The tower loop in one line
Four towers sit on the map 【A】. Capturing one means climbing to its upper level and operating a PC terminal 【A】, and each captured tower reveals one digit of a code 【A】. Assemble the full code and your team launches the Hot Zone Magnet, which drags the Hot Zone toward the tower your team holds 【A】.
That is the whole mechanic, and it is worth understanding because it is the only way in the game to choose where the most valuable ground stands. The Hot Zone doubles cash, doubles XP and makes each player inside count as two for scoring 【A】 — and the Magnet lets a team move it.
The capture flow, step by step
| Step | What happens | What can go wrong | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Reach the tower | Move to the tower structure | The route is a known funnel and attracts fire | 【C】 |
| 2. Climb to the upper level | Ascend inside the tower | You are inside a structure with limited exits | 【A】 |
| 3. Operate the PC terminal | Interact with the terminal | You are stationary while doing it | 【A】 |
| 4. One digit is revealed | The tower contributes one digit to the code | The digit is only useful once the other three are known | 【A】 |
| 5. Repeat at the other three towers | Four towers, four digits | Each tower is exposed independently | 【A】 |
| 6. Assemble the full code | The team launches the Hot Zone Magnet | The launch announces your position as a target | 【A】 |
| 7. The Hot Zone moves | It is pulled toward the tower your team holds | All three teams now converge on that area | 【A】 |
Grades on steps 1 and 7’s risk notes are 【C】 because they are this site’s reading of the flow rather than stated rules. The steps themselves are confirmed 【A】.
Why the Magnet is worth more than it looks
The straightforward value of the Magnet is that it brings the money to you. The Hot Zone is the highest-value ground on the map: doubled cash and XP 【A】, doubled scoring weight 【A】, and passive income described as hundreds of dollars per minute 【B】. Magnetising it toward a tower you already hold converts contested ground into defended ground 【C】.
The less obvious value is what it does to the other two teams. The circle is where all three teams want to be, and by moving it, your team decides which piece of terrain the next fight happens on. That is a rare kind of advantage in a 100-player match: not a damage bonus, but control over the venue.
There is a third, quieter benefit worth naming. Because players inside the circle count as two for scoring 【A】, a magnetised circle near your team’s Control Zone position increases your weight in the fight that decides the match. The control zone scoring page walks through why the double count matters more than the doubling of cash in a close game.
When a tower run is worth its cost
A tower run is not free. It costs time out of the match, it puts bodies in a fixed position, and it ends by announcing where the circle will move. The judgement comes down to four conditions:
- Your team already holds ground near a tower. If the circle will be pulled onto terrain you control, the run pays. If it will be pulled onto open ground you do not hold, it mainly relocates the fight 【C】.
- You can spare two players. One on the terminal and one covering is the minimum sensible split, and the squad play page treats the run as a four-player activity once the other team notices.
- The match is not near settlement. The Magnet changes where the next stretch of earning happens, so it is worth least when the score is about to resolve 【C】.
- Your income depends on the circle. A squad earning from builds and logistics has less reason to buy the tower run than a squad whose plan is to hold the circle and get paid 【C】.
When the run is a mistake
- When the Control Zone tick is available. The win counter settles roughly every 30 seconds 【B】, and a tower run costs several of those ticks. Missing the score to move the money is a trade that only makes sense in specific circumstances 【C】.
- When you are the only one who can hold presence. A player leaving a zone to climb a tower hands the head-count comparison to the other teams 【C】.
- When the tower is already watched. The upper level of a tower is a known, enclosed position; the run fails at step three if nobody is covering the approach 【C】.
- When the code is nearly complete for the enemy. A Magnet launch by another team moves the circle anyway; the correct response is often to reposition rather than to race them 【C】.
What is not confirmed about towers
| Question | Status |
|---|---|
| Whether a captured tower can be recaptured by another team | 【Unconfirmed】 |
| Whether digits persist if a tower changes hands | 【Unconfirmed】 |
| Whether the code is the same across matches | 【Unconfirmed】 |
| How long the Magnet lasts, or whether it can be relaunched | 【Unconfirmed】 |
| Whether the Magnet can be cancelled or contested | 【Unconfirmed】 |
| The exact tower positions on the map | 【Unconfirmed】 — and deliberately not published |
The last row is a deliberate omission rather than a gap in research. Point coordinates, callouts and routes change between patches and are not part of the traced source list; the map guide states the same rule for the same reason.
How to run a code attempt
- Decide before the match whether your squad is running codes or holding the circle. Doing both badly is the most common way to finish a match with neither 【C】.
- Send two, keep the rest earning. The pair loses its payout income for the duration; the rest of the squad keeps marking at $100 a mark and healing at $200 a heal 【B】.
- Cover the climb, not the terminal. The exposure is on the way up, and the player on the terminal cannot defend themselves 【C】.
- Know where the circle will land before you launch. The Magnet is only useful toward ground you hold; launching toward a contested area hands the other teams the circle 【C】.
- Have the squad reposition before the launch, not after. The circle’s arrival concentrates all three teams 【A】, and the team already standing there has the advantage 【C】.
For the wider picture of how the circle, the win counter and the towers interact, the map guide treats the three as one system. For what the circle is worth per hour once you are standing in it, the money per hour page puts the numbers in a table with its assumptions printed.