Campaign missions and skirmishes use 14 mission types. Each one changes what winning means, so the same ship plays differently from mission to mission.
Starbase defense
Hold the line at home. An allied station is under attack. Keep it alive through four waves. Objective: Keep the station alive until the last wave breaks.
Tip: Stay between the station and the attackers, and send interceptors after the bombers.
Fleet clash
Break the opposing line. Destroy the enemy fleet while keeping your command ship alive. Objective: Destroy every hostile ship.
Tip: Kill the enemy capitals first; their small craft lose heart when the big ships go.
Capital siege
Three giants. One breach.. Hunt three enemy capitals. Target engines, weapons or reactors to dismantle them. Objective: Destroy all three hostile capitals and their escorts.
Tip: Use X to target engines so the capitals cannot run, then reactors.
Gate control
Own the ancient crossing. Move into the center ring. An uncontested fleet scores control points. Objective: Reach 100 control before the enemy. Ships inside the ring contest it.
Tip: Hold the ring with your squads on Hold duty while you hunt the attackers.
Last convoy
Bring the ark home. Guard a vulnerable refugee convoy as it crosses a debris-strewn battlefield. Objective: Get the refugee ark through the exit gate.
Tip: Put two squads on Defend on the convoy and clear the path ahead yourself.
Against the tide
Four waves. No retreat.. Hold out against escalating attack waves. Use terrain and conserve your flagship. Objective: Keep your command ship alive for 120 seconds.
Tip: Use the terrain and keep the boost for emergencies; it is about lasting, not killing.
The sleeper
Something lives in the gate. A colossal hive guardian enters a more dangerous second phase at half hull. Objective: Destroy the Leviathan and its brood.
Tip: Save your ultimate for the second phase.
Station assault
Burn their foothold. Fortified stations hold the sector and launch fighters until they fall. Objective: Destroy every hostile station.
Tip: Stations keep launching fighters: destroy them fast rather than the fighters.
Boss hunt
One enormous enemy. A unique horror with telegraphed attacks, armour mechanics and several phases. Objective: Destroy the boss.
Tip: Watch the telegraphs and break the armour mechanic before pouring damage in.
Gauntlet
Run the blockade. A defended field stands between you and a jump gate. Interceptors cut in from the flanks the whole way. Objective: Reach the jump gate on the far side.
Tip: Keep moving: the jump drive and the boost are your friends here.
Blitz
Kill quota, short clock. The enemy keeps warping in around you. Destroy enough of them before the clock runs out. Objective: Meet the kill quota before time runs out.
Tip: Fight where the enemy warps in and chain kills for the Surge.
Headhunt
Marked for death. Marked commanders hold the field with their guards. Hurt them and they run for the jump points. Objective: Destroy the marked commanders. If more than one escapes, you fail.
Tip: Marked commanders run when hurt: finish each one quickly or block its escape.
Ambush
Surrounded from the jump. You drop out of warp inside a trap. Survive the ring closing in, then kill the warlord who sprang it. Objective: Survive the ambush and destroy the warlord.
Tip: Break out of the ring at its weakest point, then turn on the warlord.
Hold the Station
Wave after wave out of hyperspace. A station and its three shield emitters stand in the jump lanes. Fighters, bombers, boarding pods and capitals drop out of hyperspace in waves, and last of all a siege flagship whose cannon can crack the station. Objective: Keep the station alive through every wave and destroy the siege flagship.
Tip: Protect the shield emitters; the siege flagship comes last and is the real threat.
Skirmish and co-op
The Skirmish tab lets you build any battle you like: any mission type, any enemy civilization, any battlefield and size, with optional bosses and random events. The Co-op tab lets two players fight a battle together online, each flying their own capital ship.