Religion

Every kingdom can found a religion and compete for spiritual dominance across the galaxy. Religion is a score category in its own right, rewarding players who spread their faith to the most colonies and hold religious control over contested planets. It runs in parallel to military and economic competition - a kingdom with no fleet can still be a significant religious power.

Founding a Religion

Any kingdom can found a religion by visiting the Religion page and choosing a name. Once founded, your religion persists for the rest of the round. There is no cost to founding, but the real investment comes from the units and structures needed to spread influence effectively.

The Sanctum

The Sanctum is a unique structure that unlocks the full religion unit roster. Without a Sanctum, you are limited to Preacher Drones. With one, you gain access to Priors, Purifiers, and Zealots.

The Sanctum costs 320,000 energy and 350,000 mass. It is a substantial commitment, so most kingdoms build it once their economy is established rather than rushing it early.

Religion Units

Religion units are purchased with credits and dispatched to colonies across the galaxy to place or remove influence.

Preacher Drones are the entry-level unit. They are cheap, reusable, and effective for staking out influence on new colonies early in the round.

Priors are single-use but deliver considerably more influence per dispatch than drones. Once you have a Sanctum, Priors become the workhorse of any serious religion operation.

Purifiers remove enemy influence from a colony rather than adding your own. They are a defensive and offensive tool - deployed to your own colonies to resist enemy encroachment, or to contested colonies to weaken a rival's hold.

Zealots deliver the most influence per credit but require that your religion already holds at least 50% of the net influence on the target colony before they can be deployed. They are best used to cement control on colonies where you are already dominant.

Dispatching Units

Units are dispatched from the Religion page. Select a colony target, choose a unit, and confirm the dispatch. Influence is applied once the dispatch arrives - there is a travel window before units take effect.

Influence units are tied to the planet the colony occupied at the time of dispatch. If a colony later moves to a different planet, any units previously dispatched there count at half value - they were sent to the old location and are less effective at the new one. This is worth watching on contested planets where colony owners may relocate.

Religious Control

Religion score is earned every tick for every colony where your religion has influence - not just the ones you dominate.

Proportional share - every religion with influence on a colony earns a cut of that colony's score each tick, weighted by their share of total influence. Higher level colonies are worth more. You do not need to be dominant to earn score.

Back-loaded growth - score per tick increases as the round progresses. Early influence is less valuable than sustained presence later in the round. Don't judge your standing by early ticks - religion rewards commitment, not a fast start.

Dominance streak bonus - the religion with the highest influence share on a colony earns a bonus on top of their proportional score. This bonus grows the longer you hold dominance without being displaced. Long-term control is significantly more rewarding than repeatedly contesting and reclaiming colonies. The bonus tiers are: +10% (1-10 ticks), +20% (11-30 ticks), +35% (31-60 ticks), and +50% at maximum (61+ ticks). Your current streak bonus is shown in the Influence table on this page - it turns green when you reach the maximum tier.

Resource access - any religion holding 20% or more influence on a colony gains access to that planet's resources, contributing to your economy each tick. You do not need to be dominant - minority influence can still secure a planet for your kingdom.

Cults

After earning enough religion score, your religion can align with a Cult - a faction that grants a passive bonus for the remainder of the round. Once you reach the score threshold, you choose one cult and commit to it permanently for the round. Effects apply only from the moment you commit.

Cult of Dominion - your faith spreads by force. All influence score generated after committing is boosted by 25%, and your Zealots can be deployed once you hold 40% influence on a colony rather than the standard 50%. Suits aggressive, influence-heavy play styles.

Cult of Accord - your faith provides. Each colony your religion controls generates credits per tick based on its level. Turns spiritual dominance into economic power, funding further unit purchases or supplementing your kingdom's income.

The Crusade Cult - your faith marches to war. Load any religious units - Drones, Priors, Purifiers, or Zealots - directly into fleet capacity before dispatching. On arrival they deploy instantly with no separate dispatch cooldown, letting you run a normal religion dispatch and a fleet drop simultaneously. Non-Zealot units land first, so a well-composed fleet can push your influence over the threshold and trigger Zealot deployment in the same arrival. When attacking a colony where your religion holds 20% or more influence, your fleet also suffers 25% fewer losses. The most aggressive religion option available, combining military and religious operations.

Tips

• Start dispatching Preacher Drones early. Early influence is hard to dislodge and secures your foothold before rivals arrive.
• Build the Sanctum as soon as your economy can support it. Priors and Zealots are vastly more efficient than drones alone.
• You earn score from every colony you have influence on, not just the ones you dominate. Spreading influence across many colonies pays off even when you are not the leader on all of them.
• Holding dominance on a colony for many consecutive ticks earns a compounding streak bonus. Stable, long-term control is worth more than repeatedly fighting over the same colony.
• Watch the Religion page for colonies where rivals are gaining influence. Sending Purifiers early costs far less than trying to reclaim control after losing it.
• Even 20% influence on a colony is meaningful - it secures that planet's resources for your economy. You do not need to dominate every colony to benefit.
• Colonies on densely populated planets - those with multiple kingdoms' colonies - are the most contested and the most valuable to control.
• Zealots are the best value unit in the game once the threshold is met. Stack them on colonies where you are already dominant to lock out rivals.
• When embarking units onto a fleet (Crusade Cult), non-Zealot units land first and their influence is counted before the Zealot threshold check. A well-composed fleet can push your share over the threshold and trigger Zealot deployment in the same arrival.