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1. First steps
2. Beginner strategy: a fast start
3. Factions and their ships
4. Resources, energy and storage
5. Buildings and research
6. Colonization and military bases: steps, size, temperature and production
7. Ships and fleet dispatch
8. Fleet missions
9. Expeditions
10. Espionage, combat and defense
11. New player protection and fleet safety
12. Moons, phalanxes and jump gates
13. Alliances and joint operations
14. Quests, experience and daily bonuses
15. Credits, trading and officers
16. Rankings and records
17. Communication and useful tools
18. Settings and vacation mode
19. Common questions

Costs, times and available actions depend on your technologies, faction, officers and universe settings. Check the values shown before confirming an action. Object requirements are listed in the technology tree.

1. After choosing a faction, open Overview to see the selected location and fleet events. Check which planet or moon is selected before building or sending ships.
2. Open Quests, read the first objectives and follow their hints. Once the conditions are met, complete the quest on its page to claim the reward.
3. Develop metal and crystal mines, a deuterium synthesizer and a solar plant. Keep energy production sufficient and expand storage.
4. Build a research laboratory and shipyard. Check the requirements for cargo ships, espionage probes and colony ships, then choose between increasing production, expanding to new planets and military operations.
5. Before attacking, scout the target and check your fleet in the battle simulator. Plan the return flight and debris collection in advance.

You can combine economic and military development. Mines provide steady income and colonies expand production, while attacks and expeditions require attention and carry a risk of losses.

For a first account, a useful goal is steady production, a cargo ship and a second planet. This is a suggested XNova route rather than a mandatory order for every click. Progress depends on universe speed, faction, neighbors and the time you can spend playing.

From your first mines to a colony

1. Claim the first reward. Open the first supply quest: reach metal mine level 4, crystal mine level 2 and solar plant level 4. Complete it and invest the reward in the next stage.
2. Prepare your infrastructure. The second quest requires a level 2 deuterium synthesizer, level 2 robotics factory, level 1 shipyard and one rocket launcher. Then aim for 10/7/5 in metal/crystal/deuterium production buildings, the third quest requirements. Increase energy output as consumption grows.
3. Get your first cargo ship. Build laboratory level 1, research energy technology 1 and combustion drive 2, upgrade the shipyard to level 2 and build a Small Cargo. Complete the fourth quest. Order more cargo ships to meet actual hauling needs, keeping deuterium for flights.
4. Choose your next objective. For scouting, unlock the Espionage Probe: shipyard 3, espionage 2 and combustion drive 3. For expansion, follow the colony ship requirements. Research something you intend to use next.
5. Start a second economy. Save for the prerequisites, colony ship, fuel and initial colony buildings. Settle a location that is convenient to supply, deliver resources and develop production. There is no need to fill every homeworld field first.

Open each new quest before performing its actions. The second-planet reward, an Architect for 3 days, becomes available after earlier quests in the chain are completed. You can colonize sooner once technology and fleet requirements are met.

Three development paths

• Miner — for less frequent logins. Put most resources into production, energy and colonies. Expand storage before long absences and maintain cargo ships for supplies. Buy combat ships and higher support-building levels for a specific purpose. Central positions with room to build are a sensible first choice; cold colonies need a separate energy plan.
• Raider — for frequent logins. After establishing basic production, unlock probes and cargo ships. Find eligible targets, including inactive players, and check recent reports and simulations. Choose fleet size for the defenses and available loot. Calculate profit after fuel and expected losses; inactivity does not mean no defenses. Reinvest loot in mines and expansion.
• Mixed approach — for learning. Develop production through quests, keep a small cargo fleet and add raids when the benefit is clear. This lets you learn combat without making the whole economy depend on successful attacks.

Choosing the next upgrade

Identify which resource is holding back your next objective. The 10/7/5 target completes a quest; it is not a permanent mine ratio. If crystal or deuterium is the bottleneck, improve that production. Compare the additional income from one expensive homeworld level with several cheaper colony levels, including energy and delivery costs.

