High-risk Areas

> *Localizing a decoded signal has pinpointed a dangerous source of activity here.*
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**High-risk Areas** are procedurally generated locations which pit the player against waves of enemies. Unlike the endgame-exclusive Ancient Rifts with some of the same mechanics, these areas are accessible at all player levels.

## Mechanics

### Locating High-risk Areas

High-risk areas must first be located by finding and activating a **Signal Decoder** for the current system (e.g. Ceto Signal Decoders for Ceto system areas). Signal decoders can be randomly looted from elite enemies, capital ships, outlaw bases and some rare containers; as well, certain secret stashes (e.g. the asteroid weak point stash in Union Bridge) are guaranteed to contain a decoder. Signal decoders for random systems can also be bought from the Black Market Dealer at Prescott Starbase.

Signal Decoders have a level, a rarity of at least uncommon, a list of 1-3 modifiers based on rarity, and a relatively high sell value for their level and rarity. If the player's level is not more than 3 levels above that of the Signal Decoder and there are not more than 4 areas currently revealed in the decoder's system, activating it in that system will consume the item and reveal a high-risk area in the player's current region with the same level, rarity, and modifiers as the consumed decoder. Otherwise, the decoder's activation option will not be available for use.

* Similarly, if the player over-levels an already-located high-risk area by more than 3 levels, the option to set it as a waypoint or auto-pilot to it in supralight will be disabled, leaving only the option to discard the location.

When activating a signal decoder, it will attempt to spawn the high-risk area in the player's current region, avoiding the sun and other locations. If there is no valid location found, it will spawn in any region of the system.

### Clearing High-risk Areas

Traveling to a high-risk area will set an auto-save checkpoint on arrival, disable the ability to make manual saves, and place the player some distance away from several groups of aggressive enemies within a map similar to what one might find in supralight events in the same region. The area may be abandoned at any time by activating the Jump Drive, though doing so will clear it from the star map and forfeit any possible item rewards.

The player's objective in all high-risk areas is to force the area's boss to come out of hiding by taking out a significant portion of their allies, with progress toward the boss encounter being presented as a white bar. Each enemy type contributes a fixed amount of progress on kill, with tougher enemy types and elite variants granting more progress. Once the white bar fills completely and turns green, all remaining enemies will retreat into supralight to make way for their boss (or bosses, as the case may be), which will be either an Elite Outlaw Ravager (level 1-6 high-risk areas in Ceto) or an elite capital ship (all other high-risk areas), and their fighter wing.

Slaying this boss will mark the high-risk area as complete, send all remaining forces into retreat and spawn a large cloud of rewards, with overall value scaling with the area's loot quality modifier, for the player to collect at their leisure. Among these rewards are a couple of guaranteed items:

* 1x Catalyst Blueprint (high-risk area exclusive reward), unlocking the ability to craft a new catalyst of the area's rarity or lower (or a new non-catalyst item if all catalysts are already craftable)
* 1x Blueprint, unlocking the ability to craft a new consumable type or equipment rarity/type combination