Acquisition

How to claim uncontrolled systems for your Power.

Overview

What is acquisition? Earning merits in unclaimed inhabited systems to bring them under your Power's control. The system must be within range of your existing territory.

Range Requirements

To find acquisition targets: select a fortified or stronghold system, click the Strategic Overlay button, and look for solid lines connecting to systems with white empty circles.

Control Point Thresholds

ThresholdCP Required
Contested (2 powers competing)35,000 CP
Claimed (system acquired)120,000 CP

Control points carry over between cycles if the threshold isn't reached. The Power with the highest control score at the end of the weekly cycle claims the system.

+5% merit bonus applies to all acquisition activities (since April 2025 rebalance).

Activities by Merit Value

ActivityMeritsNotes
Reboot missions1,800On-foot. Can combine with other settlement activities
Settlement data (Research/Industrial)540E-breach or 4-digit code. Illegal download
Settlement data (Polit/Assoc/Class)360Deliver to Power Contact within 20ly/30ly range
Injector malware upload2481 per dataport. 10 injectors per 30min from Power Contact. Illegal
Megaship datalink scan240Once per cycle per system
Kill power ships (Competent+)172-388By rank. Illegal action in acquisition systems
Holoscreen hacking124Recon limpet. 1,000 Cr fine, reputation loss
Power goods stealing92From locked containers at settlements
Sell 40%+ profit commoditiesVariesMust be bought in supporting fort/stronghold within range
Liberal Aid6 per pkgFrom fort/stronghold Power Contact. Hand in at acquisition target
Rare goods1 per 1,026 CrDescribed as "the best way to acquire systems." >200ly saturation
Mining1 per 1,330 CrMined in supporting fort/stronghold, sold in target system
Kill wanted ships1 per ~3.8k bountyMerits on kill

Activity Details

Reboot Missions (1,800 merits)

On-foot settlement reboot missions. Spawn when target faction is in Civil Unrest, Infrastructure Failure, sometimes Pirate Attack or Outbreak. Unlike reinforcement, these can be done alongside uploading malware, downloading power data, and stealing power goods.

Settlement Data & Goods

E-breach or 4-digit code required to access. Find dataport locations using terminals. Data and goods must be delivered to a Power Contact in any system within 20 ly (from fort) or 30 ly (from stronghold). Downloading power data is illegal — turn off alarms first (unless everyone is dead). Every commander in a team can copy data from the same dataport. Power goods can only be taken by one commander.

Injector Malware (248 merits)

Upload to any dataport at a settlement (one per dataport, multiple per settlement). Collect 10 injectors from a stronghold's Power Contact every 30 minutes. The malware is illegal — do not get scanned carrying it. Uploading is a criminal action — turn off alarms first. Every commander in a team can upload to the same dataport.

Rare Goods Trading

Described by FUC as "the best way to acquire systems." Saturation distance is above 200 ly — greater distance means more profit and more merits. Ask your squadron Discord for the best loops for your target system.

Mining

Important: For acquisition, minerals must be mined in a supporting fortified (20 ly) or stronghold (30 ly) system and sold in the target system. Contrary to what you might expect, mining in the acquisition system itself does not work.

Contested Acquisition

When two Powers both reach the 35,000 CP conflict threshold in the same system, it becomes contested. This opens additional activities:

Extra ActivityMeritsNotes
Ship/wake scanning20 eachCan target prescanned Winters power security
Donations (1M Cr)108Credits and commodities to any faction in system
Donations (30k Cr)32Also: 650 Cr commodity value = 1 merit

The Power with the highest control score at the end of the weekly cycle claims the system.


Merit values from FUC PowerPlay Activities document and community testing. Some values are estimates pending confirmation.