While the idea of the gauntlet is quite nifty, there are several aspects that make this particular feature less than fun to use at the moment.

The forced timer completely breaks any sort of gameflow you might wish to achieve, the lack of agency* makes it more of a gamble than a game of skill or strategy, and the rewards are mediocre at best. I think (or hope) that with a few tweaks, the gauntlet can become a much more fun part of the game.

* When I'm talking about lack of agency it is multi-layered. We get to chose our team and their positions at the start, but the way our team attacks is completely random, the enemy team we fight is completely random, and then there's luck and crits that is also completely random. This makes the gauntlet nothing more than click-click-click instead of the more strategy-based game it could be.And, at least for me, it sucks out most of the fun too.

Generic

1. Remove the timer: I think this is pretty straight forward. Given the amount of stamina the gauntlet uses (combined with the mediocre rewards that really only add up once you get to the higher, and more impossible levels), there really is no need for a time-based limit.

2. Option for a rematch: If you lose, give us a chance to either forfeit and lose all our winnings or try again but half our winnings earned so far. Sometimes it really is luck-based whether we win or lose. A few unlucky crits or misses and suddenly a team that would normally beat the enemies is completely decimated. Instead of losing out on the time and rewards, allow us a rematch when we lose at the cost of half of the winnings earned so far. This gives us at least some agency. Perhaps additionally, to offset the potential profits, a rematch could require additional stamina.

ETA: VultureQuills had the brilliant idea of a pebble item that is required before you can do a rematch. I love this. It could facilitate the desire for the rematch while simultaneously function as a pebble sink. Personally I do think a rematch will cause you to lose half of your earned winnings so far, but a combo of the two sounds very good.

3. Preview the next team we have to fight: this allows us to see what we are up again next and allows us to make a more educated decision on whether we want to take the risk agains tthat team or whether we rather take our losses and cash our prizes now.

4. Gauntlet activity quest counts per battle and also when you lose; right now the gauntlet activity quest only counts if you successfully claim your rewards. Given the aforementioned drawbacks of the gauntlet, this is one of the most annoying activities in my personal opinion. Doing a single fight is hardly worth the 50 stamina and measly 200 pebbles you get for the achievement. But having to wait half a minute between battles and risking a random lose against an overpowered team often means I waste even more time and stamina and still not finish the achievement. Having the gauntlet acivity count when you battle, regardless of whether you win or lose, would be a lot better.

5. Remove round limit: Right now, I believe if the you haven't beaten the enemy team by the 20th round, it still counts as a loss, even if your entire team is at full health and there's only 1 enemy left with just a teensy sliver. Tanky teams, teams that cause stuns, and teams that can easily survive 20 rounds while utlimately still being beaten by your team. But sadly it never comes to that, because of the round limit. Techncally removing the limit altogether could result in endless (or at least incredibly long battles), so instead the round limit could be increased and instead of automatically losing, the system looks which team is healthier to decide who wins.

Specific 'new' gauntlet area:

1. Fixed enemy teams per level: While there is something to be said for the fun of random enemy teams, I would love it if a second gauntlet-type area was created where the enemy teams are fixed per level.

2. Some sort of mid-streak agency: whether this is the ability to completely swap out team members or just shuffle the order around. Some way to give us some strategic power back in the mostly automated battle feature would be really nice. In a way it is similar to the pack-event gauntlet, but even there the enemy teams are randomly generated every time. And there we could try over and over and over again. In this specific gauntlet I have in mind, it is still a 'if you lose, you lose' kind of thing and you have to start over. But with the rematch option available to at least try again by halving your earnings.

What do you guys think?

I'd also like to see the rounds limit increased/taken away completely, or the win goes to the team with more surviving members. I'm pretty sure I've been failed by that mechanic when I reach higher levels, even though my team would've won, given more time.

I would love the see the gauntlet (and the arena, tangentially) become more useful, fun & worth the time to utilize! I really don't mind the auto-battles in theory, but it would be really awesome if we could get items to modify/improve the stat blocks and abilities of our individual wolves so we could at least have some kind of strategem and input into the matter, without having to sacrifice "flow".

Maybe figuring out how to tie some kind of battle customization like that into the gauntlet (though not like.... terribly grindy, preferably, since it would be for individual dogs) would make it more interesting outside of just achievement farming and checking off the activity when bored enough; I honestly ignore that activity more often than not nowadays.

Otherwise, good reasoning, good improvements, I hope the gauntlet is one of the things due for the QoL pass "soon".

Something about the rematch option as suggested doesn't sit right with me. I think maybe it doesn't have enough of a drawback? Why wouldn't you rematch for half rewards if the other option is no rewards at all? It feels less like agency and more like just giving everyone an extra life. Maybe if the rematch also cost a full stamina bar or something? I feel like there should be more weight to it if it's going to exist.

Definitely support 1, 3, and 4.

5 I think rather than removing the round limit entirely it would be better to determine the winner by which team is healthier at round twenty. I worry removing it entirely would risk massive load times if it has to calculate a match that lasts ages.

Neutral on a second gauntlet mode. I have no real problem with it, but no real strong feelings either way.

I agree with Hawkfeather for this!

I'd love to see some of this in the gauntlet, I'd definitely play it more often if it weren't for how long the timer is and the 20 round auto lose '^ ^.