| Heavily armed and equipped with powered armor, marines specialize in breaching and boarding disabled ships and providing security for planetside operations. | ||
–In-Game Description | ||
Marines are used to perform raid operations. They require a monthly salary of 20 credits. Marines gain experience when used on raids, and combining higher-ranked marines with lower will even out the experience between them.
Marines benefit from the Leadership skill, "Tactical Drills," which grants them +50% effectiveness and -25% casualties in addition to providing the combat ships in your fleet with +5% damage. The skill is only arguably worth a point, as marines are cheap and plentiful (and you'll be looting wealth that makes their cost laughable), and +5% to damage, while nice, isn't a massive game-changer.
Marines can be produced by and are also required as an input commodity for some colony industries:
- Produced by Military Base/High Command
- Demanded by Ground Defenses/Heavy Batteries, Orbital Station
Small groups of "elite" marines with +100% combat effectiveness and -50% casualties can be purchased on occasion from bars. A cunning player could deposit elite marines in a safe storage location, withdrawing the large amount at once when the time comes to begin raiding. Avoid combining them with other, lower-ranked marines, as their experience will be shared with the lower-ranked troops, de-ranking them (unless, of course, that's what you want).
At least two versions out of date. Last verified for version 0.9. Please refer to Version History and update this page.