STARBORNE

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you don’t see an answer to your question(s) here you can use the #support
channel in the ​Official Starborne Discord​ (usually the best option) or the support
channel in game.

To search the document you can read through the table of contents or use ctrl+F
to search for a keyword to help locate the topic you are looking for.

Disclaimer: Due to the frequency and magnitude of updates during the Alpha
phase some of this information may become outdated or obsolete at anytime.
Every attempt will be made to keep it up to date and current.

Chat Commands and Keyboard Shortcuts

How do I gain influence
Is influence used for anything other than leveling stations
What do I build first
Does the game continue while I’m offline
How do I move / use a fleet / What do each of the fleet types do
How do I use cards
How do I craft / breakdown cards
What is a company and how do I get one
What are blueprint fragments and how do I use them
I obtained a new card. Why isn’t it showing for the slot it says it can be
equipped to
What happens if my station is destroyed / Can I be eliminated from the game
Where are the settings
How do I logout / leave game
How do I change my avatar
How far away do I build my second station
What is the difference between raid, assault and sabotage
How do you win in Starborne
What is a(n) coalition / alliance
What is the Dyson Sphere
What is the difference between claim radius and influence radius
Harvesting and Claim / Influence Radius

What is prestige / credits / platinum / command cards

How do I get more fleets
What is the difference between operating fleet limit, supplied fleets and empire
fleet limit
When / how can I build a new station
How do I level up a fleet / Where can I see it’s experience
How do I cancel a movement
How do I upgrade my station
What are administrators and how do I get them
How do I change my station name
What is a Solar Flare / Plasma Cargo
What are Augment Points and how do I get them (outpost information)
How do I get Commerce Hub / Warhead Factory / Capital Ship Assembly / Navy
Base (Annex Cards)
How do I find / Complete missions
How does combat work in Starborne
How do I get Steel Slab / Carbon Plate / Titanium Block / Diamond Nanorod
(Events)
Chat Commands and Keyboard Shortcuts
Chat Commands
- ​/clear ​Will clear or close the currently selected chat window. (global chat will
re-populate when you re-enter the chat window.)
- ​/goto x y​ Replace x and y with coordinates to go to that hex. For example /goto
-216 75 will bring you to hex (-216,75)
- ​/distance x1 y1 x2 y2​ Measurement tool used to calculate distance between 2
hexes. Example /distance -231 195 -217 175 will return a distance between hexes
(-231,195) and (-217,175). Which is 20 hexes

Keyboard Shortcuts
Many shortcuts can be found by hovering over things such as the menus in the
top of your screen. For example hovering over Politics reveals a shortcut of P so I
won't list those.

Arrow keys Note​: Arrow key shortcuts are kind of bugged. For one, they don't
seem to work while chat is selected
Up Arrow​ - Brings up the "Buildings" menu
Down Arrow​ - Centers your screen on your currently selected station
Right and Left Arrows​ - Cycles through your stations and centers your screen on
the station. Additionally while in the building menu it will cycle through your
stations and keep the building menu open
Y​ - Opens Shipyard

Station Selection​: Specifically for use with the orange diamonds in the top of your
screen. Some of these are laggy or even bugged at times.
Single Click Left Mouse​ - Select that station but not center it on screen
Double Click Left Mouse​ - Select that station and center it on screen
Single Click Right Mouse​ - Center screen on that station but not select it (keeps
current station selected)
Numbers​ - Each station is assigned a number which can be found in the ( ) to the
top left of the orange diamond. Typing that number while not in chat will select
that station (Note: number pad does not work, but numbers at the top of the
keyboard and if you have numbered mouse buttons they will work). To also
center the screen on the selected station just double click the number.

Other Commands
Ctrl + H​ - Hides UI
Ctrl + G​ - Hides map grid

How do I gain influence

Influence is gained by leveling up buildings in your Building Menu. To access
the building menu click the “Buildings” tab in the lower right of your screen. You
can also hit B on your keyboard or the up arrow on your keyboard. Outposts will
also give small amounts of influence when constructed. To build an outpost you
must have a least one industrial fleet selected then right click within the station’s
claim radius and select “Build Outpost” from the radial menu. ​Note:​ to increase
available cargo you can also select other fleet types as long as you have at least
one industrial fleet selected.

