{"id":23195,"date":"2026-07-17T21:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-game-modes-explained\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T21:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T21:00:58","slug":"ground-branch-game-modes-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xgamingserver.com\/blog\/ground-branch-game-modes-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"GROUND BRANCH Game Modes Explained (V1.0): Every PvE & PvP Mode"},"content":{"rendered":"

GROUND BRANCH has a wide spread of game modes across PvE co-op and PvP \u2014 and V1.0 (July 16, 2026) added the Extraction<\/strong> mode and brought back the Operations<\/strong> campaign. Here’s every GROUND BRANCH game mode explained, and how to set them on your own dedicated server.<\/p>\n

PvE modes (co-op vs AI)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Mode<\/th>\nPlayers<\/th>\nObjective<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Terrorist Hunt<\/strong><\/td>\nSolo \/ up to 8 co-op<\/td>\nHunt down AI at a chosen difficulty, time of day and target count. The bread-and-butter co-op mode.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Intel Retrieval<\/strong><\/td>\nCo-op<\/td>\nLocate and retrieve an objective, then exfiltrate to the extraction point as a team.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Extraction<\/strong> (new in V1.0)<\/em><\/td>\nSolo \/ co-op<\/td>\nRescue a hostage guarded by two captors whose morale drains under combat \u2014 hit zero and the hostage is executed. 10\u201330 enemies per map.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

See our full Extraction mode guide<\/a> for the rescue mechanics.<\/p>\n

PvP modes (player vs player)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Mode<\/th>\nFormat<\/th>\nObjective<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Uplink<\/strong><\/td>\nAttack \/ Defend<\/td>\nDefenders guard an intel device; attackers locate and hack it to win.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Defuse<\/strong><\/td>\nAttack \/ Defend<\/td>\nAttack and defend a target objective in a bomb-style round.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Team Elimination<\/strong><\/td>\n8v8<\/td>\nLast team standing wins \u2014 no respawns.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Deathmatch<\/strong><\/td>\nFree-for-all<\/td>\nCombat scored by eliminations.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Operations (the story campaign)<\/h2>\n

V1.0 also brought back Operations<\/strong>, GROUND BRANCH’s story campaign, launched from the main menu (not your server rotation). It opens with the Northwest Pakistan Prologue<\/strong> \u2014 missions Onyx Flame<\/em> and Gilded Arrow<\/em> \u2014 playable lone-wolf or online co-op. Full breakdown in our Operations campaign guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the roadmap<\/h2>\n

Raid, Defense and Hostage Rescue (PvE and PvP versions) are planned for post-launch releases \u2014 see the GROUND BRANCH roadmap<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How to set a game mode on your server<\/h2>\n

On GROUND BRANCH, the game mode is determined by the mission<\/strong> you assign to a map in MapList.ini<\/code>. For example, a co-op Intel Retrieval round on SmallTown:<\/p>\n

MapList=\/Game\/GroundBranch\/Maps\/SmallTown\/SmallTown?Mission=\/Game\/GroundBranch\/Mission\/SmallTown\/IntelRetrieval?opforcount=30?difficulty=2<\/code><\/pre>\n
Available missions include TerroristHunt<\/code>, IntelRetrieval<\/code>, Extraction<\/code>, Uplink<\/code>, Defuse<\/code>, Deathmatch<\/code> and TeamElimination<\/code> (availability varies per map). Full walkthrough in our game modes docs<\/a>, or set it with a click on managed hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Play every mode with your squad<\/h2>\n
Running the full rotation \u2014 co-op Terrorist Hunt and Extraction, plus 8v8 PvP \u2014 is best on an always-online dedicated server<\/strong>. XGamingServer’s GROUND BRANCH hosting<\/a> runs on AMD Ryzen 9 7950X hardware with instant setup, a visual config panel and one-click updates.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/h3>\n