Trench Decay How to Extract

Extraction is the win condition in TRENCH: DECAY — not kill count, not loot hoarding. studio rook.’s WW1 squad PvE loop sends four players through trench objectives, then demands a coordinated exfil back to friendly lines before timers or enemy surges wipe the run. Fail extraction and your squad gains little for the Live War Map; succeed and every server pushes the shared front.

This guide breaks the deployment into phases, explains loot triage under pressure, and links Controls and Survive Gas for the mechanics you need mid-run.

Deployment overview

A standard beta run follows this skeleton:

1. Insert — spawn at friendly trench, loadout check, squad regroup.
2. Push objectives — clear PvE waves, interact (G) with marked points.
3. Mid-run maintenance — ammo, meds, gas routing.
4. Extraction trigger — final objective unlocks the beacon or evac route.
5. Holdout — survive escalating waves until the extract timer completes.
6. Exfil — all living squad members interact or reach the zone together.

Skipping a mid-map objective stalls step 4 — if extraction never activates, backtrack to map markers before blaming bugs.

Trench Decay extraction experience

Phase 1 — Insert and loadout

Before leaving the staging trench:

• Redeem pending codes if you have unopened crates from the Codes Hub — Firearms and Melee upgrades matter more than cosmetics for first extracts.
• Tab inventory — know your mag count, meds, and melee option.
• Agree on voice or text calls — “gas left,” “ammo low,” “fall back to beacon.”

New accounts should read Getting Started once for Commissar tutorial flow; veterans can skip straight to squad assignments: point, support, anchor, flex loot.

Phase 2 — Objective push

Objective icons guide the lane forward. PvE spawns often trigger on progress volume — rushing one player ahead pulls aggro without backup.

Squad spacing

• Two-by-two stack in wide trenches; single file in narrow saps.
• Lean (Q/E) corners before committing — see Controls for peek discipline.
• Interact (G) immediately when prompts appear — some objectives require holding the key on supply crates or demolition charges.

Loot triage

Pick up ammo and medical supplies on path; skip cosmetic field drops during timed segments. If inventory is full, drop lowest-value consumables before extraction holdouts — you need mags more than spare flair.

Phase 3 — Gas and environmental hazards

Chemical attacks and barbed lanes appear between objectives. If gas clouds cut your route:

• Call direction before splitting — partial squads die off-map.
• Mask or route per Survive Gas — never sprint blind through green fog.
• Crouch / prone under wire segments; kick (T) if a teammate blocks a crawl space.

Environmental deaths before extraction still waste map progress — treat gas as a primary fail condition, not flavor.

Phase 4 — Trigger extraction

When the final objective completes, UI usually announces extraction availability. Common patterns in beta PvE shooters apply here:

• A beacon or ** evac door** lights up on the minimap or world markers.
• Someone must interact (G) to start the timer if it does not auto-start.
• The squad should regroup at the exfil point before interacting — starting holdout while stragglers loot rear lanes causes wipes.

If nothing triggers, verify all secondary markers (radios, supply crates, comms relays) — beta sometimes hides optional objectives that gate exfil.

Phase 5 — Holdout survival

Holdout is where public squads collapse. Enemy density spikes; gas may overlap the zone; ammo drains fast.

Holdout checklist

1. Anchor facing inbound lanes — block (B) melee rushers.
2. Support watches flanks — PvE loves parallel sap spawns during timers.
3. Flex resupplies — interact with any in-zone crates; call Tab status.
4. Do not chase kills — stay inside the exfil radius.
5. Save sprint (Shift) for emergency repositioning only.

When gas enters the holdout zone, rotate around the beacon keeping upstream cover — full details in Survive Gas.

Phase 6 — Final exfil

Timer complete does not always mean instant victory:

• Confirm all squadmates are in zone or alive — some beta builds penalize partial teams.
• Interact (G) if a final prompt appears.
• Do not sprint away early — wait for success banner and reward tally.

Successful extraction feeds Live War Map territory and grants medals/XP toward depot goals. Failed extraction still teaches routes — progress saves unless studio rook. announces a wipe.

Failure recovery

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix next run
Extraction never unlocks	Missed secondary objective	Sweep map markers backward
Timer resets	Left zone during holdout	Assign anchor to call “in zone”
Squad wiped at beacon	Flank spawn ignored	Support watches rear sap
Gas wipe at exfil	No mask / bad route	Pre-plan upstream cover
One player missing rewards	Early disconnect	Extract together; reinvite

Advanced tips for map progress

• Chain two successful extracts before cosmetic shopping — Code Rewards medals spend faster than mission payouts earn back.
• Push aggressively when the Live War Map shows allied momentum; play conservative when the front stalls and spawns feel overtuned.
• Re-read Controls after patches — kick and block timing often secretly buffs holdout survival.

Extraction mastery is the difference between players who think TRENCH: DECAY is unfair and squads that reliably advance the shared war.