Editing Trail

'''The Trail''' is the way an [[Expeditions|expedition]] run is shown to you: instead of a single result, each run plays out as a '''four-stage gauntlet''' across the [[Biomes|biome]], fronting the wild [[Creatures|creatures]] that live there and, on a Guardian run, ending at the boss itself. The Trail is how expeditions are presented and narrated — the outcome of a run is still one combat resolution.

== The four stages ==

Every expedition run advances through four stages as its timer fills, with one of your [[Creatures|companions]] taking point at each stage:

'''Patrol runs:'''
# Approach
# Skirmish
# Clash
# Showdown

'''Guardian runs''' swap the finale for the boss's own stand:
# Territory's Edge
# The Roar
# The Rampage
# ''[the Guardian's name]''

At each stage a wild creature from the biome steps up. Early stages tend to front the biome's weaker species; the Showdown leans toward its strongest. On a Guardian run, the final stage shows the boss instead of a wild creature.

== Wins and flees ==

Since [[Expeditions#How an expedition works|v0.39.0]] there's no coin flip and no outright loss: a run you're strong enough to attempt always finishes as a win eventually, clearing all four stages and taking the loot. Coming in under-geared doesn't fail the run — it just runs longer (more exchanges, more food burned), and grinding it out well past the intended gear line can leave your survivor injured even on a win.

* '''Win''' — you clear all four stages and take the run's loot. The normal outcome.
* '''Flee''' — not a choice to bail on a losing fight (there isn't one); it's the automatic swiftness-boosted escape your party attempts when you'd otherwise run out of food mid-fight. If the flee itself fails, you die instead (see [[Expeditions#Death and reclaiming gear|Death and reclaiming gear]]).

== Guardian bosses ==

Each biome's Showdown is ruled by one Guardian. Defeating a Guardian unlocks the next biome; they remain repeatable afterward.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Biome !! Guardian
|-
| {{Icon|grasslands}} Grasslands || Thunderfoot Matriarch
|-
| {{Icon|redwood-wilds}} Redwood Wilds || Old Growth Tyrant
|-
| {{Icon|murkwater-swamp}} Murkwater Swamp || Murk Sovereign
|-
| {{Icon|cavern-depths}} Cavern Depths || Hollow King
|-
| {{Icon|scorched-badlands}} Scorched Badlands || Scorched King
|-
| {{Icon|coral-shallows}} Coral Shallows || Tide Leviathan
|-
| {{Icon|frozen-wastes}} Frozen Wastes || Frostmaw
|-
| {{Icon|ashen-peaks}} Ashen Peaks || Ash Tyrant
|-
| {{Icon|skyreach-plateau}} Skyreach Plateau || Sky Sovereign
|-
| the Sundered Vale || The Sundered One
|}

== Wild creatures on the Trail ==

The creatures you meet along the Trail are the feral cousins of that biome's tamable species.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Biome !! Wild creatures (weaker → stronger)
|-
| {{Icon|grasslands}} Grasslands || Terror Bird, Raptor, Gastornis, Triceratops
|-
| {{Icon|redwood-wilds}} Redwood Wilds || Megaloceros, Dire Wolf, Stegosaurus, Allosaurus
|-
| {{Icon|murkwater-swamp}} Murkwater Swamp || Dimetrodon, Baryonyx, Kaprosuchus, Sarcosuchus
|-
| {{Icon|cavern-depths}} Cavern Depths || Giant Bat, Forge Salamander, Doedicurus, Cave Bear
|-
| {{Icon|scorched-badlands}} Scorched Badlands || Moros, Ankylosaurus, Carnotaurus
|-
| {{Icon|coral-shallows}} Coral Shallows || Archelon, Plesiosaurus, Dunkleosteus
|-
| {{Icon|frozen-wastes}} Frozen Wastes || Elasmotherium, Woolly Rhino, Smilodon, Woolly Mammoth
|-
| {{Icon|ashen-peaks}} Ashen Peaks || Ceratosaurus, Spinosaurus, Tyrannosaurus
|-
| {{Icon|skyreach-plateau}} Skyreach Plateau || Pteranodon, Argentavis, Hatzegopteryx
|-
| the Sundered Vale || Titanoboa, Therizinosaurus, Quetzalcoatlus, Giganotosaurus
|}

== Party roles ==

You can assign each companion in your party a role that shapes how the Trail resolves:

* '''Attack''' — takes point on more stages and counts for extra party strength.
* '''Guard''' — reduces the damage your survivor takes each fight.
* '''Scout''' — improves flee chance and raises the [[Expeditions|Trail Cache]] drop rate.

== Feeding and the battle report ==

* '''Auto-eat.''' During a run your survivor automatically eats your best food to stay in the fight. You can toggle auto-eat off, and you can "Eat now" to heal manually whenever your health is below full. These controls appear on the encounter panel for both hunts and expeditions.
* '''Battle report.''' A collapsible panel above the action list keeps a running tally of your recent fights — wins, losses, the pack that fought, and everything they've brought home — rather than a per-run recap. See [[Battle Log]] for the full breakdown.

== Trail Caches ==

Roughly one expedition win in a handful turns up a '''Trail Cache''' (a Scout in your party raises the odds). A cache pays out one of:

* '''Craftable companion gear''' tiered to the biome — saddles and bardings (most common outcome).
* '''A pile of [[Items|Amber]]''', scaling up with the biome.
* '''A relic gear piece''' (rare) — Wayfarer's Saddle, Sunfeather Saddle, Stormfang Barding, or Bulwark Barding, which appear only from caches and shift from saddles in the early biomes to bardings later.

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Biome !! Amber pile !! Relic pool
|-
| {{Icon|grasslands}} Grasslands || 150 || Wayfarer's Saddle
|-
| {{Icon|redwood-wilds}} Redwood Wilds || 250 || Wayfarer's Saddle
|-
| {{Icon|murkwater-swamp}} Murkwater Swamp || 350 || Wayfarer's Saddle
|-
| {{Icon|cavern-depths}} Cavern Depths || 450 || Wayfarer's Saddle, Sunfeather Saddle
|-
| {{Icon|scorched-badlands}} Scorched Badlands || 600 || Wayfarer's Saddle, Sunfeather Saddle
|-
| {{Icon|coral-shallows}} Coral Shallows || 750 || Sunfeather Saddle, Stormfang Barding
|-
| {{Icon|frozen-wastes}} Frozen Wastes || 900 || Sunfeather Saddle, Stormfang Barding
|-
| {{Icon|ashen-peaks}} Ashen Peaks || 1100 || Stormfang Barding, Bulwark Barding
|-
| {{Icon|skyreach-plateau}} Skyreach Plateau || 1300 || Stormfang Barding, Bulwark Barding
|-
| the Sundered Vale || 1600 || Bulwark Barding, Stormfang Barding
|}

== See also ==

* [[Expeditions]] — how runs are chosen and resolved.
* [[Biomes]] — the regions and their Guardians.
* [[Creatures]] — the species you meet and tame.

{{Nav}}

[[Category:Expeditions]]
[[Category:Trail]]
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