Avoid spending your entire starting stockpile on defenses, a large combat fleet or research with no immediate use. Match defenses to local threats, and keep credits until you have a clear purpose, such as exchanging a scarce resource or hiring an officer for a useful period.

Before logging off

• Check quests and the daily bonus timer; claim rewards at the intended location.
• Start available construction and research, check energy and leave enough storage room until your next login.
• Protect valuable ships and cargo with an appropriate flight timed for your return. Consider route visibility and risks.
• Treat expeditions as a risky supplement: an entire group can be lost. Do not send your only cargo ship or resources needed for colonization.

Starting approaches were compared with the Gameforge beginner guide, Getting Started Guide and The Ultimate Miner Guide. Levels, rewards and restrictions here are adapted to XNova.

XNova has four factions. Their bonuses apply throughout your empire, and unique ships become available once their shipyard and research requirements are met.

• Confederation — Corvette. Bonuses to metal production and solar satellite energy, and faster ship construction.
• Bionics — Interceptor. Bonuses to deuterium production, storage capacity and solar satellite energy, with cheaper ships.
• Cylons — Dreadnought. Bonuses to all three mined resources, cheaper buildings and defenses, and faster building construction.
• Ancients — Corsair. Bonuses to crystal production, power plant energy and fleet speed, with cheaper research.

See Faction for exact bonuses. To change faction, finish queues at every location and wait for your fleets to return. Remaining free changes are used first; subsequent changes cost 100 credits.

Changing faction removes all faction ships at your locations. Account for this before confirming the change.

• Metal is used mainly for buildings, ships and defenses.
• Crystal is used in construction and many research projects.
• Deuterium is needed for technologies, fleet fuel, fusion reactors and phalanx scans.
• Energy powers production. It cannot be stockpiled in cargo holds or transported.

Resources shows production, consumption and operating levels. An energy shortage reduces mining efficiency. You can adjust individual facilities or turn production on and off throughout the empire.

Solar plants produce energy without fuel. Fusion reactors consume deuterium. Solar satellites use no building fields but can be destroyed in combat; their output depends on temperature. Colder planets favor deuterium production, while warmer planets give more satellite energy.

Each location has its own stockpiles. Transport resources when they are needed elsewhere. When storage fills up, mining stops adding that resource: spend the stockpile or upgrade storage. Moons and military bases have no resource production and need supplies.

Buildings are developed separately at each location. Building levels occupy fields; Overview shows the space available. Terraformers expand planets, and lunar bases expand moons. The location type determines which buildings are allowed.

Robotics and nanite factories speed up development. The Shipyard produces ships, while Defense lets you order defensive units and missiles. Ships and defenses share the shipyard queue. The building queue size depends on universe settings and the Architect bonus.

Research applies to the whole account. Only one research project can run across the account at a time. Starting a project requires a suitable laboratory and resources on the selected planet. Computer technology increases simultaneous fleet slots, engines affect ship speed, and combat technologies improve weapons, shields and armor. The intergalactic research network allows several laboratories to contribute to research speed.

If an object is unavailable, open its details or the technology tree to check required levels, faction and location type. The next level cost and completion time are shown before you start.

In Galaxy, an address is written as [galaxy:system:position]. A planet, its moon and its debris field may share coordinates but are different targets: always check the selected target type.

Colonization: founding a new planet

A colony is another planet belonging to your account, with its own resources, buildings and production queues. It benefits from technologies you have already researched. Colonization settles an empty position; this mission cannot capture another player's planet.

Requirements for your first colony ship

• Colonization technology at level 1 or higher. Researching it requires a level 3 laboratory, level 2 armour technology and level 5 energy technology.
• A Colony Ship requires a level 4 shipyard, level 3 impulse drive and level 1 colonization technology.
• Resources to build the ship, deuterium for the flight and a free fleet slot. The base ship cost is 10,000 metal, 20,000 crystal and 10,000 deuterium; the shipyard shows the final cost after bonuses.
• Room under your ordinary planet limit. Owning a colony ship does not allow you to exceed this limit.

