Sytherian Cartel
STC · Raid
"Nothing in space belongs to anyone… unless you can take it."
Overview
The Sytherian Cartel was not born as an empire. It was born in chaos.
When their homeworld collapsed in a war between rival clans and megacorporations, the surviving pirates, smugglers, and warlords filled the vacuum. From that chaos grew something unexpected: a network. The Cartel.
The Cartel is not an empire. It's a web of criminal dynasties, pirate fleets, mercenary companies, and smuggling routes held together by one shared philosophy: profit. They don't fight for ideology. They fight for resources.
STC is the most mechanically unique race in Orbitarion. They cannot steal orbitals the way other races can. Instead, they raid enemy resource stockpiles directly — stealing Titanium, Silicon, and Uranium when they win battles. They also field two unique cloaked recon ships that gather intelligence on enemy planets before an attack.
STC rewards players who understand the game deeply and can use information offensively.
Race bonuses
| Bonus | Value |
|---|---|
| Ship production speed | +15% |
| Scanning cost | −25% (750 Si instead of 1 000) |
| Orbital initiation cost | −20% |
STC compensates for not being able to steal orbitals through combat by making orbital growth through scanning significantly cheaper. Over a full season, this saves roughly 15–20% on economy compared to other races — making STC's scanning-based growth competitive with other races' combat-based growth.
Combat identity
Every STC ship targets one class higher than you'd expect. Fighters target corvettes. Frigates target destroyers. Destroyers go after cruisers. Cruisers and Battleships both aim at enemy battleships.
This "punch-up" philosophy means STC always attacks the most valuable target in range — maximizing damage to the enemy's most expensive assets. In practice, it makes STC extremely dangerous against fleets with a lot of heavy ships, while being less efficient against pure fighter swarms.
STC has no capture ships. They don't send Orbital Pods. Instead, when they win a battle, they automatically raid a percentage of the losing planet's resource stockpile — titanium, silicon, and uranium transferred directly to the STC player's reserves.
Strengths: - Fastest ship production (after UEC) - Cheapest economy growth (scanning + initiation discounts) - Resource raids provide immediate spending power after wins - Recon ships provide intel that other races have to guess at - Punch-up targeting devastates heavy fleets
Weaknesses: - Cannot steal orbitals through combat — permanent income growth requires scanning - Recon ships don't fight, reducing fleet combat mass - Punch-up targeting is less efficient against swarm-heavy fleets - Harder to play than UEC — requires reading the enemy carefully
Ships
Combat ships
| Ship | Class | DPS | Armor | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutlass | Fighter | 12 | 30 | Highest DPS fighter in the game |
| Raider | Corvette | 20 | 70 | Volume fire, standard targeting |
| Black Frigate | Frigate | 45 | 140 | Punches up — targets destroyers |
| Ravager | Destroyer | 108 | 230 | Punches up — targets cruisers |
| Corsair | Cruiser | 304 | 400 | Punches up — targets battleships |
| Dread Corsair | Battleship | 800 | 750 | The flagship hunter |
Recon ships (unique to STC)
| Ship | Class | Cloaked | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shade | Fighter | ✅ | Basic recon — enemy planet overview |
| Infiltrator | Corvette | ✅ | Advanced recon — fleet composition, resources, orbitals |
Recon ships do not enter combat. They travel cloaked to the target, gather intelligence, and return automatically. They are not lost.
Targeting chains
STC uses a punch-up targeting philosophy — always going for the biggest, most valuable target.
| Ship | Primary → Secondary → Tertiary |
|---|---|
| Cutlass | Corvette → Fighter |
| Raider | Fighter → Corvette → Frigate |
| Black Frigate | Destroyer → Frigate → Corvette |
| Ravager | Cruiser → Destroyer → Frigate |
| Corsair | Battleship → Cruiser → Destroyer |
| Dread Corsair | Battleship → Cruiser → Destroyer |
Note that Cutlass fighters target corvettes first — not other fighters. This is the defining STC trait. Every ship climbs one rung higher than expected.
