Scanning & Intelligence
Intelligence wins wars. Scanning lets you see what your enemies have — their orbitals, resources, fleet composition, and defenses. The better your scanning, the better your attacks.
Scan types
There are three types of scans in Orbitarion:
Orbital scan
The most basic scan. Searches for new orbitals around your planet.
- Cost: 1 000 silicon (750 for STC)
- Requires: Basic Sweep Sensors research
- Result: +1 uninitiated orbital on success
Success chance starts at 80% and decreases as you grow. See the Orbitals guide for details.
Planet scan
Reveals an enemy planet's economy and defenses.
- Cost: 3 000 silicon
- Requires: Deep Space Scanners research
- Base chance: 70%
Free players see: total orbitals, score, PDS count, research count.
Premium players also see: orbital distribution (Ti/Si/Ur split), estimated resource stockpile, and scan ID for sharing.
Military scan
Reveals an enemy planet's fleet composition.
- Cost: 5 000 silicon
- Requires: Deep Space Scanners research
- Base chance: 60%
Free players see: home defense power, fleets deployed count, PDS count.
Premium players also see: ship-by-ship breakdown with names and quantities, plus scan ID for sharing.
Scan Penetration (Scan Boost)
Your scans can be blocked by enemy defenses. Scan Penetration upgrades increase your ability to break through.
Scan Penetration is a permanent upgrade purchased level by level in the Research screen under the Defense branch. Each level gives +8% penetration.
- Requires: Deep Space Scanners research
- Max level: 10 (+80% penetration)
- Combined with scanning research: up to +40% bonus
- Maximum total penetration: 120%
Higher levels cost more silicon and uranium. A fully upgraded scanner is expensive but can break through almost any defense.
Scanner specialist
In competitive alliances, one player often dedicates their economy to scanning — maximizing silicon orbitals, scanning research, and scan penetration. They run expensive scans against high-value targets and share the results with the alliance.
Signal Jamming (Jam Boost)
The counter to scanning. Signal Jamming increases your block chance against enemy planet and military scans.
Signal Jamming is a permanent upgrade purchased level by level in the Research screen under the Defense branch. Each level gives +5% block chance.
- Requires: Scan Blockers research
- Max level: 10 (+50% block)
- Stacks with Scan Blockers research (50/70/85% base block)
- Maximum total block: 135% (85% + 50%)
The formula
When someone scans you, the game calculates:
effective_block = base_block + jam_bonus - scan_penetration - scan_research_bonus
The result is clamped between 5% and 95% — no defense is completely impenetrable, and no scanner has a guaranteed hit.
Example scenarios:
| You (defender) | Enemy (scanner) | Result |
|---|---|---|
| No defenses | Standard scan | 0% block |
| Signal Jammers (85%) | Standard scan | 85% block |
| Signal Jammers + Jam 5 (110%) | Boost 5 + full research (80%) | 30% block |
| Signal Jammers + Jam 10 (135%) | Boost 10 + full research (120%) | 15% block |
| Scan Blockers only (50%) | Boost 10 + full research (120%) | 5% block (floor) |
Counter-Intelligence
If you research Counter-Intelligence (Defense branch), you gain a bonus when enemy scans are blocked:
- You receive an alert with the scanner's planet name
- You also see their fleet power and score
This tells you who is scouting you — and how dangerous they are.
Scan ID & Sharing
Every successful planet or military scan generates a unique Scan ID (e.g. SC-7K3M).
Premium players can:
- See the scan ID in the scan report
- Copy the ID with one tap
- Share it with their alliance via Discord or in-game
Anyone can look up a shared scan ID on stats.orbitarion.com/scan/SC-7K3M to see the full results.
Scan results are snapshots — they show what was true at the tick the scan was performed. Old scans are still valuable for tracking patterns and planning attacks.
Alliance coordination
A scanner runs a military scan on a target, copies the scan ID, and posts it in the alliance Discord. Everyone can now see the target's exact fleet composition and plan the attack accordingly.
STC Recon
The Sytherian Cartel has a unique scanning mechanic — Recon ships. The Shade (Fighter) and Infiltrator (Corvette) are cloaked spy vessels that gather intelligence without using the scan system.
Send a fleet with recon ships on a recon mission. They travel cloaked and invisible, then report back with intelligence about the target's fleet, orbitals, and resources.
See the Combat guide for details on recon missions.
