View source for Territory Siege

'''Territory Siege''' turns system conquest into a '''two-phase campaign''' instead of a single raid. An alliance must '''Contest''' a system, wait through a random timer, then win a '''Takeover''' fight in a short Vulnerable window before ownership changes hands.<blockquote>Requires the '''Territory Siege''' feature to be enabled. Classic instant conquest still applies when the feature is off. You must also have '''System Conquering''' and use '''FCS''' (Fleet Coordination System) for system-center assaults. See Alliances → Territorial control.</blockquote>

== Contents ==

* Why sieges exist
* The flow
* Timers
* Contest (Phase 1)
* Vulnerable window (Phase 2)
* Takeover success
* Defending
* Economy while Contested
* Ship losses & Ship Graveyard
* Building penalty
* Limits & cooldowns
* Map & UI signals
* Diplomacy
* Quick reference

== Why sieges exist ==
Under instant conquest, one FCS win could flip a Division while defenders were offline, and full permanent capital losses made serious territory wars feel suicidal.

Sieges keep wars meaningful while:

* Giving both sides '''notice''' before ownership changes
* Using a '''random''' Contested timer (no defender-picked “Defense Hour”) so alliances cannot permanently timezone-tank each other
* Softening hull loss through the '''Ship Graveyard''' with phase-specific debris rates

== The flow ==
 <code>Neutral or Held Division
         │
         │  FCS Contest win
         ▼
    Contested  ──(random 20–28h)──►  Vulnerable (2h)
         │                                │
         │                                ├─ Contester FCS win → ownership flips
         │                                ├─ Contester loses / blocked → defenders keep it
         │                                └─ Window ends with no Takeover → defenders keep it
         │
         └── Headquarters cannot be sieged</code>
Ownership '''never''' changes on Contest — only on a successful '''Takeover''' inside the Vulnerable window.

== Timers ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Phase
!Duration
!Who chooses it?
|-
|'''Contested'''
|Random '''20–28 hours''' after Contest
|Nobody — rolled when Contest succeeds
|-
|'''Vulnerable'''
|Exactly '''2 hours'''
|Starts when Contested ends
|}
Attackers may land the Takeover FCS '''anytime''' in those 2 hours. You do '''not''' need to sit and DPS for two hours — Regna resolves one battle when the fleet arrives.

== Contest (Phase 1) ==

# Scout the system center / rival Division center.
# Launch a '''coordinated FCS''' attack on the system center.
# On victory (and if gates pass), the system becomes '''Contested'''.

'''Contest does not:'''

* Transfer <code>controlling</code> ownership
* Wipe remaining NPC garrison beyond battle losses
* Raze alliance buildings

'''Gates (high level):''' active alliance, System Conquering + Territory Siege enabled, not your own system, not an HQ, not NAP/Ally with the holder, under territory hold cap, system not already sieged / not in re-contest cooldown, and your alliance has fewer than '''5''' open Contests.

Only the alliance that Contested the system may later finish the Takeover.

== Vulnerable window (Phase 2) ==
When Contested ends, the system becomes '''Vulnerable''' for '''2 hours'''.

* The '''contester''' must win another FCS fight at the system center during that window to take ownership.
* If they lose, hit a gate failure (e.g. territory cap), or never show up, the siege resolves as '''defended''' / '''expired''' and the holder keeps the system (with cooldown).

Station Guardians and alliance defenses matter most here — the battle is a snapshot of whoever is stationed (plus garrison and turrets) when the attackers arrive.

== Takeover success ==
On a successful Takeover:

* Ownership transfers to the contester (same HQ / Division rules as before).
* Center military and resources are cleared as on conquest.
* For a '''PvP''' take of a held Division: buildings take a '''level penalty''' (see below) instead of a full raze when Territory Siege is on.
* The usual '''2-day''' grace to build Headquarters / Division Center still applies after a real conquest.
* Harvest / survey / pool income returns to normal once the siege is resolved.

