Ring Battle

"Shoot down the enemies while taking rings. Don't let the enemy take them back."

- AWACS Heavy Cloud

Ring Battle (sometimes referred to as Ring Team Deathmatch, Ring TDM, or RTDM) is a player-versus-player gameplay mode in Ace Combat Infinity. It is only available during specific Ring Battle Ranking Tournaments, under the "Limited Time! Team Deathmatch" name in the main menu. Two teams of four players each must capture as many rings as possible while preventing the enemy team from stealing them.

Goal
In Ring Battle, each team will spawn on two different areas of the map, with approximately 50 rings floating in the air (similar to Test Flight or Pilot Aptitude Test). When three minutes have elapsed, an additional 20 rings will spawn (total of 70). The team with the most rings at the end of the match will win.

Rings can be captured by either flying through them or by shooting down another player who has flown through rings (in the latter's case, one random ring the enemy player flew through will be transferred to the player). A ring's color determines its status: yellow rings have not been captured, blue rings have been captured by the player's team, and red rings have been captured by the enemy team. The targeting boxes around other players that display their aircraft will also display the number of rings they have captured at the bottom-left of the box.

Each player will earn points for capturing rings and for shooting down players. However, similar to Naval Fleet Assault, the team's total points does not affect the outcome of the match. Winning or losing the match depends entirely on ring control.

Combos
If the players on one team fly through multiple rings in quick succession, a team combo will occur, which will be indicated at the top-left of the HUD. Maintaining a team combo will award bonus credits after the match ends.

Complete Victory
If one team manages to capture all 70 rings in the latter half of the mission, the Complete Victory timer will begin. The opposing team will have 15 seconds to capture 20 rings. If they fail to do so, the match will end and the team with full control will achieve "Complete Victory".

Fever Time
At the top-left of the HUD, a "Fever Gauge" is shown; this gauge can be increased by various actions, including shooting down other players and maintaining a team combo. If the gauge fills up, Fever Time will activate for the team.

During Fever Time, flying through a ring will also capture another random ring elsewhere on the map. Fever Time also doubles the points earned for flying through rings and shooting down other players.

Missions
Ring Battle takes place on maps that have already appeared elsewhere in the game.
 * Tokyo Sky Domination
 * Welcome Back to San Diego

Trivia

 * The wreckage of a player's aircraft after being shot down can still capture rings if it flies through any before completely exploding.