Powers are distinct entities compared to minor and major factions.
Minor factions generally control individual areas of space within a system. Normally one minor faction will be dominant, controlling the lion’s share of space.
Major factions are huge super powers that control vast swathes of inhabited space. Many, but not all, minor factions align themselves with major factions, adopting their laws and customs.
Powers sit between major and minor factions. Technically they can control up to dozens, if not hundreds of systems, though they may also control a mere handful.
While many powers are aligned directly with major factions, being Imperial senators or Federal politicians, others are not, being independent entities.
Importantly, even when a power is aligned with a major faction this does not prevent it scheming against its “allies”. Ultimately, every power stands alone.
Each power uses a resource called command capital [CC] to pay for its endeavours. CC represents a combination of financial, political and social weight that can be channelled into use by the power.
CC is received from systems under the control of a power. The bigger the population of a system, the greater the amount of CC can be exploited from it.
CC is the lifeblood of a power. Without it, the power cannot expand or protect its territory.
Powerplay runs in cycles, each one lasting a continuous week in real-time.
A cycle represents the amount of time it takes for powers to take significant actions. At the end of each cycle all actions started within it are resolved and the power’s CC reserve for the next cycle is computed.
Powers do not take direct control of all systems they wish to expand into. They instead focus on single systems, dominating them, turning them into control systems.
Every cycle a power must pay CC upkeep to maintain control systems. The amount of upkeep is directly related to the distance a control system is from the power’s home system. The further away a control system is the greater the upkeep required to maintain it.
A control system automatically collects CC income from all nearby systems within a 15 light year radius. These systems become exploited systems.
Importantly, control and exploited systems cannot be expanded into by other powers.
If a Power begins a cycle with a deficit of CC, it is in trouble as it effectively does not have the strength to maintain control over all of the systems it controls.
The control system with the highest CC upkeep falls into turmoil and its upkeep cost is removed from the power’s CC reserve. Additional control systems fall into turmoil until the power has a positive CC reserve.
When the next cycle begins, control systems already in turmoil will no longer exploit nearby systems for CC income, though their upkeep cost will still be due at the end of the cycle.
Any control systems that started the cycle in turmoil, will revolt at the end of the cycle if the Power is still running a CC deficit. Systems that revolt are no longer controlled by the power.
Note that revolting systems will not address the CC deficit, other systems might still fall into turmoil.
When a power controls or exploits a system, it doesn’t simply harvest CC from them. It also applies one or more control effects to the systems.
Control effects are varied and dependent on the power, but could include shutting down all black markets, increasing penalties for criminals or legalising/criminalising specific commodities.
There are three elements to powerplay: preparation, expansion and control.
In the first instance, a target system must be prepared for expansion. This preparation may involve different tasks for supporters to complete, depending on the power involved.
Once a system has been successfully prepared, an expansion attempt may be purchased for the next cycle. Again, different powers require their supporters to carry out different tasks to successfully prosecute expansion.
Supporters of other powers may directly oppose expansion making success even more difficult to achieve.
Once a system has been expanded into, supporters may fortify it to reduce its drain on the power’s CC reserves.
Supporters of other powers may undermine control systems making them more expensive to maintain and more likely to revolt.
If you have pledged support to a power, you can prepare systems for expansion. The details of the preparation tasks required of you are described in the details of the preparation tab in the powerplay interface.
Any system may be prepared for expansion with the following caveats:
In addition, each target system has an expansion cost. This expansion cost will be deducted from the power’s CC reserve at the end of the cycle if the system is chosen for an expansion attempt.
A system cannot be prepared if its expansion cost is greater than the power’s current CC reserve.
Although any amount of systems may be prepared, a power is limited to purchasing no more than 10 expansion attempts each cycle.
Importantly, its choices are based on the amount of preparation carried out at a system, not the system’s expansion cost.