Is influence used for anything other than leveling stations

In addition to allowing you to level your stations based on their individual
influence values, total influence from all of your stations is also used to increase
your experience gain per hour to increase your character level. Character level
can be found in the top left of your screen just to the right of your avatar.
Hovering over the experience bar will show related information like, experience
per hour and current experience.

What do I build first

This will be a long response​ as this is a complex question and most players
will have developed their own way of approaching a new station build order. First,
it may be best to increase your station’s resource capacity by upgrading the
warehouse once or twice. The warehouse is located on the left side of the
Buildings menu with the production buildings.
Nearly all players agree that the most important building to level up is the
Command Center located in the top left of the Buildings menu. The Command
Center gives the best influence values as well as the best bonuses to your station
early on. Upgrading the Command Center can become expensive so you may not
want to level it to 10 immediately (though it should be done as soon as possible).
To help with resource production and the overall demand for resources you
can also level up your production buildings on the left of the Buildings menu as
mentioned earlier. These will not only increase your resources per hour, but the
first time you get each group of production buildings to level 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 you
will be rewarded with task achievements that will grant you additional resources.
Be sure to only accept the reward if you have enough warehouse storage to not
go over the current limit as any resources gained above the limit are lost. Along
with the production buildings you can level each of the buildings in the “Tier 1”
section to 10. Remember to always be leveling the Command Center when
possible. To see examples of station builds take a look at these ​Station
Specialization examples created by Roedhip​. For further building information see
Companies

Does the game continue while I’m offline

Yes, all of your building queues and passive resource generation will
continue while you are offline. Fleet movements and any other actions scheduled
or started before logging off will still continue while offline.

How do I move / use a fleet / What do each of the fleet types do

To move a fleet you can select the fleet by left clicking on it at the bottom
of your screen. When selected it will have an orange outline around the selected
fleet. You may then right click on a hex to see a list of actions that can be
completed. Below is a brief list of Fleet types and what functions they can fulfill:
Assault Vs. Raid Movements
 Raider​ - Corvette and Destroyer - These unit types are typically faster and
have more cargo space making them good for raiding stations for resources. Also
used for assault movements. Can be used to assist in building stations and
outposts, but must be accompanied by an Industrial fleet.
Assault ​- Patrol, Frigate, Gunship(B), Carrier and Dreadnought(B) - These
units are generally slower, but have higher Firepower (FP) and Hit Points (HP).
They are primarily used for assault movements and doing missions. Can also be
used for raiding. Can assist in build movements, but must be accompanied by an
Industrial fleet. Unit types marked here with “(B)” also have a Station Bombing
stat as well and can be used to damage enemy buildings in Assault movements.
Exploration (also called Recon fleets)​ - Scouts and Recons - These units are
used for placing probes to discover missions, spy on enemy movements and
revealing enemy outposts. They can also be used to attack as and defend against
Sabotage. Used for missions requiring scan strength. Can be used in raid and
assault movements. Can assist in Build movements if accompanied by an
Industrial fleet.
Industrial​ - Industrial is both the type and unit name. They are used for
anything requiring large amounts of cargo space. At least one Industrial fleet must
be selected to start a build movement to build a station or outpost. Used to
complete solar flare missions. Can be used in raiding and assault movements
though assault is not advised. When using to raid they can help to bring back large
amounts of resources, but are easily killed by enemy defenders.
Special​ - Troop Carriers - These units have the sole purpose of lowering an
enemy station’s Capture Defense stat. When Capture defense reaches zero a
Troop Carrier is consumed and the station is Captured.

How do I use cards

To use a card simply left click the card slot you’d like to apply it to either on
your station or fleet. If that card is able to be used in that slot it will appear in the
list of available cards. There are fleet and station cards. Each have 3 unique slots
as well as a character slot and a rune slot. Character and Rune cards are not
permanent effects. In the inventory tab at the top of your screen you can view
your cards and each card will say if it is a Fleet or a Station card and what slots it
can be applied to.​ ​What if a card isn’t showing in the available cards for its listed
slot?

How do I craft / breakdown cards

To craft or breakdown a card select the Inventory menu at the top of your
screen or hit i on the keyboard. Now select “Cards” in the top left, then below
that select “Show All Cards”. Here you can search for the card you want to craft
by name or description keyword. Left click on the card you wish to craft or
breakdown. Now click on “Craft within the popup window. Here you can either
craft the card if you have the required credits or breakdown any cards of that type
you currently have in your inventory.

