Magikrab's Gauntlet

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Magikrab's Gauntlet is a series of randomised combat encounters aboard one of the Mer-Line's interdimensional trains. It was added to the game on 20 November 2024 as part of Version 1.7.

The Gauntlet is unlocked after the player has defeated Aleph Null and completed Part 4 of Take Me On. To enter the Gauntlet, speak to Magikrab in Platform B of Night's Bridge Station. The side quest The Midnight Train starts after Magikrab introduces the Gauntlet to the player.

Overview

Magikrab's Gauntlet is an infinite battle mode where the aim is to go through as many carriages, or rooms, as possible, facing a series of battles that get progressively harder. Throughout the gauntlet, items are limited in use, though the player can encounter Cafe rest carriages where they can heal, switch tapes, or restock items. These rest carriages serve as checkpoints so that the player can resume from there in the future if they choose to leave the gauntlet to claim any unclaimed rewards or if they lose in battle, but the deeper the run, the more expensive the items get from Cafes.

In the gauntlet, battles will feature modifiers in the form of infinite-duration status effects that are present throughout a given battle. The upcoming enemy's level, type (regular encounter, miniboss, or boss), and modifiers are shown to the player.

Taking part in the gauntlet rewards a substantial amount of Fused Material which the player can claim at a Cafe, but quitting the game or losing in battle removes all earned Fused Material. The amount obtained depends on both the current run's streak, the carriage number, and the gauntlet's difficulty.

Streaks

Streaks keep track of the number of battles the player has won so far, and excludes Cafe carriages or carriages containing only ranger caches. Streaks end from losing or from exiting a run. This means that getting a high streak requires going through the game in one sitting, as leaving the gauntlet by any means will reset the streak back to zero. The game keeps track of the longest streak for a given difficulty.

It is unrelated to the farthest carriage reached by the player, and it is not necessary to begin at at the first carriage to start a streak.

Difficulties

The Gauntlet offers seven difficulty levels, which affect the starting difficulty of the run:

  • Normal
  • Hard
  • Harder
  • Even Harder
  • BRUTAL
  • Hardest
  • Impossible

This difficulty affects the number of status effect modifiers, tape count, overspill, and rest carriage frequency.

As the player progresses through the gauntlet, the difficulty increases. This affects overspill being disabled, the number of tapes the enemies use, the enemy's ability to fuse, and the status effects present in battle. Higher difficulties also reward more Fused Material.

The difficulty does not affect the enemy levels or their AI smartness.

This section is incomplete. Feel free to add the missing information by editing it.

Status Effect Modifiers

Battles can have status effects be inflicted at the start of battle, and have an infinite duration. These status effects are displayed just before entering the next carriage. Any displayed debuff is applied to the player team, while any displayed buff is applied to the enemy team.

Applying an opposing buff gets rid of the infinite debuff counterpart, and applying an opposing debuff gets rid of the infinite buff. For instance, acquiring Multitarget via Echolocation can get rid of the user's infinite Unitarget and replaces it with a finite amount of Multitarget. These infinite statuses can also be removed by using New Leaf or using a Cure-All.

The following lists all possible infinite status effects that can occur in a carriage. The number of statuses applied scales with the difficulty of the run.

Player Debuffs Enemy Buffs
Status Accuracy Down.png Accuracy Down Status Accuracy Up.png Accuracy Up
Status AP Drain.png AP Drain Status AP Boost.png AP Boost
Status Burned.png Burned Status Contact Dmg Beast.png Contact Dmg Beast
Status Conductive.png Conductive Status Contact Dmg Glitter.png Contact Dmg Glitter
Status Confused.png Confused Status Deflated.png Deflated
Status Evasion Down.png Evasion Down Status Double Speed.png Double Speed
Status Evasion Nullified.png Evasion Nullified Status Evasion Up.png Evasion Up
Status Flammable.png Flammable Status Gambit.png Gambit
Status Fog.png Fog Status Ghostly.png Ghostly
Status Glass Bonds.png Glass Bonds Status Healing Leaf.png Healing Leaf
Status Leeched.png Leeched Status Healing Steam.png Healing Steam
Status Melee Attack Up.png Melee Attack Down Status Inflated.png Inflated
Status Melee Defence Down.png Melee Defence Down Status Locked On.png Locked On
Status Poisoned.png Poisoned Status Melee Attack Up.png Melee Attack Up
Status Melee Attack Down.png Ranged Attack Down Status Melee Defence Up.png Melee Defence Up
Status Ranged Defence Down.png Ranged Defence Down Status Mind-Meld.png Mind-Meld
Status Shrapnel.png Shrapnel Status Multistrike.png Multistrike
Status Snowed In.png Snowed In Status Multitarget.png Multitarget
Status Speed Down.png Speed Down Status Ranged Attack Up.png Ranged Attack Up
Status Tape Jam.png Tape Jam Status Ranged Defence Up.png Ranged Defence Up
Status Unitarget.png Unitarget Status Speed Up.png Speed Up
Status Window.png Window

Summary

This section is incomplete. Feel free to add the missing information by editing it.

Difficulty Café Rewards Other effects
Normal Every 5th carriage
(starting with #1)
Per combat carriage:
  • Fused Material×Streak
  • Fused Material×Number of defeated bosses[1]
  • Overspill enabled
Hard Every 7th carriage
(starting with #1)
Per combat carriage:
  • Same as Normal, but times 2
  • Overspill disabled
  • All tapes have Machine Curse
  • 1 infinite debuff
  • +1 infinite debuff against minibosses
Harder
Even Harder
BRUTAL
Hardest
Impossible

Encounters

This section is incomplete. Feel free to add the missing information by editing it.

References

  1. The number of defeated bosses does not include the ones defeated in the current carriage. Minibosses count as 1.
Locations
New Wirral HarbourtownHarbourtown BeachHarbourtown OutskirtsUpper PathNew Wirral Park
The DeadlandsNew LondonDino QuarrySouthern IslesAutumn HillMourningtown
Eastham WoodsMire SeaLakesideHamThirstaton LakeCherry MeadowThe MarshesMarshland Caves
Piper FarmLost Hearts GraveyardCast Iron ShoreThe Titania ShipwreckMt. WirralBrokenhead
Harbourtown Gramophone CaféTown HallHarbourtown HospitalSticker MerchantsChemists' Store
Heritage Centre
Mer-Line Stations Harbourtown StationGlowcester Road StationMournington Crescent StationFalldown Mall
Waterloop StationCherry Cross StationLandkeeper HQAldgrave Tomb Station
Bard Street StationIcelington StationNight's Bridge StationPower Station
Others Dead WorldMagikrab's Gauntlet
Pier of the Unknown Brightside PierThe Witch HouseCosmic ZoneFunworld