Starbase

Version

This article has been verified for the current PC version (3.7) of the game.

Mammalian Citadel

A starbase is the primary space station used throughout the game and is used for determining the ownership of a star system; construction, repair and maintenance of ships; collection and transportation of Trade Value; as well as acting as a strategic fortress during warfare.

Mechanics

Constructing a starbase requires first fully surveying the desired system. The build cost is  100 alloys and an additional  influence cost on top of that. The influence cost is a base of 75, multiplied by the number of hyperlane jumps, including bypasses, between the target systems and the empire's closest owned system. This is reduced the  Slingshot to the Stars origin, which reduces the distance multiplier by 75%. For example, an adjacent system (1 jump) costs 75 influence, a system 2 jumps away costs 150 influence, or 94 influence with Slingshot to the Stars. Other modifiers to the total influence cost can be found below.

Once built, the starbase will appear orbiting the center point of the system. It cannot be destroyed by any regular means, but it can be dismantled by its owner during peacetime if it is of no more than outpost level (higher-level starbases will need to be downgraded first) and the system is not colonized. If a starbase is dismantled, the system reverts to being neutral and unowned and can then be claimed by any empire. Crisis factions, including the Khan and Gray Tempest, destroy starbases when they reduce it to 0 hull, though it is rebuilt as an outpost if their fleet leaves and a colonized world remains in the system. Star-Eaters also destroy the starbase when they crack the star.

Besides the initial influence cost, upgrading the starbase to a higher level costs only alloys. Aside from making the starbase more powerful due to better base stats and the addition of more weapon components, the upgrade also allows the owner to fit the starbase with different buildings and modules to increase its defensive capabilities and improve its contribution to the empire beyond its basic role of system control and defense. One such important module is the Shipyard which enables the construction of ships at the starbase. Having multiple shipyards on a starbase allows it to effectively act as a "fleet manufactory" by constructing several ships simultaneously in parallel. Shipyard build order is independent from the main build order of starbase.

Though it is not possible to design a starbase, its components will be auto-fitted with the latest advanced technology as soon as they are made available (at no additional cost to the owner).

Starbase capacity

The number of upgraded starbases an empire can support without penalty is determined by the  starbase capacity. Every upgraded starbase exceeding that capacity adds  25% upkeep for all starbases. This modifier also affects the upkeep of modules and buildings on starbases. Regardless of their level, each starbase above outpost level occupies only one capacity slot and if the need arises, an empire can always downgrade existing starbases back to outpost level to reduce the number of upgraded starbases to within the cap.

The base  starbase capacity is 3. This is increased by 1 for every 10 owned systems and can also be increased by the following:

Source	Starbase capacity
Strategic Coordination Center (stage III)	+6
Grasp the Void ascension perk	+5
Trading Posts civic	+4
Strategic Coordination Center (stage II)	+4
Fortify the Border edict	+2
Unyielding tradition tree	+2
Fortress Doctrine tradition tree	+2
Stellar Expansion technology	+2
Manifest Destiny technology	+2
Strategic Coordination Center (stage I)	+2
Interstellar Expansion technology (repeatable 5 times)	+1

Warfare behavior

Systems with starbases above outpost level require a higher influence cost to claim ( 25 influence). Additionally, those starbases grant a higher war-score if occupied successfully (10 occupation value). An additional benefit of upgraded starbases comes from their including an FTL inhibitor which prevents enemy ships from leaving the system via any hyperlane other than the one they arrived through until the starbase is disabled or occupied. This allows an FTL inhibitor-equipped starbase to turn strategically important systems into efficient choke points, preventing hostile fleets from bypassing the system without engaging the starbase and thereby forcing them into an engagement which may last long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

During war, an attacker must disable the enemy's starbase within the system in order to be able to seize control of any planets within said system. As starbases cannot be destroyed, this is achieved by reducing the Hull points down to 0, disabling the starbase. The starbase will then remain incapacitated for a duration of 30 days (after the latest attack), during which time any military ships in close proximity to the starbase will be able to gain control over it. If control of the starbase is uncontested, it will enter a self-repair phase and then become operational again as soon as it regains 5% Hull points. When a starbase is disabled, control of the starbase will be assigned to its owner, the war participant with the strongest system claim, or the war participant with the nearest fleet, in that order.

