Chaining
What TornLife's research has established about Chaining, and the questions players asked about it.
What TornLife has verified
- In March 2018 Chedburn queried a claim that the new respect system disadvantaged low-level factions on a chain of the same length. He asked if a new-player faction produced 39% less total respect than a veteran HoF faction. (confirmed by Torn; Faction Wars even more Unfavourable to New Players, )
- The wiki says a chain is built by successive hits on players outside your faction. It is a warring tool that earns more respect as it grows, with occasional bonus hits. Chaining must be unlocked by spending respect, and each longer chain length is unlocked after completing a chain of the set length. (documented; Chain, )
- You must be in a faction at the beginning of a chain to contribute; if you leave after it starts you may not return. Chaining upgrades limit the maximum chain size, and reaching the faction maximum forces a cooldown. (player reports; Faction/Patch History (7/7), )
- Cooldown after a break: the wiki Faction page says 10 seconds per hit; the Chain page says 6 seconds per hit (600 seconds for a chain of 100). Hits during cooldown do not affect the chain. (documented; Chain › How to Chain, )
- In August 2022 Chedburn replied that it is very difficult to synchronize the attack auto-timeout perfectly, and that it is preferable for it to run slightly longer than to time out before it says it will. This was in a thread about a chain breaking when a 30-second timeout took 34 seconds. (confirmed by Torn; chain broke even though it should not of, )
- Chedburn's other chain-related replies were bug-triage responses. In 2021 he asked whether overseas raid hits were not registering as 'Overseas' in chain reports. In 2018 he asked whether hits were not increasing the chain. In 2023 he explained the chain report API returns different errors for a pruned report versus a chain that does not exist. (confirmed by Torn; Inconsistent API error results for chain reports, )
- The wiki says each chain length bonus must be unlocked by completing a challenge and assigning a permanent respect cost. Upgrading mid-chain, when the challenge is complete and enough respect is available, does not break the ongoing chain. (documented; Chain › Unlocking chaining, )
- Chain honors: Chainer 1-5 for participating in chains of 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000; Chain Saver for saving a 100+ chain 10 seconds before it breaks; Strongest Link for 100 hits in a single chain; Carnage, Massacre, Genocide for single hits earning 10, 100, 1,000 respect. (documented; Award › Honors › Attacking, )
- In 2022 Chedburn said the chain report's 'best hit' statistic is not a bug or issue: there is not enough space for a 'Best non-bonus hit', and he likes that it shows the highest bonus achieved. (confirmed by Torn; Best Hit Chain Report Statistic Redundant, )
- In April 2020 Chedburn suggested the chain timer could be shown on the attack screen alongside the chain count, e.g. "56 (04:32)", by changing the 5:00 attack timer to seconds. He expected it would not be simple because the live-updating chain system would need rebuilding. (confirmed by Torn; [250 R+] Chain count on attack screen, )
- Patch list #130 (25/02/20) added a link to the chain report when clicking the chain bar during cooldown. (confirmed by Torn; Faction/Patch History (2/7), )
- After 10 hits, each successful hit must land within 5 minutes; a hit resets the timer and adds one to the chain. If no hit is made in time, the chain breaks and enters cooldown and cannot be restored by hitting. (documented; Chain, )
- Chaining 2.0 (2017) removed the 500-man warbase limit and bonuses moved from 5 to 13 tiers. (documented; Faction › Faction Warfare › Chaining, )
- Chain unlock costs (max chain: challenge, respect): 10: none, 1,412; 25: chain of 10, 2,173; 50: chain of 25, 3,067; 100: chain of 50, 4,719; 250: chain of 100, 6,662; 500: chain of 250, 10,251; 1,000: chain of 500, 15,773; 2,500: chain of 1,000, 22,265; 5,000: chain of 2,500, 34,258; 10,000: chain of 5,000, 48,358; 25,000: chain of 10,000, 74,404; 50,000: chain of 25,000, 105,027; 100,000: chain of 50,000, 161,596. (documented; Chain › Unlocking chaining — Chain Costs, )
- On the Faction upgrades panel these are named Chaining I to XIII, with the same max chain sizes, respect costs and challenges. (documented; Faction › Upgrades Panel › Chaining — Chaining, )
- On 22 November 2021, Torn developer Chedburn announced the removal of the chain scaling bonus during cooldown: once a chain breaks, the scaling multiplier is lost immediately rather than persisting through the cooldown period, intended to close a ranked-war exploit where factions pre-built a chain to keep a high multiplier active for attacks made during an upcoming war. (confirmed by Torn; Preserve The Chaining Cooldown Multiplier, )
- If you want to continue receiving the chain scaling bonus on all hits, the only way is to keep the chain alive; breaking the chain forfeits the bonus rather than preserving it during cooldown. (confirmed by Torn; Preserve The Chaining Cooldown Multiplier, )
- A faction suggestion in November 2021 asked developers to keep the chain scaling multiplier active during the chain cooldown period specifically to avoid disrupting faction war strategy; the developer rejected preserving it with an arbitrary extra rule and said the removal would be done properly, adding a later-mentioned reduction to chain cooldown durations alongside the change. (confirmed by Torn; Preserve The Chaining Cooldown Multiplier- 250R+, )
- Chedburn stated chain cooldowns originally existed as a safeguard against issues seen in "Chaining 1.0" but by late 2021 primarily serve as a visual indicator showing what a faction achieved, now that the lingering scaling bonus is being removed. (confirmed by Torn; Preserve The Chaining Cooldown Multiplier, )
- Chaining starts with an initial five-minute 'warm up' period requiring ten successful attacks; once the chain reaches ten, each subsequent hit must land within a five-minute timer, which resets with each successful hit, or the chain enters cooldown. (documented; Chain, )
- Unlocking higher maximum chain lengths costs increasing amounts of respect and requires achieving the prior tier as a challenge, ranging from 1,412 respect for a max chain of 10 up to 161,596 respect for a max chain of 100,000. (documented; Chain › Unlocking chaining — Chain Costs, )
Questions about Chaining
- Does the chain's respect multiplier stay active during the countdown timer between hits, before the chain breaks?
No. Since patch 220 (30/11/21), the chain scale multiplier is removed the instant a chain enters cooldown after breaking or completing; it does not c…
- What does 'turtling' mean in Torn?
Turtling is player slang (not an official Torn term) for making your faction, or yourself, unavailable to be attacked — staying in hospital, travelli…
- How does chaining work, and when does a new chain start?
A chain is a run of successful hits on players outside your faction, earning more respect as it grows, with 13 flat-value bonus hits . The faction mu…
- What did Chedburn say about chaining?
Chedburn's chain comments in the sources are mostly short forum replies: the chain report's best-hit statistic is not a bug , the attack auto-timeout…