Links are created between Portals using the Portal Key
of the distant portal (the key is consumed in the process). Three Links arranged in a triangle create a Control Field Δ. Creating a link gains 313 Access Points (AP) and consumes 250 XM.
Creating a Link
Edit
To create a link, the agent must stand within access range of the portal to be linked from, select the portal to view its data, then press the "LINK" option. The scanner will then query the agent's Portal Key library for portals that meet the criteria below. Upon selecting a target portal, its Portal Key is consumed, the link is established, and the AP is earned. The target portal's key may be reacquired later.
Linking follows these rules:
- Both portals must have 8 Resonators.
- Both portals must be controlled by the agent's Faction.
- The target portal must be in range of the start portal, based on the start portal's Resonators and Link Amp mods. See the Link Range tables below.
- A Link cannot cross another Link, regardless of Faction.
- The source portal must not be contained within a larger Control Field Δ -- however, fields terminating at the portal itself are allowed even if they connect all sides.
- No more than 8 Links can be made starting from a given portal. The 8-Link limit can be increased with the SoftBank Ultra Link mod.[1]
- The maximum number of links that can be made to a given portal is unknown.
- There is a limit on how many resonators of each level a single player can add to a portal; see Resonator#Deployment_and_Upgrading
Link Range Edit
- See also: Link Amp#Range Amplification
Link range depends on the levels of individual Resonators. Contrary to some other Portal mechanics, it does not rely on the rounded "Portal Level" value. Below is a table of the number of agents needed for some link range (for perfectly deployed resonators). Of course, usually it is easier to just deploy a Link Amp mod -- the below "Link Range" value is then multiplied by Amplification factor.
| Link Amps | Amplification |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1 x |
| 1 × Rare | 2 x |
| 2 × Rare | 2.5 x |
| 3 × Rare | 2.75 x |
| 4 × Rare | 3 x |
| 1 × SoftBank | 5 x |
| 2 × SoftBank | 6.25 x |
| 3 × SoftBank | 6.875 x |
| 4 × SoftBank | 7.5 x |
| 1 × Very Rare | 7 x |
| 2 × Very Rare | 8.75 x |
| 3 × Very Rare | 9.625 x |
| 4 × Very Rare | 10.5 x |
| Agent Levels | Deployed Resonators | Link Range |
|---|---|---|
| L1 | L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 L1 | 160 m |
| L2 | L2 L2 L2 L2 L1 L1 L1 L1 | 810 m |
| L3 | L3 L3 L3 L3 L2 L2 L2 L2 | 6.25 km |
| L4 | L4 L4 L4 L4 L3 L3 L3 L3 | 24.0 km |
| L5 | L5 L5 L4 L4 L4 L4 L3 L3 | 40.9 km |
| L6 | L6 L6 L5 L5 L4 L4 L4 L4 | 81.4 km |
| L7 | L7 L6 L6 L5 L5 L4 L4 L4 | 110.3 km |
| L8 | L8 L7 L6 L6 L5 L5 L4 L4 | 160.1 km |
| Multiple agents: | ||
| 2 × L8 | L8 L8 L7 L7 L6 L6 L6 L6 | 332.1 km |
| 3 × L8 | L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 L7 L6 L6 | 412.3 km |
| 4 × L8 | L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 L7 L7 | 506.2 km |
| 5 × L8 | L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 L7 | 540.8 km |
| 6 × L8 | L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 L7 | 577.2 km |
| 7 × L8 | L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L7 | 615.3 km |
| 8 × L8 | L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 L8 | 655.3 km |
Range Formula Edit
The range of a portal can be calculated using the following formula:
160 m * (Average of all Resonators Levels ^ 4) * Link Amp Amplification
Example: The following Resonators are deployed: 4xL3 and 4xL2 with no Link Amps.
160 m * (((4*3 + 4*2)/8) ^ 4) * 1.0 = 6250 m
When a portal is selected, you will see a "LINK" option, when tapped the scanner will search for portals within range and of which you own the key.
- See also: Link Amp#Range Amplification
Inbound Link Limit Edit
It was believed that there is a limit at 8192 (which happens to be 2 to the power of 13; powers of 2 are frequently used as constants in computing).[2] But this limit was exceeded with 8282 simultaneous incoming links on 27 April 2019.[3] It is now believed that the number of maximum links is limited by a server side resource limit for processing the link request. It's also possible that Niantic has increased the limits in between.
Destroying a LinkEdit
Destroy an enemy controlled Link by attacking the Resonators that are deployed on the Portals that anchor the Link. For example, firing an XMP to damage a Resonator and reduce its XM health. When the number of Resonators on a portal reaches 2 or below, the Link will fail.
Destroying a link gives a fixed chance of the keys used to create links from this portal to appear at the feet of the player. [4]
Trivia Edit
- The maximum length of a Link, using four Very Rare Link Amps, is 6,881.28km, or about 17.2% of the Earth's equator.
- On 14-15 March 2018, the longest known link of 6,881.278km was created, 99.99997% of the maximum.[5]
- In January 2017, Enlightened agents created a link star connecting multiple Northern European countries to Sweden, reaching 8192 inbound links -- this was thought to be the maximum number of links at the time.[2]
- On 27 April 2019, Enlightened agents created a link star originating from Antwerp with over 8200 links active at the same time, breaking the earlier world-record mentioned above.[3]
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ fevgames.net : SoftBank Ultra Link
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20190321055034/https://plus.google.com/101279081652126587103/posts/CNJxr7khxEW
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://www.reddit.com/r/Ingress/comments/bi38jn/massive_linkstar_antwerp_belgium/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Ingress/comments/8xf3y1/flip_card_behaviour/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20190324164411/https://plus.google.com/112648211437438433523/posts/9jbnzKskynd
