Tactical report

Combat rules

Combat is resolved in a fixed order. Range comes first, then visibility, then hit chance, dodge, damage, and finally the counterattack if the defender can answer.

Overview

Offense and defense

Weapons set the pressure; shields and evasive training decide how much of it reaches the hull.

Detection vs hiding

Detection and Hide Signature often decide who gets to act with reliable information.

Readable outcomes

The combat log exposes the checks that made a shot land, miss, or become critical.

Combat rules

How a fight begins

The server checks the source ship, the target, the module, the sector, the health of the attacker, and the available action points before it lets the attack through. If one piece is missing, the action stops quietly and no AP is spent.

Range is measured from footprint to footprint, so ship size matters. The game does not compare only the centers of two ships.

Range gate

Useful distance = max(horizontal gap, vertical gap)
Attack allowed if useful distance <= weapon range and action points available >= 1
Ship size matters because the game measures edge to edge, not center to center

Hit chance

Hit chance = 68 + weapon accuracy + Advanced Targeting + aiming effects - visibility penalty - Hide Signature + stealth and module bonuses
Normal attacks stay between 20% and 96% hit chance
Weapon accuracy and Advanced Targeting contribute at most 28% together

Visibility and target reading

A scanned target removes the visibility penalty entirely. Sonar keeps a smaller penalty, while an unknown target stays the hardest case.

Detection and scanner power determine whether an analysis succeeds. Hide Signature and concealment power resist PC and NPC scans, while sector elements use an intrinsic analysis difficulty.

A valid scan always spends 1 AP and grants Detection XP. Success and failure use different XP multipliers, while repeated or trivial scans are reduced by the anti-farm rules.

Stealth is a separate concealment state. If no living PC or NPC is inside your sonar zone when you activate it, the activation succeeds automatically. If someone is already in range, the best detector in that zone contests the attempt.

Passive detection uses the detector's sonar zone. Active detection sends a private sonar pulse that only the initiator and the initiator's group can see, but any successful reveal removes stealth globally.

Visibility state

Scanned target = no visibility penalty
Sonar target = -6 visibility penalty
Unknown target = -14 visibility penalty

Stealth and reveal checks

Stealth activation with no detector in your sonar zone = automatic success
Contested stealth activation chance = clamp(55 + 2 × (stealth score - detection score), 10, 90)
Passive reveal chance = clamp(40 + 2 × (detection score - stealth score), 10, 90)
Active reveal chance = clamp(65 + 2 × (detection score - stealth score), 15, 95)
Active detection module range = 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 tiles from T1 to T7
Stealthed movement cost = 2 movement points per tile

Scan difficulty

PC/NPC scan chance = clamp(65 + 0.5 × (Detection - Hide Signature) + scanner power - concealment power + refresh bonus, 15, 95)
Sector scan chance = clamp(75 + 0.5 × (Detection - element difficulty) + scanner power, 20, 98)
Scanner and concealment power progress from 0 at T1 to 24 at T7
A valid failure spends AP, writes a scan log, and awards failure XP

Passive detection

Passive detection requires no detection module. After a stealthed PC or NPC moves, every eligible PC or NPC whose sonar zone covers that ship can attempt to reveal it. Repeated checks for the same pair at unchanged positions are temporarily suppressed.

The detector uses the Detection skill plus any scanner power fitted to the ship. The hidden ship resists with Hide Signature plus its concealment power. A success removes stealth for everyone, not only for the detector.

Passive reveal check

Passive reveal chance = clamp(40 + 2 × (detection score - stealth score), 10, 90)
Detection score = Detection skill + scanner power
Stealth score = Hide Signature skill + concealment power
A successful passive check removes stealth globally

Active detection

Active detection requires a stealth-detection probe module, costs 1 AP, and takes 5 seconds. Starting the pulse breaks your own stealth. You choose a target tile within the module's range, then the pulse checks every stealthed PC and NPC inside the module's radius.

Only the initiator and the initiator's group see the pulse animation. Each successful check still removes the target's stealth globally. Higher-tier modules improve scanner power, targeting range, and pulse radius.

Active reveal check

Active reveal chance = clamp(65 + 2 × (detection score - stealth score), 15, 95)
Module range from T1 to T7 = 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20 tiles
Pulse radius from T1 to T7 = 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, or 6 tiles
Cost = 1 AP and 5 seconds

Damage, shields, and critical hits

The weapon rolls a damage band first. Then the matching weapon skill pushes that result higher. If the attack becomes critical, the rolled damage is multiplied before the shields absorb it.

Laser shots use a 1.4 multiplier, ballistic shots use 1.6, and torpedoes use 1.9. The shield that matches the damage type takes the damage first, and only then does the hull start to suffer.

Smaller ships are naturally harder to hit, while larger hulls give away some evasion. The size bonus is capped so the system stays readable.

