Morale (Advanced)
Morale is just one component of combat mechanics but it is itself a complicated topic. While units start with an intrinsic morale level, it can fluctuate during the course of a game due to changes in MORALE ratings and other effects.
Contents |
Morale Levels
There are seven morale levels.
| Morale | Lifecycle | Combat Bonus | Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Green | Hatchling | -25% | 0 |
| Green | Larval Mass | -12.5% | 1 |
| Disciplined | Pre-Boil | 0% | 2 |
| Hardened | Boil | 12.5% | 3 |
| Veteran | Mature Boil | 25% | 4 |
| Commando | Great Boil | 37.5% | 5 |
| Elite | Demon Boil | 50% | 6 |
Bonus Symbols
Bonuses on top of a unit's morale level are supposed to be represented by (-) and (+) symbols next to the unit's rank, but due to bugs these indicators do not always match what is happening.
A unit homed to a base under drone riots gets a (-) morale modifier.
For units on a base square, with the base having a Children’s Crèche:
When the unit is defending:
0 SESocial Engineering Morale or higher: +12.5% (+) battle bonus
-1 & -2 SE Morale or higher: +25% (++) battle bonus
-3 SE Morale: +37.5% (+++) battle bonus
-4 SE Morale: +50% (++++) battle bonus
The total defense bonus (the sum of the morale level bonus and the (+) bonuses) is capped off at +50%.
Conventional Units
Conventional units receive morale upgrades through the MORALE Social Engineering social effect, a number of base facilities and secret projects, unit upgrades, and monoliths.
Conventional units have a base morale rank of Green, unless a -1 MORALE rating or lower downgrades the unit to Very Green. They can be promoted to higher ranks by winning battles.
| Rating | Effect |
|---|---|
| -4 MORALE | -3 Morale; + modifiers halved |
| -3 MORALE | -2 Morale; + modifiers halved |
| -2 MORALE | -1 Morale; + modifiers halved |
| -1 MORALE | -1 Morale |
| 0 MORALE | Normal morale |
| +1 MORALE | +1 Morale |
| +2 MORALE | +1 Morale (+2 on defense in base) |
| +3 MORALE | +2 Morale (+3 on defense in base) |
| +4 MORALE | +3 Morale |
Morale Bonuses
- Children's Crèches have a complicated and flawed effect on morale discussed below.
- Prototype units receive a +1 morale upgrade upon completion.
- Units designed with the High Morale ability receive a +1 morale upgrade. The unit will retain the morale if upgraded to another design. The High Morale ability does not stack; upgrading a unit to another design with High Morale will not add an additional +1 morale.
- Land combat units that investigate a Monolith will receive a one-time +1 morale upgrade.
- Units trained in a base with these facilities receive a +2 morale upgrade per facility:
- Command Center (land units)
- Naval Yard (sea units)
- Aerospace Complex (air units)
- Bioenhancement Center
- Units trained by a faction that controls these secret projects receive a +2 morale upgrade per project:
- The Command Nexus[1] (land units)
- The Maritime Control Center[2] (sea units)
- The Cloudbase Academy[3] (air units)
- The Cyborg Factory[4]
- If there is a drone riot in a unit's home base, the unit will suffer a -1 morale penalty.[5]
There are also some effects that only apply when defending:
- Unit morale on defense can never be lower than Green regardless of modifiers.[5]
- A MORALE rating of +2 or +3 grants a +1 bonus.
- Units under attack by an opponent equipped with Soporific Gas Pods suffer a -2 penalty.
- Units defending a base from wild native life receive a +1 morale bonus.[5]
While the manual claims that the Headquarters facility confers a +1 bonus on defense[6], it actually has no effect.
Drone Riot Bug
Due to a flaw in the morale calculation logic, a unit homed to a base with an active Drone Riot will have most other negative morale effects ignored.
The effects of this modifier differ depending upon SE MORALE setting: (This is a Bug)
-3 SE Morale: Units homed to a crècheless base get a 25% combat bonus. Units homed to a crèche base get a 12.5% bonus.
-2 or -1 SE Morale: Units homed to a crècheless base get a 12.5% attack bonus. Units homed to a crèche base get no bonus.
0 SE Morale: No effect
1 or >1 SE Morale: -12.5% combat bonus (as expected)
Children's Crèche Effects
The Children's Crèche effect on morale is notoriously bugged. The manual states "All negative morale effects are cancelled for units in base square; instead such units receive a +1 morale modifier."[7] but this is inaccurate. The Crèche has three effects:
For conventional units homed in a base with a Crèche, regardless of location, it roughly halves (divides by 2 then rounds towards 0) but does not cancel the effects of a low morale rating. This effect manifests itself in higher stated morale levels:
| Rating | Without Crèche | With Crèche | Net Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| -4 MORALE | -3 | -1 | +2 morale levels |
| -3 MORALE | -2 | -1 | +1 morale levels |
| -2 MORALE | -1 | 0 | +1 morale levels |
| -1 MORALE | -1 | 0 | +1 morale levels |
- It does indeed grant a +1 morale modifier.
- Subtract the morale rating value (not effect stated in the MORALE table) from the unit's morale. If a faction's MORALE rating is -2 or lower, first add 1 to the rating. Subtracting a negative number is additive. The results of this calculation mean factions with very low MORALE will receive enormous bonuses in the base square and high MORALE receive a penalty. These figures are added to the morale level's base percentage and sometimesTemplate:Citation needed indicated with (+) signs.
