tokyo are not available in Gauntlet mode.
Combined rank and leagues[]
The reward and ranking system of Gauntlet echoes that of Multiplayer League. Players are divided into different leagues based on the combined rank (T) of the five highest-ranked vehicles in their Garage.
Warning 1: The combined rank is based on the top five vehicles that the player owns, regardless of whichever vehicles they have selected for Gauntlet races. Hence, the player is forced to compete with their best vehicles and can't compete at lower leagues.
Gauntlet mode is currently very unfair to players who do not have the optimal lineup within their assigned league. Leagues in Gauntlet are based on the total ranks of the top five vehicles in the player's Garage, rather than the ranks of the five vehicles they've chosen to use in their Gauntlet home run. If they pass certain thresholds, they will automatically be placed in a higher league, even if the top end of the league is hundreds of ranks higher. Generally speaking, players with at least four cars (optimally, five) ranked at approximately S1860 can compete reliably in Gauntlet mode. Triple-boosting is also essential. On the plus side, this prevents players from getting into and over-dominating lower leagues from a lowered total rank by having Class D cars in their selection that are unused when a short home track is assigned.
Players with fewer than five vehicles cannot participate in Gauntlet mode.
There are five leagues; Amateur (≤T6000), Challenger (T6001–T7000), Pro (T7001–T8000), Champion (T8001–T9000) and Elite (≥T9001). The player's combined rank cannot be changed until the next season starts; it can only be increased (by upgrading vehicles) and can't be decreased (with the exception of when one of the player's five best cars is nerfed and its rank decreases).
Gauntlet Seasons typically last one week.
Fighting mechanics[]
At the beginning of the season, the player is given a random home track to set their "throwdown" lap-time, which their opponents will try to beat. After a throwdown lap-time has been set, the player is given two options: "Defense" and "Challenge".
In Defense, the player can try to set a better time on their home track and can change the selection of their cars. If the player sets a faster time, their ghost will be updated. In Challenge, the player has to beat an opponent's throwdown lap-time on the opponent's home track. The player cannot challenge opponents with the same home track as themself. If the player doesn't like the opponents that have been presented, they can re-roll to get a different set of opponents. The re-roll is done for free but is limited to 5 before a cooldown is imposed.
If an opponent loses to the player's throwdown, the player will gain rating points. Conversely, if the player loses to an opponent's throwdown, they will lose rating points. If the player's throwdown is beaten, they are given the opportunity to beat the opponent's throwdown on the opponent's home track, in what is known as a "revenge". The revenge can only be completed once, even if the opponent has beaten the player several times. The opponent can't take revenge against the player's revenge.
If the player leaves a race, they will neither lose nor gain rating points.
Tickets (currency)[]
Gauntlet races consume 
Gauntlet Tickets. Players are provided five free (white) Gauntlet Tickets per day (35 over the course of one week-long season); If the player leaves a race, the spent ticket will not be refunded.
After the release of the 2021 Spring Update, the free (white) daily Gauntlet Tickets were increased to ten per day.
One free attempt (referred to as "Throw down the gauntlet" or "throwdown") is given to set a time on the home track. If players leave the very first defense race before finishing, they can try again with no ticket consumed. Subsequent attempts (after finishing the first defense race) and challenging an opponent will require a ticket.
There are also bonus tickets (referred to as 
Golden Gauntlet tickets) that have exclusive or premium availability. These tickets are used in the same manner as the Gauntlet Tickets, and they may be used once these tickets are exhausted. Golden tickets may be won as part of rewards for Time-Limited Events and Daily Ads. Golden tickets are also available to purchase in the Gauntlet or Multiplayer store using the respective store currency.
Once a player has exhausted all tickets available, a refill timer to 0:00 UTC is shown.
Any unused tickets (both white and golden) cannot be carried over from season to season, and will be forfeited at the end of every season. White tickets are not carried over from day to day.
