In Aleryos, space exploration involves three activities. Exploration sends a fleet or ground force into the unknown for 1 to 6 hours, seeking resources, ships, population, or rare items. Excavations send a team to a site to find fragments and rare resources. PvE factions are opponents controlled by the game that you can attack alone or in a group.
Launching an exploration
Exploration has two modes. In space mode, you send ships from your designs through Operations, Fleet, then Exploration; the mission consumes Aether and returns as a return mission. In ground mode, go to Operations, Pillars, then Exploration; the mission consumes Weave Resonators, and survivors and loot return directly to the planet of departure.
In ground mode, only assault units can be sent (Soldier, Iron Rampart, Rift Specter, Plasma Supercharger, and Kinetic Reaper), along with two devices, the Small Transporter and the Large Transporter. Probes, drones, and Recyclers stay behind.
- Choose the mode: space or ground.
- Assemble the force you will send.
- Choose a duration from 1 to 6 hours.
- Launch, then track the mission under Operations. The result appears in Journal, in the Explorations category.
Duration and quotas
Duration does not change the probabilities, but it raises the reward cap: ×1.00 for 1 h, then ×1.075, ×1.15, ×1.225, ×1.30, and ×1.375 for 6 h. For a fleet, the timer starts when it reaches the zone; for a Pillar mission, it starts at departure.
Your daily quota starts at 10 launches. It increases with your Exploration Technology level, alliance bonuses, relevant artifacts, and purchased faction exploration skills. Your overall player level does not directly add launches.
The simultaneous-exploration cap is separate: it starts at 5 slots and increases with your faction rank and active packs. Space and ground explorations share both the simultaneous cap and the global mission quota. Each exploration also uses one slot in the global mission quota, which is shared with other missions and is influenced by Computer technology, alliance bonuses, artifacts, faction skills, faction rank, and active packs. A 1-hour exploration and a 6-hour exploration each use one daily launch and one active slot.
What an exploration can yield
The game draws one outcome from ten categories. The figures are the same in both modes, except for the 15% row.
| Outcome | Space | Ground |
|---|---|---|
| Resources, with 2 to 4 Echoes | 32.025% | 32.025% |
| Neutral failure | 15.45% | 15.45% |
| Ships or components | 15% | no chance |
| Population | no chance | 15% |
| Neutral success | 11.4% | 11.4% |
| Hostile presence | 11% | 11% |
| Return delay (20 to 400 min) | 5% | 5% |
| Rare item | 4.5% | 4.5% |
| Astrium | 3.125% | 3.125% |
| Total loss | 2.5% | 2.5% |
Loot depends on the weight of what you send, but it is capped. Each level of Exploration Technology adds +5% to the cap. Beyond a certain weight, sending more earns nothing: the reward is limited by the cap, then by available cargo space. A full hold can therefore turn a find into a neutral result.
For resources, the budget is converted using 1 Iron = 1, 1 Crystal = 1.5, and 1 Aether = 3. At the same budget, an Aether draw therefore yields fewer units than an Iron draw.
Risks: hostile encounters and crashes
A hostile presence triggers a real battle against a Breach entity. Its intensity is drawn afterward:
| Intensity | Probability | Enemy strength in space | On the ground, per unit type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 60% | 20% to 30% of the value sent | 10% to 20% |
| Medium | 30% | 40% to 60% | 30% to 50% |
| Large | 10% | 60% to 70% | 65% to 85% |
The enemy's combat technologies are drawn between −3 and +3 relative to yours. With very few units, enemy strength is rounded up to the next whole unit: a single ship sent can face one whole ship. In space, destroyed ships may leave a debris field at the explored Breach. On the continuous map, this field has its own identity; your Recyclers must target that exact field.
A crash destroys the entire expedition, with no battle or survivors: a 2.5% chance on every departure.
Excavations
- Scientists: fragments
- Monarchic Alloy
- Weave Filament
- Mnesic Substrate
- Pillar Ceramic
- Breach Condensate
An Excavation is launched through Operations, Pillars, then Excavation. It is a ground mission with no fleet, and it cannot be recalled. On the continuous map, free planetary locations have site profiles and are not numbered within a system. An occupied position cannot be excavated. Several players can excavate the same free site at the same time, but each player can have only one active Excavation there at a time.
