Forces and Outcome of Space Combat

Pre-combat protection was triggered because the attacking fleet's points reached the applicable threshold: against a human player, four times the sum of the planet's fleet and defense points when the defender's total is below 5 000 000 points, then three times that sum at or above that total; against an Errant, always three times that sum.

The condition used is:

defender_total_points < 5_000_000 → attacker_fleet_points >= 4 × (defender_fleet_points + planet_defense_points)

defender_total_points >= 5_000_000 → attacker_fleet_points >= 3 × (defender_fleet_points + planet_defense_points)

errant_defender → attacker_fleet_points >= 3 × (errant_fleet_points + errant_planet_defense_points)

Exact equality triggers the protection. For a human player, total points are calculated at impact from the defender state resolved by the server, before its fleet is excluded; the fleet/defense comparison is limited to the targeted planet. Against an Errant, the x3 ratio applies to individual and grouped attacks, with no global point tier. For a group, each fleet's points are calculated using its owner's models, then added together.

When the condition is met:

• all of the defender's docked ships are excluded from combat;
• their crews stay with them and suffer no losses;
• the planet's orbital defenses fight normally;
• no launch, fleet movement, or delayed return is created;
• no Aether is consumed and no fleet slot is occupied;
• protected ships generate neither losses nor Debris fields;
• the report states that the docked fleet did not participate, without revealing its composition or exact point values.

The protection applies to PvP attacks, space attacks by Errants against human players, and individual or grouped space attacks by players against an Errant. In the latter case, the initial opposing force remains eligible for experience, while debris fields, destruction, and collective bonuses remain tied to actual losses and damage dealt. This is distinct from post-combat recovery: protected ships are never neutralized, damaged, or destroyed.

Space combat pits the attacker's ships against the defender's committed ships and the orbital defenses.

Exception: when pre-combat protection is triggered, the defender's docked ships do not participate. Orbital defenses continue to fight normally, while protected ships and their crews remain unchanged on the planet. This exception also applies when an Errant is the defender and faces an individual or grouped space attack that reaches the x3 ratio.

Participating in combat:

• ships sent by the attacker;
• ships present on the defended planet;
• the planet's orbital defenses.

Iris does not participate in space combat. The Plasma Forge, Rupture Relay, and Weave Aegis participate as orbital defenses; their special effects are detailed in the Planetary defenses section.

Craft that have arrived in the hangars also take part in combat. Their launch and firing are explained in the combat sequence, followed by their re-embarkation and any rescue operation in post-combat returns.

Example

An orbital defense destroyed in space combat counts as a defensive loss, not a regular fleet loss.

The winner is the side that still has units when the other side has none.

At the end of combat:

• if only the attacker still has units, the attacker wins;
• if only the defender still has units, the defender wins;
• if both sides still have survivors after the 8th round, the result is a draw;
• if both sides are annihilated, the result is also a draw.

Example

A fleet can inflict more raw damage than its opponent and still lose if it is destroyed before its opponent.

Bonuses are applied before combat begins, when unit statistics are calculated.

Combat technologies increase:

• attack;
• hull;
• shield.

Artifacts can be added at the same time. Combat therefore begins with unit statistics already boosted.

Example

Two fleets that are identical on paper can produce very different results if one is several levels ahead in weapons technology or shield technology.