Console:Land warfare

Version

This article is considered accurate for the current console version (1.7) of the game.

Armies are ground forces for invading and defending planets as well as handling out of control rebellions.

Recruitment

An Empire can recruit armies of any species that is present within its borders, as long as there are members of that species living on the planet which the army is built on. Transports are generated automatically as armies are embarked. New assault armies automatically embark in transports if the planet has reached maximum capacity. A planet can hold as many armies as its size.

The amount of non-defensive armies an empire can build from a species is limited to the number of pops of that species living within the empire. Titanic beasts are limited to three per empire and lost armies cannot be replaced.

Army Type	Cost	Time	Army Damage	Morale Damage	Health	Morale	Maintenance	Unlocked By	Description
Garrison Army	free	free	0.75 - 1.50	0.56 - 1.12	150	150	none	Starter	Each planet has a defending Garrison, whose size depends on the number of Pops. Garrisons cannot be transported.
Defense Army	30	60	1.50 - 3.00	1.50 - 3.00	200	200	0.15	Starter	Defensive armies are powerful, but cannot be transported from the planet.
Assault Army	60	90	1.72 - 3.45	1.98 - 3.96	230	230	0.33	Starter	Assault armies come with their own transports and can invade other planets.
Elite Guard Army	15 115	115	2.62 - 5.25	4.59 - 9.18	350	350	0.50	Despotic Hegemony or Illuminated Autocracy government Each ruler can only recruit one Elite Guard Army	The ruler's personal elite guard force.
Slave Army	20	60	1.73 - 3.45	1.73 - 3.45	230	200	0.25	Neural Implants Slave Processing Facility on planet	Slave soldiers who serve their masters on the battlefield. Most are conscripted by force, but many slaves volunteer in a desperate attempt to increase their food rations or escape from grueling labor.
Clone Army	60	30	1.88 - 3.75	2.34 - 4.69	250	250	0.33	Cloning Clone Vats on planet	Vat-grown clones that reach adulthood in a matter of months. With a natural lifespan of less than a decade, their lack of personal initiative is deemed an acceptable trade-off for their total obedience to officers.
Robotic Defense Army	8 50	60	1.50 - 3.00	1.50 - 3.00	340	immune	0.23	Droids tech	Cold and heartless killing-machines designed only for war. They pursue their objectives relentlessly, and are impervious to the shattering effects of poor morale that so often plague organic combat units.
Robotic Assault Army	15 100	90	1.65 - 3.30	1.65 - 3.30	400	immune	0.50	Droids tech	Cold and heartless killing-machines designed only for war. They pursue their objectives relentlessly, and are impervious to the shattering effects of poor morale that so often plague organic combat units.
Android Defense Army	10 75	80	1.88 - 3.75	2.34 - 4.69	434	immune	0.45	Synthetics tech	Semi-autonomous cogs in a well-oiled war machine, android combatants are more resilient, aggressive, and responsive to changing battlefield conditions than their robotic predecessors.
Android Assault Army	20 150	120	3.00 - 6.00	3.00 - 6.00	500	immune	1.00	Synthetics tech	Semi-autonomous cogs in a well-oiled war machine, android combatants are more resilient, aggressive, and responsive to changing battlefield conditions than their robotic predecessors.
Psionic Army	50 250	360	3.00 - 6.00	7.89 - 15.75	350	600	1.00	Telepathy	Soldiers gifted with psionic abilities. Their focus on destructive psionic powers has led to drastically different tactics and strategies on the battlefield – their first objective is always to remove the enemy's willingness to fight.
Gene Warrior Army	50 250	360	3.00 - 6.00	6.00 - 12.00	400	400	1.00	Gene Seed Purification	Genetically enhanced super soldiers. Recruits are typically chosen from the elite of the conventional military forces. These then undergo extensive gene therapy, and are made larger, stronger, and faster than their peers.
Xenomorph Army	25 125	360	3.75 - 7.50	3.75 - 7.50	400	200	0.75	Morphogenetic Field Mastery	Ravenous hordes of bio-engineered horrors made up of little more than teeth, claws, and an instinctive urge to kill. A cadre of scientists monitor and supervise the raging swarms as best they can from hardened bunkers behind the front.
Titanic Beast	50 250	90	4.50 - 9.00	4.50 - 9.00	1000	400	0.80	Titanic Lifeforms Planet Event Chain	Research breakthroughs have enabled us to train Titanic Lifeforms into military units, but due to the rarity of suitable subjects we will be only field a limited number of these Armies at a time.

