Well, this is simple. If you've never done challenge, you start on C1. You have to do them in order, starting with c1, and ending on c9. However, once you have done any given challenge, you are free to do it again whenever you like. In this manner you may get better times.

No. When doing challenge, it only keeps the best time.

Total Srank time is under 7 hours. This means that your combined times on all 9 challenges, must be under 7 hours. If you're even one minute over, you must redo a challenge to improve your time.

46.
Challenge 1(AREA: Forest): 1-3 (3 being the dragon)
Challenge 2 (AREA: Caves): 4-8
Challenge 3(AREA: Caves): 9-13
Challenge 4 (AREA: Caves): 14-19 (19 being the Del Rol Le)
Challenge 5 (AREA: Mines): 20-24
Challenge 6 (AREA: Mines): 25-29 (29 being Vol Opt)
Challenge 7 (AREA: Ruins): 31-35
Challenge 8 (AREA: Ruins): 36-40
Challenge 9 (AREA: Ruins): 41-46 (46 being Dark Falz)

Well now that's a bit open to interpretation. However, it is generally considered that a good cmode team has at least two hunters, a force, and a ranger on it. However, a very popular variation of this is 3 hunters and a force. Rangers aren't as widely accepted in Challenge mode at higher levels.

Simple: Prizes. You get a total of three if you complete cmode.
The first time you beat cmode, if you are under srank time you will be awarded your Srank. After beating the final challenge, the window pops up that shows all the characters in their victory poses and underneath that will be Team Name, Number of Deaths, and your total time. If your total time is under 7 hours, you will get srank. Talk to the Hunters' Guild Girl, and you'll be told you've earned a prize. You can name your srank, with a total of up to 8 characters.

Now, to earn A or B rank (which you may get the first time you beat cmode, don't worry, you can always redo any of your questionable times to get a better time), go back and do any challenge again. Most people do c1 twice, since it's the shortest challenge.

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If you see the letters "TA", it stands for "Time Attack". Time attack means that the team wants to get through challenge as fast as they can, with the best time (which is ideally what everyone is trying to do, but there's a whole little Time Attack subculture going on). If you are inexperienced, do not enter a Time Attack game. If you are desperate, you may ask, but please let your teammates know you don't know what you're doing, or aren't as experienced. If they don't mind, you're in luck, you've found a good team. If they ask you to leave, do so and don't make a fuss.

If you see Hu/Fo/Ra in a game thread, then the team is asking for this class. If you are not of that class, don't enter the game. You can check the people in the game by hitting the "X" button. This will tell you the player's names, levels, class and language setting. You should always do this before entering a challenge game. If you are a ranger, and there is already a ranger in the game, don't enter, etc.

DO NOT worry about your time. Do not ask repeatedly "Is this under S Rank time?" You will piss your teammates off at worst, and annoy them at best. Focus on finishing in one piece, not your time.

Unless you are a Force, do not use Force-related items on yourself. Example: Tech disks, monofluids, Mind/TP/HP mats, etc. Also offer Sols to your force so he/she can feed their mag in certain stages.

If you are a Force, do not use Hunter/Ranger related items on yourself. Example: Grinders, Power/Hit/Evade mats. They do you no good.

If you are making a character solely for challenge mode, pick a Force or a HUcast. These are the two best classes to do challenge mode with. Rangers are not really nessecary, and it can be VERY hard to find a team that doesn't mind a Ranger in later games, when a Force is more useful because of their ability to heal the group.

In my own experience, a FOmarl is the best force for challenge mode. They don't have as much TP as the other two Forces, but they have more HP, and this makes it easier on the team when their Force isn't dying because of Dark Belras shooting a claw across the room. Also, in c9, it takes a lot fewer HP mats and less leveling to get over the almighty 141 HP to survive Falz's attacks.

The best place to find challenge mode partners is on US Ship: Miranda, block 11. The Japanese use this as their challenge block, and usually don't object to American players. If they do object, don't start flooding PSOW with racist remarks against Japaese players. Sometimes it's easier to complete cmode when you speak the same language as your teammates.