How many planets can you own?

Your total number of ordinary planets, including your homeworld, cannot exceed colonization technology level + 1 or the universe cap. For example, level 1 allows a homeworld and one colony; level 2 allows a homeworld and two colonies. The default universe cap is 9 planets. Moons and military bases are counted separately.

The limit and position availability are checked on arrival. If you send colonizing fleets to several positions with only one planet slot remaining, the first successful colony fills that slot and prevents the others from founding additional planets.

Choosing a location

Find an empty ordinary position in Galaxy. With standard settings, positions 1–15 are for planets and position 16 is for expeditions. An empty debris field or a missing moon at an occupied planet does not make that position available for colonization.

A nearby colony is easier to supply: shorter flights let you move resources and ships sooner. Consider neighbors, temperature and the planned purpose of the colony. Central positions generally offer more building fields, colder outer planets favor deuterium production, and warmer planets improve solar satellite output.

Field count and temperature are rolled within the ranges for the selected position. The exact size becomes known after settlement; the same position does not guarantee identical planets. Fields limit building development, so assess the available space before investing heavily.

Position, size, temperature and production

System position sets the ranges for size and temperature. When a colony is founded, its field count and maximum temperature are rolled within the ranges for that position. Galaxy and system numbers do not themselves grant production or energy bonuses.

Overview shows the planet's diameter; its radius is half its diameter. At creation, the relationship to initial field count F is D = floor(1,000 × √F) km; R = D / 2. For example, 225 fields give a diameter of 15,000 km and a radius of 7,500 km. Size does not directly increase mining or energy: it provides room for buildings. Terraformers add fields, so diameter alone no longer describes the available space after expansion.

The table covers new ordinary colonies with the standard size multiplier of ×1; homeworlds and military bases use separate field settings. The universe size multiplier changes initial fields and the corresponding diameter. T is maximum temperature, not the average: Overview displays an interval from T − 40 to T. The table lists the possible values of T itself.

The deuterium multiplier is the temperature component of the production formula. Satellite energy assumes 100% operation without faction or officer bonuses. Values within each range do not have to occur together: size and temperature are rolled separately.

How temperature affects deuterium

For a synthesizer of level L at 100% operation with sufficient energy, base hourly production is 10 × L × 1.1^L × (1.44 − 0.004 × T). Universe mining speed, faction and Geologist bonuses, operating level and energy availability also apply, with rounding down during calculation. Fusion reactor consumption reduces net deuterium income.

Lower T gives more deuterium at the same synthesizer level. At T = +100 °C the temperature multiplier is 1.04; at T = −100 °C it is 1.84. With other conditions equal, the colder planet produces about 77% more deuterium before rounding. The synthesizer's energy consumption is independent of temperature: at 100% operation it equals floor(20 × L × 1.1^L).

How temperature affects energy

Base output from one solar satellite = floor((T + 140) / 6). At T = +100 °C this is 40 energy, but at T = −100 °C it is only 6. Group output depends on satellite count, operating level and faction and Engineer bonuses. Satellites can be destroyed in combat, so account for the potential loss of this energy source.

Solar plants and fusion reactors are independent of temperature. At 100% operation, a level L solar plant has a base output of 20 × L × 1.1^L; a fusion reactor produces 30 × L × (1.05 + 0.01 × E)^L, where E is energy technology level. Final output accounts for rounding, operating level and energy bonuses. Fusion reactors consume deuterium; energy technology specifically improves their base output.

Metal and crystal production do not directly depend on temperature or diameter. Central positions generally suit large industrial colonies. Cold outer positions favor deuterium but need stronger energy infrastructure. Warm inner positions give effective satellites but less deuterium. A large planet is not necessarily cold or more productive: assess fields and temperature separately.

