Defense Yard

Defense Yard
Category	Infrastructure
Realm	1
Placement	Planet / Moon
Initial Cost
Steel: 400 Quartz: 250 Gas: 150 Iridium: — Silicium: — Elerium: —
Build Time	18s
Build Time Multiplier	2.2
Cost Multiplier	2
Base Effects
Allows construction of planetary defense systems. Higher levels unlock stronger defenses.
Requirements
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Defense Yard

The Defense Yard manufactures planetary defenses — turrets, advanced batteries, and shield domes from the Defenses catalog.

Mechanics

• Required to build and upgrade every defense on the colony
• Higher levels unlock stronger units and reduce defense build time
• Contributes to colony and empire defense tonnage capacity

Special capabilities

Shield dome capacity

Each shield dome type (Small Shield Dome, Large Shield Dome, Planetary Dome) has its own build limit (built + queued). Capacity grows with Defense Yard level at about ×1.6 per level, then Shield Technology and Fortress Doctrine each add roughly +5% of that base per level.

Examples (yard base only, before research):

• Yard 10 → about 110
• Yard 20 → about 12,000
• Yard 40 → about 146 million

Late yards still sit well below the old trillion-scale curve; defense tonnage usually bites before the dome quantity cap on mid-game colonies.

Construction & tonnage

• Exceeding defense tonnage caps slows new defense builds dramatically — watch the tonnage panel when spamming turrets
• Moon defense yards contribute a partial fraction of their level toward empire defense capacity; only the highest moon yard per parent planet counts for that bonus
• Scrap tools in-yard recover a portion of defense cost (same debris rules as PvP salvage rates)

Strategy

• Upgrade before unlocking the next realm's defense tier
• Pair with Engineering Lab on worlds you expect to siege-proof
• Raise yard level (and later Fortress Doctrine) when shield-dome caps bind — see Shield dome capacity above
• See Defenses for unit roles (Flak Cannon, Planetary Dome, etc.)

Lore

Colonial defense yards resemble fortified industrial complexes where heavy weapon platforms are manufactured and deployed across planetary surfaces.

Many worlds owe their survival to the relentless production of these facilities during times of war.

References

• Defenses
• Small Shield Dome · Large Shield Dome · Planetary Dome
• Shield Technology · Fortress Doctrine
• Tonnage · Engineering Lab
• Buildings