Aegis Ranks are specialized Titan upgrades specific to Titanfall 2's Frontier Defense mode (alongside featured multiplayer modes Aegis LTS and Aegis Titan Brawl) . They augment the Titan in question to have abilities much more powerful than their baseline multiplayer counterparts. Aegis ranks are unlocked at Aegis levels 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20, and most are specific to each Titan, the only exceptions to this being "Chassis Upgrade", which all Titans unlock upon reaching Aegis level 5, and "Shield Upgrade", which all Titans unlock upon reaching Aegis level 14.
New Frontier Defense difficulty levels are also unlocked once the Pilot reaches a certain Aegis level with at least 1 of their Titans, with Hard difficulty unlocking once the pilot has a level 5 Titan, Master difficulty unlocking once they have a level 11 Titan, and Insane difficulty unlocking once they have a level 14 Titan. Once a difficulty is unlocked, it can only be played with titans of the appropriate rank.
Because Titans are locked-in on the first wave of Frontier Defense, any XP gained will be specific to that Titan.
Aegis Merits[]
Aegis Rank progression is awarded based on the following criteria;
- Mission Completion: Easy and Normal are worth 1 Merit, Hard is worth 2, Master is worth 3.
- Waves Completed: 1 Merit per wave (max 5).
- Retries Remaining: 1 Merit per retry (max 2).
- Unique Titans: 1 Merit if the squad has no duplicate Titan choices. Monarch, Legion, Scorch, Tone would qualify, but Monarch, Legion, Scorch, Legion would not.
- Wave Milestone: 1 Merit per Wave in which at least 50% of enemies are killed by the team (max 5). Not available on Easy.
- Up to two additional Wave Milestones can be earned on waves which are retried, but this subtracts from the Retries Remaining bonus, resulting in a net gain of zero.
- Aegis Bonus: 1 Merit per squadmember using a limited-edition Frontier Defense Titan Elite Warpaint (max 4). Sale of these Warpaints ends August 28, 2017 (Now extended to September 25th, 2017)[1]
There may be other undocumented sources of Aegis Merits.
Merits are only awarded for rounds you participated in; if you join late into a match (because another pilot disconnected) then you do not receive any credit for the rounds prior to your joining.
Aegis Rank Upgrades[]
| Titan | 2 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ion |  "Split shots deal more damage." |
             "Your Titan's health is increased by 2,500." |
  "Ion's max energy is increased." |
  "Laser Shot deals additional damage against weak points." |
              "Your Titan's max Shield is increased by 2,500." |
  "Ion regenerates energy 25% faster." |
  "Kills extend the duration of Laser Cannon." |
| Scorch |   "T-203 Thermite Launcher now fires two shots before needing to reload." |
  "Thermite damage builds up a Core Meter multiplier." |
  "Thermite damage is increased." |
  "Thermite Launcher now fires three shots before needing to reload." |
  "Igniting an Incendiary Trap now triggers an initial explosion." | ||
| Northstar |   "Tether Traps explode when they break." |
  "Plasma Railgun charges faster." |
  "Northstar has two charges of Tether Traps." |
  "Plasma Railgun critical hits deal increased damage." |
  "Cluster Missile now fires two missiles." | ||
| Ronin |   "Melee attacks deal more damage." |
  "Phase Dash has two charges." |
  "Incoming blocked damage charges Sword Core." |
  "Phase Dash travels further." |
  "Sword Core attacks generate shield. Sword Core's duration is doubled." | ||
| Tone |   "40mm rounds deal damage over a larger area." |
  "Enemies take 25% increased damage while revealed by Sonar Pulse." |
  "40mm ammo capacity is doubled." |
  "Sonar Pulse's duration is increased by 100%." |
  "Salvo Core fires more missiles." | ||
| Legion |   "Predator Cannon rounds pierce through enemies." |
  "Close Range Power Shot bypasses Doomed State." |
  "Damage absorbed by your Gun Shield recharges your Titan's shield." |
  "Long Range Power Shot deals more damage each time it pierces an enemy." |
  "Legion is equipped with all of his Kits." | ||
| Monarch |   "Monarch's Electric Smoke now gives her shield." |
  "Reduces spread and enables toggle zoom on the XO-16." |
  "Monarch's Electric Smoke now gives friendly Titans shield." |
  "XO-16 deals additional damage against weak points." |
  "Monarch starts with a random Tier 1 core upgrade." |
Reaching Aegis Rank 24 with a Titan will additionally unlock PRISM versions of that Titan's Banner. At this point, the titan is considered "Max rank", and Aegis progress will no longer be collected for the titan. Experience Points and Credits are still rewarded the same way at the end of matches when the titan is at max Aegis rank.
