Over the summer last year, Bend Studio added 12 free challenges to Days Gone to test player’s skills in various ways. Recently, I was reminiscing about the pure excitement I had every Friday waiting to get my thumbs on the sticks to play the next challenge. Feeling the adrenaline rush as you take on an unlimited horde, or the pressure as you race across the map on your drifter bike to complete a trial, the challenges were unique and an absolute blast to play. Occasionally I go back to the challenges to try and beat my previous high scores and move up in the leaderboards. Challenge modes usually are not my cup of tea in games, but these challenges were done so well that I couldn’t (and still can’t) stay away from them. That gave me the idea to rank all 12 challenges from hardest to easiest. If you are one of those players that haven’t tried the challenges yet, maybe this list will help you begin where to start to boost your confidence and start earning some credits.

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*Each challenge shows a Gold rank run

12. OUTRIDE

This challenge took me way more hours than I would like to admit. You need to be almost flawless with your bike skills for this one to achieve the gold score.

Tip: Best rings to use – Engine, Tire/Snake

11. SURROUNDED

In my opinion, this was the hardest horde challenge and was actually the very first challenge that was released. It took me a few weeks to finally get gold on this one. Surrounded is the perfect name for this challenge because Freakers will come at you from everywhere!

Tip: Best rings to use – Bullets, Ram

10. SURVIVE

Headshots, headshots and headshots. Surviving this challenge is more than just taking down waves of enemies. You need to be proficient with your marksman skills to achieve the highest score possible and come away with gold.

Tip: Best rings to use – 1%ER, Lionheart/Joker

9. AMBUSH CAMP RUSH

There’s not another challenge like this one. Whether you go in guns blazing or take the stealthy approach, you must calculate each move to get the best possible score.

Tip: Best rings to use – Fleur De Lis, Vampire

8. DRIFTER’S RUN

You either love the bike challenges or hate them. Learn the best possible path, nail the ramps and drift to your heart’s content and you will achieve that sweet gold rank as you cross the snowy finish line.

Tip: Best rings to use – Engine, Snake

7. DEAD DON’T RIDE

Two words… Crazy Taxi.

Rings don’t matter here

6. DEAD BEFORE DAYLIGHT

Are you claustrophobic? This may not be the challenge for you. Survive the night in the cabin as Freakers barge through windows and doors as you fight for every breath. Hint: Head upstairs… There’s a surprise that you don’t want to miss.

Tip: Best rings to use – Lionheart, Reaper

5. RELOAD

What do you get when you have a sniper rifle and a horde of Freakers? A ton of chaos and fun! Plus, if you like explosions then this one is for you.

Tip: Best rings to use – Bullets, Ram

4. BLACK FRIDAY

Old Sawmill. Good luck.

Tip: Best rings to use – Bullets, Ram

3. HOG WILD

You will hit a lot of trees in this one. Riding the twists and turns of the Cascade region can be dangerous, but once you master steering you’re in for the funnest bike challenge out of them all.

Tip: Best rings to use – Engine, Tire/Snake

2. KEEP THEM SAFER

Whether I tackle this horde in the game or in the challenge, I came to the conclusion that it is one of my favorite hordes to face. It’s the second biggest horde in the game with 300 Freakers. In this challenge, you must avoid rolling and utilize your crossbow to earn gold. It sounds intimidating, but if you know the layout of the level well it should be easier than you think.

Tip: Best rings to use – Ram, Fleur De Lis

1. INFESTED

On my very first try, I achieved gold on this challenge. However, the sub-challenges are more difficult to achieve, which makes my number one easiest challenge tricky. If you want to simply get gold, then you can very well knock it out without getting gold on all the sub-challenges – it may just take a little longer.

Tip: Best rings to use – Bullets, Ram

There you have it, my personal rankings of all 12 challenges! Remember, the challenges that were difficult to me may be easy for you and vice versa. Jump into one of the challenges and give it a shot if you haven’t. Your skills may surprise you! Plus, by completing each challenge and ranking in each one, you get a new patch that boosts your stats and carries over to the main story. They look pretty snazzy on Deacon’s vest too! You can also equip the bike skins you unlock in the challenges to the story.

Let me know what challenges were the easiest and hardest for you in the comments below or on Twitter!