The recon system
STC is the only race with built-in intelligence-gathering ships. Using them well is the difference between a profitable raid and an expensive mistake.
Shade (Fighter): Sends a basic report — total fleet count by class, total orbitals, planet status. Fast and cheap. Good for a quick scan before committing to an attack.
Infiltrator (Corvette): Full intelligence report — fleet composition per ship type, orbital distribution (which type: Ti/Si/Ur), approximate resource stockpile, PDS strength, and active fleets away from home. Each Infiltrator in the fleet adds more detail.
Detection chance:
detection = 15% + (scan enhancers × 5%) + (fleet size × 3%) - (infiltrators × 8%)
More ships = easier to detect. More Infiltrators = harder to detect (they jam enemy scanners). A single Shade flying alone is rarely detected. A large fleet with several Infiltrators can be nearly undetectable.
If detected, the target receives a "Recon probe detected" alert — they know you're watching, but your recon ships escape safely.
Resource raiding
When STC wins a battle, they automatically raid a portion of the enemy's resource stockpile:
raid % = between 5% and 25%, based on surviving fleet value
A dominant win with a large surviving fleet means a bigger raid. A narrow win with heavy losses means a smaller one. The resources are transferred directly — no pods needed, no orbital mechanics.
This is STC's growth engine. While other races grow by stealing orbitals (which provide permanent income), STC grows by stealing resources (immediate spending power). Use those resources to build more ships and raid again.
How to play STC
Early game: Use your cheaper scanning to grow your orbital count faster than other races during protection. Your −25% scan cost and −20% initiation discount mean more orbitals per tick of income spent. Prioritize silicon orbitals early — they fuel your scanning.
Scouting before striking: Always send Infiltrators before a serious attack. You want to know their fleet composition before you commit. If they have 200 Stingers and you're sending punch-up frigates that target destroyers, you need to adjust your fleet mix.
Mid game: Your Ravager destroyer targeting cruisers makes you dangerous against mid-to-late game fleets. Pair Ravagers with Corsairs for a fleet that punishes expensive ships heavily.
Resource raids scale with fleet size. Keep your ships alive after battles — a larger surviving fleet means a bigger resource haul. STC doesn't benefit from pyrrhic victories.
Alliance role: STC is excellent in coordinated attacks as the "kill heavy" fleet. Your Corsairs and Dread Corsairs targeting enemy battleships while allies handle lighter defenses is a devastating combination. You also provide the best pre-attack intelligence with your Infiltrators.
Matchups
vs UEC: UEC armor is high, but your punch-up targeting means your Corsairs and Dread Corsairs go straight for their Titans and Aegis. You need fleet mass to punch through their armor — but if you have it, their high initiative (fires last) means they haven't shot back yet when you land.
vs ODO: ODO's cloaked swarms arrive without warning. Your Raider corvettes target fighters, which helps against Stingers — but you won't see them coming. Use your own Infiltrators to watch your neighbors, not just your targets.
vs ATH: ATH's EMP ships have nothing valuable to freeze in your fleet — you have no capture ships. Your entire fleet is kill ships. ATH's control mechanic loses value against you. Engage aggressively.
Lore
The Sytherian Cartel emerged from the wreckage of a homeworld that destroyed itself.
When the planetary governments collapsed in a war between rival corporations and clan-states, the survivors weren't soldiers or diplomats. They were pirates, smugglers, black market operators, and warlords. Out of necessity, they built something new — not an empire, but a network. A cartel.
The Cartel has no ideology. It has interests. It doesn't seek territory for its own sake. It seeks resources, leverage, and profit. If an alliance is profitable, they'll make one. If breaking it is more profitable, they'll do that instead.
When the four great powers collided in the rich sector at the edge of known space, the Cartel arrived the same way they always arrive: with scouts already ahead of the fleet, with contingency plans for every scenario, and with a very clear idea of exactly how much everything in that sector is worth.
War is just another business. And business is good.