Army Type	Cost	Time	Army Damage	Morale Damage	Health	Morale	Maintenance	Unlocked By	Description
Psionic Army	50 250	360	3.00 - 6.00	7.89 - 15.75	350	600	1.00	Latent Psionic or Psionic species trait	Soldiers gifted with psionic abilities. Their focus on destructive psionic powers has led to drastically different tactics and strategies on the battlefield – their first objective is always to remove the enemy's willingness to fight.
Avatar	event	event	3.00 - 6.00	12.00 - 24.00	1400	800	none	gained from a Shroud event	A colossal warrior from the Shroud that has been forged out of pure psionic energy.

Combat

Ground combat takes place between several assaulting armies and the planet's defending armies. The latter are composed of any standing armies present on the planet as well as a number of free but weak garrisons. The base number of garrison units is 2, increased by 0.4 for each population over 1.

The damage dealt by attacking armies is multiplied by a modifier based on the planet's fortifications. At 100% fortification, damage dealt to defending armies will be decreased by 95%; whilst at 0% fortification damage to defending army is doubled. It is therefore highly advisable to only start landing once the fortification level is reduced by orbital bombardment, unless there is a considerable advantage for the attacker. The total amount of fortification is again based on population, starting at 1000 and is increased by 100 per pop above 1.

Each army has health and morale, as well as a range of possible damage against both these values. This damage is dealt to a random enemy army once a day until either side runs out of armies. If an army's morale is depleted, their damage dealt is reduced by 75%. If their health is depleted, they are destroyed. Once all armies of one side have lost all their health that side loses the battle.

Landed armies cannot disembark if there are no pops alive on the planet. This can be caused by losing the planet to the abandon war goal or purging all pops on the planet. The Number of Armies that can be stationed on a planet equal the Planet Size. The attacker has no limitations, other then how many armies they can muster.

Attachments

Attachments are modules that enhance armies. They are unlocked by researching technology and bought and equipped individually to single armies. In order to outfit an army with modules, it must be landed on a planet.

Attachment	Cost	Required Technology	Effects	Description
Neo-concrete fortifications	50	Starter	Army Health: +10.0% Army Upkeep: -10.0%	Extensive layers of neo-concrete ground fortifications and bunker networks that offer increased protection against orbital bombardment. This restricts the mobility of the army, but can be a deciding factor in defensive actions.
Hunter-killer drone swarms	50	Starter	Army Damage: +15.0%	Massive swarms of these relatively simply unmanned aerial vehicles are unleashed on enemy positions in the hope of overwhelming them. Although a single drone may not be a significant threat to a trained soldier, several dozen are.
Commissar squads	25 50	Will to power	Army Damage: +15.0% Army Morale: +10.0%	Enforcing discipline in an army of slaves is monumental task, but these squads of hardened commissars have turned it into an art. Decimation and other harsh disciplinary actions are used to ensure the slaves fear the ire of the commissars more than the enemy.
PSI warriors	25 50	Psionic Theory	Army Damage: +10.0% Morale Damage: +15.0%	These elite warriors are shrouded in mystery, relying on their powerful psionic abilities and extensive physical training to move about the battlefield. They prefer to engage their opponents in close combat, and many are extremely proficient with melee weapons.
Xeno cavalry	25 50	Morphogenetic Field Mastery	Army Damage: +10.0% Army Health: +15.0%	These sturdy war beasts make excellent mounts, once they have finished bonding with their riders. They can traverse almost any terrain, and have proven very effective in scouting and raiding roles. Larger specimens have also been used with success as heavy weapons platforms.
Clone commandos	25 50	Gene Banks	Army Damage: +25.0%	These vat-grown killers are expensive to produce, but the extreme conditioning and training they are subjected to turn them into very capable soldiers. They are more independent-minded than normal clones, and some models have been known to develop eccentric quirks.

Transports

Transports are ships transporting an army from a planet where it is based to a planet it aims to invade. Defense armies cannot be transported.

