How the gauntlet works
Press start and the gauntlet shuffles all ten 5.0 hacks, from the lockpick to the cipher lock, into a random order and sends you into the first one. Every hack counts down from three and starts itself. When you finish, you get your split for that hack and a second to breathe, and then the next one loads. A bar across the top shows which hack you are on, your running total and how many you have failed.
Your score is the sum of the time you spent inside the hacks. Load screens, countdowns and the pauses between hacks do not count. A failed hack does not end the run. You carry on to the next one, but it adds fifteen seconds to your total. At the end you get your combined time, a percentile, and a split for every hack, so you can see exactly which one cost you.
It is the closest thing on the site to what a job actually feels like: you do not get to pick the hack, you do not get to warm up on it, and the one you are worst at is waiting somewhere in the middle. The idea of random hacks back to back is not new, and other practice sites have their own versions. This one is built around the thing Benchmento does: a time you can measure and try to beat.
Benchmento is not affiliated with Rockstar Games, NoPixel or any roleplay server. These are original implementations built from descriptions of how the minigames work, for practice in the browser.
What counts as a fast gauntlet
| Total | Standing |
|---|---|
| Under 2:40 | Exceptional |
| 2:40 – 3:20 | Fast |
| 3:20 – 4:40 | Solid |
| 4:40 – 6:40 | About average |
| 6:40 – 10:00 | A few fails in there |
| Over 10:00 | First run nerves |
The firewall always takes twenty seconds if you clear it, and signal path usually takes the longest of the rest, so a clean run has a floor of around two minutes. The gap between a good run and an average one is almost always failures: every fail costs fifteen seconds on top of the time you already spent in the hack, and two or three of them decide most totals.
How to post a better time
- Practise your worst hack on its own first. The splits table shows it straight away. One hack you fail every run costs more than being slow on three.
- Do not rush the thinking hacks. Cipher lock, traceroute and memory diff punish guessing with a fail. A careful ten seconds beats a fast fail plus fifteen.
- Use the countdown. Three seconds is enough to remember the one rule for the hack about to start: never stop pressing on the lockpick, read two rows ahead on the firewall, find the IDS nodes first on traceroute.
- Keep your hand on the keyboard. Most hacks take keys, and the ones that do are faster on keys than on a mouse.
- Finish the run. Aborting halfway wipes it. A slow finished run still gives you splits to learn from.
Frequently asked questions
Which hacks are in the gauntlet?
All ten NoPixel 5.0 hacks on the site: lockpick, firewall dodge, signal beat, hex lock, memory diff, signal path, port sweep, carrier tune, traceroute and cipher lock. Dong is not included because it is an arcade game, not a hack.
Is the order the same every time?
No. The ten hacks are shuffled at the start of every run, so you never know which one is next, the same as meeting them in a job.
What happens if I fail a hack?
The run carries on to the next hack and fifteen seconds are added to your total. The splits table at the end marks which ones you failed.
Do the loading screens count against me?
No. Only the time from each hack starting to each hack finishing counts. Countdowns, load times and the pauses between hacks are not timed.
Can I leave and come back?
If you close the tab mid-run, the gauntlet page offers to resume from the hack you were on, for as long as the tab session lasts. Aborting from the bar at the top ends the run.