March is the last free moon, and it is where you find out whether your crew is ready to start paying for travel.
What spawns here
| Entity | Base spawn chance | Threat |
|---|---|---|
| Manticoils | 43.01% | None |
| Roaming Locusts | 20.21% | None |
| Baboon Hawks | 18.82% | High |
| Maneater | 2.48% | Real |
| Tulip Snakes | 0.52% | Minor |
On paper this is a gentler table than Offense. Baboon Hawks are 18.82% rather than 28.44%, Maneater is lower, and there is no Old Bird entry.
March is still the harder moon in practice, and the reason is the map rather than the entities.
What makes March hard
March is open. The surface is long, the sightlines are wide, and there is less of the natural cover that the enclosed moons give you for free.
That openness multiplies weather. On a foggy day, you lose the sightlines that let you see a troop before it decides you are outnumbered. On a stormy day, you are carrying conductive metal across a long open stretch with nothing to duck behind. On a flooded day, the route you learned yesterday may not be walkable today.
The spawn table does not capture any of that. Read the forecast before you commit, and treat bad weather on March as a reason to fly somewhere else.
The second thing that makes March hard is distance. The walk from the facility back to the ship is long enough that a late start is genuinely dangerous. On Experimentation you can be late and still make it. On March, being late is the run.
How to run it
Check the weather first, then check the quota. If the weather is bad and the quota does not demand March specifically, fly a cheaper moon instead.
Move as a group. Hawks at 18.82% are common enough that a split crew will find itself outnumbered, and on open ground there is nowhere to de-escalate.
Set the turnaround time before you land, and give the ship operator the authority to enforce it. March is the moon where “five more minutes” turns into a body on the surface.
Loot light. The long walk back is the constraint, and a heavy haul on March costs more in stamina than it does on Experimentation.
What to carry here
Carry light. The walk back is the constraint on March, and every pound you carry is paid for twice on a long open surface.
A flashlight each. Fog on March turns a manageable walk into a navigation problem, and a light is the only part of that you control.
One shovel. Hawks at 18.82% are the reason. One person at the front of the group is enough.
TZP-Inhalant, 120 credits, only if the quota is comfortable. Less stamina drain on a long walk back is genuinely useful here. It is still a comfort buy, and it should come after the gear that keeps people alive.
Skip heavy scrap weapons entirely. March punishes load more than any free moon, because the surface is where you pay for it.
March as a test
Use March as the readiness check for paid moons.
If your crew can clear March in bad weather, with a full haul, and get everyone back before dark, you are ready to spend credits on Rend or Dine. If your crew loses someone to March on a clear day, more gear will not fix the problem — more discipline will.
This is worth taking seriously, because paid moons charge you for the attempt, not the success.
When to skip it
Skip March in bad weather, especially fog or storms.
Skip it when you are testing new players. The free moons are ordered for a reason, and March is at the end of that order.
Related guides
- Moons tier list — where March ranks and how to read the terminal before you commit.
- Best moons for beginners — the five-day plan that ends with March.
- How to beat Baboon Hawk — the entity you are most likely to fight on the walk back.