Challenge mode

In the Ratchet & 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 with challenge mode. This mode allows you to keep your weapons, health level, upgrades and weapon mods, whilst playing through the storyline with tougher enemies.

Mode differences
In all the games, Ratchet gets to keep his bolts, weapons, weapon mods and health. Enemies and bosses also have more health and attack power as well.

Ratchet & Clank
You keep all your weapons, bolts, gold bolts and health. 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 as none of the enemies are stronger, but is simply a new playthrough.

Items/Gadgets kept in new 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

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
You get to keep your Raritanium, bolts, weapons, mods, upgrades, 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

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.

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 Upgrade (Last one purchased)
 * Alpha Mods
 * 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. Health may now be expanded to 75, and the Bolt multiplier is gained. Also there are also two new sets of armour: 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.

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
All the standards apply (all weapons and bolts kept), and Omega Weapon Mods are available to GrummelNet vendors.

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. If a breakable object would yield 1 bolt at x1, it did not mean it will yield 20 bolts at x20 (it would usually give off somewhere around 600 to 800 bolts).

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) without the aid of the RYNO IV. 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. However, keeping the Bolt Multiplier this high was not required to maintain a high enough level of bolts to purchase things like Omega Weapons.

Appearances

 * Ratchet & Clank
 * 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