v2.0 - Season 2 Economy Rebalance

Season 2 is a full-system update, not just a numbers patch. Economy pacing, research progression, intelligence gameplay, moon development, fleet-slot planning, and galaxy interactions all changed in meaningful ways.

Use this page as the complete player-facing reference for v2.0.0 features.

Core Economy Changes

Mine Output and Growth Pace

Your base economy is significantly faster than prior seasons:

Metal Mine base production increased from 60 to 200.
Crystal Mine base production increased from 40 to 200.
Deuterium Synthesizer base production increased from 20 to 100.

Practical impact:

You reach early shipyard and research breakpoints sooner.
Colony setup time is shorter.
Mid-game fleet production ramps earlier.

Planet Position Matters More

Temperature/position economy differentiation is stronger in v2. Hotter and colder slots now create clearer specialization pressure, so colony placement is a bigger strategic decision instead of a minor optimization.

Plasma Technology Rework

Plasma Technology gives +10% resource production per level.
Tradeoff: each level also increases building construction time.

This makes Plasma a strong long-term economy multiplier, but you need to plan build queues around the time penalty.

Energy and Fuel Cell Economy

Energy Stack Changes

Energy Technology gives +5% output per level.
Fusion research gives +10% positive energy output per level.

Fusion Reactor Role Shift

Fusion Reactor behavior is now economy-focused:

It no longer functions as a normal live power-grid source.
Its output is converted into Fuel Cells (stored energy resource).

Fuel Cell System

Fuel Cells are now a first-class resource:

Generated from active fusion output (requires Fuel Cell Technology).
Stored with their own capacity.
Transferable like other resources.

Fuel Cell storage also scales with Fusion Reactor progression, so larger fusion investments now support both generation and storage.

Research Tree and Progression Overhaul

New and Expanded Strategic Research

Season 2 introduces or reworks these major tech lanes:

Defense Technology (formerly Armour Technology): now protects a share of daily production from raids, adds +5% defense attack/shield per level, and adds +15% defense hull per level. It no longer increases ship hull.
Resource Dens: legacy research entry retained for compatibility, with its former bonuses moved to Defense Technology.
Material Physics: reduces ship and defense build costs.
Intel Relay: alliance intelligence sharing backbone.
Recon Technology: unlocks Recon mission gameplay and adds fleet slots.
Space Dock Research: unlocks Space Dock deployment gameplay and adds fleet slots.
Wayfinder Research: unlocks Wayfinder ship and adds fleet slots.
Moon Base Research: unlocks lunar progression and boosts moon economy scaling.

Drive and Mobility Progression

Combustion Drive now buffs all ships by research level.
Impulse Drive now buffs all ships by research level (with fuel tradeoff).
Hyperspace Drive now buffs all ships by research level (with fuel tradeoff).
Hyperspace Drive requirement flow was simplified to open that lane earlier.

Research Identity and Cleanup

Intergalactic Research Network is now Recon Technology (same visual lane, new purpose).
Alliance Depot research path is replaced by Intel Relay.
Multiple prerequisite chains were clarified to make progression intent more readable.

Research Labs

Research labs work together by default in v2 progression, reducing friction when scaling multi-colony research infrastructure.

Intelligence and Alliance Information Warfare

Recon Mission System

Recon is now a true mission loop, not a one-off action:

Requires Recon Technology and at least one Espionage Probe.
Performs repeated recon checks during hold phases.
Successful checks return full espionage-style report detail.
Recon avoids selecting your own empire and your alliance members as targets.

Intel Relay Alliance Features

Intel Relay adds two major alliance intelligence tools:

Passive sharing: you can view recent espionage reports from each alliance member based on your Intel Relay level.
Active sharing: players can manually share specific espionage reports to alliance members.

This creates a real alliance scouting network instead of isolated private intel.