Occupied starbases are fully operational and can repair ships of the side that controls it, inhibit FTL for "enemy" ships, and manage defense platforms, all empire-wide bonuses will also be applied, including home territory modifiers (The  Eternal Vigilance ascension perk's platform cap of the original owner is also temporarily retained). However, the buildings and modules cannot be changed, and the starbase cannot be upgraded or downgraded, although it can be returned to the owner.

It is worth noting that auto-upgrading a starbase can "gift" higher tech components to occupied starbases (including FTL inhibitors), while keeping their own more advanced components. They will stay equipped even if said starbase is reclaimed back, so repeated re-conquering might become harder for both sides.

Level

A starbase is auto-fitted with the latest components as soon as they are available to the empire. This is done automatically and has no additional cost for the empire - as such this also does not affect a starbase's level upgrade cost.

The weapon slots are fitted with the most effective kinetic and energy weapons (though not necessarily by equal division). The utility slots are divided equally between  shield and  armor components (auto-fitting does not add hull components here), while the  auxiliary slot uses standard auto-fitting of a shield capacitor or auxiliary fire-control (whatever is available in order of priority).

Upgrading a starbase requires the technology of the same name and can only be done in sequential order - meaning that upgrading a basic outpost to a citadel requires going through every level in between to get to the desired level. Downgrading a starbase, however, reduces it to outpost level immediately, which removes all buildings and modules and any defense platforms over the outpost's capacity limit. Any resources invested into the starbase prior to downgrading will not be refunded.

Starting from starport level, all starbases have an FTL inhibitor if the  FTL Inhibition technology has been researched.

Note: The table lists the base properties of each starbase level. The actual values themselves will differ due to one's progress in-game (technology, tradition, and etc.), existing modifiers (if any) as well as individual starbase composition (buildings, modules, and etc.).

Level	Cost	Time	Upkeep	Modules	Buildings	Platforms	Trade protection	Hull	Armor	Weapons	Utilities	Repairs docked fleets
Outpost	100	100	1	0	0	3	0	5000	1000	1	2 1
Starport	200	360	2	2	1	6	8	10000	2000	1 2	6 1
Starhold	500	720	3	4	2	9	16	20000	5000	1 4	10 1
Star Fortress	1250	1080	4	6	3	12	24	40000	10000	1 6	14 1
Citadel	3500	1440	5	6	4	15	32	80000	20000	1 12	26 1

Modules

A fully upgraded starbase can support up to 6 modules. It is possible to construct multiple modules of the same type and the starbase will be described in the outliner depending on the majority module type. Each module takes 180 days to construct and has an  Energy upkeep of 1.

