Deathmatch
Free-for-all, first to the kill limit.
The goal
Everyone against everyone, first to the kill limit takes it. Deathmatch is the mode with no excuses in it: no objective to blame, no team to carry you, just whether you can win more fights than anyone else in the arena.
How to win
Win more fights than anyone else. Except the pilots who top the board are rarely the ones taking the most fights. In a free-for-all, every engagement you start is one somebody else can finish, so the real skill is arriving at the end of other people's duels rather than the beginning of your own. Read the kill feed: it tells you where the arena is currently busy, and busy is where two ships are about to be low. Let health pickups set your route between fights, because out here a full hull is worth more than a good position.
How many to bring
Deathmatch supports 2 to 8 players, the widest range in the game, and the only mode that will run as a straight 1v1. Two pilots in the arena is a duel with nowhere to hide; eight is closer to weather. The kill limit is the host's to set (5, 10, 15 or 20, or none), so a full lobby either arrives at it faster or turns the room into a pure timed slugfest.
The StarForge Circuit · The Open
The Circuit's entry-level card and its most-watched. No teams, no draw, nobody to blame. Promoters like it because it needs no explanation, and pilots like it because the board at the end is not open to interpretation.
Know before you drop in
- No teams. Every other ship is a target.
- First to the kill limit wins; the clock is the backstop.
- The widest roster range in the game at 2 to 8 pilots.
| Players | 2–8 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Free-for-all |
| Respawns | Yes |
| Clock | 2, 5 or 10 minutes, or none |
| Win condition | First to 5, 10, 15 or 20 kills, or ahead when the clock runs out |
| Solo vs bots | Yes, offline, no account |
| With friends | Invite code, quick match, or server browser |
| Plays on | Mac and Windows today; iPhone and iPad are coming |
| Price | Free in Early Access |