Sending the mission step by step

1. Build a colony ship in the Shipyard and select the location where it is stationed.
2. Open Fleet and select one colony ship. Add cargo ships with resources for early construction if needed.
3. Enter the empty position coordinates and select Planet as the target type.
4. Choose Colonise, set speed and cargo, and check arrival time, fuel consumption and capacity.
5. Send the fleet and wait for the result message. Dispatch does not reserve the position: another player may arrive first.

What happens on arrival?

Success consumes one colony ship. All other ships, including extra colony ships, and delivered resources stay on the new planet. There is no automatic return flight. Sending several colony ships in one fleet does not create multiple colonies in one mission.

If the position has been occupied or your planet limit has been reached, colonization fails and the fleet returns. Read Messages for the reason. Research the next technology level or choose another empty position as appropriate.

Getting the colony started

Select the new planet from your locations and open Overview to check fields, temperature and supplies and choose a name. Start with energy and mining, then develop the robotics factory, storage and other infrastructure you need. Buildings from your homeworld are not copied to the colony.

Use Transport for further supplies: ships unload resources and return. Use Stay to relocate ships to the colony: they remain at the destination. Compare all your planets in Empire.

Military bases

A Create a base mission requires a Mobile Base and an empty position. The maximum number of military bases equals your Military Base research level. Establishing a base consumes one Mobile Base ship; escorts and cargo stay at the new location.

A military base is an outpost with a limited building selection, including jump gates and missile silos. It does not replace a mining colony: supplies must be delivered. Use Empire for a consolidated view of your locations.

• Small and Large Cargo ships transport resources and carry loot. Remember their weak armament when attacking.
• Light and Heavy Fighters, Cruisers, Battleships and Battlecruisers form combat groups. Their usefulness depends on the enemy, technologies and rapid fire.
• Bombers and Destroyers help against fortified targets; still check the opposing force in the simulator.
• The Death Star is a heavy, slow ship required for attempts to destroy a moon.
• Recyclers, Espionage Probes, Colony Ships and Mobile Bases enable their specialist missions. Faction ships complement your combat fleet.
• Solar Satellites generate energy in orbit and cannot take part in ordinary flights.

In Fleet, choose ships, coordinates, target type, speed, mission and cargo. Before sending, check arrival and return times, deuterium consumption and free cargo space. The slowest ship limits group speed, and fuel occupies part of the hold.

The basic fleet limit is one plus your computer technology level. An active Admiral adds two slots. Different missions share this limit; expeditions also have a separate cap. Use coordinate shortcuts for frequent destinations.

• Attack. Fight at another player’s location and potentially capture some resources. Surviving ships return with loot up to their cargo capacity.
• United Attack. Join a coordinated attack. Manage the group and invitations through the attacking fleet controls.
• Transport. Deliver resources, then return the ships. Also used to supply your own locations.
• Stay. Move ships and cargo to your own location. Successful arrival has no automatic return flight.
• Hold. Temporarily station a fleet at another player’s location to help defend it. Holding requires additional deuterium; the fleet returns afterwards.
• Spy. Use probes to gather information about another location. Probes may be destroyed.
• Colonise. Establish an ordinary colony using a colony ship.
• Harvest. Collect metal and crystal from a debris field with recyclers. Select the debris field rather than the planet.
• Destroy. Attempt to destroy an enemy moon with Death Stars after winning the battle. The attempt can fail, and the dispatched fleet may be lost.
• Create a base. Establish a military base using a Mobile Base ship.
• Expedition. Explore the distant position of a system for a random outcome.

Interplanetary attacks are launched separately with missiles through Galaxy: they strike defenses rather than moving ships. Available fleet missions depend on ships, target type, research and dispatch restrictions.