Notes[]
Aegis level ups can occur mid-mission from clearing waves. If this occurs and you unlock a new perk, you'll have to get out of your Titan and climb back in to reinitialize your upgrades. In some cases, calling in a new Titan may be necessary for certain weapon perks (such as Double Threat and Triple Threat for Scorch) to apply.
Ion[]
- As of Postcards From the Frontier, upgrades Split Shot Power and Split Shot Efficiency have now been merged into one upgrade. Upon reaching Aegis Rank 11, Ion gains an upgrade to her Laser Shot that allows it to deal increased damage to critical hit points on enemy Titans.
Scorch[]
- Double Threat and Triple Threat cause the Thermite Launcher to reload one shell at a time, like the Mastiff and Softball.
Northstar[]
- Twin Cluster fires both missiles at once, rather than adding a second charge like some other Aegis Rank upgrades or Titan kits.
Ronin[]
- Wraith significantly increases Phase Dash distance. Between the extra charge granted by Ghost In The Machine and standard dash charges, Ronin will have four dashes, allowing him to cover ground extremely quickly and without getting bogged down by enemy Titans. Adding the Turbo Engine Kit increases this to five, granting even greater mobility.
Tone[]
- 40mm Splasher Rounds also increases the lock area granted, making it easier to get multiple locks on groups of enemies.
- Sonar Weak Points changes the orange sonar effect to red, to indicate that enemies will take extra damage. If you see an enemy lit up in red, then open up on them.
Legion[]
- Piercing Rounds passes through allies as well as enemies, and allies don't take any damage from it either. Don't worry if an ally happens to dash through or even stand in your line of fire; you'll still hit any enemies behind them.
- Executioner allows Power Shot to instantly destroy Nuke Titans and prevent them from initiating a core detonation when used in close range mode. Weaken the target as much as possible, then hit them with Power Shot just before they enter the doomed state for an instant kill.
- Once Redirect is unlocked, allies can charge your Legion's shield by shooting your Gun Shield. Whilst this does damage it, it can be used between rounds to recharge shields without using an Amped Battery.
- Dreadnaught will only apply the Legion-specific kits (Enhanced Ammo Capacity, Sensor Array, Bulwark, Light-Weight Alloys, and Hidden Compartments). Legion will still only have the one universal Titan Kit the player chose to equip.
- A Legion player might notice a small decrease to their damage output by Dreadnaught, due to Hidden Compartments lowering Charge Shots' damage by 15% in addition to allowing it to be used twice.
Monarch[]
- Monarch's Energized Smoke upgrades change the colour of the smoke cloud to a bright cyan tint, similar to the colour of a shield bar. If you see bright cyan smoke, dive in for free shields.
- Monarch's Counter Ready and Maelstrom kits synergize well with the Energized Smoke upgrades, as they allow Monarch to deploy considerable amounts of deadly, shield-restoring electric smoke to shut down enemies and support the team.
- XO-16 Sniper Configuration's spread reduction applies to both aimed and unaimed fire, and the upgrade adds a second zoom stage similar to adjustable scopes for sniper weapons. This function uses the same button as adjustable scopes for sniper rifles.
- Apex Titan selects a random upgrade other than the one you chose in Titan Customization; Monarch still starts at Upgrade Level 0. For example, if you select Arc Rounds, then Apex Titan means you'll start with either Missile Racks or Energy Transfer, then progress through Upgrade Core levels normally.
- Likely due to the fact that players can change their Titans' loadout mid-match, Apex Titan will randomly select a new upgrade every time the player calls down a new Monarch, while still adhering to the above.