What is a company and how do I get one

It is important to plan for a company before or shortly after your station
reaches level 2 in order to avoid having to downgrade buildings. ​A company is a
special bonus that grants additional station and/or empire bonuses. They can be
found at the bottom of the Buildings menu. They are the off colored smaller
boxes. Each one has its own requirements which can be viewed by hovering over
each company. The requirements are always a building to level 10 (building
needed is always located directly above the selected company) and a tier 4
outpost from one of the other 2 building trees. For example the WALL Industrial
Security company requires the Survey Department (orange Industrial tree) be
leveled to 10 and also have a Habitation Dome outpost (blue Domain tree) in the
same station. This means you must spend 9 of your administrators in the Domain
tree (have each building at level 1 at least) and 5 of them in the Industrial tree
including the Survey Department building leveled up to 10. This leaves 3 of the
initial 17 administrators to use anywhere else as you wish. To see examples of
station builds take a look at these ​Station Specialization examples created by
Roedhip​.
What are blueprint fragments and how do I use them
Blueprint fragments are a type of currency that is used for upgrading
blueprints. Blueprints will decrease the amount of credits needed to craft that
specific card by 2% per level up to a maximum of level 5. To use blueprint
fragments go to your inventory menu at the top of your screen or by hitting i on
your keyboard. Then click on the “Blueprints” tab near the top of the screen. Click
on “Show All” at the left of your screen and search for the card you’d like to
upgrade the blueprint for. Now select the card and click on the “Upgrade” tab,
then select Upgrade Blueprint.

I obtained a new card. Why isn’t it showing for the slot it says it can
be equipped to
If you don’t see a card in the available list of cards and have confirmed you
have the correct slot type and currently have at least one of that card in your
inventory, then it may be caused by an additional requirement on the card. For
example, some cards can only be used on stations below level 2 or require the
station to be at least level 3.

What happens if my station is destroyed / Can I be eliminated from

the game
If your station gets destroyed the 10 Infrastructure Points (IP) for that
station will be put on hold for 24 hours. After 24 hours you may use the 10 points
to build another station. If another station of yours is destroyed before the 24
hours is up then the timer starts over with 20 IP on hold. If all of your stations are
destroyed before your IP can be refunded then you are eliminated from the that
server unless the server is not full, then you may start again. Otherwise you have
to join another server or wait for a new server to start if all current servers are
full. IP timer can be viewed by hovering over the IP icon in the top right of the
screen (the 4 outward facing arrows)
Where are the settings
The settings menu can be found in the top left of your screen by your
avatar. Simply click on the cog wheel icon to access the menu.

How do I logout / leave game

To logout you can click on the door and arrow icon located in the top left of
your screen by your avatar.

How do I change my avatar

To change your avatar right click on it in the top right of your screen and
select the new avatar you wish to use.

How far away do I build my second station

You can build your second station as close or as far away as you like. Some
things to keep in mind is how easy will it be to defend each of your stations and
do you need to escape your current area.

What is the difference between raid, assault and sabotage

Raid​ movements will not use take the attacker’s tactics into account during
combat calculations, but will allow your surviving ships to steal resources from the
target station to bring back to your station.
Assault​ movements apply Station Bombing and Station Capture stats when
attacking.
Sabotage​ movements are used for disabling outposts as well as removing
their augment effects. Sabotaging a station will prevent fleets from leaving the
station which can be useful for keeping fleets from reinforcing another station,
escaping an incoming attack or fixing their disabled outposts.
For more information on combat see ​How does combat work in Starborne
How do you win in Starborne
To win a round of Starborne a coalition must be the first to fully level their
Dyson Sphere’s Shell building to level 40. If at the end of 8 weeks no coalition has
completed this building then the winner is determined by Victory Points (VP)
which are a total of Grand Terrestrials (GT) claimed and the multipliers added to
them by the Dyson Sphere. If at the end of 8 weeks there are no coalitions then a
winner will be determined by the alliance claiming the most GTs. If no alliances
own any GTs at the end of 8 weeks then something has gone horribly wrong.

