# Ground Branch Game Modes & Missions (/docs/ground-branch/game-modes)



import { Step, Steps } from 'fumadocs-ui/components/steps';

Ground Branch ships with both cooperative (PvE) and competitive (PvP) game modes, each set per-map through your server's **mission** and **MapList**. This guide explains every mode and the key settings that control it.

PvE Modes (Co-op vs AI) [#pve-modes-co-op-vs-ai]

| Mode                | Players              | Objective                                                                             |
| ------------------- | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Terrorist Hunt**  | Solo / up to 8 co-op | Hunt down AI at a chosen difficulty, time of day and target count.                    |
| **Intel Retrieval** | Co-op                | Locate and retrieve the objective, then exfiltrate to the extraction point as a team. |

PvP Modes (Player vs Player) [#pvp-modes-player-vs-player]

| Mode                 | Format          | Objective                                                                  |
| -------------------- | --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Uplink**           | Attack / Defend | Defenders guard an intel device; attackers must locate and hack it to win. |
| **Defuse**           | Attack / Defend | Attack and defend a target objective in a bomb-style round.                |
| **Team Elimination** | 8v8             | Last team standing wins — no respawns.                                     |
| **Deathmatch**       | Free-for-all    | Combat scored by eliminations.                                             |

> 📝 **Coming soon:** Raid, Defense and Hostage Rescue (PvE and PvP versions) are on the post-launch roadmap, alongside the v1.0 **Extraction** mission type featuring hostage rescue and captor behaviours.

Setting the Game Mode on Your Server [#setting-the-game-mode-on-your-server]

On Ground Branch, the game mode is determined by the **mission** you assign to a map. You can set this from the XGamingServer panel.

<Steps>
  <Step>
    Open your server's config [#open-your-servers-config]

    Log in to the [XGamingServer panel](https://panel.xgamingserver.com), select your Ground Branch server, and either use the **Startup** map/mission fields or edit your `MapList.ini` under `Files` → `GroundBranch/ServerConfig/`.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Choose a map and mission [#choose-a-map-and-mission]

    Each `MapList.ini` entry pairs a map with a mission (the game mode). For example, a co-op Intel Retrieval round on SmallTown:

    ```
    [/script/rbzookeeper.zkmaplist]
    MapList=/Game/GroundBranch/Maps/SmallTown/SmallTown?Mission=/Game/GroundBranch/Mission/SmallTown/IntelRetrieval?opforcount=30?difficulty=2?roundtime=60?timeofday=0800
    ```

    Available missions include `TerroristHunt`, `IntelRetrieval`, `Uplink`, `Defuse`, `Deathmatch` and `TeamElimination`. Availability varies per map.
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Tune the mode settings [#tune-the-mode-settings]

    Add options to the map line to control how the mode plays:

    | Setting      | Range            | What it does                                                       |
    | ------------ | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
    | `MaxPlayers` | 8–16             | Player slots (16 hard limit; 8 recommended for co-op, 16 for PvP). |
    | `MaxAI`      | 0–50             | Absolute AI cap. `0` disables co-op modes that need enemies.       |
    | `OpForCount` | 1–MaxAI          | AI to spawn in Intel Retrieval or Terrorist Hunt.                  |
    | `Difficulty` | 1–4 (0 = custom) | AI difficulty for Intel Retrieval and Terrorist Hunt.              |
    | `RoundTime`  | 3+ min           | How long each round lasts.                                         |
    | `TimeOfDay`  | 0000–2400        | In-game time (day / night ops).                                    |
  </Step>

  <Step>
    Save and restart [#save-and-restart]

    Save the file and restart your server. Your rotation will cycle through each map/mission you added, in order.
  </Step>
</Steps>

Changing Modes On the Fly [#changing-modes-on-the-fly]

You don't have to edit files to switch modes mid-session. Claim admin (see [Adding Admins](/docs/ground-branch/adding-admins)) and use the in-game admin menu (press <kbd>F8</kbd>) to change the map and mission, or build a map list visually. See [Change Map](/docs/ground-branch/change-map) for the full walkthrough.

> **Don't have a server yet?** [Get Ground Branch Server Hosting](https://xgamingserver.com/ground-branch-server-hosting?utm_source=docs\&utm_medium=referral\&utm_campaign=ground-branch-server-hosting) starting from $10/month with instant setup and 24/7 support.