The cost of leaving home

Three factions begin with equal territory and seeded resource layouts that guarantee opening placements. Preparation barriers prevent immediate rushes. The default mode uses action points and ordered human and bot turns, giving players time to consider their next move; real-time play offers a different pace.

Owned tiles provide basic treasury income. Crystal deposits have finite reserves: deposits that still contain crystals recover over game cycles, but a fully exhausted deposit stays empty. Their treasury contribution follows a logarithmic curve based on how full they are. In turn-based play, income and recovery follow rounds rather than elapsed wall-clock time.

Friendly territory automatically refills eligible units from the shared vault. That supply competes with recruitment and other spending, so hiring another ally also creates another demand on the faction's resources. Banking, allocation, and direct energy gifts give players ways to coordinate. Expanding recruitment capacity has its own cost.

A throne occupied by a defender cannot simply be captured by arrival. Its defense must resolve first. Capturing a throne transfers the defeated faction's territory and changes faction allegiances, making a successful raid a change to the political map as well as a combat victory. Guard, healing, and power choices add decisions to an encounter. Health is public, while enemy fuel and treasury remain private.