Space Dock System (New Strategic Expansion Layer)

Space Dock is now implemented as research-driven map control gameplay:

Completing Space Dock Research grants access to one Space Dock deployment asset.
Space Dock is deployed from Galaxy view to valid empty slots (not built through normal shipyard flow).
Successful deployment creates a special outpost body that appears in Galaxy like a normal planet target and can launch/receive fleets.
Outposts use a restricted building set only: Deuterium Synthesizer, Solar Plant, Sensor Phalanx, and Jump Gate.
Outposts always keep an internal Moon Base level 1 baseline (hidden from player UI).
Outpost resource sliders are fixed at 100%.
You can relocate a Space Dock outpost directly from Facilities without a building prerequisite.
Relocation carries the Space Dock, all docked ships, and all stored resources, and keeps existing building levels.
Galaxy Dock actions from selected Space Dock outposts now redirect to the deploy screen with destination coordinates pre-filled.
Active Space Dock deployment/relocation locks the destination slot against colonization and other Space Dock deployments until arrival.
A player can only have one active Space Dock outpost at a time.
Space Dock outposts can be destroyed by Moon Destruction missions.
If destroyed, Space Dock progression must be re-established through the research path.

Moon Gameplay Expansion

Moon progression is much deeper in v2:

Moon Base research is now central to lunar development.
Core moon resource extraction lanes were opened through Moon Base progression.
Moon resource production receives a per-level research bonus.
Moon Base level also improves Lunar Base field scaling, letting mature moons support larger specialized infrastructure footprints.

Fleet Slots and Mission Capacity Rebalance

Fleet-slot pressure is now a core strategic resource:

Base active fleet slots remain limited.
Computer Technology contributes additional slots at progression breakpoints.
Recon Technology, Wayfinder Research, and Space Dock Research all increase mission capacity.

Result: players who invest in command/intel lanes can run materially larger simultaneous fleet operations.

Combat and Defense Balance Updates

Key combat-facing reworks in v2:

Laser Technology now boosts all ship/defense weapon output and improves recycler efficiency.
Ion Technology now improves defensive shield durability.
Shielding Technology was repositioned as Mobile Shield Technology (ship-focused shielding lane).
Defense progression friction was reduced so defensive scaling depends more on economy and timing choices.
Moon Destruction interactions were expanded to include Space Dock outpost targets.

Interface and QoL Updates

Major usability changes shipped in v2:

Galaxy desktop interactions now expose action controls directly through click-based panels.
Planet/moon selector now supports an optional bottom-row all-bodies mode in Options.
Espionage message flow now supports alliance-shared report visibility and sharing toggles.
Research/build/ship detail panes were standardized for clearer decision-making and less page-to-page friction.
Multiple tooltip and layout adjustments improved consistency across pages.

Strategic Migration Guide (Returning Players)

If you are returning from pre-v2 gameplay, adapt in this order:

Rebuild your research priority around Defense Technology, Intel Relay/Recon, and moon progression.
Treat fleet slots as a capped strategic resource, not a background limit.
Use alliance intelligence sharing as part of normal raid planning.
Shift moon planning from utility-only to economy-plus-staging.
Build Space Dock strategy into expansion timing once your command lane is online.

Hotfixes

March 2026

Portal identity rollout validation:
- Added non-production portal directory overrides so stage validation can target dev universe hosts without redirecting testers into live production universes.
Portal account hub and universe launcher:
- Players now enter MWarfare through mwarfare.com, sign in once, and launch active universes from a central profile page.
- Email verification is now enforced before you can enter a universe.
- Your username is now managed centrally so the same name follows you across linked universes.
- Existing universe accounts may require a one-time claim-code step when MWarfare cannot safely link them automatically.
Desktop planet selector update:
- Replaced the expanding radial picker with a scrollable selector panel so large empires can switch planets and moons without overlapping icons.
- Combined planet and moon choices at the same coordinates into a single tile, with separate clickable planet and moon icons.
- Strengthened the active-body highlight so it is easier to confirm which planet or moon you are currently viewing before switching.
Research specialization navigator update:
- Desktop /research and the mobile research tab now start with a specialization choice: Military, Intelligence, Exploration, or Industry.
- After you choose a focus, the research interface now switches to a dedicated grouped tree for that specialization instead of showing secondary support lanes underneath.
- Players can change that focus until they start a research; the first research started from the specialization UI locks the chosen focus for that account.
- Military, Intelligence, Exploration, and Industry now each have their own focused tree on both desktop and mobile.
- Desktop now shows an Active Bonuses summary beside the focused tree, and mobile exposes the same researched-bonus summary through a bottom-sheet button.
- Focus trees now use cumulative section gates: section 1 has no cross-tech prerequisite chain, section 2 needs 8 total levels from section 1, section 3 needs 4 total levels from section 2, and section 4 needs 2 total levels from section 3.