At the end of a cycle, expansion attempts are purchased in this order until either:
• Expansion attempts are purchased for all prepared systems in the top ten
• The power runs out of CC
All systems have a preparation threshold. Until supporters have completed enough preparation tasks to breach this threshold the system cannot be a top ten entry.
Once supporters become influential within a power they may vote for a preparation top ten entry from the preparation tab to directly increase preparation for it, increasing the likelihood of an expansion attempt being purchased for it.
More than one power can prepare a system at the same time. In such cases, at the end of the cycle the power which completed the most preparation gets to purchase an expansion attempt whilst all other preparation fails.
Preparation can occur for multiple powers in systems that would be within each other’s potential 15 light year exploitation radius.
In such cases, at the end of the cycle the power which completed the most preparation gets to purchase an expansion attempt whilst all other preparation fails.
You can use the galaxy map to help you view potential candidates for preparation, by selecting the “Powerplay” view, choosing your power from the drop down selection then activating the “Expansion” filter.
The Expansion view shows all systems outside your control with the following identification markers:
• Colour is used to denote value of a system if it was controlled:
• Hollow systems cannot be prepared, for one of the following reasons:
• Systems that are uninhabited are not displayed at all
Top ten preparation entries are displayed in the powerplay galaxy map when the “expansion” filter is active. Each such system has a number entry above it, denoting its top ten preparation status.
Rolling over or selecting a system summons an information panel giving more details as well as highlighting all systems that would be exploited if this were a control system.
Once an expansion attempt has been purchased for a prepared system the attempt takes place during the following cycle.
Depending on the power involved, different tasks may be required for supporters of the power. By completing these tasks an expansion value increases for the target system.
The target system has an expansion success trigger value. At the end of a cycle, an expansion attempt is successful if the expansion value is greater than the success trigger.
You can use the “Expansion” tab in the powerplay interface to view a list and details of all active expansion attempts.
This screen also informs you of the exact tasks required by your power to increase the expansion value.
If you are looking at the expansion tab of another power, this screen will instead inform you of the tasks required to oppose the expansion.
Expansion can be directly opposed by supporters of foreign powers when they complete opposition tasks in the system. Completing these tasks increases an opposition value.
For expansion to be successful, the expansion value must be greater than both the success trigger and the opposition value.
Each power has an ethos that dictates their method of expansion. Depending on the controlling government of an expansion attempt system and its exploited systems, the ethos may make expansion easier or more difficult.
This is reflected in a change to the success trigger value. If the ethos is particularly effective the success trigger is reduced. If the ethos is particularly ineffective the success trigger is increased.
If over 50% of all systems that would be exploited by the expansion attempt system share a controlling government type that the ethos is particularly effective against, the success trigger is further reduced by a significant margin.
If over 50% of all systems that would be exploited by the expansion attempt system share a controlling government type that the ethos is particularly ineffective against, the success trigger is further increased by a significant margin.
Effects of ethos versus government type are only computed at the end of a cycle. Any changes to government types controlling systems will only apply during the following cycle.
You can use the galaxy map to help you view active expansion attempts, by selecting the “Powerplay” view, choosing your power from the drop down selection then activating the “Expansion” filter.
The expansion filter displays an expansion icon above all systems that have an active expansion attempt.
You can roll over or select a system that has an active expansion attempt to view its current expansion and opposition values, as well as their success trigger values.
A system that is controlled by a power can be fortified by that power’s supporters and undermined by supporters of other powers.
Once a power controls a system, it pays CC upkeep and receives CC income from its exploited systems every cycle.
Supporters of the power can temporarily reduce the CC upkeep of a control system by completing fortify tasks for it during the cycle, which increase the system’s fortify value.
Every control system as a fortify success trigger. If at the end of a cycle a system’s fortify value is greater than its fortify success trigger its CC upkeep is reduced.
This effect only lasts for a single cycle change; once the next cycle begins all fortification is removed and must be re-applied to retain the benefit.
