Intro[]
Once Showdown has been defeated, the hub changes and the moaning first aid center is replaced with a musical kiosk with "Blue" and "Red". The Producer explains that he's set up an Augmented Reality simulation to create reality vids to entertain the quarantined survivors of Boston. These are the Challenge Mode missions. Red is shorter and easier, Blue has better weapons. To start the red challenge mission, talk to Red (you don't go to the taxi.)
Once inside the mission, players appear in the center of a yellow "arena" with various numbered bays and cover spots.
Am I Ready?[]
With the right group and the right skills, you can defeat all three challenge waves fresh out of Chapter 1. Having more than 25 effective physical health is a nice safety margin, but anyone can get that with armor. I have personally done it with two powerful runners (+50% damage assault/shotgun, +40% damage assault/rigger) and two henchmen (haste mage & rigger.) I would guess that it could be done solo with the right henchmen. Wave 1 is the most demanding.
Note that in order to get the weapon (and possibly armor) rewards from challenge mode, you MUST have completed Showdown.
Wave 1: Walker Drones[]
Mechanics[]
When the mission starts, the runners are gathered up in the middle, and along one side of the room stand five walker drones. Like most enemy drones, they have considerably more physical armor than health, and no tech armor. However, they have enough health that a hacker cannot drop them in one attack. They are stun immune. If people are within three cells, the drones will shoot a rocket at that group (11 damage AOE, reduced hit chance), otherwise they will burst fire (11-12 damage.) They are pretty slow and mildly inaccurate unless they get rigged.
After several rounds, another spawn. This one has a NeoNet commander, two engineers, two Aztech mages, and two NeoNet hover drones. All of these are just like you remember them from earlier missions, as opposed to being more powerful challenge versions. All are stunnable. The commander can rig drones, but usually chooses to summon a roto drone if left alive. The engineers will always rig drones if they have the option. The little hover drones are actually the most dangerous things in this wave, as they have high move, almost never miss, and hit just as hard as the walk drones (9-11). If you let them get rigged they will usually hit someone for 20.
Several rounds later, another spawn very similar to the last one.
Several rounds later, the final spawn which has one engineer, two mages, two walker drones, and a hover drone.
Strategy[]
At the opening, take cover from the walkers and try to kill a couple before the next spawn. Some groups intentionally group up two high evasion characters to draw low accuracy rocket fire, others spread out behind cover.
When the next group spawns in is usually the hardest part of the entire challenge. There are inevitably still some walkers alive, and all these new threats as well. In my estimation, the new spawns are higher priority than the walkers. The new stuff is all fairly low health (aside from the commander), hits about as hard as the walkers, and is harder to avoid taking damage from. The engineers in particular are nasty damage multipliers. But sometimes the positioning of things makes it difficult to make an immediate cut into this spawn and you just have to suck it up a bit. High damage groups are often able to finish off the walkers in the round the new stuff spawns in, and that can be worth it. (Such groups can also typically afford to take 20 points of damage.)
By the time the next spawn occurs, a group is usually either dead or solidly in control of the map. But if your group is a bit light on damage, you would want to prioritize this the same as the previous spawn.
Everything else should be dead by the time of the final spawn. Kill off the low health support from cover before they get to act, then finish off the walkers at your leisure.
Wave 2: Suicide Bombs[]
Mechanics[]
Three spawns of suicide bombs. The one you start with when you hit "continue" is 6; the two subsequent spawns are 8. They are distributed fairly evenly, but randomly, around the outside of the room. The bombs have radius 2 and hit for 25. The bombers are permanently hasted and have walk of 4, so they can move 8 and explode or move 12. They will always explode right next to something, even though they could hit from one farther away. If a bomber is in melee range with a runner or pet, they will blow up (rather than seeking a new target.) Otherwise, it's hard to predict who they will go for if they can reach several targets. Bomber explosions cannot be evaded. They can be stunned.
Strategy[]
This is my favorite challenge wave in either blue or red. Most groups start this wave in the center so the whole room has good coverage, and then can kill four of the initial six before they get to move, and then cleans up the remaining two on the next round. If you have a weaker group, instead choose a corner that only has two within range of it. Have everyone move towards that corner and kill the two bombers in that corner (don't use any CDs for this if you can avoid it, just two shots from each person.) Keep killing two a round and you'll be fine.
The next spawn tends to be one in each corner and one in cover behind the pillars between the corners. For this reason, I like to already be along the wall so those middle bombers won't have cover from me. As before, a group can usually clear and hold a corner. But because there are now eight bombers to contend with, you may need to kill three in a round, which is why I advised saving CDs. The same thing will happen next spawn, so save some CDs for that. In addition, pets can be a huge help by triggering bombers away from runners without the need to damage them at all (by leaving them next to a bomber.)
This wave is a wonderful dance which is generally pretty smooth, but can easily wipe out a runner if they get careless or fail to kill a bomber they thought they had.
Wave 3: Takshack[]
Mechanics[]
Four Takshacks, distributed around the room. This guy is more or less just like you remember him from the early story mission: Party Crashers. He can summon two illusions which cast mana bolt. He can also cast mana bolt, or summon even more illusions. I've not let him live long enough to see if there's a limit to how many he'll summon. Neither Takshak nor his illusions are stunnable. If you kill the summoner, his illusions also die
Strategy[]
Usually the easiest way to keep track of the summoner is by his tech armor. But the health pool is different too, if you need it. A group with the damage to get through the walker drones can usually kill two of the Takshacks before they get a chance to move. Keep cover from the mana bolts, finish them off. This wave is generally very easy.