The Ancient Mothership debuts on PVE wave 15. It is a carrier encounter: the central core controls a growing cloud of gun and suicide drones, while phase changes alter how quickly the swarm expands and whether it attacks or regroups.
- First encounter
- PVE wave 15
- Initial escort
- 8 drones
- Normal drone ceiling
- 24 active drones
- Overdrive ceiling
- 32 active drones
- Carrier phases
- Drift, bloom, and recall
- Enrage trigger
- Below 40% core health
Carrier and drone silhouettes
Live mini canvas: these units use the same appearance renderer as the game.
Drift phase
Drift is the carrier's normal maneuvering state. The mothership circles its target and continues replacing drones when the room and its own swarm limit allow it. A slow clear gives the factory time to rebuild the screen around the core.
Bloom phase
Bloom sharply accelerates drone production. The carrier moves more cautiously while new craft pour from its ports, so this phase turns into a damage race: either clear the fresh drones efficiently or use the reduced carrier movement to land focused core damage.
Recall phase
Recall pauses new drone production and orders surviving drones into a guard pattern around the mothership. It creates a temporary breathing space from expansion, but the compact defensive ring can punish a careless direct approach.
Gun and suicide drones
Gun drones maintain pressure with direct fire while suicide drones accelerate toward a chosen target and explode at close range. The command pattern changes over time, so the swarm can shift roles even if the carrier itself appears to be following the same orbit.
Recommended strategy
Use area damage and automated weapons to prevent the drone count from reaching its normal ceiling.
Prioritize suicide drones already committed to the base core or a slow teammate; their direct approach makes them easier to identify.
Treat bloom as a deliberate choice between swarm control and concentrated core damage instead of splitting fire randomly.
Destroying the Mothership core ends the carrier group and collapses its remaining drones, so return to the core whenever the swarm is under control.