Forces and Outcome of Space Combat

Pre-combat protection can be triggered when an attack targets a human player. The attacking fleet's points must reach four times the sum of the planet's fleet and defense points if the defender has fewer than 5 000 000 points in total, then three times that sum at or above that total.

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)

Exact equality triggers the protection. Total points are calculated at impact from the defender's state as resolved by the server, before excluding their fleet; the fleet/defense comparison is limited to the targeted planet. 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 and to space attacks by Errants against human players. It does not apply to individual or grouped space attacks by players against an Errant: its docked fleet participates normally. 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 for a human player, 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. An Errant targeted by an individual or grouped space attack does not benefit from this protection: its docked fleet participates normally.

Participating in combat:

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

For defender ships that actually participate, the game compares the fleet's crew requirements with the operational units present on the planet. If at least one required crew role is missing, all these ships fight with 70% of their attack, hull, and shield. Orbital defenses do not require this crew and do not receive this penalty. Ships' evasion and rate of fire remain unchanged.

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. The game then applies any defender crew penalty to the already-boosted attack, hull, and shield. This penalty is set at the start of combat: it does not stack each round and does not affect evasion or rate of fire.

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.