What is a(n) coalition / alliance

An alliance is a group of up to 20 players usually from the same sector. A
coalition is an alliance of up to 3 alliances (up to 60 players).

What is the Dyson Sphere

A Dyson Sphere is the large star / structure at the center of each sector. To
gain control of your sector’s Dyson Sphere your alliance must claim at least 6
Grand Terrestrial (GT) planets in that sector. Each sector has 10 GTs. Dyson
Spheres allow for the creation of a coalition.

What is the difference between claim radius and influence radius

Claim Radius​ is the number of hexes from the center that your station or
outpost applies an amount of claim strength to. Claimed hexes are the hexes
actually owned by the station. This does not include hexes that are contested
(where claim strength on a hex in your station’s radius matches the claim strength
on a hex from someone else’s station claim) or hexes that someone else has more
claim on than you.
Influence Radius​ is the distance from the specified outpost that its effects
will reach. For example if a Stargate has a claim radius of 2, then only hexes within
2 distance in all directions from the Stargate are affected by its speed boost.
 Harvesting and Claim / Influence Radius
All resources within your claim radius are harvested. Except where your and
your ally’s station claim overlaps. Here it changes to influence radius so allies can
share resource fields.

What is prestige / credits / platinum / command cards

Prestige​ - Outdated name for Credits. See Credits below.
Credits ​- This is a type of currency used for crafting cards or removing cards
from fleets / station without destroying the card. Can also be used to purchase
some items in the Store.
Platinum ​- A premium currency usually obtained with real money. Platinum
can be used to purchase most items in the Store.
Command Cards ​- These are a type of currency used to speed up some
processes in game. Also used to remove policy cards and for the Enhanced
Breakdown feature to gain more credits and/or blueprint fragments from
breaking down cards.

How do I get more fleets

If your empire fleet limit has not been reached you can click on the “+” sign
in the main UI screen next to your current fleets to create a new fleet. If you are
at your maximum empire fleets you will have to claim more hexes buy building
and upgrading stations to unlock more empire fleet slots.

What is the difference between operating fleet limit, supplied fleets

and empire fleet limit
Operating Fleet Limit ​- This is the amount of fleets that can be ​docked ​at a
specific station. Each station has its own operating limit. The Operating Limit can
be found just above and to the right of the fleets in the main UI. If you exceed the
Operating Limit at any given station then each additional fleet over the limit will
add a +10% labor penalty to the fleets at that station. Example: Operating fleet
limit 12/10 adds 20% penalty for the station.
Supplied Fleets​ - These are the fleets that are supplied by a given station
and are currently using the labor from that station. A station can supply any
number of fleets up to the empire limit as long as it has to labor to do so.
Empire Fleet Limit ​- This is the maximum number of fleets you can have in
your entire empire. This limit can be viewed by clicking on the Logistics tab at the
top of your screen or hitting F on the keyboard. The limit is located in the top right
when in the Fleets tab within the Logistics menu. (Shows as “Total Fleets”)

When / how can I build a new station

Every character level (found in the top left of your screen by your avatar)
that you gain awards you 1 Infrastructure Point (IP). After you have acquired 10 IP
you can build a new station. A new station requires 3000 of each resource (Metal,
Gas and Crystal) and at least one Industrial fleet. Also you must have enough
cargo space to hold the 9000 total resources. You can use other fleets to increase
the available cargo space as long as you have at least one Industrial fleet selected
as well. To build the station, once you have all requirements met, you can right
click a hex on the map where you’d like to build the station and select “Station”
from the radial menu. IP points can be found in the top right of your screen (the 4
outward facing arrows icon)

How do I level up a fleet / Where can I see it’s experience

Fleets can gain experience in different ways depending on they type of
fleet. A chart can be found​ ​Here (Credit to Sci for the chart)​. It’s outdated, but
gives a general idea of fleet experience gains. To check your fleet’s current level
you can right click on the fleet you wish to check from the main UI screen at the
bottom. This will open up the fleet details in the Logistics menu. Once here you
can hover your cursor over the fleet’s rank in the bottom left of the fleet picture
to see all the experience details.
How do I cancel a movement
You may only cancel a movement within the first 3 minutes after it departs
from your station. To cancel the movement hit M on your keyboard or click the
Movements tab at the top of your screen. Find the movement you want to cancel
and if you are still in the 3 minute allowed window you will see red text to the
right side of the screen that says “Cancel Movement”.

