Hello, Vultures!
It’s time to introduce the core game mode that will define your early operations in Black Vultures. In this dev update, we’re pulling back the curtain on Cargo Rush, a 3-faction showdown built around risk, timing, and precision.
If you’ve been wondering what kind of missions you’ll be dropping into during the Steam Alpha Playtest, this is where it all begins.
Mission Overview
In Cargo Rush, three factions of six players each enter the battlefield with one goal: secure and extract the Cargo before anyone else.
Here’s the basic mission flow:
Secure the Cargo when it spawns.
Transport it to your faction’s Extraction Point (EP).
Install the Cargo to initiate extraction.
Hold the point until the drone arrives.
The clock is ticking. Each match lasts up to 30 minutes, and there are multiple win conditions:
Successfully complete a Cargo extraction.
Eliminate all enemy respawn tickets.
Or, if the match times out and no one has completed an extraction, everyone loses.
How Cargo Works
Cargo appears 90 seconds after the match begins, at a preset location on the map. Once it spawns, it becomes visible:
White if unclaimed.
Blue if held by your faction.
Flashes in enemy colors every 15 seconds if held by the opposing side.
Once your team picks it up, you’ll need to deliver it to your EP and start the extraction sequence. The extraction process takes 120 seconds, divided into three phases (30 seconds, 30 seconds, and 60 seconds). If you’re interrupted, progress is saved up to the last completed phase. When you restart the process, you’ll resume from where you left off.
Opposing factions can attempt to halt your extraction by interacting with the Cargo for 3 seconds. Only one player can interrupt at a time, and they can’t be interrupted by anything other than death.
The Carrier Role
Whoever holds the Cargo becomes the Carrier.
Carriers move slower than usual.
Enemies within 20 meters of the Carrier are auto-marked for 5 seconds.
This intel is shared in real-time with all teammates.
The scan refreshes every 5 seconds.
Choosing who becomes your team’s Carrier and how you protect them becomes a strategic decision. Moving the Cargo is only half the battle… keeping it in possession is the real challenge.
Respawn System: Life Tickets
Each faction starts with a pool of respawn tickets. Every time you die, one ticket is consumed.
All players get one Personal Ticket.
Each faction starts with five Team Tickets per player (30 total per faction).
Every 500 points earned by your faction grants an extra Team Ticket.
If Team Tickets are depleted, players use their Personal Ticket instead.
Individual players earn a new Personal Ticket every 500 points, up to five max.
Run out of both, and you’re stuck spectating from the sidelines.
Forward Respawns
If the Cargo gets close enough to an Extraction Point, the faction furthest from it unlocks a temporary Outpost spawn point to help them re-engage.
This system helps maintain pacing and keeps teams from being left behind. It also reduces overlap in approach paths and gives defenders something more to worry about.
ATV Respawn System
Need to get back to the fight fast? That’s where ATVs come in.
On the respawn screen, players have the option to spawn directly into an ATV. When selected, you’ll appear just outside your faction’s base, near one of three entry routes into the combat zone.
Each faction has three ATVs located in their spawn area. These vehicles act as personal transport, perfect for cutting down travel time and launching a quick flank or deep push toward the objective. If an ATV is destroyed or abandoned, it will automatically respawn at the original base location after about 30 seconds.
The ATV system gives players the mobility needed to stay in the action, close the distance, or catch the enemy off guard. Use them wisely. Drive with purpose.
Victory and Defeat
Here’s how each match can end:
One faction successfully extracts the Cargo. They win, others lose.
All respawn tickets are depleted for two factions. The last faction standing wins.
Match ends with no completed extraction and remaining tickets. All factions lose.
Extraction is in progress at timeout. If successful, that faction wins. If not, all factions lose.
This system ensures that every match pushes toward a conclusion. No one can hide behind a score advantage. You either finish the job or fail trying.
We’ve built Cargo Rush from the ground up to encourage aggressive plays, creative flanks, and clutch team coordination. Expect chaos. Expect tension. And most of all, expect a reason to keep going back in.
Next up, we’ll show you where it all takes place: SNAFU.
▸ The THISMEANSWAR Dev Team