Challenge mode

In most Ratchet &amp; Clank games when the game is completed there are two options. One is to carry on playing the game from just before the final boss; the other option is to start the game again in the new game mode of challenge mode. This mode allows you to keep your weapons, health level, armor, upgrades and weapon mods, whilst playing through the storyline with tougher enemies.

In all the games, you keep all bolts, weapons, weapon mods, armor and health. Enemies and bosses also have more health and attack power as well.

Challenge mode didn't appear in Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault as they had smaller playthroughs. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One didn't include Challenge mode either.

In Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus the trophy The Show Off can be earned by completing Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus in Challenge Mode.

Ratchet & Clank
You keep all your weapons, bolts, gold bolts and purchased Nanotech upgrades. All 10 Gold Weapons are available on Planet Novalis and the Gemlik Base, as opposed to only 5 available on the Gemlik Base only. Unlike the other games, this is not actually considered Challenge mode, but simply a new playthrough, as none of the enemies are stronger and you can't get a Bolt Multiplier. Instead, bolts are naturally obtained a little quicker, possibly to assist with the cost of the Gold Weapons. It is actually considered easier than normal mode, as you keep all your weapons (which can be upgraded into the Gold Weapons) and none of the enemies are stronger.

Items/gadgets kept in continued playthroughs
Items and Gadgets aren't generally carried over through playthroughs, but sometimes the optional ones always slip through, provided they were obtained in the playthrough prior to.


 * Gadgetron PDA
 * Persuader
 * Bolt Grabber
 * Map-O-Matic

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
You get to keep your Raritanium, bolts, weapons, mods, upgrades, armor, and the Charge Boots, provided you obtained it in the first playthrough. New challenges for the Megacorp Games and Galactic Gladiators open up, and new Mega Weapon upgrades for all upgraded weapons allow you to upgrade their damage capabilities and ammo capacity, to keep up with the stronger enemies, and the Clank Zapper becomes available for purchase (for 1,000,000 bolts). The Bolt Multiplier is gained.

Items/gadgets kept in challenge mode

 * Charge Boots
 * Armor (Last one purchased)
 * Box Breaker
 * Armor Magnetizer
 * Mapper

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
You can now buy Mega Weapon upgrades for any V5 weapon excluding the RY3NO, which also becomes available in challenge mode for 3,000,000 bolts (2.7 million with the Gadgetron discount), allowing you to upgrade them to a higher level. The Bolt Multiplier is gained. Health now expand up to 200.

Items/gadgets kept in challenge mode

 * Charge Boots
 * Armor (Last one purchased)
 * Bolt Grabber V2
 * Gadgetron PDA
 * Nano-pak

Ratchet: Deadlocked
You can now buy upgrades for your weapons allowing you to upgrade them to V 99 (the highest level available in the series) when the Bolt multiplier is obtained.

Items/gadgets kept in challenge mode

 * Wrench Upgrades (Last one purchased)
 * Alpha Mods and Weapon Mod configurations
 * Omega Mods
 * Bot Upgrades (Armor, Paint Jobs and anything else available from Big Al's Vendor)

Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile
You can play the game again and get to keep your bolts and weapons.

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
You can now buy upgrades for your weapons, allowing you to upgrade them to a higher level, as well as the RYNO, which can be purchased for 9,999,000 bolts. Health may now be expanded to 75, and the Bolt multiplier is gained. Also there are also two new sets of armor: the Hyperborean Armor and Chameleon armor, although this was not available until the third playthrough.

Items/gadgets kept in challenge mode

 * Gadgetron PDA
 * Box Breaker
 * Bolt Grabber
 * Armor (any and all pieces collected)
 * Weapon Mods

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
In addition to all the standards, all of your Raritanium and previously obtained Devices are also carried over. You can now expand your health to a maximum of 999, the Golden Groovitron is available for purchase (for 2,000,000 Raritanium), you can buy Omega Weapon Mods and upgrade all your weapons to version 10 (known as VX), and the Bolt multiplier executes.

Items/gadgets kept in challenge mode

 * Holo-Plan Pieces
 * Armor (Last one purchased)
 * Box Basher 2000
 * Armor Magnetizer
 * Swingshot
 * Gravity Boots
 * Charge Boots
 * Grind Boots

Secret Agent Clank
You can now buy upgrades for your weapons allowing you to upgrade them to a higher level, as well as the RYNO. Health may now be expanded to 85, and the Bolt multiplier is applied to work. The enemies are tougher and when fighting Klunk, it takes almost 18 minutes to just take out a tenth of his health.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
All of your weapons and bolts kept and Omega Weapon Mods are available through GrummelNet vendors. The health can be expanded to 199. It is slightly easier than the first playthrough, as you can have an extremely high health and super powerful weapons for a low price. All bosses are easier, but the enemies are harder.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
In Into the Nexus, Omega Weapons are available once again, except that they are only able to be leveled up to V6. The Platinum Cup  on Destructapalooza is available, as well as Nether Armor. However, the Omega Weapons all require gold bolts to buy, which, if you can't find any, you're dead meat, especially on Legend difficulty. The total amount of Nanotech Ratchet could have was 200, similar to Up Your Arsenal.

​Items/gadgets kept in challenge mode

 * Treasure Mapper
 * Armor

Ratchet & Clank (PS4)
All your weapons and bolts are kept and Omega versions become available. The Insomniac Museum is also now unlocked and can be travled to via a teleporter in Grim's Garage on Veldin.

Items/gadgets kept in Challenge mode

 * Map-o-Matic
 * Box Breaker

The Bolt Multiplier
The Bolt Multiplier was introduced in Going Commando as a way of obtaining exponentially greater amounts of bolts than were available in the first playthrough by playing with skill. The Bolt Multiplier's requirements changed in almost every game, but generally, it would require the player to defeat enemies to make the multiplier to increase in value, and every time it would require a greater quantity of enemies to be defeated to get it to the next level. It always required one enemy to be defeated to reach x2. If a player took a hit, even when using a weapon such as the Shield Charger, it would drop back down to x1. One thing about the Bolt Multiplier was that it was nearly impossible to tell how many bolts you would gain from having the Bolt Multiplier at a certain level. Breakables were not affected by it.

Trivia

 * The Standard Bolt Multiplier would max out at x20, but in Size Matters, it would max out at x12, though the reason behind this was unknown.
 * The Bolt Multiplier of Tools of Destruction was the most difficult to obtain and maintain at x20, due to the fact it required a lot of enemies to reach that level (over 100). One challenge of the Imperial Fight Festival, "They Were on Sale", could be used to reach a level of x20 easily just by performing the challenge twice.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
 * Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
 * Ratchet: Deadlocked
 * Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile
 * Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
 * Secret Agent Clank
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
 * Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
 * Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
 * Ratchet & Clank (PS4)