9 TO DIEThe Rat Race
What is The Rat Race?
The Rat Race is floor 12 of 12, and its phrase is "It's a rat race." It opens when you win The Sinking Ship with that department. Its enemies are 110 percent stronger than the first floor's. Its final boss is The Ghost Job, at 16:00.
Good morning!! As part of our ongoing commitment to operational excellence, your role has been impacted!!
Which bosses are on the calendar?
Four calendar bosses book this floor: The Interview Loop, The Projected Bonus, The Algorithm, Engagement Survey. They arrive at 3:45, 7:30, 11:15, 15:00 in that order. The Ghost Job closes the quarter at 16:00, and beating it wins the floor. A calendar boss still standing at the next booking leaves without paying out.
| Clock | Boss | Slot | Base health | Phases |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:45 | The Interview Loop | Calendar | 1000 | 3 |
| 7:30 | The Projected Bonus | Calendar | 900 | 3 |
| 11:15 | The Algorithm | Calendar | 950 | 3 |
| 15:00 | Engagement Survey | Calendar | 780 | 3 |
| 16:00 | The Ghost Job | Final | 3600 | 5 |
What is the hazard, and is there a secret?
The hazard: The conveyor never stops: it carries you across the floor, and the floor repeats, so it never gets you anywhere. It runs for the whole quarter, so plan your route around it. This floor also hides one secret, which appears on the floor during Monday Morning.
Hint: The thing you came here for has been in the building all along. Find it and you skip part of the final fight.
Tips from the floor
- The conveyor never stops. Walk against it between waves.
- The Projected Bonus can be caught. Its number only goes down.
- Win here and you are rehired as a Contractor: the run pays 1.4 times the PTO.
Who is in the cast?
24 kinds of enemy work this floor, and 6 of them are elites, marked with a yellow-and-black band. The swarm arrives first, tougher kinds join as the weeks pass, and specials turn up on their own schedule. Numbers below are base figures, before the clock and the floor multiply them.
| Enemy | Tier | Health | Damage | Speed | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ping | Swarm | 2 | 3 | 3.1 | arrives in a sudden burst on a timer |
| Quick Question | Swarm | 3 | 4 | 2.7 | arrives in a sudden burst on a timer |
| Friendly Reminder | Swarm | 3 | 4 | 2.5 | walks straight at you |
| Calendar Invite | Swarm | 3 | 3 | 2.6 | stuns you when it touches you |
| Recruiter | Standard | 8 | 3 | 2.4 | keeps its distance while it attacks |
| Timesheet | Standard | 10 | 5 | 2.1 | steals your XP, runs away and drops double when caught |
| Expense Report | Standard | 8 | 5 | 2 | keeps its distance while it attacks |
| Phishing Test | Standard | 8 | 4 | 1.7 | stuns you when it touches you |
| Status Report | Standard | 9 | 5 | 1.6 | walks straight at you |
| Culture Committee | Standard | 9 | 4 | 1.3 | stuns you when it touches you |
| Wellness Champion | Standard | 10 | 4 | 1.5 | leaves ground that slows you down |
| Diversity Trainer | Standard | 11 | 4 | 1.5 | stuns you when it touches you |
| Circle Back | Standard | 8 | 7 | 2.3 | circles you and bites when you stop |
| Stakeholder | Tough | 60 | 0 | 1 | makes everything around it stronger |
| Lipstick on a Pig | Tough | 40 | 9 | 1.6 | fully heals and renames itself at set health levels |
| The Count | Elite | 220 | 0 | 1 | makes everything around it stronger |
| Performance Review | Elite | 160 | 0 | 3.5 | sits behind you and slows your fire rate |
| Automation | Elite | 140 | 8 | 2.4 | calls in more enemies on a timer |
| Pen Tester | Elite | 150 | 14 | 1.6 | fires bolts from range |
| The Consultants | Elite | 70 | 10 | 1.7 | joins others of its kind into something bigger |
| Escalation | Elite | 150 | 13 | 1.5 | winds up and charges in a straight line |
| Skeleton Crew | Special | 20 | 0 | 1.35 | ignores you until it has been hit enough times |
| Moving Goalposts | Special | 30 | 6 | 3.2 | keeps its distance while it attacks |
| Reply All | Special | 6 | 5 | 1.5 | snakes across the floor, and kills add to its tail until the head dies |