The “Control” tab of the powerplay interface lists all of the current control systems that are currently being fortified, as well as describing the nature of the tasks required to fortify.
Like expansion, each power has an ethos that dictates the methods it uses to fortify a system, which are particularly effective against some government types and ineffective against others.
If the control system’s government type is vulnerable to the power’s ethos the fortify success trigger is reduced. If the government type is resistant to the power’s ethos the fortify success trigger is increased.
If over 50% of exploited systems have a vulnerable government type to the power’s ethos the success trigger is further reduced by a significant amount.
If over 50% of exploited systems have a resistant government type to the power’s ethos the success trigger is further increased by a significant amount.
Effects of ethos versus government type are only computed at the end of a cycle. Any changes to government types controlling systems will only apply during the following cycle.
Supporters of powers can attempt to undermine systems controlled by other powers.
Every control system has tasks which opposing supporters can complete to increase an undermine value for the system. It also has an undermine success trigger value.
If at the end of a cycle a control system’s undermine value is greater than its undermine success trigger value the system is temporarily undermined.
An undermined system increases its upkeep by an amount equal to its full CC income from exploited systems.
Like fortification, undermining is temporary; once the CC upkeep penalty has been applied at the end of a cycle and the next cycle begins all undermining is removed and must be re-applied to retain the effect.
A system that is both fortified and undermined at the end of a cycle is counted as neither – each state cancels out the other.
You can use the galaxy map to help you view the fortification and undermined status of control systems, by selecting the “Powerplay” view, choosing your power from the drop down selection then activating the “Control” filter.
Control systems that are currently being fortified show a fortify (shield) icon above them.
Control systems that are currently being undermined show an undermined (target) icon above them.
Systems that are being both fortified and undermined at the same time show the icon of the activity that is relatively closer to success.
You can pledge support to any power, at any time, using the powerplay interface. You might choose to pledge to a power because you agree with their ethos, major faction alignment, or you might simply like their control effects and rewards.
Once you have pledge to a faction, you are given a power rating of one. You can increase this rating by successfully completing preparation, expansion, fortify and undermine tasks for the power.
Doing so will give you merits with the power. At the end of each cycle, the amount of merits earned by all supporters is used to determine who should increase or decrease in rating.
The effect of merits is reduced over time, so you need to actively support your power to ensure the best rating possible each cycle.
Pledge benefits are available at the various ratings for a power. As rating increases, additional powerplay cargo is made available, as well as increased preparation votes. These benefits are the same across all powers.
In addition, each power has one or more unique benefits. Such benefits might include reduced costs in outfitting or increased rewards for bounties.
You can see what the pledge benefits are for a power by looking at the “Pledge” tab for the power in the powerplay interface.
You can leave a power at any time.
Should you leave a power, all benefits are immediately revoked, but any modules unlocked as a reward and purchased are kept.
Once you have left a power there is a “cooling off” period before you can join a new power.
You can defect from one power directly to another power.
Doing so allows you to carry over an amount of merits from your old power.
However, if you defect you may be hunted and attacked by mercenaries working for the power you left. The higher rating you had when you defected, the longer this hunt will last.
Once you have defected you cannot defect again, until you are no longer being hunted. You may leave the new power, but you will not be able to pledge again until the hunt has finished.
At the end of each cycle the galactic standing of currently active powers is calculated, allowing the powers to be ranked relative to each other.
The following elements are used to determine galactic standing:
As well as provide an easy to understand ranking, galactic standing has two additional functions:
A power that is in the bottom three ranks of the galactic standing list is at risk of collapsing and vanishing altogether.
Simply being in the bottom three ranks does not automatically put the power at risk. It also has to fail to achieve any expansion during the cycle.
The more cycles a power is ranked in the bottom three and fails to expand, the more likely it will collapse.
Supporters of a collapsed power are freed from service; once they have come to terms with the ignominy of failing to save their power they are free to pledge to a new power.