Star Cluster Conquest strategy guide
Once you know the controls, wins come from a small number of habits: spending production, committing enough to finish what you start, and landing attacks together. This guide is built around those.
Updated 2026-10-28
Think production, not ships
A star only produces while it is not full, and each size produces at its own pace: a small one makes 0.5 ships per second and holds 30, a medium one makes 1 and holds 60, and a large one makes 1.6 and holds 100. One large star yields as much as more than three small ones, so the real measure of your position is how much production you control and how much of it you are actually using. A star sitting at its limit wastes production. A half-empty star works at full speed. When choosing between two ways to spend a fleet, ask which one grows or protects your production.
The opening
- Take what is near first. Close neutral stars are cheap to reach and start paying you back quickly.
- Match the attack to the defense. Check how many ships a neutral star holds and send enough to win with some to spare. Because neutral stars regenerate, a fleet that falls short is mostly wasted.
- Do not strip your home. Sending part of your ships keeps the star producing and defended while the fleet is on its way.
Sizing a fleet
The 25, 50, 75 and 100% options exist for a reason.
- 25% is for steady reinforcement, moving ships from a safe star toward the front.
- 50% is the default attack: it commits a real force and leaves a defense behind.
- 75% is for when you have scouted a weak target or want to finish a fight.
- 100% is for the final push, or when a star is about to be lost and its ships are worth more elsewhere.
Attack together
Fleets take time to fly, so two stars at different distances will not land at the same moment. A defender facing two fleets one after the other can beat both. Use the multi-select swipe, pick stars at similar distances, and send them at the same target. When a distant star has to join, send it first.
Use the terrain, do not fight it
Check the route preview before you launch. Black holes destroy fleets and storms wear them down, so a target that looks close can be expensive to reach. Special stars (reinforced attack, reinforced defense, faster production, cannon) are worth contesting early, because whoever holds them keeps the benefit. See stars and terrain.
Abilities and boosts
Abilities have a cooldown, so use them when they are ready instead of saving them forever. Boosts only cost when used, so take the two that suit the map. The exact effects and cooldowns are in abilities and boosts, and ideas for each faction are in factions.
Playing against each AI style
Opponents have three play styles. The numbers below are the game's own (version 1.2.0) and may change in updates.
| Style | Attacks when | Advantage it needs | A good response |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aggressive | stars pass 60% of their limit | 1.2x | Constant pressure, takes small stars early. Keep defense at home and counter-attack when its fleets are far away. |
| Defensive | stars pass 80% of their limit | 1.6x | Reinforces its border and only attacks with room to spare. Expand faster than it does and take stars with coordinated attacks. |
| Hoarder | stars pass 65% of their limit | 1x, but only after 15 s | Prefers large stars and attacks with several stars together. Avoid hitting a full pile head-on and take the smaller stars first. |
Difficulty changes reaction time: the AI decides every 1.5 s on normal, 3 s on easy and 0.9 s on hard. All of them pick 50, 75 or 100%, gang up on the same target, steer around black holes and use their faction's abilities. In a skirmish, the AI gets more aggressive after 8 minutes so a match cannot stall forever. See game modes.
When you lose
Look at what cost you the match. Most losses come down to the same few things: stars left full, a fleet that landed alone, or an attack sent along a route with a hazard. If a level is stuck, practice that one skill in a skirmish against an easy opponent, then go back. If you find a level that feels unfair, tell us.