Fleet Interception
The final research in the Defense branch — Fleet Interception — gives you the ultimate incoming fleet intelligence.
With Fleet Interception researched, incoming fleets display exact ship names and quantities instead of just ship counts and class types. This lets you prepare the perfect counter-fleet before the enemy arrives.
Recommended scanning research order
- Basic Sweep Sensors (tick 0) — unlock orbital scanning
- Advanced Orbital Sensors (tick 20+) — improve scan chance
- Deep Space Scanners (tick 40+) — unlock planet and military scans
- Scan Enhancement (optional) — further improve scan chance
- Scan Boost levels (mid-game) — penetrate enemy defenses
- Signal Amplifiers → Quantum Scanners (late-game) — maximize scan success# Scanning & Intelligence
Intelligence wins wars. Knowing what your enemy has — their fleet composition, resources, defenses — lets you plan attacks that succeed and avoid fights you'd lose. Orbitarion's scanning system is deep, with an arms race between scanners and defenders.
Scan types
Orbital scan
The most basic scan. Searches for new orbitals around your planet.
- Cost: 1 000 silicon (750 for STC)
- Requires: Basic Sweep Sensors research
- Result: +1 uninitiated orbital on success
See the Orbitals guide for success rates and details.
Planet scan
Reveals an enemy planet's economy and defenses.
- Cost: 3 000 silicon
- Requires: Deep Space Scanners research
- Base chance: 70%
What you see depends on your subscription tier:
| Intel | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Total orbitals | ✓ | ✓ |
| Score | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDS count | ✓ | ✓ |
| Research count | ✓ | ✓ |
| Orbital distribution (Ti/Si/Ur) | — | ✓ |
| Estimated stockpile | — | ✓ |
| Scan ID for sharing | — | ✓ |
Military scan
Reveals an enemy planet's fleet composition. The most valuable intel in the game.
- Cost: 5 000 silicon
- Requires: Deep Space Scanners research
- Base chance: 60% (harder than planet scan)
| Intel | Free | Premium |
|---|---|---|
| Home defense power | ✓ | ✓ |
| Fleets deployed count | ✓ | ✓ |
| PDS installations | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ship-by-ship breakdown | — | ✓ |
| Scan ID for sharing | — | ✓ |
Scan Penetration
Your planet and military scans can be blocked by enemy defenses. Scan Penetration is a permanent upgrade that increases your ability to break through those defenses.
Purchased level by level in the Research screen under the Defense branch. No research time — you pay resources and the upgrade takes effect immediately.
- Requires: Deep Space Scanners research
- Max level: 10
- Each level: +8% penetration
- Max penetration from boost: +80%
- Combined with scanning research bonus: up to +40%
- Maximum total penetration: 120%
Cost per level
| Level | Silicon | Uranium | Total spent (Si) | Penetration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 000 | 500 | 2 000 | +8% |
| 2 | 3 000 | 1 000 | 5 000 | +16% |
| 3 | 4 000 | 1 500 | 9 000 | +24% |
| 4 | 6 000 | 2 500 | 15 000 | +32% |
| 5 | 8 000 | 4 000 | 23 000 | +40% |
| 6 | 12 000 | 6 000 | 35 000 | +48% |
| 7 | 16 000 | 8 000 | 51 000 | +56% |
| 8 | 20 000 | 10 000 | 71 000 | +64% |
| 9 | 25 000 | 15 000 | 96 000 | +72% |
| 10 | 30 000 | 20 000 | 126 000 | +80% |
A level 10 scanner with full research has 120% penetration — enough to break through almost any defense.
Signal Jamming
The counter to scanning. Signal Jamming is a permanent upgrade that increases the block chance against enemy planet and military scans on your planet.
Purchased level by level in the Research screen under the Defense branch. No research time — instant effect.