How do I upgrade my station

When your station reaches 30 influence it can be upgraded to level 2 by
clicking the “Upgrade Station” button that will appear at the bottom of the screen
above where your fleets are in the UI. You can then upgrade your station at 120
influence and one last time at 210 influence to reach station level 4.

What are administrators and how do I get them

Administrators are required for building any of the non-production
buildings below the Tier 1 buildings in the Buildings menu. You will automatically
gain a maximum of 17 administrators per station. You gain 6/6/5 administrators
at station level 2/3/4 respectively. Only one administrator is used for each
building selected. See the​ ​Companies​ ​question to learn more about planning your
station and administrator use.

How do I change my station name

In the main UI screen the default name for your station is directly above
and to the left of where your current fleets are. Simply click on the name and it
will bring up a window to edit the station name. Be sure to keep the naming
within the naming guidelines of the CoC.
What is a Solar Flare / Plasma Cargo
Solar flares are a unique mission for industrial fleets only. These missions
spawn on stars. Solar flares will have a chance to spawn every 2 hours on a star
that does not currently have a flare active on it. To see a solar flare you must have
a scan strength of at least 1 on the star meaning your station either has to be
within 10 hexes of the star (with a level 10 Surveillance Office building) or you
must deploy a probe with an Exploration fleet (scout or recon) via scanning.
To participate and benefit from the solar flare the selected industrial fleet
must have plasma cargo. Plasma cargo is obtained from some buildings in the
Industrial buildings tree in the Buildings menu. (orange outlined buildings on the
right side). It is also increased by a range of Fleet cards that fit into the Hull and
Character slots of your industrial fleets. The last way to increase Plasma cargo is
with one of the Industrial policies in the Policy tab at the top of your screen.
Solar flares reward one type of the 3 building resources (metal, gas and
crystal) which is also chosen at random when the solar flare spawns. To view
which resource type is rewarded you may right click on the star then click on
Explore then click on View Solar Flare. This new pop up will give you all
information regarding the flare, including type, duration and amount available.

What are Augment Points and how do I get them (outpost

information)
Augment points are used to give permanent* minor boosts to an outpost.
To obtain augment points you must be in the Terran Combine faction. In Terran
Combine you will receive 3 augment points and each outpost augment you
preform will use 1 augment point. Each point used will start a 4 hour refresh
timer. After the 4 hours is up you gain the augment point back to be used again.
The reset timer can be viewed by hovering over the diamond shaped icon with 2
arrows in the top right of your screen.
* Augmenting an outpost gives a permanent boost to the outpost, but
successfully sabotaging an outpost with an augment on it will also remove the
augment which can then be reapplied. Augmenting an already augmented
outpost has to effect.
Augmenting and outpost information (credit to Snoogms for compiling)

How do I get Commerce Hub / Warhead Factory / Capital Ship

Assembly / Navy Base (Annex Cards)
There are a group of cards in the game categorized as Annex Cards. Annex
Cards are a special group of cards that are used only in specific slots in the
Buildings menu. Below are some specific Annex cards and how to obtain them:
Commerce Hub Unlocker​ - Allows you to build a Commerce Hub outpost at
one​ station. Obtained automatically via a task achievement for reaching character
level 20. Cannot be crafted
Warhead Specialist​ - Allows you to build a Warhead Factory building at ​one
station. Obtained automatically via a task achievement for reaching character
level 35. Cannot be crafted
Isotope Adapter​ - Allows you to build a Capital Ship Assembly outpost at
one​ station. Obtained automatically via a task achievement for reaching character
level 45. Cannot be crafted
Navy Base Unlocker​ - Allows you to build a Navy Base outpost at ​one
station. Obtained automatically via a ​daily​ reward on day 46. Note: Everyone
obtains this card on the same day no matter when you started the server.
Quantum Gyro​ - Allows you to build an extra Missile Battery outpost at the
station it is applied to. Obtained via task reward for the first time you level a
Missile Battery to level 5. Additional Quantum Gyro cards can be crafted
Mining Cabal​ - Allows you to build an extra Mining Facility outpost at the
station it is applied to. Obtained via task reward for the first time you level a
Mining Facility to level 5. Additional Mining Cabal cards can be crafted
Other Annex Cards​ - There are a few other Annex cards in the game which
are uncraftable. They offer bonuses like +150 labor, -5% building construction
time, +100 resources, +5000 resource capacity, +2 hours to construction queue
limit and +6 hours to ship construction queue limit. Some of these can be gained
from various task rewards. You may also obtain them for Credits or Platinum in
the Store menu under the Cards tab on the left.

