Kane's Challenge

Kane's Challenge, also called The Gauntlet, is a console-only mode included in Kane's Wrath. It is a gauntlet of battles where the player chooses a force and competes against various armies. Players on the PC get Global Conquest instead.

Available armies include basic GDI, Nod, and Scrin armies, as well as two specialized sub-factions for each; the Steel Talons and ZOCOM, the Black Hand and the Marked of Kane, Reaper-17, and Traveler-59. The Nod leaders who administered the test included the GDI and Scrin factions as a way of adversarial training; to allow the prospects a chance to learn the strengths and weaknesses of each army.

Kane himself briefs the player during the tests; giving a brief history of the force the commander selected, as well as a congratulatory speech following a commander completing all simulations with a faction.

= The Stages = There are ten stages to Kane's challenge, pitting a candidate against all of the selectable factions. Each mission begins with the candidate having a single construction yard, typically located near a Tiberium field for resources. The opposing force would have their own base already set up; and would generally attempt to expand across the map. The stages became progressively more difficult, with the opposing force having larger, more defended, or even multiple bases. The stages were, in order of appearance:

The Cost of Devotion

 * Defeat the Black Hand in a glittering Blue Zone city.

The Eradication Principle

 * Defeat ZOCOM in their rural Blue Zone headquarters.


 * This stage uses the Crosstown Conflict skirmish map.

Mind Games

 * Defeat the Scrin Traveler-59 Sect as they invade the Blue Zone suburbs.

The Empty

 * Defeat the Marked of Kane in the snowy Yellow Zone tundra.


 * This stage uses the Tundra Triangle skirmish map.

Out of the Past

 * Defeat the Steel Talons in a recently resettled Yellow Zone.


 * This stage uses the Suburban Slaughterhouse skirmish map.

The Reaping

 * Defeat Reaper-17 on this Blue Zone research island.

The Best Defense

 * Defeat GDI in this snow covered Yellow Zone mountain range.


 * This stage uses the Shell Shocked skirmish map.

The Devoted

 * Defeat Nod in their inhospitable Yellow Zone base.

Ancient Foes

 * Defeat the Scrin in a Tiberium blighted Red Zone.

The End Complete

 * Defeat combined Reaper-17 and Marked of Kane forces in a devastated Red Zone.


 * This stage uses the Tiberium Wasteland skirmish map.