Offense is the free moon that punishes impatience. Nothing that spawns here is exotic. Everything about the facility is.
What spawns here
| Entity | Base spawn chance | Threat |
|---|---|---|
| Manticoils | 100% | None |
| Baboon Hawks | 28.44% | High |
| Maneater | 2.88% | Real |
| Old Bird | 2.37% | Severe |
Manticoils at 100% is the highest single figure on any moon in the tables. It sounds alarming and is not — Manticoils are harmless, and killing them accomplishes nothing. What it does mean is that the surface of Offense is never visually quiet, which makes it harder to pick out the things that matter.
Baboon Hawks at 28.44% is the real number. That is the highest hawk rate on any free moon, roughly three times Vow’s, and it means the surface is contested on most landings.
What actually kills crews here
Turrets and landmines.
Both are hazards rather than entities. A turret does not chase you, does not need line of sight to be a problem, and does not care that you were carrying a good haul. A landmine is the same, and it is on the floor where you are looking for scrap.
The counter to both is scanning. Sweep ahead of you as you move rather than looking at the ground for items first. The scrap is not going anywhere; the mine is already where you are about to step.
Turrets can be shut down from the ship’s terminal, but only for 4.5 seconds, and afterwards there is a cooldown during which they cannot be turned off again. That is a crossing window, not a solution. Time it with whoever is walking past.
Landmines can be disarmed temporarily from the terminal by keying in their special codes. Until that is done, they are avoided by watching the floor and by walking the route you came in on.
The hawk problem
With hawks at 28.44%, the surface of Offense is not a place to linger.
Move as a full group. The outnumber rule applies: hawks attack when your crew is fewer than their troop, and a troop on Offense is usually large.
Do not stand on the surface to sort inventory. Sort on the ship. Every second you spend outside with scrap in your hands is a second a troop can decide you are outnumbered.
If a hawk takes something, weigh the recovery. Chasing a stolen item into a troop is how a profitable run becomes a lost one.
How to run it
Land, sweep, and move slowly. Offense rewards the crew that clears three rooms properly over the crew that sprints through eight.
Turn the turrets off from the terminal if your crew has someone who can stay by it. Decide this before anyone splits.
Treat every open doorway as a question. Corridors on this moon are tighter than Experimentation’s, and a doorway you did not check is where a turret has its angle.
Walk the way you came. New routes on Offense are how people meet mines.
What to carry here
A flashlight each, and use it on the floor. Offense is the moon where the light is for spotting mines rather than entities. Sweep ahead of you.
A shovel for the group. Hawks at 28.44% are the one thing on this moon worth hitting.
An Extension Ladder, 60 credits, if your route needs it. Some Offense layouts have drops that cost you time or health to get around, and the ladder removes that choice.
A Lockpicker, 20 credits. It opens a locked door in 30 seconds. On a moon built around corridors you want a second way out of, that is cheap.
Skip the Zap Gun. It stuns rather than kills, and stunning a hawk in the middle of a troop is not a plan.
When to skip it
Skip Offense with a new crew. It is free, which makes it tempting, but the combination of mines, turrets and a 28.44% hawk rate is more than a crew still learning callouts should take on.
Skip it when you are behind on quota and tempted to rush. Rushing is the specific mistake this moon punishes.
Related guides
- How to beat Baboon Hawk — the outnumber rule and how nests work.
- March moon guide — the last free moon, and the windiest.
- Best equipment tier list — what to own before farming here.