Resource Protection

Resource Protection & Looting

Successful raids can steal resources from a defender's colony — but not everything. Resource Protection and Warehouse capacity work together to shield part of your stockpile, while a global loot rate limits how much of the exposed portion attackers can actually take. Fleet cargo capacity is the final gate: raiders must bring enough haulers to carry the loot home.

This system applies to player-vs-player (PvP) attacks on active colonies. Pirates, inactive colonies, and other special targets follow different rules (see Special cases). For who can attack whom, war fatigue, stun, and graveyard, see Fleet Combat.

Contents

• How it works
• Protection rate
• Warehouse capacity
• Loot rate & cargo limits
• Formulas
• Worked examples
• Strategic impact
• In-game references
• Special cases

How it works

Every stored resource on a colony (steel, quartz, gas, iridium, silicium, elerium) falls into one of two categories:

Protected resources

• Resources stored within your Warehouse capacity can be partially shielded.
• The protected share is determined by your Resource Protection rate (see below).
• Protection is calculated per resource type — each material is evaluated against the same Warehouse capacity independently.

Lootable resources (exposed)

• Any portion of a resource not covered by protection is exposed to looting.
• Resources above Warehouse capacity are always fully exposed (protection does not apply to the overflow).
• Attackers do not automatically take all exposed resources — a global loot rate and cargo capacity further limit the haul.

Protection rate

Your total Resource Protection rate is the share of in-warehouse resources that cannot be stolen. It is built from several sources:

Source	Effect
Base protection	10% of in-warehouse resources are always protected.
Resource Protection research	+1% per level (research id: resourceProtection).
Monuments	Bonus safe-storage percentage from active monument effects.
Combat cap	Total protection cannot exceed the global protection cap (combat.maxResourceProtection, default 70%).

You can view the full breakdown on any colony's Warehouse panel in the game.

Note: Protection only applies to resources stored up to Warehouse capacity. Anything above that amount is 100% exposed regardless of your protection rate.

Warehouse capacity

The Warehouse building defines how much of each resource type can benefit from protection. Capacity scales with building level:

Warehouse Capacity = 15,000 × 2 ^ Warehouse Level

(At level 0, capacity is 15,000 per resource type. Each level doubles capacity — ×2 per level.)

Upgrading your Warehouse increases the amount of each resource that can be partially shielded — not just total storage, but the portion eligible for protection.

Loot rate & cargo limits

Global loot rate

The share of exposed resources that can be stolen starts from a global combat setting (combat.lootPercentage). The current default is 50%.

Titan-Class Mech (Warlord Core) adds pvpLootPct: +3% at monument level 1, using the same level scaling as other percent monument boosts (~+50% of the base value per level above 1), hard-capped at +30%. In FCS attacks, the highest pvpLootPct among participants is used. There is no attacker research that increases loot efficiency.

Total resource protection is limited by a separate maximum protection cap (combat.maxResourceProtection). The current default is 70% — even if your base, research, and monuments would add up to more, effective protection is capped at this value.

Fleet cargo capacity

After calculating available loot, the game checks whether the attacking fleet has enough cargo space to carry it:

• Each cargo ship contributes its base cargo capacity.
• Trade Networks (Realm 2, +2% per level) and Galactic Commerce (Realm 4, +4% per level) increase cargo capacity. The two bonuses are added together.
• In joint / FCS attacks, each participant's cargo research applies to their own ships.

If total cargo capacity is less than available loot, attackers take a proportional share. If cargo capacity is greater, they take everything available.

Formulas

For a single resource type:

In Warehouse = min(Stored Amount, Warehouse Capacity) Overflow = max(0, Stored Amount − Warehouse Capacity) Exposed = Overflow + In Warehouse × (1 − Protection Rate) Available Loot = floor(Exposed × Loot Rate) Actual Loot = min(Available Loot, limited by fleet cargo capacity) Defender Keeps = Stored Amount − Actual Loot

Where:

• Protection Rate = min(Base + Research + Monuments, Protection Cap)
• Protection Cap = global combat.maxResourceProtection (default 0.70)
• Loot Rate = global combat.lootPercentage (default 0.50) + attacker pvpLootPct monument bonus (Titan-Class Mech: +3% base, same Pct level scaling, hard-capped at +30%; FCS uses the max among attackers)

All final amounts are rounded down to whole numbers.

Worked examples

The examples below use the default 50% loot rate and 70% protection cap, and assume the attacker has enough cargo capacity to carry all available loot. Protection values are the effective rate after the combat cap.