	Module	Cost	Effects	Requirements	Description
	Shipyard	50	+1 Shipyard Capacity		A Shipyard may build one ship at a time, in parallel with other Shipyards.
	Anchorage	50	+4 Naval capacity  +2 Naval capacity with Naval Logistics Office		Fleet anchorages are necessary to support the growth of our navy.
	Gun Battery	50	+2 Medium weapon components +5 Trade Protection +1 Protection Range +10% Starbase armor hit points +10% Starbase hull points		Adds two medium-size weapon slots to the Starbase.
	Missile Battery	50	+2 Guided weapon components +5 Trade Protection +1 Protection Range +10% Starbase armor hit points +10% Starbase hull points		Adds two torpedo weapon slots to the Starbase.
	Trade Hub	50	+1 Collection Range	Gestalt Consciousness	A civilian docking area where merchants and traders can conduct business.
	Solar Panel Network	50	+6 Energy  +12 total with Unchained Knowledge resolution level 2 or above	Gestalt Consciousness	Advances in solar panel technology could offset the operating costs of our starbases.
	Hangar Bay	50	+1 Hangar weapon components +10 Trade Protection +1 Protection Range +10% Starbase armor hit points +10% Starbase hull points	Carrier Operations technology	Adds a hangar for strike craft to the Starbase.
	Detection Array	100	+1 Detection Strength	Detection Array technology	Adds high-powered suite of external sensors, capable of detecting cloaked fleets.
	Ancient Rampart	50 45	+2 Defense Platform Cap +15% Starbase hull points +15% Starbase armor hit points without  Archaeo-Engineers +20% Starbase armor hit points with  Archaeo-Engineers +10% Starbase armor hardening with  Archaeo-Engineers	Ancient Rampart technology	Defense platforms are a cost effective way to ensure our safety, but they need to be monitored from an operation center. Fortifying our Starbase to ensure its survivability in the event of an attack, and maximizing our capacity to network independent orbital defenses would give us more time to dispatch reinforcements.

Buildings

A fully upgraded starbase can support up to 4 buildings. Unlike modules, it is only possible to construct a single building of any type. Building cost is reduced by −25% by the  Modular Engineering technology. Many starbase buildings can also be built on Orbital Rings.

	Building	Cost	Time	Upkeep	Effects	Orbital Ring	Requirements
	Resource Silo	50	180		+5000 Resource storage capacity  +10000 Total with  Construction Templates
	Target Uplink Computer	100	360	2	+50% Starbase Weapons Range +50% Defense Platform Weapons Range
	Communications Jammer	50	180	1	–20% Enemy Combat Disengagement Chance in system –20% Enemy Sublight Speed in system		Max 1 per system
	Disruption Field Generator	100	180	2	–20% Enemy Shield Hit Points in system		Max 1 per system
	Crew Quarters	50	180	1	–25% Docked ship upkeep		Gestalt Consciousness
	Crew Gestation Chambers	50	180	1	–25% Docked ship upkeep		Hive Mind
	Service Umbilicals	50	180	1	–25% Docked ship upkeep		Machine Intelligence
	Fleet Academy	100	360	2	+100 Ship Starting Experience		Interstellar Fleet Traditions Shipyard  Gestalt Consciousness
	Battle Simulators	100	360	2	+100 Ship Starting Experience		Interstellar Fleet Traditions Shipyard  Gestalt Consciousness
	Black Hole Observatory	100	360	2	+15 Physics Research  +30 total with Unchained Knowledge resolution 2  +1 Dark matter with  Dark Matter Drawing		Subspace Sensors Star is a black hole
	Command Center	250	360	5	+10% Allied Fire Rate in system		Command Matrix Star Fortress or Orbital Ring Tier 3 Max 1 per system
	Deep Space Black Site	100	360	2	+1 Unity +25% System Governing Ethics Attraction +5 System Stability		The Living State System is colonized  Gestalt Consciousness
	Defense-Grid Supercomputer	150	360	2	+8 Defense Platform Cap		Synchronized Defenses
	Hydroponics Bay	50	180	1	+10 Food		Hydroponics Farming
	Hyperlane Registrar	100	180	2	+1 Collection Range		Interstellar Economics  Gestalt Consciousness
	Listening Post	100	360	2	+2 Sensor range +4 Hyperlane detection range +1 Sensor range if Starbase has 3 Detection Array modules with  Unusual Senses +1 Detection strength if Starbase has 3 Detection Array modules with  Unusual Senses +1 Sensor and Hyperlane detection range with Unchained Knowledge resolution 2		Gravitic Sensors
	Naval Logistics Office	100	360	2	+2 Naval capacity from Anchorages		Interstellar Fleet Traditions Anchorage
	Nebula Refinery	100	360	2	+10 Minerals  +1 Exotic Gases with  Exotic Gas Extraction		Zero-G Refineries System is inside a nebula
	Offworld Trading Company	100	360		+2 Trade value from Trading Hubs		Space Trading Trading Hub
	Transit Hub	100	180	3	+100% Automatic Resettlement Chance for every planet in system  Slaves and non-sapient robots can automatically resettle from this system		Hyperlane Breach Points Max 1 per system
	Titan Assembly Yards	500	720	10	Titan construction enabled		Titans Shipyard Citadel
	Colossal Assembly Yards	1000	720	20	Colossus construction enabled Juggernaut construction enabled Star-Eater construction enabled		Shipyard Citadel  Colossi or  Juggernaut technologies
	Ancient Shield Overcharger	100 45	360	15 2	+33% Starbase and Defense Platform shield hit points without  Archaeo-Engineers +33% Starbase and Defense Platform shield hardening without  Archaeo-Engineers +50% Starbase and Defense Platform shield hit points with  Archaeo-Engineers +50% Starbase and Defense Platform shield hardening with  Archaeo-Engineers		Ancient Shield Overcharger
	Dark Matter Resonance Chamber	500 25	360	5 0.25	+1 Detection strength if Starbase has 3 Detection Array modules		Dark Matter Detection Detection Array
	Offspring Outlook	150	180	2	+65% Accuracy in system +65% Evasion in system +65% Fire rate in system +65% Sublight speed in system Does not stack with Offspring ship auras		Progenitor Hive
	Cordyceptic Reanimation facility	100	180	10	Creates a fleet of 8 large and 8 small Tiyanki Space Whales every 5 years if built in Tiyun Ori or Tiyana Vek Creates a fleet of 12 large and 6 small Space Amoeba every 5 years if built in Amor Alveo		Cordyceptic Drones Tiyana Vek, Tiyun Ori or Amor Alveo system
	Ice Mining Station	100	360		+15% Mining Station Output Enables the Expand Planetary Sea decision		Hydrocentric ascension perk Frozen world or ice asteroids in system
	Dragon Hatchery	750	720	10	Allows the construction of Fledgling Dragons		Citadel  Here Be Dragons origin conclusion Sky Dragon alive
	Dark Matter Listening Post	500 50	360	10 0.5	+2 Sensor range +4 Hyperlane detection range +6 Detection strength		Fallen Empire