The cumulative effect of morale and bonuses on defense is capped at +50%. Attack bonuses are uncapped.
| Rating | Attack Bonus | Defense Bonus |
|---|---|---|
| -4 MORALE | +50% bonus | +50% bonus |
| -3 MORALE | +37.5% bonus | +37.5% bonus |
| -2 MORALE | +25% bonus | +25% bonus |
| -1 MORALE | +25% bonus | +25% bonus |
| 0 MORALE | +12.5% bonus | +12.5% bonus |
| +1 MORALE | No Effect | +12.5% bonus |
| +2 MORALE | -12.5% penalty | +12.5% bonus |
| +3 MORALE | -25% penalty | +12.5% bonus |
| +4 MORALE | -37.5% penalty | +12.5% bonus |
Morale Calculation
Native Life Forms
Player-bred native life forms receive lifecycle upgrades from certain base facilities and secret projects along with monoliths. Notably, a faction's PLANET rating has no effect on lifecycle, though positive PLANET ratings do provide a separate 10% combat bonus per level.
Bred life forms have a base lifecycle level of Larval Mass. They can be promoted to higher ranks by winning battles.
Lifecycle Bonuses and Calculation
- Brood Pits have a complicated and flawed effect on lifecycle discussed below.
- Native life also benefits from the Children's Crèche if it is present. See above for the bugged effects.
- Land units that investigate a Monolith will receive a one-time +1 lifecycle upgrade.
- Native life forms bred in a base with these facilities receive a +1 lifecycle upgrade per facility:
- Native life forms bred by a faction that controls these secret projects receive a +1 lifecycle upgrade per project:
Simply add all the bonuses together to determine a native life form's lifecycle level.
Brood Pit Effects
Much like the Children's Crèche, the Brood Pit's effect on lifecycle is bugged.
In bases with just a Brood Pit, native units will gain the same bonuses or penalties depending on a faction's MORALE rating as described in the Children's Crèche section.
Notably, in bases with both facilities, the flat +1 morale bonus granted by the Brood Pit when attacking or defending from a base square will stack Children’s Crèche's bonus even though the manual suggests that they should not. A mind worm in a base with both facilities will receive a 25% morale bonus on top of their calculated morale while a conventional unit would only receive a 12.5% bonus.
Probe Teams
Probe team morale is derived from the PROBE Social Engineering social effect, from secret projects and facilities, and from certain technologies.
Probe teams have a base morale rank of Disciplined. They can be promoted to higher ranks by successfully completing probe team actions and returning alive and by winning battles against other probe teams.
Morale Bonuses and Calculation
- PROBE ratings of +1, +2, and +3 accordingly add +1, +2, and +3 morale.
- Probes built in a base with these facilities receive a +2 morale upgrade per facility:
- Probes built by a faction that controls these secret projects receive a +2 morale upgrade per project:
- The following technologies grant probe teams +1 morale upon discovery each:
Simply add up all morale bonuses to calculate a Probe Team's morale.
Wildlife
The native life forms controlled by the Planetmind, which the game typically refers to as "Aliens" (not to be confused with Progenitors), have a unique lifecycle calculation system based on turns passed, actions by the player, and other effects. Native life begins the game at the Hatchling lifecycle level.
The base lifecycle level gradually increases as time passes:
- Hatchling from Planetfall until MY 2145 (turn 45)
- Larval Mass until 2190 (turn 90)
- Pre-Boil until 2270 (turn 170)
- Boil until 2350 (turn 250)
- Mature Boil until 2430 (turn 330)
- Demon Boil after 2430, skipping over Great Boil
Locusts of Chiron receive an additional +1 lifecycle bonus.
During perihelion, native life receive a temporary +1 lifecycle bonus. Once perihelion ends, the lifecycle bonus is removed.
Native life that encounter a Monolith benefit the same as a player's unit by receiving a one-time +1 lifecycle bonus.
Every major atrocity committed and Tectonic Payload detonated by the faction in combat with the native life form adds +1 lifecycle to the native life form.
Simply add all the lifecycle bonuses to predict native lifecycle levels.
Fungal Towers
Fungal towers have a separate lifecycle calculation. They receive +1 lifecycle for every fungal square bordering their square, minus 2. Thus a fungal tower bordering 4 additional fungus tiles would have a Pre-Boil lifecycle rating.
Fungal towers are not affected by any other lifecycle bonuses.
Promotion Mechanics
When a unit wins a battle, there is a certain chance this unit will receive a morale upgrade of one level. The probability of such a battle upgrade seems to differ depending on the current morale of the unit. An educated guess as to the odds of an upgrade are listed as follows:
- 100% for very green* and green units (CONFIRMED)
- 50% for disciplined units
- 33% for hardened units
- 25% for veteran units
- 20% for commando units
Reverse engineered mechanics
- 100% for very green* and green units
- D/(A+D) for disciplined units
- D/(A+D)/2 for hardened units
- D/(A+D)/2 for veteran units
- D/(A+D)/2 for commando units
A = final attacker weapon strength
D = final defender armor strength
- Special situation for very green units. Under -3 & -4 social engineering morale newly built units in bases without any morale enhancing facilities will at first not receive any morale upgrades from battle. This is probably because the game takes into account virtual morale levels under Very Green. For example under -3 SE Morale units receive minus 2 morale levels, which basically makes new trained units Very VERY Green. Therefore they first need to win two battles to become green. Likewise under -4 SE Morale units will only upgrade to green after winning their third battle
See Also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Counts as a Command Center at every base.
- ↑ Counts as a Naval Yard at every base.
- ↑ Counts as an Aerospace Complex at every base.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Counts as a Bioenhancement Center at every base.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Undocumented effect, bonus, or penalty.
- ↑ p. 104
- ↑ p. 166
- ↑ Counts as a Covert Ops Center at every base.