The team can contain 1 to 5,000 units. Scientists favor fragments, Miners favor rare resources, and assault units are used against threats. You choose 3, 6, 12, or 24 hours. An Excavation can be delayed by 60 to 900 minutes; in 55% of cases, the delay is between 60 and 180 minutes.
Excavations yield fragments and five rare resources (Monarchic Alloy, Weave Filament, Mnesic Substrate, Pillar Ceramic, and Breach Condensate), which are used at the Forge. A threat may appear: contained in 75% of cases, reinforced in 20%, or major in 5%. You get only one attempt; if it fails, the team is evacuated. You can run 2 Excavations at the same time at the start, up to 9 with your faction rank.
PvE factions
PvE factions are opponents controlled by the game. The target population in a universe is 1,200 PvE empires, reached gradually once enough players can serve as templates: 400 Noctes, the most aggressive; 400 Veyrs, balanced; and 400 Haldens, defensive and economy-focused. Each copies the profile of a player near the top of the leaderboard.
You can launch a space attack, a group attack with up to 10 players, a Pillar attack, espionage, or hacking against them. They also respond: the Noctes and Veyrs can each launch up to one space attack and up to one ground attack per day; the Haldens never attack; and a player can be attacked by PvE factions no more than twice per UTC day.
After a space battle, the share of debris from a PvE faction's ships starts at 5% Iron, 5% Crystal, and 2% Aether; it varies according to your permanent losses, galactic catch-up, and the threat level. In a group attack, this share is doubled if 3 players each deal at least 10% of the damage, except against Khar’Zul; debris from player ships and defenses is not doubled. Ground combat leaves no debris.
Pitfalls to avoid
- Sending too much: beyond the cap, the extra weight earns nothing, and you lose more in a crash (2.5%).
- Departing without cargo space: loot is limited by available cargo capacity.
- Neglecting Exploration Technology: it adds departures per day and +5% to the cap per level.
- Launching an Excavation without assault units: if a threat appears, you get only one attempt.
OGame expeditions: what changes in Aleryos
The two games handle exploration differently. Here are the differences point by point.
| OGame expedition | Aleryos exploration | |
|---|---|---|
| Where and how | A fleet sent to position 16 in a system, with Astrophysics level 1 | Through Operations, in space mode (fleet) or ground mode (Pillars, assault units) |
| Duration | Maximum duration increases by 1 hour per level of the relevant technology | Choose 1 to 6 hours; the longer it is, the higher the reward cap (up to ×1.375) |
| Simultaneous missions | Square root of Astrophysics level, with bonuses (including +2 for the Explorer class) | A separate cap, starting at 5 and increased by faction rank and active packs, subject to available global mission slots. Exploration Technology, alliance bonuses, artifacts, and purchased faction exploration skills separately increase the daily launch quota. |
| Outcomes | Nothing, fleet loss, early or delayed return, Merchant, Dark Matter, resources, ships, item, pirates, or aliens | 10 outcomes with published probabilities, including resources, ships or components, population (ground), Astrium, and rare item |
| Enemies | Pirates (player technologies −3) and aliens (+3) | Breach entities, technologies drawn between −3 and +3, in 3 intensities |
| Debris | At position 16, visible to the Explorer class | At the explored Breach, in a separate and recyclable debris field |
In OGame, the Explorer class is focused on expeditions. Aleryos adds two activities to exploration: Excavations and PvE factions.
Frequently asked questions
What does an exploration yield in Aleryos?
Resources (32.025% of outcomes), ships or components in space, population on the ground (15%), Astrium (3.125%), or a rare item (4.5%). The reward depends on the weight sent, the duration, and your Exploration Technology, within a cap.
How many explorations can you launch per day?
Your base daily quota is 10 launches. It increases with your Exploration Technology level, alliance bonuses, relevant artifact bonuses, and purchased faction exploration skills. It is separate from the simultaneous-exploration cap and the global mission quota. Your overall player level does not directly add launches.
Can you lose your fleet on an exploration?
Yes. A total crash (2.5%) destroys the entire expedition, and a hostile presence (11%) triggers a battle.
Do PvE factions attack players?
The Noctes and Veyrs can each launch up to one space attack and up to one ground attack per day. The Haldens never attack. A player can be attacked by PvE factions no more than twice per UTC day.
For more: launching an exploration, exploration results, hostile encounters, launching an Excavation, who the PvE factions are, designing your ships, and space combat.
Also read: Pillars, factions and heroes, alliances, pacts, and trade, and Astrium and in-game purchases.