Ships and Shipyard

The Shipyard is the gateway to all fleet activity. No ship — civilian or combat — can be queued without it. Each Shipyard level unlocks an additional class of vessel and reduces construction time for everything you already build.

Unlocking the Shipyard

Before you can build a Shipyard, you must research the Shipyard node in your Research Lab. Once researched, the Shipyard building can be constructed on any of your planets.

Shipyard levels unlock new ship types sequentially. A planet's Shipyard level caps what you can queue there — a higher-tier ship cannot be built on a planet whose Shipyard is not yet at the required level.

The Ship Catalogue

Hauler

A small, fast cargo ship. The first transport available. Requires Shipyard level 1. The backbone of early logistics.

Bulk Hauler

A high-capacity cargo ship. The backbone of resource logistics at scale. Requires Shipyard level 2 and the Hauler research as a prerequisite.

Mining Ship

The only ship that can dock at and mine asteroids. Has a large cargo hold for extracted resources. Requires Shipyard level 3. Certain civilian ships (including the Mining Ship) require hydrogen to build.

Colonizer

Settles empty coordinates as new colonies. The ship is consumed on arrival. Requires Shipyard level 3 and carries idle DROIDs from the origin planet. Requires hydrogen to build.

Spy Probe

A one-shot espionage dart — the fastest ship in the catalogue. Dispatched on ESPIONAGE missions; always consumed one-way. Requires the Radar research. Requires a small amount of hydrogen to build.

Skiron

The first combat ship. Fast and relatively cheap — the entry point for offensive warfare.

Phalanx

The mid-game workhorse warship. Reliable all-round performance suited to sustained engagements. Requires Shipyard level 4. Combat ships do not require hydrogen to build — only metal and carbon.

Pythia

A durable endurance warship built to absorb punishment over long battles. Requires Shipyard level 5.

Lynceus

A recon cruiser with an onboard sensor array. Projects a sensor bubble along its entire flight path, revealing enemy fleets and alliance bases it passes near. Fragile; keep it out of combat. Requires hydrogen to build.

Aegis

The apex heavy warship. Expensive and slow, but devastating against entrenched defensive positions. Requires Shipyard level 6.

Archon

The alliance founder ship. Dispatched on a FOUND_BASE mission and consumed on arrival to create an alliance base. Can only be built and commanded by an alliance owner. Requires Shipyard level 7.

Cargo Capacity

Every ship has a cargo bay. Even warships carry a small amount:

  • Hauler and Bulk Hauler are your primary logistics ships. Fill them with metal, carbon, hydrogen, or DROIDs.
  • Colonizer carries a large cargo hold plus the DROIDs riding along from the origin planet.
  • Mining Ship has a massive hold to store extracted asteroid resources.
  • Combat ships carry only small amounts — raided loot fills those bays.

Fuel

All ships burn hydrogen as fuel when traveling. Fuel cost depends on ship type, distance traveled, and the speed percentage you select at dispatch. Longer distances and faster speeds cost more. Round-trip missions are charged upfront at dispatch; the return leg is then free. See Fleets and Missions for the full fuel model.

Construction Speed

Each ship has a base build time. The Shipyard level on the planet and your empire-wide Construction Speed research reduce actual build time. Queue multiple ships to run production continuously while you focus on other planets.