Enclave buildings

The following starbase buildings require an agreement with an enclave and/or the enclave's presence in the system. They cannot be constructed on Orbital Rings.

	Building	Cost	Time	Upkeep	Effects	Requirements	Description
	Curator Think Tank	100	360	2	+5 Research  +10 total with Unchained Knowledge resolution 3	Agreement with the Curator enclave System has a Curator station	By constructing a research facility entirely focused on learning from, and cooperating with, the Curators, we are able to make significant contributions to our scientific progress.
	Art College	200	360	2	+10 Unity  +20 total with Unchained Knowledge resolution 3	Agreement with the Artisan enclave System has an Artisan station	This zero-g Art College, operated in conjunction with the nearby Artisan Enclave, celebrates the beauty of outer space in the works produced by its talented students.
	Trader Proxy Office	100	360		−5% Market fee  +5 Trade value with Unchained Knowledge resolution 3	System has a Trader enclave Galactic Market access  Gestalt Consciousness	The Trader Enclaves enjoy special privileges on the Galactic Market, which can also benefit us.
	Salvage Works	100	360	3	–20% Docked ship upkeep +30% Docked ship hull repair speed +30% Docked ship armor repair speed  +5 Alloys with Unchained Knowledge resolution 3	Agreement with the Salvager enclave System has the Salvager enclave	This bustling annex equips our engineering teams with a cornucopia of tools and spare parts, facilitating closer collaboration with the nearby Salvager Enclave.
	Mercenary Garrison	100	360	20	+15% Allied Fire Rate in system  +5 Naval capacity with Unchained Knowledge resolution 3	Agreement with a Mercenary enclave	A collection of barracks hosting military contractors. These grizzled veterans organize regular drills for the rest of the crew, and stand ready to defend the station - as long as we pay them.
	Shroud Beacon	500 25	720	3	Creates a Shroud Tunnel bypass Allows use of Shroud Tunnel bypasses	Agreement with the Shroud-Touched Coven enclave Wormhole in system Max 1 per empire	A psionic Beacon used to spawn a Shroud Tunnel in system. While the Shroud Beacon may be dismantled (or destroyed), the Tunnel itself cannot be removed.

