How to Earn Promotions in the XSF
Whether through leading operations, mentoring juniors, or displaying standout qualities, each rank offers new growth opportunities and responsibilities for willing Commanders inside the XSF.
This guide will explain the steps and expectations for advancing, helping you rise through the ranks and become a leader within XSF.
Have a look at our Rank Overview for a broader picture of the different kinds of Ranks we use.
Learner
Aviator
Lieutenant
Captain
Major
Colonel
General Staff
Rank Requirements
Promotion has been valued with 5 major categories that a Commander must accomplish. The categories consist of Experience, Knowledge Proficiencies, Promotion Challenges, Anti Xeno Initiative Ranks, and Leadership Potential. Promotion within Xeno Strike Force is not always guaranteed even if a Commander is completely qualified.
Submitting a Rank Request
- Combine into 1 post and submit to our ‘#apply-for-ranks‘ Discord channel
- 1 – Experience Participation Proof (Official Operation Orders). Use /experience name @person and take a snap shot.
- 2 – XSF Promotion Challenge proof
- 3 – AXI Rank Proof or Equivalent (Can be a discord link)
- 4 – Knowledge Proficiency must be accomplished last and will be submitted by the proctor as a reply to your post that consisted of the other 3 categories, look in the Tab below for info on what Officers to ask to be proctored
- Knowledge Proficiency must achieve a passing 80% of associated requested rank requirement of Basic, Advanced, or Master
- 5 – Ranks requiring leadership assessments will be conducted in the background without the applicant
- You may right click on discord messages from any server or any channel and click ‘Copy Message Link’ and submit with your proof
1 – Experience
Commanders will gain Operational Experience participating in Official Operations. Official Operations are approved by Majors, Colonels, or General Staff. Official Operations will be posted in the Operation Orders channel on discord. Anybody is allowed to submit Official Operation Orders through the discord bot with the command “/opord“. See “/opord information” for further details. See
 Aviator | 1 Operation as Learner |
| Lieutenant | 5 Operations as Aviator |
| Captain | 5 Operations as Lieutenant |
| Major | 5 Operations as Captain |
| Colonel | 5 Operations as Major |
2 – Promotion Challenges
Promotion Challenges can be submitted to the ‘apply-for-ranks‘ channel in the XSF Discord. The Challenges showcase the actual competency of a Commander to lead against the Thargoid threat. Below articulate each Challenge per Rank and its requirements…
Aviator
Aviator Charlie and Captain Sheen were conducting Combat Air Patrol in a two Commander wing located in Pleiades Sector MI-S B4-0, where they were engaged by a Medusa Interceptor. Not expecting the dire strength and devastating firepower of the Interceptor, they were forced to fight for their lives while never losing focus of wing combat to become the Unconquerable Pair…
- Wing of 2
- Kill a Thargoid Medusa within 30 minutes
- Captain or higher as wing member to promote
- No Guardian Modules or Weapons
- No Ammo Synth
- No Deaths allowed
- Must use Basic Ammo
- Applicant must not be carried through the fight
- Single screen shot showing both Commanders in a wing, both in the same instance at time of explosion and bond.
- Must not be an AXCZ
Spirit of this Challenge is to face a high priority threat with similar ship-build restrictions a typical Escort Fighter for Titanspace would have
Lieutenant
Lieutenant Yang was participating in Operation Iron Eagle assaulting Titan Taranis in the year 3310 while flying her “Titan Killer” Krait MK II dubbed ‘XSF Yin’. She found herself following the orders of the Captain until suddenly a Lightning strike from a Hydra Interceptor vaporized her Captain. Lieutenant Yang was now in charge…
- You are in charge now, successfully hold the instance while gaining 60 points without losing any team members.
- Must be completed in Titan Space
- Wing of 3 required, 4th not allowed (The Captain is dead…)
- One RRR allowed at a time while remaining Commanders stay in the instance.
- Requires video for Rank Requesting applicant
- Medusa or Hydra: 60 points
- Basilisk: 25 points
- Cyclops: 15 points
- Glaive: 10 points
- Scythe: 5 points
Learn how to organize, communicate and lead to achieve a given mission-objective
Captain
Captain Jaeger was assigned a recovery mission in the year 3310. He was instructed to break his wing down into two elements – Strike and Search and Rescue – tasked with recovering Thargoid Bio-storage Capsules from a Thargoid Titan in an attempt to bring our fellow human brethren home. Mission analysts intel suggests Scythe variants of the formidable Hunter class Thargoid vessels are present in the area to actively recover any jettisoned Bio-Capsules. It is said that the Captain has the knowledge proficiency, administrative capability, effective communication skills, and piloting skill to lead the most effective Tactical Wing that the Xeno Strike Force has to offer…
- The Rank requesting applicant must lead the operation and be in the Strike Team. Must submit Official Operation Order for a Tactical Wing sized element demonstrating administrative leadership.
- Losing any Search and Rescue Team members invalidates the run
- Recover 180 Thargoid Bio-Capsules to the nearest megaship.
- Respawning is not permitted
- Wing of 4 required
- Must kill all Scythe Hunter Class vessels attempting to recover extracted Thargoid Bio-Capsules.*
- No wing member is allowed to leave Titan Space once inside until Mission Completion.
- Strike Team must not extract Thargoid Bio-Capsules, however may store them in cargo.
- Requires using Mumble Comms and teaching wing members to validate communication proficiency during Operations while running a Strike Group
- Menu logging to leave titan space not permitted
- Video required only from Applicant, must show remaining team members exiting with 180 Thargoid Bio-Capsules. Recommend Wingmates take screen shots.
Prove that you are fully capable in your knowledge, piloting, communication and administrative abilities to delegate multiple mission tasks at once
* Until a glitch causing game crashes upon the death of Scythes is fixed, this is not required and actively advised against. Best practice is to beam them to take aggro from SAR craft and lead them to the asteroid fields.
3 – Anti Xeno Initiative Rank
Qualifications must include achieving the matching AXI Ranks.
- Aviator
- Lieutenant
- Captain
- Major
- Colonel
Sole Survivor (Basilisk Solo)
Serpent’s Nemesis (Medusa Solo)
Collector (Hydra Duo, All previous Solos)
Herculean Conqueror (Hydra Solo)
Decent Pilot (AX Mastery)
Visit the 
AXI Website
4 – Knowledge Proficiencies
Over time, excellent Commanders have taken it upon themselves to distinguish themselves amongst their peers by learning Thargoid habits, weapon types and configurations, ship loadouts, and Xeno Strike Force knowledge. There is a verbal test that will be administered going over proficiency categories per rank. Applicant must have an 80% or higher. This proficiency exam ensures quality commanders are being progressed. Please review the “Book of Sentinel“.
RANK Aviator Lieutenant Captain
PROFICIENCY
Basic
Advanced
Master
PROCTORED BY Captain Major Colonel
See the “Book of Sentinel” for the knowledge proficiencies.
5 – Leadership Potential
Lieutenant, Captain, Major, and Colonel will have a degree of community assessment as far as how the Commander carries themselves publicly. Leading Operations as any rank will be noticed. Whether a Commander has accomplishments positively progressing the Xeno Strike Force as a Community will be determined based on several factors which will all be taken into consideration, including: evaluation of communication with others, if they are a team player or not, if they have been an effective team mate, and how well team mates cooperated together. Social interactions on the XSF and AXI discords, social media, any forum, and in game will also be a factor. A simple rule of, “treating others the way you want to be treated”.