Weapon scaling

Weapon accuracy = 18 × (weapon level / 100)^0.72
Advanced Targeting accuracy = 10 × (level / 100)^0.72
Weapon training damage = 35 × (weapon level / 100)^0.85
A Fighter adds 25% damage separately; combined combat damage bonus is capped at 60%
Rolled damage = random damage from the weapon's own range
Final damage before critical hits = rolled damage × (1 + damage bonus)

Evasion and size

Evasive Maneuver training = 20 × (level / 100)^0.85
Hull handling = 100% for light, 90% for medium, and 65% for heavy hulls
A Spy frame adds 8% evasion; training and frame evasion are capped at 28% together
Final dodge = 6% base + training and frame evasion + size bonus, clamped between 5% and 36%

Critical and absorption

Critical chance = 5% + sharpshooting bonus
Critical chance is capped at 25%
Critical multiplier = 1.4 for laser, 1.6 for ballistic, 1.9 for torpedo
Matching shield absorption = 20 × (shield skill level / 100)^0.85
Shields absorb first, then the hull takes the rest

Counterattacks

After the main attack, the defender can answer if it is still alive, still has AP, and has a weapon that reaches the distance.

The counter chooses the weapon in range with the best expected damage, so the defender uses its strongest practical answer rather than range alone.

Counterattacks do not chain forever. A counter cannot generate another counter.

Counter selection

Counterattack allowed if the defender is still alive, still has at least 1 action point, and has a weapon in range
The chosen weapon is the usable one with the highest expected damage

Counter resolution

A counterattack follows the same hit and damage rules as a normal attack
A counterattack cannot trigger another counterattack

Support actions

Repair modules restore all three shield types. They can work on a fixed value or on a percentage of each layer's maximum capacity, and the Repair skill raises the amount further. If nothing is actually repaired, the action does not spend AP.

Enhancement strengthens an aiming buff and can also make it last longer. A weaker buff never replaces a stronger one already active on the target.

Electronic Warfare can apply an aiming debuff or a movement debuff. The success chance depends on a live formula that weighs the attacker skill, the defender skill, and the tier of the modules involved. A lower movement debuff cannot be refreshed while it is already active.

Repair

Repair applied = the smaller of missing shields and the repaired amount after the skill bonus
If the module uses a percentage, the base repair comes from maximum shield × percentage
Repair training adds up to 30%, before the Support ship bonus
Repair never goes past what is actually missing

Enhancement

Buff strength = base aim bonus × (1 + enhancement bonus)
Buff duration = base duration × (1 + enhancement duration bonus)
Enhancement training adds up to 20% strength and 30% duration
A weaker buff never replaces a stronger one already active

Electronic Warfare

Success chance = base chance + attacker bonuses - defender bonuses
The result is clamped between a minimum and a maximum
Effect duration = base duration × duration factor
The attacker's bonus stretches the effect, while the defender's resistance shortens it
Movement reduction applied = the smaller of the remaining movement and the module's reduction

Progression and skill growth

Combat XP follows what the player actually did. Attackers train the matching weapon skill. Defenders can train Evasive Maneuver, the shield skill that matches the damage type, Repair, Enhancement, Electronic Warfare, and Counter Electronic Warfare when those actions matter.

Combat bonuses keep growing from level 0 to 100 without dead levels. The visible ranks Novice through Master follow the real T1-T7 access thresholds, while numerical effects keep improving after Master has been reached.

In practice, combat rewards scouting, positioning, and specialization more than raw numbers alone.

Skill curve

Weapon damage, Evasive Maneuver, and shield absorption use cap × (level / 100)^0.85
Weapon accuracy and Advanced Targeting use cap × (level / 100)^0.72
Access ranks: Novice (T1) at levels 0-19, Operator (T2) at 20, Specialist (T3) at 30, Veteran (T4) at 40, Expert (T5) at 50, Elite (T6) at 60, and Master (T7) from 70 onward
Reaching Master unlocks the highest equipment tier, but skill effects continue to improve up to level 100

Attack XP

Attack XP difficulty = clamp(100 - hit chance, 0, 100)
Shield XP difficulty = clamp(18 + hit chance × 0.25, 18, 60)
Evasion XP difficulty = clamp(14 + hit chance × 0.18 + 6 if the shot is evaded, 16, 32)

Electronic warfare XP

EW cast difficulty = clamp(100 - success chance, 18, 100)
EW defense difficulty = clamp(success chance, 18, 100)

Weapon capabilities

Every active weapon technique becomes available at rank 1 when its branch reaches level 10. Later ranks unlock every 10 levels up to rank 9 at level 90; the techniques themselves still have different effects and prices.

Laser Weapon

Precision Shot

Lv. 10

Very reliable shot with a strong hit chance.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Photonic Marking

Lv. 10

Marks the target so follow-up laser shots are easier to land.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Thermal Resonance

Lv. 10

Repeated hits on the same target build dangerous resonance.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Stellar Sentence

Lv. 10

Finisher designed to end weakened targets.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Ballistic Weapon

Armor-Piercing Projectile

Lv. 10

Armor-piercing shot built to punch through defenses.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Suppression Fire

Lv. 10

Suppressive fire that reduces precision, evasion, and counterfire.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Destabilizing Impact

Lv. 10

Kinetic hit that unsettles the target and weakens its immediate stability.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Kinetic Sentence

Lv. 10

Finisher for shieldless, breached, or heavily suppressed targets.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Torpedo Weapon

Target Lock

Lv. 10

Establishes a torpedo lock and makes the target easier to punish with follow-up attacks.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Guided Torpedo

Lv. 10

Reliable guided strike that performs best on locked or scanned targets.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Saturation Salvo

Lv. 10

Several smaller torpedoes that force defenses to absorb repeated impacts.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90

Gravitational Sentence

Lv. 10

Finisher for shieldless, trapped, or heavily exposed targets.

AP cost: 1
Rank levels: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90