Adversaries
Darknet Collective (The Swarm)
The most aggressive adversary — double attacks every 18 hours with devastating spell pool.
Darknet Collective
The Darknet Collective is the most aggressive adversary in the game. It launches two independent attacks every 18 hours and wakes at a relatively low threshold.
Stats
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Max HP | 36 |
| Wake Condition | Any player with 3,000+ stamps OR 30,000+ money |
| Sleep Duration | 750h (~31 days) |
| Check Interval | 48h |
| Attack Interval | 18h |
| Attacks Per Cycle | 2 (unique!) |
| Target Selection | Random non-whitelisted player |
| Kill Rewards | 60 stamps + 40,000 money |
Why It’s Dangerous
The Darknet Collective is uniquely threatening for several reasons:
- Low wake threshold — 3K stamps or 30K money means it wakes early in your progression
- Double attacks — 2 network threads per cycle, doubling incoming damage
- 18-hour interval — faster than most adversaries
- Heavy spell pool — includes Buffer Overflow, BIOS Exploit, and Trojan
- 36 HP — takes 4 Level 3 spells to kill (36 HP / 9 damage = 4 exactly)
- Random targeting — doesn’t target the richest; anyone could be hit
Attack Pool
| Spell | Weight | Effect | SI Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malformed Packet | x2 (most common) | Inject net_malformed_packet (20 HDD + 10 RAM drain) | 2 |
| Foreign Script | x1 | Steal 500 money | 3 |
| Targeted Attack | x1 | Destroy 1 random software permanent | 8 |
| Buffer Overflow | x1 | Destroy ALL non-malware software permanents | 20 |
| BIOS Exploit | x1 | Inject net_bios_exploit (128 HDD + 68 RAM drain) | 8 |
| Trojan | x1 | Inject net_trojan (10 HDD + 102 RAM drain) | 5 |
SI danger: With 2 attacks per 18h cycle, the Darknet Collective drains ~14 SI per cycle (~19 SI/day). At this rate, a player at full SI (100) has roughly 5 days before death if unmitigated.
Kill Strategy
HP: 36 — requires exactly 4 Level 3 spells
This is a significant investment:
- 4 Level 3 hack spells = many Advanced Security Shards consumed
- Each Level 3 spell costs 2,000-2,900 HDD and significant RAM
- Total investment could exceed 10,000 HDD + resources for shards
Recommended approach:
- Build up Security tree with Counterintelligence Mesh + Key Cracking
- Stockpile 4+ Level 3 spells and required shards
- Launch all 4 spells targeting the Darknet Collective
- Collect 60 stamps + 40,000 money reward
Whitelist Strategy (Recommended for Most Players)
For most players, whitelisting the Darknet Collective with Favor From Above is the better option:
- It wakes too early to fight (3K stamps)
- 36 HP is extremely expensive to kill at that stage
- Double attacks create constant disruption
- Favor From Above grants immunity (resets when adversary is killed or sleeps — must re-cast)
Cost of whitelisting: Favor From Above requires 1 Reputation + 2 Core + 1 Basic Communications Shard + contact + 1,800 money. This is far cheaper than fighting.
Tips
- Prioritize whitelisting — the Darknet Collective is the #1 candidate for Favor From Above. It’s also the #1 SI threat due to double attacks
- ~19 SI/day — the fastest SI drain of any adversary alongside The Overmind. Unmitigated, you have ~5 days to live
- Short sleep — only 31 days of sleep means it comes back fast after being killed
- Random targeting — you can’t avoid being targeted by being “less rich”
- Malware accumulation — double attacks mean malware AND SI damage stack fast. Keep Entropy Wipe ready
- The kill reward is excellent — 60 stamps + 40,000 money + 50 XP, but only worth farming if you have a reliable Level 3 pipeline
- Firewall Primer helps — the perk that blocks SI from first 3 attacks absorbs ~1.5 cycles of damage