Start And Resolve Combat

Meet All Attack Requirements

The target must be at your exact location. Your own characters may appear nearby but can never attack each other.

Your active ship must be launched and cannot be the Rusty Shuttle, which cannot initiate player combat.

You cannot attack a target parked in the local landing zone. You must also have at least 5 navigation steps remaining to start an attack.

Beginner protection applies to low-level characters until they initiate combat or leave the protected level range.

Understand Combat Rounds

Local security or threat forces may intercept the attacker before the duel begins. Attacking outlaws affects how lawful security treats the encounter, but threat forces remain a risk in dangerous space.

A duel continues for up to the attacker's available steps. Each completed round uses one step.

Both ships normally fire in each round until one is disabled. Agility affects hits and evasions. Damage varies and applies to shield before hull.

The combat report replays each round and shows ship condition, outcome, rewards, and reputation changes. Only an active defender receives an immediate notification.

Reports for inactive characters wait from oldest to newest. Activate the character to replay them, and acknowledge every waiting report before switching away.

Observe The One-Attempt Limit

During one tick, the same attacking ship can make one attempt against the same defending character.

A victory, defeat, interception, or unfinished duel all consume that attempt. A different ship may still attack the same defender during that tick.

This limit does not guarantee safety from other ships. Choose your location based on risk and park when you need reliable protection.

Review Credits, Bounties, XP, And Damage

A winning attacker may take some of the defender's credits, up to the per-fight limit.

Defeating an outlaw may claim part of that character's bounty. An outlaw who takes credits from lawful characters may increase their own bounty.

Attackers earn combat experience, with a larger reward for victory. Defenders earn experience from rounds, hits, and successful evasions, plus an additional reward for winning.

The defender report lists experience gained, credits taken, and any bounty claimed by the attacker. Both ships retain their damage after combat, so reserve repair credits before attacking.