February 2026

Space Dock deployment/relocation expansion:
- Added Deploy Space Dock flow from Facilities with destination prefill from Galaxy Dock actions.
- Added relocation quote step showing fuel cost and cargo-capacity requirements before launch.
- Relocation now supports moving all docked ships and stored resources.
- Destination slots are now hard-locked during active Space Dock deployment/relocation travel.
- Space Dock outpost sliders are enforced at 100% and hidden Moon Base level 1 baseline is always maintained.
Research system overhaul:
- Added directional progression rules: players can freely research tiers 1-2 in any direction.
- Added directional lock from tier 3 onward: only 3 final-direction researches can be chosen and they must be adjacent.
- Added opposite-direction penalty: once the 3rd research is started in a direction, all tiers in the opposing direction take +100% research time.
- Removed research teardown from /research.
- Renamed the research action to Start Research.
- Added a first-time tutorial popup on /research that explains these new limits.
Added new Phalanx Technology research:
- Sensor Phalanx now requires Phalanx Technology before it can be built.
- Each level of Phalanx Technology adds +1 system range per Sensor Phalanx level.
Research naming and UI updates:
- NW3 renamed to Phalanx Technology.
- Wayfinder and NW3 availability visuals now correctly gray out until unlocked.
Fleet and mission updates:
- Rebalanced perk-research costs:
  - Recon Technology: 260,000 M / 380,000 C / 220,000 D
  - Intel Relay: 140,000 M / 210,000 C / 120,000 D
  - Space Dock Research: 120,000 M / 80,000 C / 60,000 D
  - Wayfinder Research: 90,000 M / 140,000 C / 100,000 D
  - Moon Base Research: 110,000 M / 130,000 C / 70,000 D
- Added active fleet cap per player: base 5 fleets.
- Computer Technology: every even level adds +2 active fleet slots.
- Recon Technology: +1 active fleet slot per level.
- Wayfinder Research: +1 active fleet slot per level.
- Space Dock Research: +2 active fleet slots per level.
- Increased global ship fuel consumption by 10%.
- Exploration outcome scaling now uses expedition fleet points; Wayfinders count at 250% value.
- Exploration ambushes now trigger combat against a generated unknown fleet instead of flat percentage losses:
  - Enemy profiles: Nomads, Raiders, and Aliens.
  - Enemy fleet strength scales between 30% and 150% of the expedition fleet score.
  - Ambushes now generate a standard combat report (unknown attacker vs expedition defender).
  - Surviving Wayfinders automatically salvage encounter debris into available cargo capacity.
- Mission unlock requirements added:
  - Exploration Hold requires Wayfinder Research level 1.
  - Trade Hold requires Moon Base Research level 1.
  - Recon Hold requires Recon Technology level 1.
  - Patrol Hold requires Space Dock Research level 1.
- Deep-space hold mission messaging and cadence update:
  - Patrol Hold, Trade Hold, Recon Hold, and Exploration Hold all now process hold ticks every 30 minutes.
  - Players now receive a status message on every hold tick, including intervals where no event or no successful action occurs.
- Launch Pad stability update:
  - Disabled fleet-notification auto-refresh while on Launch Pad so in-progress launch configuration is not reset when fleet return events occur.