Morale
What is morale in Old Light?
When a much larger empire attacks a much smaller one, the attacker's ships fight at reduced strength. It is the after-shield counterpart to beginner protection, keeping wildly mismatched fights costly for the larger attacker so growing empires stay viable targets.
When a much larger empire attacks a much smaller one, the attacker's ships fight at reduced strength. Morale makes punching down expensive.
It is the after-shield version of Beginner Protection. The five-day shield keeps brand-new players safe; once it expires, morale keeps wildly mismatched fights costly for the larger attacker so growing empires stay viable targets without being free farm.
When it applies
Defender-only exemption for NPCs. Sparring against NPCs is unaffected, a human attacking an NPC always fights at full strength. But an NPC that has grown larger than a human and attacks them takes the same penalty a human attacker would. Only the defender's kind controls the exemption.
Only the attacker takes the penalty. A smaller empire attacking a larger one keeps its full 100% strength. Morale never punishes the underdog.
Stacking with credit deficit
Morale stacks multiplicatively with the credit deficit penalty, the derate your ships take when your treasury runs dry. An attacker in deficit fighting a much smaller defender pays both costs at once. If credit deficit cuts your strength to 40% and morale cuts it to 50%, you fight at 20%.
A broke attacker punching down is doubly weakened. Plan around it.
When morale is calculated
Preview at dispatch. When you open the dispatch dialog against another human, the modal shows the morale you would fight at right now. This is advisory only.
Authoritatively at landing. When your fleet actually arrives, the server recomputes morale fresh from both empires' current scores. If the defender has grown (or shrunk) during the flight, the morale you fight at can differ from what the dispatch preview showed.
Score comes from buildings, not ships, so a defender losing a wave of fleet does not move their score, and the morale on a follow-up wave is unchanged.
Strategy
Pick your fights at favorable ratios. Up to about 2:1 the penalty is mild, but it cliffs hard from there: past 3:1 your ships fight markedly weaker, and a 10:1 attack costs more in your own losses than the loot can repay.
Keep Trade Hubs ahead of fleet upkeep before committing, a credit deficit on top of morale compounds fast.
See also
Combat - how battles resolve, including the credit-deficit derate that stacks with morale.
Beginner Protection - the spawn shield that protects new players for their first five days.
Scoring - where the score ratio comes from.
So say we all.
Common questions
Who takes the morale penalty?
Only the attacker. A smaller empire attacking a larger one keeps full strength; morale never punishes the underdog. Attacking an NPC always fights at full strength, but an NPC larger than a human takes the same penalty when it attacks.
How does morale interact with credit deficit?
They stack multiplicatively. An attacker in deficit punching down pays both costs at once. If credit deficit cuts your strength to 40% and morale cuts it to 50%, you fight at 20%.
When is morale calculated?
You get an advisory preview in the dispatch dialog against another human. The server recomputes it authoritatively when your fleet lands, from both empires' current scores, so the value can differ if the defender grew or shrank during the flight.
