Economy of Force

Topic: Allocating limited resources across competing priorities
Principle: Minimum force necessary for each objective. Don’t over-defend. Don’t over-attack. Balance expansion and security.

The Principle

You cannot do everything. Alpha Matter is finite. Power has limits. Fleet has one Command Ship. Every struct you build for defense is one you don’t build for extraction. Every planet you fortify is one you don’t develop. Economy of force means: use the minimum necessary to achieve each goal, and reserve the rest for other goals.

Don’t Over-Defend

Defense has diminishing returns.

• One Planetary Defense Cannon may deter. Five may be overkill for a marginal planet.
• Power reserved for defenses could run another extractor.
• Fortifying every planet spreads you thin; fortify the ones that matter.

Over-defending means: you’re so secure that you can’t expand, can’t raid, can’t grow. You’ve spent everything on walls and have nothing left to protect.

Don’t Over-Attack

Offense consumes resources.

• Raiding costs fleet time, potential damage, and marks you as a target.
• Attacking structs costs more than raiding ore.
• Guild wars drain both sides; ensure you can outlast.

Over-attacking means: you’ve crippled an enemy but exhausted yourself. The next threat finds you weak. Or depletion finds you with nothing left.

Balance Expansion and Security

The tension:

• Expand → more resources, more targets to defend, more vulnerability
• Secure → less vulnerability, fewer resources, slower growth

The right balance depends on:

• Threat level—aggressive neighbors demand more defense
• Phase—early game favors security; mid game allows expansion
• Soul type—Entrepreneur expands; Achiever secures checkpoints; Killer secures nothing and attacks

See Early Game for the opening balance. See Mid Game for the expansion balance.

How to Prioritize When You Can’t Do Everything

When resources are scarce, ask:

1. What loses the game? — Going offline. Unrefined ore during a raid. Depletion without migration. Address existential threats first.

2. What creates the most value? — Extraction, refinement, power. Economic structs usually beat defensive structs when the threat is low.

3. What’s the opportunity cost? — Every Alpha Matter spent on X is not spent on Y. Choose the higher-leverage option.

4. What can wait? — Some problems solve themselves. Some threats never materialize. Defer what you can.

By Phase

• Early game: Minimum viable defense (refine fast, power stable). All surplus to build order.
• Mid game: Defend high-value planets. Expand where threat is low. Allocate to guild if it pays off.
• Late game: Concentrate force. Abandon marginal territory. Spend where it wins the endgame.

See Also

• Early Game — Prioritization when you have almost nothing
• Resource Scarce — Maximum economy of force
• Resource Rich — When you have surplus to allocate
• Tempo — Tempo costs resources; economy of force preserves them
• Counter-Strategies — Minimum force to counter each type