Protection levels
Every zone has a protection level: alpha, beta or gamma. The level is set per zone in the server database (the zone's protected and terraformable flags) and decides what you may do there — above all whether other players can attack you, and whether the terrain can be reshaped.
| Level | Flag on the zone | PvP | Blobs | Terraforming | Where you'll find it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | protected | not possible | not formed | not possible | Alpha islands, training, strongholds, PvP arena |
| Beta | open, standard terrain | open | open | not possible | The PvP twins of the Alpha islands and the gamma belt |
| Gamma | open, terraformable | open | open | possible | The gate islands of the three galaxies and the frontier belt |
Alpha — protected
In an alpha zone players simply cannot damage each other: attacking firearms are disabled against other players, and the damage effects that stack on you in combat (blobs) are not formed either. It is the safe economy: mine and harvest without looking over your shoulder. The training zone, the three starter islands and their PvE companions, the strongholds and the PvP arena all run as alpha — the arena keeps its name for what happens inside the scripted event, not for free-for-all.
In the client, an alpha zone shows up with the blue diodes on the bot status.
Beta — open PvP, standard terrain
A beta zone is a fully open PvP island with standard terrain: you can be attacked at any time, blobs apply, and the island's ground is what the server generated it to be — no player reshaping. The PvP twins of the starter islands (the "real" islands of the three galaxies and the tc transit zones of the frontier belt) are beta.
In the client, a beta zone shows up with the orange diodes.
Gamma — open PvP, terraformable
A gamma zone is a beta zone plus one more thing: the terrain is terraformable. Players with terraforming tools can reshape the ground — dig, level and build the island's surface — which changes where nodes, plants and bases can sit. The eight gate islands of each galaxy and the islands of the frontier belt are gamma.
In the client, a gamma zone shows up with the yellow stripes above and below the zone name.
What this changes for a player
- Risk budget — alpha zones cost nothing in safety; beta and gamma cost the full PvP risk. Plan fuel, escorts and repair capacity accordingly.
- Yield vs. risk — the open islands carry the better material (epriton and the high-tier harvestables appear outside the protected islands), which is why the risk is the price of the yield.
- Terrain stability — on gamma islands the ground can change under a base: a reshaped surface can move the resources a base feeds on, so long-term territory work needs to account for terraforming by others.
- Check before you commit — the diodes on the bot status tell you the level of the zone you are in; a misread diode is the classic way to arrive in a beta zone with an unarmored hauler.
Every zone's level is listed in the zone index (Protection column) and in the tooltips on the world map.