Two systems in the hangar decide how your flagship fights rather than how strong it is. A doctrine is a rule for the whole battle: a clear strength with a clear price. A play style is a ready-made loadout built around one unique mod. Pick a doctrine that suits the way you like to fly, then fit a play style that leans the same way.
The six doctrines
Doctrines open after six missions. One is active at a time, and switching is free between battles, in the hangar or its quick settings. In battle a chip above the hull bar names your doctrine and shows how far it has built up.
| Doctrine | ▲ Strength | ▼ Price | How to fly it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass Cannon | Main gun +30% and +10% critical chance. | Shields −50%. Shield mods and Overflow Lattice still work, on a smaller shield. | Hit first and hardest; break line of fire before your shields run dry. |
| Swarm Lord | Your six squads: +30% damage and hull. | Your main gun −20%. Relic and hired warships are not affected. | Put the squads on Attack and fight through them; stay close enough to keep them alive. |
| Momentum | Keep moving faster than half your cruise speed: over 2 s you build up to +20% main gun damage and 15% less damage taken. | Hull −10%. Slow down and the bonus fades within a second. | Circle and strafe; boost through gaps instead of parking. |
| Anchor | Hold almost still: over 1.5 s you build up to 25% less damage taken and +15% main gun damage. | Boost recharges 30% slower, and moving drops the bonus quickly. | Pick a firing position with cover and let them come to you. |
| Tempest | Ability strength +25% and ability cooldowns 15% shorter. | Main gun −20%. | Cast on cooldown and use the gun to fill the gaps. |
| Last Stand | Below 40% hull: +30% main gun damage and 20% less damage taken. | Above 70% hull: main gun −10%. | Take the fight to them; you are at your best when it is going badly. |
Choosing a doctrine
- Carriers (Starship, Morrow Hive, Sun Pyramid) fight through their wings: Swarm Lord makes every squad hit harder and live longer.
- Artillery ships want to sit at the edge of their range: Anchor rewards holding a firing position, and Glass Cannon suits pilots who keep fighters off with their squads.
- Strikers live on speed: Momentum pays you for never stopping.
- Ships with strong powers (support hulls, anything with a big ultimate): Tempest casts more often and harder.
- Vanguards that take hits on purpose: Last Stand turns a bad moment into your best one.
Doctrines change nothing outside your own capital and squads, and in co-op each player’s doctrine flies with their own ship. If a mission goes badly, try a different doctrine before you grind for upgrades: it costs nothing.
The five play styles
The hangar’s equipment bay opens with five play styles. Each is built around one unique mod, with the regular mods and the support module that suit it. A card shows its pieces (● fitted, ✓ owned, ○ still to find), how to fly it and its weak spot, and Fit for this style fits your best pieces for it. They are starting points, not fixed sets.
| Play style | Unique mod | Mods | The idea | Weak spot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wing Commander | Wingmother’s Oath | Wing command, Gravity drum | Your squads do the killing. Every kill they make gives you energy and patches your hull. | Your own guns are ordinary: lose the squads and the engine stops. |
| Jump Raider | Jumpwake Coil | Afterburner, Jump-gate key, Rapid reuse | Jump in, strike, jump out. Every jump refills your shields and brings each ability 6 s closer. | Thin when you are caught between jumps. |
| Capital Hunter | Gatebreaker | Heated cores, True sight, Ion lance array | Your main gun breaks capitals, stations and bosses: 35% more against big hulls. | 10% less against small craft: let your squads clear the fighters. |
| Overflow Caster | Overflow Lattice | Deep well, Resonance, Quiet reactor | Abilities first. While your energy is full, the overflow recharges your shields six times as fast. | A light main gun, and an empty reactor leaves you exposed. |
| Ember Gunner | Ember Choir | True sight, Hair trigger, Heated cores | Critical hits set targets burning: steady pressure on everything in range. | It needs time on target, so it is weaker when you have to keep moving. |
The hunt
Press ◎ Hunt on a unique mod, a support module, a relic warship or a ship you cannot afford yet, and it is pinned. The star chart then shows it as a card: what it does, the bosses that drop it with the chance per kill and a button to each boss’s mission, and the sure way, which is how much of the forge or shipyard price you have saved, with a Forge or Unlock button once you can. Every battle’s results show how far the hunt moved, and it clears itself with a “Hunt complete” banner once the item is yours. Four hulls also need a blueprint from their civilization’s saga; the hunt card shows that step too.
Doctrine and play style pairings
- Swarm Lord + Wing Commander: the strongest squads in the game. Hang back, keep two escorts close and spend the energy your wings earn.
- Momentum + Jump Raider: never stop moving. Jump, strike, boost out, and the bonus never fades.
- Anchor + Capital Hunter: plant your ship, focus fire on the biggest hull and let Heated cores build up.
- Tempest + Overflow Caster: cast, cast and cast again, with the overflow keeping your shields up.
- Glass Cannon + Ember Gunner: a short, brutal fight. Burn everything before your thin shields go.
To see which copy of a mod to fit, compare their ★ fit score in the hangar: see the mods guide. Ready to try one? Play free now ▶