Resource transfers to the same other player are limited to one dispatch in the past 24 hours and three in the past 7 days. Transport to a player absent for more than 7 days is unavailable. Transfers between your own locations are exempt from these limits. Also follow the rules on trading and assistance.

Research expedition technology and select the position immediately after the last ordinary planet slot: in a system with 15 planet slots, this is position 16. The fleet cannot consist solely of espionage probes.

Choose an available exploration duration. Technology increases the maximum duration and number of expedition groups. You also need a free slot under the overall fleet limit.

An expedition may find resources, credits or ships, find nothing, be delayed, enter combat or disappear entirely. Leave room for discoveries and send only forces you can afford to lose. Results arrive in Messages; the return may be later than originally calculated.

The detail in an espionage report depends on probe count and the difference in espionage levels, including bonuses. A missing report section does not mean there is no fleet or defense. Reports describe the moment of the scan; conditions may change before your attack arrives.

Combat accounts for the forces on each side, weapons, shields, armor and rapid fire: additional shots against particular target types. No composition is invincible. Compare losses, loot and debris in the simulator; its calculation does not guarantee the same result in a real battle.

Rocket launchers and lasers provide numerous defensive units, complemented by Gauss cannons, ion and plasma weapons and shield domes. Some defenses may be restored after an ordinary battle. Repair and debris rates depend on settings and bonuses.

Interplanetary missiles strike defenses within range in the same galaxy. Launching requires a missile silo of at least level 4 and an impulse engine; the engine also increases range. Anti-ballistic missiles automatically counter missile strikes. Silo capacity limits your missile stock.

After combat, read the report in Messages and send recyclers if you want the debris. Victory does not reserve the field for you: other players can collect it.

When new player protection is enabled, hostile fleet dispatch to an active target below the points threshold is blocked. The game also checks whether the sender exceeds the target’s points by more than the permitted factor. Defaults are 5,000 points and a factor of 5; universe settings can change them.

These checks cover attacks, joint attacks, espionage, moon destruction and holding, with an exception for holding at your own alliance. They are disabled for a target absent for more than 7 days or blocked. Missile strikes have separate conditions, so new player protection does not mean complete immunity.

Avoid leaving large stockpiles and valuable fleets unattended. To protect ships while away, choose a suitable flight with cargo and time its arrival for when you can play. Consider phalanx visibility, recall options and the destination: once the fleet arrives, it may be targeted again. An expedition with a risk of total loss is unsuitable for safe storage.

A moon may form after a battle at an ordinary planet that does not already have one. The chance is calculated from that battle’s debris and capped by universe settings; an active Admiral on the defending account raises the cap. Even the maximum chance does not guarantee success. Moon formation does not collect the debris field for you.

Moons have no mining, so deliver supplies by transport. A lunar base increases building fields. A moon can be attacked and destroyed; owning one does not make your fleet invulnerable.

Sensor phalanx

A phalanx operates from the selected moon and scans planets in the same galaxy. Its range in either direction is the square of its level minus one: level 1 covers its own system, level 2 reaches 3 systems away, and level 3 reaches 8. Each scan consumes 5,000 deuterium on the moon.

The phalanx shows movements and arrival times visible to it that involve the scanned planet. It does not reveal every flight: for example, flights between moons and flights from a moon to debris are not visible.

Jump gates

Gates instantly move ships between your own moons and military bases with operational, ready gates. Select the destination during fleet dispatch. Resources cannot pass through gates. Both gates recharge after a jump; higher levels shorten the wait.

In Alliance, create an alliance or apply to an existing one. Alliances provide member lists, private chat, ranks with permissions, application management and diplomacy. Your rank determines access to management tools.

For a joint attack, create a group from a dispatched attacking fleet, invite participants and add forces using the joint attack mission. Check group availability and the final arrival time: joining is subject to flight conditions.

Use Hold for joint defense. The alliance depot can supply holding fleets with deuterium. Diplomatic agreements may prevent attacks. Alliance membership does not waive the resource transfer rules.

