Playing a War

Playing a War

A war is played on the galaxy map, one system at a time. This page follows a war from the first move to the last boss. Setting Up a War covers the screen before it.

Each turn

1. Choose a system. Select a system linked to the one you are in. The Planetary Intelligence panel shows who defends it, how strong they are, which game modes are on, and which card it will offer.
2. Move. Your Commander jumps to that system.
3. Fight. If enemies hold the system, press Fight to start the battle.
4. Take your reward. When the system is clear you explore it and are offered tech cards. Take one, reroll, or dismiss the offer. See Tech Cards.

In battle

• Where each army lands is shuffled every battle, so a system plays differently each time you fight there. Enemy Commanders also choose at random whether to land on your planet, away from it, or anywhere.
• The active game modes appear on a bar above the options bar, for example "Sudden Death | Bounties x0.3".
• Your Sub Commanders and any allied Commander land with you.

Winning and losing a battle

• Win: the system is cleared, and you explore it for tech. Beating a faction's boss defeats that faction. Any of its systems held by a contesting faction pass to that faction.
• Lose: you are moved back to the system you came from, and the enemy keeps the system. You keep all your cards, and you can attack again. Where armies land is shuffled again for the retry.
• Lose on Hardcore: the war is over and its save is deleted. See Game Options.

To give up a battle, open the in-game menu and choose Surrender. On Hardcore the menu offers Abandon War instead, which ends the war.

Growing your army

• Tech cards add units, improve them, and add data banks to hold more cards. See Tech Cards.
• Sub Commanders come from the Sub Commander card, or two at the start with the General Commander loadout. See Commander and Sub Commander Tech.
• The treasure planet near the centre of the galaxy offers a new loadout for future wars, but its defenders fight with all of your tech. See Loadouts.

Winning the war

The war is won the moment the last boss falls, even while other enemy systems remain. If the treasure planet still holds a loadout you have not unlocked, you are offered a chance to take it first. Winning earns a badge for the loadout you used.

Your first war

• Pick the difficulty whose description fits you. Beginner is for players who have just finished the tutorial, and every tier's description is on Difficulty.
• Pick a loadout you know how to play. Vehicle, Air, Bot, Orbital, and Naval Commander are available from the start.
• Leave the game options at their defaults and choose a Small or Medium galaxy.
• Early on, prefer systems with a low Threat Level. Enemies grow stronger the further you travel from your start, so build up your tech before going deep.
• A Sub Commander card is worth taking: it adds a whole allied army to every battle.