- Requires: Scan Blockers research
- Max level: 10
- Each level: +5% block chance
- Max block from jam: +50%
- Stacks with Scan Blockers research: up to 85% base block
- Maximum total block: 135%
Cost per level
| Level | Silicon | Uranium | Total spent (Si) | Block bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 000 | 1 000 | 2 000 | +5% |
| 2 | 4 000 | 2 000 | 6 000 | +10% |
| 3 | 6 000 | 3 000 | 12 000 | +15% |
| 4 | 9 000 | 4 500 | 21 000 | +20% |
| 5 | 12 000 | 6 000 | 33 000 | +25% |
| 6 | 16 000 | 8 000 | 49 000 | +30% |
| 7 | 20 000 | 10 000 | 69 000 | +35% |
| 8 | 25 000 | 12 000 | 94 000 | +40% |
| 9 | 30 000 | 15 000 | 124 000 | +45% |
| 10 | 40 000 | 20 000 | 164 000 | +50% |
The arms race
When someone runs a planet or military scan against you, the game calculates:
effective_block = base_block + jam_bonus − scan_penetration − scan_research_bonus
final_block_chance = CLAMP(effective_block, 5%, 95%)
If the roll beats the block chance, the scan proceeds with its normal success roll. If blocked, the scan fails and the target may be alerted (if they have Counter-Intelligence).
No defense is completely impenetrable, and no scanner has a guaranteed hit.
Example matchups
| Defender | Scanner | Effective block |
|---|---|---|
| No defenses | Standard scan | 0% → 5% (floor) |
| Signal Jammers (85%) | Standard scan | 85% |
| Jammers + Jam 5 (110%) | Standard scan | 95% (cap) |
| Jammers + Jam 5 (110%) | Boost 5 + full research (80%) | 30% |
| Jammers + Jam 10 (135%) | Boost 10 + full research (120%) | 15% |
| Blockers only (50%) | Boost 10 + full research (120%) | 5% (floor) |
The arms race creates interesting strategic choices. A scanner specialist must invest heavily in silicon and uranium orbitals to fund expensive penetration upgrades. A defender must decide how much to spend on jamming versus fleet and economy.
Counter-Intelligence
Research Counter-Intelligence in the Defense branch to gain a powerful defensive bonus: when an enemy scan is blocked by your defenses, you receive an alert containing:
- The scanner's planet name
- Their fleet power
- Their score
This tells you who is watching you and how dangerous they are. If someone is scanning you repeatedly, they're probably planning an attack.
Scan ID & sharing
Every successful planet or military scan generates a unique Scan ID — a short code like SC-7K3M.
Premium players can see and copy the Scan ID from the scan report. This code can be shared with alliance members who can look up the full results on stats.orbitarion.com.
Free players see the scan results but not the Scan ID.
Anyone with the code can view the results — you don't need premium to read a shared scan, only to create the shareable link.
Scan results are snapshots — they show what was true at the tick the scan was performed. Old scans remain available for the entire season.
Alliance coordination
A scanner specialist runs military scans on high-value targets, copies the Scan ID, and posts it in the alliance Discord. Everyone can now see the target's exact fleet composition and plan the attack together — even if they couldn't break through the target's defenses themselves.
STC Recon
The Sytherian Cartel has a unique intelligence mechanic that bypasses the scan system entirely. Their Shade (Fighter) and Infiltrator (Corvette) are cloaked spy ships that gather intelligence by physically visiting the target.
Send a fleet with recon ships on a recon mission. They travel cloaked and invisible, gather intelligence on the target, and return automatically. The intel report arrives in your news feed.
Recon ships don't consume a scan charge. They can be detected if the target has scan defenses, but even a detected probe escapes safely.
See Ships & Fleets for details on recon ship stats and missions.
Fleet Interception
The final research in the Defense branch — Fleet Interception — upgrades your incoming fleet intelligence to the maximum level.
Without it, you see limited information about incoming enemy fleets:
| Research | What you see |
|---|---|
| None | Planet name, race, ETA |
| Basic Sweep Sensors | + ship count, cloaked warning |
| Deep Space Scanners | + ship class list (Fi, Co, Fr...) |
| Fleet Interception | + exact ship names and quantities |
With Fleet Interception, an incoming fleet shows 50× Falcon, 12× Sentinel, 3× Titan instead of just 65 ships (Fi, Fr, Bs). This lets you prepare the perfect counter-fleet.
Recommended progression
Early game (tick 0–50):
- Research Basic Sweep Sensors — unlock orbital scanning
- Scan aggressively to build orbital economy
- Research Advanced Orbital Sensors — improve scan chance
Mid game (tick 50–200):
- Research Deep Space Scanners — unlock planet and military scans
- Start buying Scan Penetration levels when you can afford it
- Scan enemy planets before attacking
Late game (tick 200+):
- Research Scan Blockers → Advanced → Signal Jammers to protect your intel
- Buy Signal Jamming levels to counter enemy scanners
- Research Counter-Intelligence to know who's watching
- Research Fleet Interception for full incoming fleet detail