Quests introduce game mechanics and reward resources, credits, object levels, ships, defenses or officer time. Some unlock after earlier quests or particular development levels.

Open a quest before working on it, read its conditions and claim the reward when finished. Conditions involving buildings and ships may be checked at the selected location; resources and local rewards are delivered there as well. If completion is unavailable, check the selected planet and all prerequisites.

Industrial experience comes from developing eligible buildings, while military experience comes from battle results. These are separate from ranking points. Leveling up awards credits and may unlock quests; Overview shows your progress.

Claim the daily bonus manually. The next claim becomes available after 24 hours, and resources go to the selected location. Consecutive claims increase the reward and add an extra credit from the second claim in a streak. A long gap resets the streak; follow the bonus timer.

Credits are an account-wide currency. Sources include levels, some quests, expedition finds, continued daily bonus streaks and referrals. Credits lists available top-up methods.

The Merchant exchanges resources at the selected location at the displayed rate. Each exchange costs 1 credit. On ordinary planets, Resources also offers the displayed resource package for 10 credits, with a 48-hour wait before the next purchase on that planet.

Officers are hired for a limited period. Hiring an active officer again extends the duration rather than doubling the effect.

• Geologist improves production and storage capacity.
• Admiral adds fleet slots, speeds up ships, reduces their cost and affects moon operations.
• Engineer improves energy production, reduces defense costs and helps reduce losses.
• Technocrat speeds up research and improves espionage.
• Architect expands the building queue and speeds up construction of buildings, ships and defenses.
• Metaphysicist reduces flight fuel consumption.
• Mercenary improves weapons, shields and armor.

Check each officer card for exact effects, prices and durations. Referrals provides your invitation link and information about invited friends; their level gains reward the inviting player.

Statistics compares players, alliances and factions by total, building, research, fleet and defense points. Points reflect the base resource cost of existing objects and levels: 1,000 resources equal one point. Stored resources do not award points by themselves.

Fleets in flight count. Ship losses, demolished buildings and lost locations may reduce points. Fleet and research rankings account for cost, not just ship or level counts. Statistics update periodically, so rank changes may not appear immediately.

Records lists achievements for individual objects, and the Hall of Fame features major battles. Settings let you control participation in records.

• Messages contains personal correspondence and espionage, battle and mission results. You can also report a message here.
• Chat is for talking to other players; alliance chat is available separately.
• Friends and Search help you find players and keep in touch.
• Notes stores your personal reminders.
• Battle logs lets you save reports for viewing and discussion.
• Support handles bugs and game questions. Include coordinates, the event time and a report if available.

Read the XNova rules before trading, arranging battles or conducting joint operations. If you cannot log in, use Contacts.

Settings lets you change language, interface preferences, email and password. Keep access to your linked email for account recovery.

Enable vacation mode for a long absence. All account queues must finish and your own fleets must return first. Vacation stops mining and restricts game actions; new fleet dispatches to your locations are blocked except debris recycling.

Fleets already on their way to you are not canceled. Vacation mode does not stop an attack already launched. The minimum duration is set by the universe and defaults to 2 days. Once that time has passed, leave vacation mode manually. Then check production levels in Resources: entering vacation sets them to zero.

Why is production low or stopped?

Check energy, full storage, operating percentages and vacation mode. Moons and military bases have no production, and fusion reactors need deuterium.

Why can I not send a fleet?

Check free slots, ships and fuel, cargo capacity, coordinates and target type. Some missions require special ships, technologies or a group invitation. Consider vacation mode, new player protection, diplomacy and resource transfer limits.

Why was no colony or base created?

Read the mission message: another fleet may have claimed the position before arrival, or you may have reached your limit. Research the appropriate technology and check your empire capacity before sending again.

Why can I not change faction or enter vacation mode?

Check queues at every location and your fleets in flight. Changing faction also requires a free change or enough credits.

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