Unlike other ships, Transports are not built in the spaceport (although they can be modified through the ship designer and subsequently upgraded at spaceports), they are found under the armies tab located on one of the planets you control. The defensive army units can not be embarked from planets. Assault Armies will board transport ships in a 1:1 ratio and can either be embarked from or deployed to a planet all at once or individually through right-clicking an individual unit. Once an army is disembarked, dropships will carry it to the planet's surface.

In addition, transport ships may be required if an event is triggered within the Situation Log, for example, should armies need to board a ship that has been damaged in battle to inspect the remains/look for survivors or whatever the event dictates you need to do.

Uses for Army types

There are a whole bunch of army types in the game. Each one has a specific purpose.

• Garrisons spawn for free, based on the number of population on the planet. They are always of the primary species, take up no slots and cost no maintenance. They spawn on occupied planets to help the occupier. On their own, Garrisons are little more than speed bumps. However they can work as useful damage sponges for the real defensive armies. This use is compounded by them despawning and fully healing between assaults.
• Assault Armies are the kind you will use to attack planets, unless you have and can afford a better army. When they are not needed in space, they can operate as a useful defensive army as well. However they are usually too expensive for that on a large scale.
• Defense Armies are the significantly cheaper brother of the Assault Armies. They can not be moved off planet and are also inferior in any way to Assault Armies (however the Garrison should not be forgotten in that calculation). They are outclassed against any more advanced army. However the combination of the low maintenance and not counting against the assault army cap makes them excellent at suppressing unrest.
• Slave Armies are a special kind of Assault armies for Slaver Empires. They are cheaper while offering nearly the same performance as Assault armies. If they have access to them, Slavers should usually use them over Assault Armies.
• Clone Armies while having the same Build and Maintenance cost as normal Assault Armies, these are superior in Production time and combat ability. If available they can effortlessly replace Assault Armies.
• Robot Armies / Droid Armies These are special armies available for Empires going along the AI Robotics path. While they can be recruited just by having the next technology and are quite powerful, they cost a minor premium in energy maintenance. Their most special feature is that they are immune to morale damage. They are not affected by the AI policy selection and do not need any population to recruit them from. AI rebellions will use them exclusively.
• Psionics Armies / Gene warrior Armies Costly but highly effective armies that are especially effective at damaging enemy morale. Fallen Empires will use these armies almost exclusively.
• Xenomorph Armies are basically barely controllable Zerg Broods. The most powerful normal army you can employ when it comes to raw damage and a benefit of going for the Genetic Engineering line.

Special Armies

These armies can only be gained based on a Special Projects or event.

• Titanic Beast Armies Basically Godzilla brought his weaker friends. Only 3 armies of this kind can be recruited in the entire game (a better limitation is not possible based on the Script limitations). They are stronger than even xenomorph armies.
• Titanic Guard Army A special kind of Garrison army that spawns upon completing the quest that allows Titanic Beast Armies. A minor trade-off for getting the quest multiple times.
• Avatar Basically a one entity army, it is by far the most resilient and scary. Its health will ensure it survives every battle as long as supported by other armies, especially since enemy armies lost morale if as much as the avatar looks at them.
• Primitive Army / Industrial Army / Post Atomic Army A special kind of army only Pre-FTL Species possess. Performance is even inferior to garrisons, while they operate like them. They may stay around upon a species learning FTL travel, taking up valuable slots. If deciding on conquering a Pre-FTL planet, Industrial and especially Post Atomic armies should not be underestimated; while nevertheless inferior to regular army types, their numbers should not be shrugged off.
• Swarm Army Only used by the Swarm Crisis, this army is only outclassed by Gene warrior Army and about equal to the 2nd Robot Army.
• Rebel Army These armies are spawned by Faction revolts. Their Performance is under that of even Defense armies and in part even Garrisons. However they will be quite Numerous (1 per pop). They should despawn after winning the fight.
• Rebel Slave Army Will only spawn on Malcontent Slave Faction Revolts. Their power is somewhere slightly above defensive Armies. They will operate as defensive armies after victory.
• Mutant Horror This army may be spawned as part of a terraforming related Event Chain. It is superior to Clone Armies.

References

Game concepts