Precursor buildings

The following starbase buildings can only be constructed after completing the special project to delve into the secrets of one of the precursors and researching a unique technology. They cannot be constructed on Orbital Rings.

	Building	Cost	Time	Upkeep	Effects	Requirements	Description
	Cybrex Mining Hub	100 12	360	1	+100% Mining Station Output without  Archaeo-Engineers +150% Mining Station Output with  Archaeo-Engineers	Cybrex Mining Hub	To build their ring world, the Cybrex relied on highly efficient mining drones to survey and harvest orbital resources. Cybrex-made memory chips and sensors could outfit our own mining drones, so that we might put their millennia old algorithms to good use.
	Irassian Naval Yards	100 45	360	2	+1 Shipyard Capacity +20% Ship Build Speed without  Archaeo-Engineers +30% Ship Build Speed with  Archaeo-Engineers	Irassian Naval Yards Shipyard	The Irassian astronaval tradition was unmatched in their time. Their shipyards produced a constant stream of ships for their navy and merchant fleets, which would ultimately be their downfall. With so many ships, and such a high reliance on them, the Irassians were powerless to quarantine the disease that would claim their empire.
	Yuht Astronomical Interferometer	100 45	360	2	+7 Sensor Range without  Archaeo-Engineers +14 Ship Hyperlane Detection Range without  Archaeo-Engineers +10 Sensor Range with  Archaeo-Engineers +20 Ship Hyperlane Detection Range with  Archaeo-Engineers	Yuht Astronomical Interferometer	The Yuht were a paradoxical society, obsessed with the idea of finding other sentient species, yet refusing to accept that they were not alone. They were so focused on disproving any claim of alien life, that their bias found a way into their technology. However, with the proper modifications and calibrations, we could certainly fix their powerful detection arrays.
	Zroni Storm Caster	100 45 100	360	20 1	Creates a Space Storm in the system −10% Daily Hull to enemy ships with  Archaeo-Engineers	Zroni Storm Caster	Zro is a fascinating element, prone to chaotic bursts of energy. We believe that with the right artifacts, we could use it to fuel spatial storms over entire solar systems.

Defenses

Mammalian Ion Cannon

Because starbases are vital targets during warfare, an empire must ensure that they can maintain control over their own starbases to prevent their opponents from seizing control of the system. Investing resources into arming a starbase can allow it to function as a strong deterrent to enemy invasions, a powerful supporting power during a fleet battle in the system, and a starbase that is heavily armed enough can potentially even repel an entire enemy fleet by itself. Successfully maintaining control over every single starbase in the empire is by itself enough to allow an empire to end the war through a status-quo without losing any systems, earning them a defensive victory.

A starbase's self-defense capabilities can be reinforced with the construction of defense platforms. Defense platforms are smaller military stations that are deployed around the starbase and act as weapons platforms. Defense platforms have two sections for weapon slots which can be outfitted with a wide variety of weapon configurations. They will engage any incoming hostile ships, effectively acting as a supporting weapon, by attacking and distracting them from focusing their efforts on the starbase itself, allowing the starbase to engage the enemies and support the defense platform(s). When compared with ships, platforms are situated between Destroyer and Cruiser classes, their hull and armament slightly better than the former, while their armor-potential is equivalent to the latter. However, due to them having no  evasion whatsoever, individual platforms are still very vulnerable, and if a strong, sustainable firepower is a priority, it is wiser to put more turrets on the base itself and only add in defense platforms once the starbases available armaments have been maxed out.