Example 1 — Small Warehouse, stockpile overflow

Stored	50,000,000 Steel
Warehouse capacity	10,000,000
Protection rate	50% (below the 70% cap)

In Warehouse = min(50M, 10M) = 10M Overflow = 40M → fully exposed Protected share = 10M × 50% = 5M protected inside warehouse Exposed = 40M + (10M × 50%) = 45M Available Loot = floor(45M × 50%) = 22,500,000

Result: Defender keeps 27,500,000 Steel · Attacker steals 22,500,000 Steel.

The large overflow (40M above warehouse capacity) dominates the loss — upgrading Warehouse is critical when stockpiles grow.

Example 2 — Large Warehouse, full coverage

Stored	50,000,000 Steel
Warehouse capacity	50,000,000
Protection rate	50%

In Warehouse = 50M Overflow = 0 Exposed = 50M × 50% = 25M Available Loot = floor(25M × 50%) = 12,500,000

Result: Defender keeps 37,500,000 Steel · Attacker steals 12,500,000 Steel.

When all resources fit inside the Warehouse, protection applies to the entire stockpile.

Example 3 — Mid-level protection (below cap)

Stored	50,000,000 Steel
Warehouse capacity	50,000,000
Protection rate	30% (10% base + 20 levels of Resource Protection research)

Exposed = 50M × 70% = 35M Available Loot = floor(35M × 50%) = 17,500,000

Result: Defender keeps 32,500,000 Steel · Attacker steals 17,500,000 Steel.

Example 4 — Cargo-limited raid

Stored	50,000,000 Steel
Warehouse capacity	50,000,000
Protection rate	50%
Available loot	12,500,000 (from Example 2)
Fleet cargo capacity	5,000,000

Take ratio = 5M / 12.5M = 0.4 Actual Loot = floor(12.5M × 0.4) = 5,000,000

Result: Defender keeps 45,000,000 Steel · Attacker steals 5,000,000 Steel.

Even after a successful attack, insufficient cargo ships leave loot on the table.

Strategic impact

For defenders

• Upgrade the Warehouse to raise the capacity threshold — protection only applies to resources within this limit.
• Research Resource Protection for +1% safe storage per level (stacks with the 10% base rate).
• Activate monument bonuses that grant safe-storage percentage.
• Keep stockpiles near or below Warehouse capacity when possible; overflow is fully exposed.
• Stay active — inactive colonies lose warehouse protection entirely (see Special cases).

For raiders

• Bring enough cargo ships — available loot means nothing if your fleet cannot carry it.
• Research Trade Networks (+2% per level) and Galactic Commerce (Realm 4+, +4% per level) for more cargo capacity on haulers.
• Deploy / upgrade Titan-Class Mech (Warlord Core) for up to +30% PvP loot rate via pvpLootPct.
• Target colonies with low Warehouse levels or large unprotected stockpiles (resources above warehouse capacity).
• Scout defender resource levels and warehouse infrastructure before committing a fleet.

Design goal

The system creates an ongoing economic arms race:

• Defenders invest in Warehouse capacity, Resource Protection research, and monuments.
• Raiders invest in cargo ships, Trade Networks and Galactic Commerce.

Raids remain profitable, but a single attack cannot wipe out an entire economy — especially when Warehouse and protection are maintained.

In-game references

What	Where to find it
Protection rate breakdown	Warehouse building panel → Resource Protection (expand details)
Exposed / raidable amount	Resource popup → Unprotected (Raidable)
Warehouse capacity	Resource popup → Capacity; Warehouse building stats
Research	Resource Protection (Security, Realm 1)
Cargo bonus	Trade Networks (Economy, Realm 2) + Galactic Commerce (Economy, Realm 4)
PvP loot rate bonus	Titan-Class Mech (Warlord Core) → pvpLootPct (max +30%)

Special cases

These targets do not use the Warehouse protection formulas above:

Target	Loot behavior
Pirates (PvE)	100% of stored resources can be looted (subject to cargo capacity).
Inactive colonies (inactive_week, inactive_month)	80% of all stored resources can be looted. Warehouse protection is bypassed.
Active PvP colonies	Full protection system described in this article.

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Values reflect the current live configuration: 10% base protection, 70% maximum protection cap, 50% default loot rate, Titan-Class Mech pvpLootPct (+3% base, capped at +30%), 1% protection per Resource Protection research level, and cargo capacity bonuses from Trade Networks and Galactic Commerce. Global combat settings may be adjusted per realm or season — check the in-game Warehouse panel for your current protection cap.