Recon Missions
How do recon missions work in Old Light?
A recon mission sends a fleet to another player's system to gather intel. Pick a target, open the send modal, and launch. On arrival your probes face the defender's probes; survivors take the snapshot, then the whole fleet turns around and flies home.
A recon mission sends a fleet to another player's system to gather intel. Only the Probe files a report; the more probes survive, the more you learn.
How it works
Pick any target system on the map.
Open the send modal.
The fleet flies at the target. On arrival there is a fight (see below): probes against probes, plus a full battle if you brought combat ships. Surviving probes take the snapshot.
The whole fleet immediately turns around and flies home, taking the same time it took to get there.
You can send Marauders and Sentinels along, but probes do the looking. Adding even one of them changes what happens on arrival: the run stops being recon and becomes a full battle against everything parked at the target.
The fight on arrival
Probes only
Your probes face the defender's parked probes. The defender's combat ships do not engage a recon fleet.
Defender's parked probes roll to kill yours:
For every 2 defender probes → one kill roll.
Each roll has a 95% chance to kill one of your probes.
Rolls continue until they run out or your probes are gone.
A defender sitting on 8 probes gets 4 rolls, on average, ~4 of your probes die before the survivors snapshot.
If all your probes die, and you sent no other ships, the mission ends: transit gone, battle report only, no intel.
With a Marauder or Sentinel along
The probe skirmish above still runs, and then your combat ships fight the defender's whole parked fleet under the normal combat rules, up to two rounds. Your probes sit that engagement out and fly home whatever happens, but the escort can be wiped. There is no way to mark a fleet as recon-only: the defender's ships react to what you actually sent.
If non-probe ships are still alive, they turn around with the surviving probes.
What the defender sees
An incoming-fleet line on their map the moment you launch.
The line points back to the origin system, the defender always sees exactly where the fleet launched from.
Ship kind and count are hidden during flight. Arrival ETA is visible, so they know exactly when the fleet lands.
On arrival, you will both receive a report.
Doors and corners, kid. That's where they get you.
Common questions
What happens to my probes on arrival?
The defender's parked probes roll to kill yours. Every two defender probes gives one kill roll, and each roll has a 95% chance to kill one of your probes. Rolls continue until they run out or your probes are gone.
What does the defender see when I send a recon?
They see an incoming-fleet line the moment you launch, pointing back to your origin system. Ship kind and count stay hidden during flight, but the arrival ETA is visible. On arrival, both sides receive a report.
What happens if all my probes die?
If every probe dies and you sent no other ships, the mission ends with a battle report only and no intel. If non-probe ships are still alive, they turn around and head home with the survivors.