As opposed to the auto-fitting of the starbase's components, defense platforms can be modified through the ship designer allowing for several designs to be built based on the different needs on each front and to be upgraded based on these designs. However, unlike ships, their designs cannot be switched once built, necessitating dismantling and completely rebuilding in order to change designs. It also renders any transferred platforms non-upgradeable.

The defense platform capacity for starbases can be increased by the following:

Empire Sources
Unyielding finisher effect	+50%
Eternal Vigilance	+5
Bulwark Tier 1	+2
Bulwark Tier 2	+5
Bulwark Tier 3	+8
Vigil Command Holding with  Bulwark Tier 1 subject	+1
Vigil Command Holding with  Bulwark Tier 2 subject	+2
Vigil Command Holding with  Bulwark Tier 3 subject	+4
Per stage of a Strategic Coordination Center (Total: +12)	+4

Starbase/Orbital Ring Sources
Per Starbase level (see above)	+3
Per Orbital Ring level	+2
Defense-Grid Supercomputer	+8
Each: Gun Battery Hangar Bay Missile Battery	+1
With an Orbital Assembly Complex Holding Each: Gun Battery Hangar Bay Missile Battery	+2

If all of these modifiers are applied, a single starbase can support up to 69 Defense platforms when upgraded to Citadel level before even considering the  Bulwark bonuses. Capturing additional Strategic Coordination Centers will also increase the maximum capacity significantly.

Ion Cannon

In addition to the regular defense platforms, a citadel-level starbase is also capable of hosting an Ion Cannon, a more powerful platform type that carries a weapon identical to the Perdition Beam titan weapon. It is titan-class hull-wise, but only battleship-class armor-wise. Each Ion Cannon has an upkeep of  8 energy.

An ion cannon platform is equivalent to 8 defense platforms in terms of capacity slots and can only be constructed on citadel-level starbases.

Defense platform modifiers

Defense platforms have +30% Weapons Range. Additional modifiers which affect various defense platform parameters are summarized below. Note that general modifiers to ship hull, armor, shield, and damage also apply to defense platforms.

	Damage
+100%	Bulwark Tier 3
+75%	Bulwark Tier 2
+50%	Bulwark Tier 1
+50%	Bulwark with A Voice for All Resolution
+33%	Defensive Zeal
+25%	Eternal Vigilance
+25%	Secure the Borders
+10%	Synchronized Firing Patterns

	Hull points
+100%	Bulwark Tier 3
+75%	Bulwark Tier 2
+50%	Bulwark Tier 1
+50%	Bulwark with A Voice for All Resolution
+33%	Defensive Zeal
+25%	Secure the Borders
+10%	Fortified Core Layers
+500	Improved Structural Integrity

	Build cost
−75%	Bulwark Tier 3
−50%	Bulwark Tier 2
−33%	Fortifier ruler trait
−25%	Bulwark Tier 1
−25%	Bulwark Prefabs (overlord)
−15%	Secure the Borders
+25%	Bulwark Prefabs (subject)

	Build speed
+100%	Fortress Proclamation

	Upkeep
−75%	Bulwark Tier 3
−50%	Bulwark Tier 2
−25%	Bulwark Tier 1
−25%	Bulwark Prefabs (overlord)
+25%	Bulwark Prefabs (subject)

Orbital Rings

See also: Orbital ring

Orbital Rings are megastructures which can be built around colonized planets and have similar functions and capabilities to Starbases. Other than system control and trade collection and protection, nearly anything that applies to a starbase also applies to an orbital ring.

References

Game concepts