These are challenges available to the contestants of DreadZone in the Temple of Shaar on Shaar in Deadlocked. This planet and its challenges come directly after the Avenger Tournament, and will provide the necessary Dread Points and blue medal for the Crusader Tournament. The DreadZone vendor will have the Scorpion Flail weapon and Mini-Bomb Mod available as well. The former is a powerful short-range flail, whereas the latter lets explosive weapons release bouncing bomblets upon impact.
Challenges[]
Return to the Deathbowl[]
Either of the new weapons and mods are likely far too expensive for now, provided you splurged on the secondary combat bot upgrades from the Avenger Tournament. Have your combat bots hack the security orbs up ahead to enter the small arena, and then the ones inside as well. Deal with the Claw Tooth Swarmers and DZ Berserkers as you wish, but use something strong against the Laser Back that spawns at the end, blocking the second bridge to the Landstalker. Laser Backs are large flying robots with a pair of massive cannon, they can take a lot of punishment but at least generally do not move from their position. Either slow them down with the Freeze Mod or protect yourself with the Holoshield Launcher before finishing it off.
Landstalker Stalkin'[]
This challenge spans the entire outer area of the temple as well as part of the interior. The goal is to rotate capture all four bolt crank nodes, while dealing with an immense amount of enemies. Forcefields are protected by the standard DZ Berserkers, which often appear through dropships, but also many large Missile Turret and Executioners. Two hostile Landstalkers and several 70 millimeter Stalker Turret guard the ice plateaus outside the temple as well, which provide enough of a challenge that you will need to retreat to the vehicle pad to heal twice or thrice. They are all shielded and thus force you to get in close for your combat bots to EMP them.
Once both outer nodes are done the forcefields drop and you can enter the temple proper. Each of the other nodes can be found in opposing corners, guarded by many Missile Turrets (both large and small), Executioners, dropships, and several Laser Backs. If at any point your Landstalker explodes you can still continue on foot, but if you do you will have to make judicious use of the Holoshield Launcher to be able to destroy all enemies safely.
As the Wrench Turns[]
This time you must rotate five well-guarded nodes spread throughout the complex. It is recommended to purchase the Scorpion Flail if you have not yet, which is useful for rushing and staggering land-based foes. Much like the previous time, enemies include DZ Berserkers, Beam Turrets (the large variant), Claw Tooth Swarmers, Executioners, and dropships. Almost all enemies except the turrets spawn only when you reach a specific area, further exacerbating the problem with the enemies in this challenge; which is too many enemies and too many unpredictable spawns.
Especially on Hero difficulty will you be forced to play it safely due to a lack of nanotech crates, although there is a small cache along with a jackpot crate underneath the central building. Focus on playing safely, using both the Freeze Mod and Holoshield Launcher to protect yourself as you move through each structure to eliminate the enemies and rotate each bolt crank.
Completion of "As the Wrench Turns" rewards the player character with a blue medal, with which they have half needed for the total to attempt the Crusader Tournament, after collecting enough Dread Points by completing Dread Challenges.
Dread Challenges[]
Assault on the Frozen Tundra[]
"Assault on the Frozen Tundra" is essentially a repeat of the previous challenge; you must rotate four bolt cranks spread throughout the temple while dealing with a large amount of powerful enemies that only appear when you get close enough or when you begin to capture a node. The twist is that you have no weapons of your own at the start and must instead pick them up from the arena floor. All weapons except the Holoshield Launcher and Scorpion Flail can be found throughout the arena, although you can only carry one at a time Due to the limited ammo numbers it is recommended to carefully manage your actions to avoid running out, although if you die you do not need to go back to an already cleared bolt crank.
The enemies encountered are the standard Swarmers, DZ Berserkers, Executioners, dropships, Laser Backs, and large Beam Turrets.
Shoot to Kill[]
"Shoot to Kill" introduces a new mechanic in which you must use the landstalker to reach the required score before finishing the course. The Landstalker's path is automated, but you have full control over the guns and mortars, with which you must destroy the floating target orbs (and occassionally spawning DZ Berserkers). Orbs come in layers and are worth a variety of points, with the red ones detonating to take out any extras nearby, and the yellow ones enabling jackpot mode in which you earn even more points. The orbs are sturdy enough you are forced to rely on the mortars for most, so fully charging and locking onto as many as possible is required to succeed.
Whack-A-Swarmer[]
This challenge includes the same weapon mechanic as "Assault on the Frozen Tundra", although only the Obliterator and Magma Cannon are available. The targets are Claw Tooth Swarmers, which spawn in great numbers as you make your way through and around the central structure in the temple area. The goal is to destroy a total of 181 of them within one hundred seconds. Merc and Green will be able to almost entirely manage it alone provided they have the Bogo weapon, but otherwise it is a conveniently easy challenge due to how weak the Swarmer enemies are.
Robots in a Barrel[]
The final Dread Challenge on Shaar is a simple eight rounds within the tiny arena at the start. Swarmers, Berserkers, and Executioners continuously spawn around the rim of the ice platform, but generally not in numbers too threatening. The only moment to watch out for is when the three Executioners appear at the very end. Either lock them down with the Freeze Mod or place a few Holoshields to cover yourself while taking them out one by one.