Leagues[]
| League | Combined rank of the 5 highest-ranked cars in garage |
|---|---|
 Amateur League
|
–6000 |
 Challenger League
|
6001–7000 |
 Pro League
|
7001–8000 |
 Champion League
|
8001–9000 |
 Elite League
|
9001+ |
Rewards[]
Season rewards[]
| Position | Fusion Coins | Credits | Badges |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  20,000 |
 40,000 |
 200
|
| 2 | 18,000 |
36,000 |
180
|
| 3 | 16,000 |
32,000 |
160
|
| 4-10 | 14,000 |
28,000 |
120
|
| 11-50 | 12,000 |
24,000 |
100
|
| 51-100 | 10,000 |
20,000 |
75
|
| 101-200 | 8,000 |
16,000 |
50
|
| 201-500 | 6,000 |
12,000 |
20
|
| 501-1000 | 4,000 |
8,000 |
10
|
| Position | Fusion Coins | Credits | Badges |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40,000 |
80,000 |
260
|
| 2 | 36,000 |
72,000 |
235
|
| 3 | 32,000 |
64,000 |
210
|
| 4-10 | 28,000 |
56,000 |
115
|
| 11-50 | 24,000 |
48,000 |
130
|
| 51-100 | 20,000 |
40,000 |
100
|
| 101-200 | 16,000 |
32,000 |
65
|
| 201-500 | 12,000 |
24,000 |
25
|
| 501-1000 | 8,000 |
24,000 |
15
|
| Position | Fusion Coins | Credits | Badges |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60,000 |
120,000 |
330
|
| 2 | 54,000 |
108,000 |
300
|
| 3 | 48,000 |
96,000 |
260
|
| 4-10 | 42,000 |
84,000 |
200
|
| 11-50 | 36,000 |
72,000 |
170
|
| 51-100 | 30,000 |
60,000 |
130
|
| 101-200 | 24,000 |
48,000 |
80
|
| 201-500 | 18,000 |
36,000 |
30
|
| 501-1000 | 12,000 |
24,000 |
20
|
| Position | Fusion Coins | Cards | Badges |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80,000 |
4x  |
400
|
| 2 | 72,000 |
3x |
360
|
| 3 | 64,000 |
2x |
320
|
| 4-10 | 56,000 |
1x |
240
|
| 11-50 | 48,000 |
4x  |
200
|
| 51-100 | 40,000 |
3x |
150
|
| 101-200 | 32,000 |
2x |
100
|
| 201-500 | 24,000 |
1x |
40
|
| 501-1000 | 16,000 |
1x |
20
|
| Position | Fusion Coins | Cards | Badges |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100,000 |
4x  |
480
|
| 2 | 90,000 |
3x |
430
|
| 3 | 80,000 |
2x |
380
|
| 4-10 | 70,000 |
1x |
290
|
| 11-50 | 60,000 |
4x |
240
|
| 51-100 | 50,000 |
3x |
180
|
| 101-200 | 40,000 |
2x |
120
|
| 201-500 | 30,000 |
1x |
50
|
| 501-1000 | 20,000 |
1x |
20
|
Daily challenge rewards[]
| Challenge | Fusion Coins | Boosters | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 800
|
 5-Min Nitro Starter
|
4,000
|
| 2 | 1,200
|
 5-Min Extra Tank
|
5,500
|
| 3 | 1,600
|
5-Min Nitro Starter
|
7,000
|
| 4 | 2,000
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
9,500
|
| 5 | 4,000
|
5-Min Nitro Starter
|
10,000
|
Total Rewards[]
9,600- 36,000
- 3x 5-Min Nitro Starter
- 2x 5-Min Extra Tank
| Challenge | Fusion Coins | Boosters | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,200
|
 5-Min Tuning Kit
|
6,000
|
| 2 | 1,800
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
8,250
|
| 3 | 2,400
|
5-Min Nitro Starter
|
10,500
|
| 4 | 3,000
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
14,250
|
| 5 | 5,000
|
5-Min Tuning Kit
|
15,000
|
Total Rewards[]
- 13,400
- 54,000
- 2x 5-Min Tuning Kit
- 2x 5-Min Extra Tank
- 1x 5-Min Nitro Starter
| Challenge | Fusion Coins | Boosters | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,600
|
5-Min Tuning Kit
|
9,000
|
| 2 | 2,400
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
12,375
|
| 3 | 3,200
|
5-Min Nitro Starter
|
15,750
|
| 4 | 4,000
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
21,375
|
| 5 | 6,000
|
5-Min Tuning Kit
|
22,500
|
Total Rewards[]
- 17,200
- 81,000
- 2x 5-Min Tuning Kit
- 2x 5-Min Extra Tank
- 1x 5-Min Nitro Starter
| Challenge | Fusion Coins | Boosters | Credits | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1,600
|
10-Min Tuning Kit
|
- | 1x 
|
| 2 | 2,400
|
10-Min Extra Tank
|
- | 1x 
|
| 3 | 3,200
|
5-Min Nitro Starter
|
- | 1x 
|
| 4 | 4,000
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
- | 1x 
|
| 5 | 6,500
|
5-Min Tuning Kit
|
88,000