How do I find / Complete missions

The short simple version is that using an exploration fleet (scout or recon)
to deploy a probe on a mission via the scan option will reveal the mission. You
may then complete the mission with other fleets once the requirements in the
popup window are met. For a more in depth explanation you can view the
Missions 101 Guide​.

How does combat work in Starborne

Combat in Starborne consists of 3 rounds. At the end of which a Combat
Report is generated as a summary. The very simple version of combat is that your
fleet’s firepower (FP) is calculated against the other fleet’s hit points (HP) and vice
versa. The following information is taken from the in-game Info tabs for raid,
assault and sabotage. ​Each combat round applies a FP modifier for participating
fleets as follows:
Round 1: 78%
Round 2: 100%
Round 3: 166%
The formula for total fleet FP (while raiding) is:
Fleet FP (including all bonuses from cards, fleet level, policies and
station​ ​buildings) * Round Modifier = Total Fleet FP
The formula for total fleet FP (while assaulting or sabotaging) is:
Fleet FP (bonuses included) * Round Modifier * Tactics Modifier (Basic
Tactic Boost % + Station’s Tactic Boost % + Fleet Card Tactic Boost %) = Total Fleet
FP
The FP calculations are done for each fleet in your attacking/defending
armada. This is then calculated against the Total HP (including bonuses) for the
other player’s armada. The amount of the Total FP that each fleet in the armada
receives as damage directly correlates to its percentage of contribution to the
armada’s total HP. ​For example: If your patrol fleet consists of 30% of your
participating armada’s total HP it will receive 30% of the other player’s total
participating armada FP as damage.
If a fleet receives an amount of damage that exceeds its HP it is considered
destroyed. Otherwise the HP of that fleet is reset to full for the next round of
combat. Damage does not carry over between rounds. All calculations are then
redone for the remaining fleets on both sides until all rounds have been
completed.
For Sabotage
Sabotage is unique because only Scouts and Recons will participate in
attacking or defending for sabotage movements. In addition to the 3 rounds of
combat, a sabotage movement will then also do one final calculation after the
initial combat rounds. For a successful sabotage the attacking armada must
survive the combat rounds and then have enough FP to exceed the station’s
sabotage defense/outpost HP. This calculation is done like the Raiding FP
calculation (does not apply tactics). If there are no defending Scouts or Recons
then the only calculation done is the Attacking Fleet Total FP vs Station Sabotage
Defense / Outpost HP.
On station tactics
Think of station tactics as Rock Paper Scissors.
Pincer​ ​beats​ ​Turtling​ ​beats​ ​Flanking​ ​beats​ ​Pincer
Tactic modifiers are only applied for the player using the superior tactic or
both players when the same tactic is being used by both.

How do I get Steel Slab / Carbon Plate / Titanium Block / Diamond

Nanorod (Events)
These are commodities specific to buildings outposts. To obtain these you
must complete Events. To find Events go to the Tasks menu at the top of the
screen and click on the Events tab in the top left. In this window you have four
options (left to right) which are listed below with their rewards:
Event Name(Level): Reward (Reward with premium time)
Transport Shuttle Crash(Lv.1)​: 3 Steel Slabs (4 Steel Slabs)
Labor Transit Attack(Lv.2)​: 3 Carbon Plates (4 Carbon Plates)
 Perihelion(Lv.3)​: 2 Titanium Blocks (3 Titanium Blocks)
XAOC Raider Base(LV.4)​: 2 Diamond Nanorods (3 Diamond
Nanorods)
Once started the selected Event will complete on its own without any user
interaction. You may however, speed up the event to complete instantly by
spending Command Cards. The amount of Command Cards to complete each
Event level will show in the bottom right as >># once the Event is started. It’s
important to note that this cost does not decrease as the Event goes on, meaning
that if you start a level 4 event which takes 5 Command Cards to speed up. It will
cost 5 cards whether you have 23 hours remaining or 1 minute remaining.