Combat Mechanics

Space Attack Sequence

1. Travel: Fleet travels to target (time = distance / speed).
2. Space Battle: Ships fight first. If attacker loses all ships, they return home empty-handed.
3. Troop Capacity Check: Surviving ships deploy ground troops. If ships are destroyed and remaining capacity is less than surviving troops, overcrowding rules apply.
4. Ground Battle: Surviving troops fight planetary defenses.
5. Pillage: If attacker wins ground battle, they steal resources.

Overcrowding Rules

When remaining ship capacity is lower than surviving ground units after space combat, 50% of excess troops are removed from combat. Of those removed: 10% are Lost (dead) and 90% are Injured (sent to Recovery Bay). The other 50% of excess troops survive and join ground battle.

Damage & Casualties

• Damage: Calculated based on Attack vs Defense.
• Losses: Units that reach 0 HP are "removed" from combat.
• Injuries: Permanent losses are calculated first for each unit type by rounding down its casualties multiplied by the mortality rate. All remaining casualties become Injured (Recovery Bay). At the default 90% injury rate, fewer than 10 casualties of one unit type produce only injuries; 10 casualties produce 9 injured and 1 permanently dead.
  • Mercy Mechanic: If the attacker's Command Center is significantly higher level than the defender's, the defender's injury rate increases by 2% per CC level difference beyond 2, reaching 100% (no deaths) at a 7+ level difference.
• Emergency Shield: Ten successful attacks on your base trigger an 8-hour Planetary Shield and immediate random relocation. A gap of more than 30 minutes between successful attacks resets the count, as does launching an attack. All your deployed troops return home immediately, interrupting their current activities. Incoming attacks cannot block this relocation. Interrupted trade convoys refund their cargo. Any allied troops still stationed at your base return immediately to their own bases.
• Shield Rules: Planetary and Portal Shields protect your base from incoming attacks. While sheltered under a shield, you cannot attack other player's objects or Trading Stations, but you can still attack neutral unowned objects (such as Pirate Ships, Asteroids, and Solar Systems). You cannot activate either shield while your troops are attacking another commander's base or preparing or joining a rally against it. Recall those attacks or wait for them to finish. Reinforcing an allied base and returning home do not prevent shield activation.

Combat Range & Target Focus

Combat Range determines the order in which units are targeted by the enemy. Units with lower range are "closer" to the front lines and will take damage first.

• Range 1: These units are the primary focus of enemy fire. They act as tanks, absorbing the majority of injuries and casualties to protect units behind them.
• Higher Range: Units with higher range (e.g., Range 3) will take less damage.