There are five Ratchet arena challenges in the max-security cells of the Prison Planet in Secret Agent Clank. These are the first challenges for Ratchet in the game, and where he gains his first two weapons, the Shard Gun and Walloper, but at this point, no vendor is available. The challenges introduce four of the main enemy types that Ratchet faces throughout the game.
Challenges[]
Challenge | Description | Reward | Rounds | |
---|---|---|---|---|
First | Second | |||
Karmic Breakdown | Defend yourself against all the henchmen you've put away over the years, here in Cellblock A! | Fire-Bomb Wrench Mod | 1,500 bolts | 9 |
No Shelter | The prison guards have launched a hunter orb into the cellblocks! You can't kill it; just avoid its beams until you've mopped up the other inmates. | Charge-Up Mod | 1,500 bolts | 7 |
Past Due | Take out another gang of ex-henchmen before the warden gets back and puts you in solitary! | Earthquake Mod | 1,500 bolts | 7 |
Speak Softly And... | You know what they say, never bring a knife to a gunfight. Bring the Walloper instead. | Shock Crystal Wrench Mod | 1,500 bolts | 7 |
Mega Challenge: Cellblock | The baddest of the bad, the toughest of the tough have come to put you in the med ward. If you beat these guys, you just might get a decent night's sleep. | Titanium bolt | 1,500 bolts | 8 |
Karmic Beatdown[]
The first challenge involves nine rounds against three enemy types. On first attempt at the challenge, the Shard Gun and Walloper can be picked up nearby; the player may also have the Dual Lacerators if they were found as Clank during "Not The Guided Tour". Throughout the challenge, the fan in the center of the arena changes; when it activates midway up to the fifth round it makes Ratchet's jumps higher, but in the sixth round it distorts Ratchet's jumps by pulling him toward the center, and from the seventh round it disappears. Enemies and Ratchet both will be drawn to the center by the force of the fan when it sucks in air.
Of the three enemy types, the tyhrranoids are the simplest. Unlike their appearance in Up Your Arsenal, they attack Ratchet by curling to a ball and rolling toward him. The Dual Lacerators are effective at rapidly eliminating large groups of them. The lizard thug enemies (based on the Thugs-4-Less from Going Commando) attack by throwing molotov cocktails, firing bursts of their laser guns, and by swinging punches if they close in on Ratchet; these can be defeated with the Walloper in one hit, or by using the Dual Lacerators from a distance. The reapers (from Deadlocked) attack by firing spikes from their back across the floor in front of them and have great toughness; the Dual Lacerators are the better option to avoid the spikes they fire.
In the ninth round, a larger reaper appears, accompanied by normal ones. The larger reaper is tougher than normal, and has the ability to charge up a long-range acid blast from its mouth. The Dual Lacerators are once again well-equipped to be used against them, though the Walloper is an effective means of pushing the larger one away and defeating it once the smaller reapers are gone.
No Shelter[]
This challenge involves battling seven rounds with an indestructible hunter orb deployed. This orb moves slowly throughout the battlefield, and after locking onto Ratchet, releases a fan of lasers in front of it, out of which bursts of fire release following the lasers' paths. Though this can be used to the player's benefit as the orb will damage the enemies also, it is best to avoid it and focus on fighting the enemies.
For most rounds, the same enemy types appear as those seen in "Karmic Breakdown", including the larger reaper appearing in round 4. However, beginning round 5, Megacorp gladiators appear, and will swing a barbell to attack Ratchet at close range, or leap toward him and slam one for shockwave damage. These enemies can be defeated with the Walloper, though the Shard Gun may be ideal to slow them down.
Past Due[]
This challenge involves seven rounds with a three-minute timer. The main difficulty with the timer is the size of the arena and thus the space between enemies and Ratchet. As such, the Dual Lacerators will be important to mow down enemies as quickly as possible.
The same enemy types are fought as those in "No Shelter", though the larger reaper does not appear. However, large lizard thugs do appear, and can throw homing tethers to Ratchet that will latch onto him and draw him to them, then try to fire lasers and swing a sword at him. The Shard Gun can be helpful at slowing them down, although the Dual Lacerators remain the best way to quickly deal a lot of damage.
Speak Softly And...[]
This challenge involves seven rounds where only the Walloper can be used. In order to conserve ammo, using the Earthquake Mod here is ideal; this allows the Walloper to be used mid-air and slam the ground, creating a tremor below and damaging enemies around Ratchet. As such, it can be very effective for dispatching the one-eyed tyhrranoids, and helpful against the Megacorp gladiators.
Gladiators and tyhrranoids are the only enemy types in the first four rounds, while reapers appear in the fifth, and lizard thugs in the sixth. The fan's disruption can be more detrimental in this challenge due to the Walloper being a melee weapon, though the player can mitigate this problem by staying closer to the fan.
Mega Challenge: Cellblock[]
The final challenge involves all enemy types faced from previous challenges, including the larger variants of each. New are the larger tyhrranoids, which are purple and have three eyes, and can bite as well as roll much faster toward Ratchet; if charged up, their rolls can only be avoided by jumping over them once they reach him. The Walloper and Dual Lacerators are ultimately best against them, while the Shard Gun can be used to slow them down.
Enemies can overwhelm Ratchet due to their numbers. This makes it important to take advantage of all weapon mods, either of the two Wrench Mods to conserve ammo, and to use the Shard Gun to slow enemies down when in groups. The Shard Gun will become particularly important in later rounds as Ratchet's nanotech is lower and enemies increase in number, making it important to conserve its ammo. Otherwise, most strategies remain the same, with added weight to avoiding certain enemy attacks to stay alive.