Active Matter Nexus
Active Matter Nexus is dedicated PvP over a passive Active Matter source. Agency-issued gear is kept. That is the opposite of an extraction raid, where unsecured guns die with you. Vanilla Mall is a Nexus Battles map added in Gigastructure. Aztec temples appear in Early Version copy among standalone Nexus maps. Hired Ops is a distinct match type with beacon captures and combat-master tasks in the achievement roster. Use this page when you want the keep-the-kit fight, not when you are still learning Isolated extracts.
Agency gear you keep
Steam store copy and official news describe Nexus as dedicated PvP for a passive Active Matter source. The gear the Agency issues for that fight is kept. You are not sealing a safe container against collapse. You are contesting a node with a kit that returns with you.
That rule is why Nexus is a bad first queue. It trains the opposite instinct from Dalniy Island. Once you understand extract, Nexus is the place to spend a loadout you are not afraid to fire. It is also the place where Physics Advantage — eliminating an operative in an anomalous gravity zone — is more likely to be a choice than an accident.
Staff Reduction wants five operatives eliminated in raids. That trophy is raid PvPvE, not Nexus. Do not mix the counters. Raid PvP is still extract PvP: the zone can collapse while you chase a third-party. Nexus does not share that collapse.
Staff Reduction is five operatives in raids, which is still extract PvPvE. Nexus can scratch the same itch without the collapse, but the trophy counter will not move if you never return to a raid. Keep the two playlists honest in your head.
Agency-issued Nexus gear is the one loadout you can fire without a container lecture. That is the reward for opening this playlist. It is also why this page sits next to extraction instead of replacing it. You still need Credits, Prime, and a shelter. You just do not need a collapsing timer while you fight for the node.
If a squad wants both playlists in one night, extract first. Nexus second. Hired Ops last. That order keeps the death rule, the keep-the-kit rule, and the beacon rule from sharing a single brain slot.
Vanilla Mall, Aztec temples, and the rest of the roster
Vanilla Mall is named as a Nexus Battles map in the Gigastructure update. Aztec temples are named in Early Version copy among standalone Nexus maps. Those two first-party names are the rows on the raids board with biome Nexus and mode PvP.
The full Nexus map roster beyond those two names is not published as an official list. When a patch names another Nexus map, it belongs on the raids table with the same biome tag.
Filter the maps hub to mode PvP if you only want these rows. Keep reading here for the keep-the-kit rule, Hired Ops, and how this mode sits next to Isolated extracts.
Gigastructure is also the update that added Harmonization as a live cycle. That cycle is shelter work. Vanilla Mall is the PvP map from the same patch. Do not treat the mall as a substitute for Park or Dam. One keeps the kit; the others collapse. The raids filter is how you keep those rows from sharing a queue in your head.
Early Version copy is also why Aztec temples sit on a 1.0 board. The mode survived the jump to Steam and consoles. Vanilla Mall is the later mall. If a patch adds a third Nexus name, it gets a new row with biome Nexus and mode PvP. Until then the filter only has two PvP maps plus the raid PvPvE stack.
Do not look for extract beacons on a Nexus loadout screen. The keep-the-kit rule is the whole point. If you want a container tutorial, Isolated Dam is still the correct queue. Nexus is the playlist you open after that tutorial is boring.
Hired Ops is a different match
Hired Ops is named on the Steam achievement roster, not as a synonym for Nexus Battles. Hold the Line! wants a beacon capture in a Hired Ops match. Winner Takes All wants a combat master task in Hired Ops. Those are match objectives with Agency framing, not extract contracts.
Treat Hired Ops as its own playlist. Beacon capture is closer to an objective mode than to a shrinking Dalniy raid. Combat master is a tasking layer on top. If you queue Hired Ops expecting a safe-container tutorial, you will have the wrong HUD in your head.
A job no one else could do is the completion trophy for the rest of the Steam set. It is not a Nexus rank. Finish extracts, shelter work, and Hired Ops on their own terms rather than forcing every playlist into one loop.
Hold the Line! is the beacon. Winner Takes All is the combat master task. Both percents sit near the bottom of the Steam roster, which tells you Hired Ops is a smaller playlist than Isolated Dam. Queue it when you want that objective, then go back to extracts for Credits.
Beacon capture in Hired Ops is an objective you hold, not a door you run through. Combat master is a task the match gives you. Both are closer to a round than to a shrinking island. Credits still matter after the match, but the death rule is the Nexus-style keep, not the Dalniy strip.
