Game Guide

Learn to Play Age of Space - Complete beginner's guide to Age of Space. Learn how to build, attack, spy, colonize, and dominate the galaxy!

Combat Engine

Every battle in Age of Space is resolved by the OPBE (OGame Probabilistic Battle Engine), a sophisticated probabilistic combat simulator. Understanding how it works gives you a massive strategic advantage. This chapter covers how rounds work, the three combat stats, damage calculation, the devastating rapidfire mechanic, targeting priority, debris generation, and moon creation from battle debris. Master the combat engine and you will know exactly when to attack and when to retreat.

How Battles Work

When an attacking fleet reaches a planet, battle begins. The combat engine simulates up to 6 rounds of combat. In each round, every surviving unit (ship or defense) fires once at a random enemy target, plus any additional shots from rapidfire.

After each round, destroyed units are removed. If all units on one side are destroyed, that side loses and the battle ends immediately. If after 6 rounds both sides still have units, the battle is a draw.

The attacker's fleet arrives, fights the defender's fleet and planetary defenses together. If the attacker wins, they loot up to 50% of the resources on the planet (divided equally among the attacker's cargo capacity). If the defender wins or it is a draw, the attacker's remaining ships return home.

The Three Combat Stats

Every ship and defense has three core combat statistics. Technologies researched in your Lab multiply these base values:

Stat	Role in Combat	Boosted By
Attack Power	Damage dealt per shot. Each unit fires with its attack value against a random target each round.	Weapons Technology (+10% per level)
Shield Strength	First line of defense. Absorbs damage before it hits the hull. Regenerates each round.	Shielding Technology (+10% per level)
Hull Points	Structural integrity. Calculated as 10% of the ship's base Titanium cost. When hull drops below 70% of max, the unit is destroyed.	Armour Technology (+10% per level)

Damage Calculation

When a unit fires, its attack power is applied to the target. The damage is first absorbed by the target's shield. Any remaining damage after the shield is depleted hits the hull directly.

If the attack power is less than 1% of the target's shield, the shot bounces off harmlessly (no damage at all). This is why small ships struggle to damage heavily shielded targets.

Effective Damage = Attack Power - Shield Absorption

Shields absorb damage up to their current value, then remaining damage passes through to the hull. Shields regenerate to full at the start of each new round.

Example: A Cruiser with 400 Attack fires at a Large Shield Dome with 200 Shield: 200 damage absorbed by shield, 200 hits the hull.

Ship Destruction

A unit is destroyed when its hull drops below 70% of its maximum hull points. This means there is a random element to destruction — a unit at 35% hull has a chance of being destroyed or surviving each round.

Specifically: if a unit's hull is between 30% and 70% of max, it has a random chance of exploding. Below 30%, it is always destroyed. Above 70%, it always survives until the next round.

Important!

This probabilistic destruction means that small amounts of damage do not guarantee kills. You need overwhelming firepower to ensure complete destruction of enemy forces.

Rapidfire — The Decisive Mechanic

Rapidfire is the most important combat mechanic to understand. If Ship A has a rapidfire value of X against Ship B, then Ship A fires X shots at Ship B per round instead of just one. This makes certain ship types devastatingly effective against their counters.

Key rapidfire matchups that every player must know:

Attacker	Target	Rapidfire
Cruiser	Light Fighter	6
Battleship	Cruiser	7
Bomber	Rocket Launcher	20
Destroyer	Light Laser	10
Death Star	Rocket Launcher	250
Death Star	Battlecruiser	15

Strategy Tip

Rapidfire is king. A fleet of 100 Cruisers will annihilate 600 Light Fighters because of the 6x rapidfire. Always check the rapidfire table before attacking — bring ships that counter the enemy composition.

Targeting Priority

Units with lower shield values are targeted more frequently. This means cheap units with low shields (like Rocket Launchers) absorb shots that would otherwise hit your expensive ships. This is why building a "wall" of cheap defenses is effective — they soak up enemy fire.

This targeting mechanic also means that mixing ship types is important. Your cheap Light Fighters and Small Cargos will absorb shots, protecting your expensive Battleships and Cruisers behind them.

Debris Fields

Every ship destroyed in battle (both attacker and defender) generates a debris field at the battle coordinates. Destroyed defenses do NOT generate debris. The debris contains recoverable resources:

Debris = 30% Titanium cost + 30% Graphene cost of each destroyed ship

Only the Titanium and Graphene components of the original ship cost contribute to debris. Deuterium is never part of the debris field.

Example: If 10 Cruisers are destroyed (each costing 20,000 Ti + 7,000 Gr + 2,000 De), the debris = 10 * (0.3 * 20,000) Ti + 10 * (0.3 * 7,000) Gr = 60,000 Ti + 21,000 Gr.

Large battles create massive debris fields, and these debris fields also have a chance to create moons:

Moon Chance = 1% per 100,000 units of debris (max 20%)

Each 100,000 total resources in the debris field adds 1% chance of moon creation, capped at 20%. Both Titanium and Graphene in the debris count toward this total.

Combat Tips

Always Simulate First

Never attack blind. Use the Battle Simulator to preview the battle outcome before committing your fleet. Enter the exact fleet compositions from the spy report and run multiple simulations to see the range of possible outcomes.

Bring Rapidfire Counters

If the enemy has lots of Light Fighters, bring Cruisers (6x rapidfire). If they have Cruisers, bring Battleships (7x rapidfire). If they have defenses, Bombers are your best bet (20x rapidfire vs Rocket Launchers). Always counter the enemy composition.

Recycle Your Debris

After every battle, send Recyclers to collect the debris field. This recovers 30% of the resource cost of all destroyed ships. Even losing battles generate debris that you can partially recover. Never leave free resources floating in space.

Optimal fleet composition depends on what you expect to face. Against a fleet-heavy defender, prioritize ships with strong rapidfire against their composition. Against a defense-heavy planet, Bombers and Destroyers are essential for their anti-defense rapidfire.

The Death Star is the ultimate unit with massive rapidfire against almost everything (250x vs Rocket Launchers, 25x vs Light Fighters, etc.), but it is extremely expensive and slow. It is most effective as a deterrent and in overwhelming force.

Advanced players calculate the exact break-even point for attacks. They compare the expected loot + debris against the expected ship losses. If the profit margin is positive, they attack. If negative, they find a better target. The combat simulator is your most important pre-battle tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

If after 6 rounds both sides still have surviving units, the battle is a draw. The attacker's remaining ships return home with no loot. A debris field is still created from all ships destroyed during the battle. Draws are relatively common when forces are evenly matched.

No. Destroyed defenses do NOT create debris fields. Only destroyed ships (from both attacker and defender) generate debris. This is why attacking defense-heavy planets can be unprofitable — you lose ships (creating debris for the defender to recycle) but their defenses create no debris for you.

After every battle, each individual destroyed defense unit has a 70% chance of being automatically rebuilt at no cost. This is calculated separately for each unit. So if 100 Rocket Launchers are destroyed, approximately 70 will be rebuilt for free after the battle.

Yes. After every battle, both attacker and defender receive a detailed Battle Report showing every round, ships lost per round, damage dealt, and the final outcome including loot taken and debris generated. Review your battle reports to improve your strategy.

Captains Next Chapter: Moons