If you DO play with Japanese players, use the word select, and don't keep asking them things in English, odds are they might not understand a word you're saying. When you enter a new room, use the word select and say "Hello." "Shall I join you?" and go from there. Granted, a lot of Japanese players know some english, but not all, and not good english in all cases. Don't be so arrogant to assume your language is the only one that's important. As a note, the "w" you see from Japanese players is basically their version of "lol".

BE KIND TO YOUR FORCE! As a preferred Force player, I cannot emphasis this one enough. Too many hunters demand shifta and deband, which don't really help much in cmode. Or, my favorite, the hunter that takes a hit that brings him to 5 HP and he/she decides to just dive right back into that Chaos Charger. Which brings me to:

IF YOU ARE HURT, RUN AWAY OR USE A MATE!!! Do not continue fighting. Go to the doorway and call out for the Force to help, or use a monomate. Please don't make the force risk his/her life trying to save yours. Those mono/dimates are not there to take up space and look pretty. Use the damned things.

If you die, do not blame your teammates. I cannot count how many times someone took damage as in the above scenario, and got killed before I could get to them. Then, I get to spend 10 minutes hearing about how I suck because THEY kept attacking instead of using a monomate.

If someone other than the force is leading, and takes off in one direction while the force goes in another, do NOT follow the force. They (usually) know what they are doing, and usually it's getting a switch or collecting items.

If you find an item you cannot use, leave it in the doorway to the next room.

Do NOT take warps or push buttons/switches unless you are leading, or the leader tells you to. Taking incorrect warps can devastate the party, and ruin the game. Pushing incorrect switches/buttons can actually kill teammates in certain challenges.

Do not yell at the force for taking items. I had that joy in a recent game. Someone accused me of being an item hog and cussed me out. After we explained that, "What you think that stuff in the doors just magically appears there?" he got the hint and backed off.

Forces are on Loot Duty-they get the items and drop what they can't use in doors. Don't assume he or she is hogging those items. Nothing is more annoying that having inexperienced players accusing the person on Loot Duty of being an item hog. You guys think the stuff in the doorways just appears magically there?

If you are a hunter (a Hunewearl in particular), do not do three hit combos. Do one normal attack to stun your opponent, then one hard one to push them away. If you do a 3-hit combo, you're more vunerable to attack than in a 2-hit. When timed right, you can keep an enemy totally at bay using the 2-hit method as long as you don't let up.

Always ALWAYS use the X button before entering a cmode game to see who else is in the game. I am getting extremely tired of starting games named "C5 need hunters" only to have to shoo out 3 forces because they didn't check and see that there was ALREADY a force in the damn game. Unless you are a hunter, if your class is already in the game, do NOT join it. Use that damn X button!

For the love of God, don't cheat in Challenge Mode. It's just lame. If you cannot do Challenge Mode without Infinite Items or 1-Kill-Level 200 codes on, then you don't need to be doing challenge anyway. Don't ruin it for others. Also, don't be surprised if you get told to leave cmode if you're cheating. If teammates discover you are cheating, don't be surprised if they either disconnect or kill themselves.

If a teammate has run out of scape dolls, try to get them run as soon as possible. Sometimes, it's more important that the force have dolls, but more often than not, the force can usually spare a doll or two, since s/he will be out of the fray a lot of the time. Typically, a good force will only need 1 doll on them at any given time, but that is not always a given. Especially in boss stages of challenge. In that case, always try to make sure the Force and/or Ranger always has a least one or two dolls on them. You'll have to judge your situation for yourself to determine if the force/ranger needs dolls or can cough them up.

Try to attack a single enemy in pairs or as a group. This lessens the chance of that enemy being able to attack back. This is especially true for things like Delsabers and Sinows.

If you are a HUnewearl, do not do 3 hit combos. Do one normal hit, then one hard. In this manner, you won't leave yourself vunerable and can keep enemies at bay with just a little practice.This can also be applied to other hunters as well, but HUnewearls more so.

Give mechguns to HUcasts, since they actually can use them in higher stages, and can make them work.

If you are fatally wounded, and have no mates, and a gun, use it.

If you are fatally wounded, go to the force. Don't expect him/her to be able to know where you are at all times.