== Defending ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Layer
!Role
|-
|'''Station Guardians'''
|Park fleets on the system center before the Vulnerable window; they fight in the Takeover battle and earn harvest security cuts in peacetime
|-
|'''Defense Yard turrets'''
|Cheap regenerating layer; participate in combat and partially auto-repair
|-
|'''Alliance research'''
|Armor / shields / weapons / garrison capacity strengthen defenses
|}
When Contested mail arrives: form Guardians, refresh station durations, and watch the countdown on the galaxy map, system details, Alliance Systems list, and HQ/Division building modal.

== Economy while Contested ==
While a system is '''Contested''' or '''Vulnerable''':

* That system’s contribution to the alliance '''daily pool''' is reduced ('''×0.5''')
* '''Harvest''' and '''Survey''' mission yields from that system are reduced ('''×0.5''')

Contesting hurts the holder’s economy without giving the attacker free ownership.

== Ship losses & Ship Graveyard ==
Winner of each fight is still decided by the normal battle simulation — not by who lost more ships.

Destroyed '''player''' hull (attackers and stationed Guardians) uses the '''Ship Graveyard''' pipeline with siege debris overrides:
{| class="wikitable"
!Phase
!Debris (gone / salvage field)
!Graveyard buyback
|-
|Contest
|'''~15%'''
|'''~85%'''
|-
|Takeover
|'''~30%'''
|'''~70%'''
|}
NPC protector ships do not enter the Graveyard. Planetary defenses use normal damage + auto-repair (no Graveyard).

== Building penalty ==
When Territory Siege is on and you successfully Take over a '''held''' Division:

* Each alliance building on the center loses '''3 levels'''
* If the new level is '''below 4''', the building is '''removed'''
* If '''your''' alliance lost this system recently and retakes it within '''7 days''', the −3 pass is '''waived''' (you keep buildings as they currently are)

Neutral first takes have no player buildings to penalize. When Territory Siege is '''off''', rival takeovers still use the older full building wipe.

== Limits & cooldowns ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Rule
!Value
|-
|Max open Contests per alliance (Contested + Vulnerable)
|'''5'''
|-
|Re-contest cooldown after fail / expire / cancel
|'''24 hours''' on that system
|-
|Headquarters
|'''Cannot''' be Contested or Taken
|-
|Who can Takeover
|Only the '''Contester'''
|}

== Map & UI signals ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Signal
!Meaning
|-
|'''Amber / warning''' system border
|Contested
|-
|'''Red / danger''' system border
|Vulnerable
|-
|Alliance Systems list flags + countdown
|Per-Division siege status
|-
|HQ / Division Center building modal
|Live countdown + defend hints
|-
|Alliance bottom-nav red border + <code>!</code>
|Alliance system under inbound threat and/or under siege
|-
|System details popup
|Contested / Vulnerable status with live timer
|}
Long-press the Alliance button to open the Alliance Systems selector.

== Diplomacy ==

* You cannot Contest a system held by an alliance you have a '''NAP''' or '''Ally''' treaty with.
* If a protective treaty is formed '''mid-siege''' between contester and defender, the open siege is '''cancelled''' and the holder keeps the system.

== Quick reference ==
{| class="wikitable"
!Thing
!Value
|-
|Contested duration
|Random 20–28h
|-
|Vulnerable window
|2h
|-
|Max open Contests
|5 per alliance
|-
|Failed siege cooldown
|24h
|-
|Contested income factor
|×0.5 (pool + harvest + survey)
|-
|Contest debris / Graveyard
|~15% / ~85%
|-
|Takeover debris / Graveyard
|~30% / ~70%
|-
|Building penalty
|−3 levels; remove if < 4
|-
|Previous-owner waiver
|7 days
|}

== Related ==

* [[Alliances]] — territory, HQ/Divisions, harvest, diplomacy
* [[Player Classes]] — FCS and harvest/survey class bonuses
* [[Resource Protection]] — general PvP loot context
* In-game: '''Settings → Quick Guides → Alliance Territorial Control'''