Hackers Rift: Season III is revving up for another fierce competition

On your marks, the games are about to begin (again). 

We are thrilled to get our next Season underway. The team at Hack The Box has put in work to ensure this Season shapes up to have the twists and turns you need to sharpen your skills, while always improving the quality of the labs. The new Beta Season III - Hackers Rift will kick off on September 30th. Be sure to boot up by then and tackle the weekly Machines dropping every Saturday at 19:00 UTC.

As per the rules, your ranks have been reset from the previous Season.

We know that in battle stations spanning multiple continents, hackers have tools prepped, documentation at the ready, and the curiosity to drive through the weeks ahead. Time to prove who can climb the ranks, grow their arsenal, or claim the spot at the top!

The question is: “Who will be the first to head into the Rifts?”

Season II: the ranking

Let's give it up for our top 3 contenders in Season II! Your skill, determination, and ingenuity shone through the last 13 weeks. Celebrate this well-deserved triumph; you've truly set a remarkable benchmark! 

🥇szymex73
🥈Randominion 
🥉Palermo 

Special congratulations to szymex73 for placing 1st for the second Season in a row. Will szymex73 perform a hat trick in Season III, or will someone dethrone them? We are excited to see how it all plays out.

People are ranking up!

We are happy to see the Seasonal format growing, with more players joining the fun every week. Not only that! We are seeing more players climb into Holo and Silver rankings. Additionally, over 1,400 new aspiring hackers claimed a rank this Season, and we want to welcome every single one of you to the fray.

This brings our total leaderboard count to over 7,000 individuals Here’s a breakdown of your fellow players: 

• Holo: 274 

• Platinum: 216 

• Ruby: 340

• Silver: 2,185

• Bronze: 4,376

A round of applause for all the challengers burning the midnight oil and digging into these Machines. Remember, more than a competition against others, HTB Seasons can become an entertaining way to test your own skills. 

Tips & Tricks

We always recognize all the players who claimed a spot on the leaderboards, but what about those who couldn’t find their first flags? In total, more than 24,000 people gave it a shot and spun up a Machine this Season. So, we’d like to give out some suggestions for people looking to own their first flag in Seasons. No hacker left behind!

• Utilize AI: Recently, I’ve used AI to complement my learning process. What if I have a question about an exploit, architecture, how a tool works, or a roadblock halting my progress on a machine? Well, now I reflexively write a prompt. There’s a lot of emphasis on having a mentor through your journey, but AI allows you to become your mentor. So, be sure to ask away and pair it with the curiosities you have on the go.

• Go back to the basics: Odds are, you might be a beginner, and we are happy you rose to the challenge! If so, Starting Point and Guided Mode will help increase your skills before attempting new machines next Season.

• Team up: Collaboration is crucial. So, jump into our Discord server and look for other hackers eager to form an alliance and score a group victory! Teaming up happens throughout this industry. In a SOC, during a pentest, or a red team engagement, you will most likely be allied with other people working towards the same goal. 

• Persistence is key: It can feel like defeat whenever you leave a Machine without a flag, but I assure you that you’re just getting started. There's a mix of difficulties through the Season, but wait for the Machines that you feel fit your current skill level, and go for it! Still aim to challenge yourself on the more complex labs, but know that if you come away with nothing, you have a goal set for a future date.

“Focus on the difficulty you're at, and build up from there. You can do this!”

0xdf, Training Lab Architect @ Hack The Box

Improvements & updates

Teams leaderboard

Teams can now rank together starting this Season! If you're curious about what that will look like, you'll find a toggleable teams section at the top of the leaderboard. Here, you can check your standings and who aims to be the best. 

Teams rank as their team members earn points through flag captures or bloods. Making each teammate's success critical for the overall group's climb to the top. Be aware, teams do not receive their own prizes at this time... But you never know the future!

Duration

Season III will have a duration of 12 weeks instead of 13. This is an exceptional case, as going for the normal Seasonal timeframe would have taken us too close to the festive period and possibly made it more difficult to play the last Machine for a good amount of our user base. 

Remember: The new Season will start on September 30th, 2023. Keep an eye on your HTB app homepage for further updates!