If you find a weapon or item you cannot use, leave it in the doorway to the next area. Examples for hunters include, but are not limited to:

Mind Materials, HP Materials, TP Materials, Hit Materials, Fluids, Tech Disks (although I'll cover this more later), Ranger or Force weapons.

When fighting a Chaos Bringer, note that it has a weak spot. Get right up next to it, on the side with it's shield. It'll swing wildly at you, but miss. It takes a little practice, but it'll keep you safe once you find that zone.

When a Garanz appears, designate one player to handle them. That player's job is then to run circles around the Garanz. If you hit your start or R button, calling your screen up, you can safely avoid the missles it shoots, and as a bonus, after a few laps around the tank, it's missles will hit itself and it will wipe itself out. This saves a ton of mates. When a Garanz appears, ALL OTHER PLAYERS are to exit the room. They'll distract the tank and this trick won't work. Don't fight it, you'll typically blow through too many mates to be worth it.

The biggest tip for rangers is to simply do what rangers always do:
Stand back and fire away. Typically, you'll want to target the meaner things in the room, for example, Sinows in mines, Chaos Bringers in the ruins. This helps Hunters avoid getting hit.

Do not take items that aren't for your class. For example, Power Materials, Mind Materials, TP Materials, Evade Materials, etc. If you do find a good saber, it's okay to use it, but not highly reccommended.

Do not cast Shifta and Deband constantly. You'll waste TP. Instead, save it for the "Big rooms" with lots of enemies.

Do not cast Jellen and Zalure constantly. Try to save that for big rooms, or rooms with tough foes. If you must only cast one, you should decide based on your fellow teammates. Cast Jellen more if your teammates tend to take more hits. Cast Zalure if your teammates are doing well.

Avoid Dark Belras and Chaos Bringers like the plague. They can wipe you out in one hit.

Do not use GI or RA-level techs unless you are in a room with several enemies close together. Higher level spells will suck up your TP in no time.

Try to cast Shifta and Deband on your party when they are grouped together. This saves TP, and time, as this keeps you from running around individually casting the spell three seperate times.

If you find a low-level tech disk that you already have, give it to a hunter to use. A good example of this is Resta in later stages. At c7 and up, you come equipped with Resta 3, which will heal everyone at very short range. If you find Resta 1, 2 or 3, tell the team this, and leave it in a doorway. This also applies to other spells as well.

It is typically the forces job to gather all items, as the force is the weakest player (Physically) on the team. If the force goes off seperately, do not follow them. As you gather items, leave what you cannot or don't need in the doorway to the next room. Don't hoard items.

In later challenge games especially, try to tag as many enemies in the rooms as you can. This works best by using Jellen or Zalure, as you get experience for casting this spell when the enemy dies. If you are low on TP, use a cane, saber or rod to pop the enemies in the back while a hunter is distracting them. This is relatively safe for forces to do, but only as long as the opponent is being distracted.

Try to know your enemies weaknesses. For example, Sinows are weak to Zonde, but Sinow Golds are weak to Foie. Delsabers are weak to Barta spells, etc.

In my opinion, the best Force for challenge is the FOmarl. I've played as them all, and while the newman breeds offer more TP, the FOmarl has more HP, which is much more crucial to challenge. I highly reccommend that if you want to try a force, that a FOmarl be your choice. As you get experienced, try the others. FOnewearls are next easiest, followed by FOnewms, who are the weakest physically, but strongest mentally.

Do not take items that aren't force related. For example, Hit Materials, Evade Materials, Power Materials and so on.

Try to even the dispersing of mates out. In my experience, if you just dump all your mates right away, your teammates will typically use them faster. If they aren't aware you're still holding some, they'll use their mates more sparingly and cautiously. After a area or two, drop a few more mates in the doorways. Be warned, other players will typically do this with fluids as well.

If you get low on fluids, ask your teammates. Odds are, someone somewhere has some on them. A note: If you don't have the time to hotkey "I need a MONOFLUID.", I have learned that the Japanese term for them is "furu". Asking for a "monofuru" will get you fluids in a doorway.

Hopefully this answers all your questions about Challenge Mode. However, one of the best ways to learn is to simply dive right in! Most importantly, have fun and be receptive to others. Good luck!