|
- |
Total Rewards[]
- 17,700
- 88,000
- 1x 10-Min Tuning Kit
- 1x 10-Min Extra Tank
- 1x 5-Min Nitro Starter
- 1x 5-Min Extra Tank
- 1x 5-Min Tuning Kit
- 1x
- 1x
- 1x
- 1x
| Challenge | Fusion Coins | Boosters | Credits | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2,000
|
10-Min Tuning Kit
|
- | 1x 
|
| 2 | 3,000
|
10-Min Extra Tank
|
- | 1x 
|
| 3 | 4,000
|
5-Min Nitro Starter
|
- | 1x 
|
| 4 | 5,000
|
5-Min Extra Tank
|
- | 1x 
|
| 5 | 8,000
|
5-Min Tuning Kit
|
88,000
|
- |
Total Rewards[]
- 22,000
- 88,000
- 1x 10-Min Tuning Kit
- 1x 10-Min Extra Tank
- 1x 5-Min Nitro Starter
- 1x 5-Min Extra Tank
- 1x 5-Min Tuning Kit
- 1x
- 1x
- 1x
- 1x
Bugs & Glitches[]
Gauntlet has been plagued with several major bugs and glitches since its launch:
- Mismatched tracks:
- Often, the track that the player races on when competing against the opponent is different from the track that they actually used to achieve their home lap time. In situations where the home lap track is shorter than the track that the player is racing on, this results in a lap time that is impossible for them to beat. At the high ranks in Elite League, this sort of mismatching of tracks occurs more than 50% of the time. It may be caused by the "Defend" option, where the player can rerun their home lap. It seems that the Defend track usually changes, even though it probably isn't supposed to. Competitors may end up racing against the player on a track that they previously competed on, whereas the player's recorded time is drawn from their most recent track.
- If the player cannot see their opponent's ghost in the race, this indicates that the opponent is driving on a different track.
- These issues were fixed on November 9, 2020 (the third season of Gauntlet).
- These issues have resurfaced as of December 28, 2020 (the eleventh season of Gauntlet).
- These issues were fixed on November 9, 2020 (the third season of Gauntlet).
- If the player cannot see their opponent's ghost in the race, this indicates that the opponent is driving on a different track.
- Often, the track that the player races on when competing against the opponent is different from the track that they actually used to achieve their home lap time. In situations where the home lap track is shorter than the track that the player is racing on, this results in a lap time that is impossible for them to beat. At the high ranks in Elite League, this sort of mismatching of tracks occurs more than 50% of the time. It may be caused by the "Defend" option, where the player can rerun their home lap. It seems that the Defend track usually changes, even though it probably isn't supposed to. Competitors may end up racing against the player on a track that they previously competed on, whereas the player's recorded time is drawn from their most recent track.
- Random crashes:
- Like with other multiplayer game modes, such as Multiplayer League and Time-Limited Events, the Gauntlet mode is highly prone to crashes at the start of races on Windows PC.
- Random crashes on Windows PC most often occur with the tracks Terra 9, Munich Subway and Patagonia. This most likely has something to do with storage or RAM issues.
- If the player finishes the race with a small margin ahead/behind of the ghost, the game may give the incorrect race result overlay but will add/deduct the correct amount of points.
- It is possible for the game to give the points for winning the race but will not synchronize the result. Attempting to synchronize the race will result in the game giving the points each time (i.e. attempting to synchronize a race worth 30 points 5 times will give an additional 150 points in addition to the original 30). The points will count towards the player's ranking but the daily race reward will not be given.
See also[]
- Rivals, a similar race mode in Asphalt Nitro