How to Raid: Fleet Strategy Guide

Raiding is the fastest way to accelerate your growth in Galactico. A well-executed raid delivers resources you didn't have to mine — resources you pour straight back into your economy. This guide covers the complete raiding loop: finding targets, scouting, calculating profitability, fleet composition, and reinvesting the loot.

The raiding mindset

Every resource you raid is a resource you didn't have to wait for mines to produce. A player who runs 10 profitable raids per day can grow twice as fast as a player running pure mine production alone. But unprofitable raids are worse than no raids at all — losing a fleet to an unscouted defense sets you back days.

The rule is simple: only raid when the math is clearly in your favor.

Step 1: Find targets

Open the Galaxy view. You're looking for planets with:

Inactive players: commanders who haven't logged in recently. Their mines kept producing but they weren't spending. Resources pile up. Inactive planets are the safest and most predictable targets.

Resource-rich active players with light defense: visible in the spy report. High resources + low defense = profitable raid.

What to avoid:

• Players with a fleet present (they might recall it after you launch)
• Players with heavy defense (the attack cost may exceed the loot)
• Players in alliances with NAP agreements with your alliance
• Players significantly stronger than you (counter-attack risk)

Step 2: Scout first — always

Send Spy Probes before committing a single combat ship. The spy report tells you:

• Exact resource stockpile (what you'll be raiding for)
• Fleet present (is it safe?)
• Defense structures (what will fight back?)

At Espionage Technology 2+ you can see both fleet and resources. At level 3+ you see defense structures. Never attack without knowing the defense situation. See the Espionage Guide for probe counts and intel tiers.

Step 3: Calculate profitability

Before launching, do the math:

Loot available: up to 50% of the resources shown in the spy report is collectable.

Fleet fuel cost: every fleet mission burns Deuterium proportional to ship count, speed, and distance. Large fleets on long-distance raids burn significant Deuterium. Factor this in.

Combat losses: against defended planets, you'll lose some ships. A Rocket Launcher defense will destroy some Light Fighters. Estimate losses from the battle simulator (or past experience) and subtract their rebuild cost.

Profitable raid: loot value > fuel cost + estimated losses. If the margin is thin, skip it.

When to skip: if resources are low (the player was recently raided or just spent them), the loot isn't there regardless of how safe it looks.

Step 4: Fleet composition

Match your fleet to the target:

Inactive, undefended planet:

• A handful of Light Fighters + Small/Large Cargos
• Minimal combat force needed — just enough to guarantee a win
• Maximize cargo capacity relative to expected loot

Lightly defended planet (Rocket Launchers, Light Lasers):

• 50–100 Light Fighters handles most early defense
• Large Cargos to carry the loot

Medium defense (Gauss Cannons, Ion Cannons, Heavy Lasers):

• Cruisers and Battleships. Calculate fleet strength vs defense strength.
• If losses are too high, pass on this target.

Heavy defense (Plasma Turrets, Shield Domes):

• Bombers have rapid fire against defense. Bring Bombers if you're committed.
• Bring Recyclers — a battle against heavy defense creates a debris field worth collecting.

Step 5: Launch

Send your fleet on a raid mission (not attack without cargo). Adjust speed if you want to arrive at a specific time (targeting when the player is likely offline, for example).

Timing tip: launching raids to arrive in the early morning hours of a target's timezone means they're asleep and can't recall a fleet they left at home by mistake.

Step 6: Reinvest the loot

Every resource that comes back goes immediately into mine upgrades or ship production. Do not hoard. Unspent resources sitting in storage are a raid target for others — and idle resources are opportunity cost, not savings.

The compounding loop: raid → loot → upgrade mines → higher mines fund larger raids → larger raids produce more loot → repeat.

Advanced raiding: farming routes

As you identify reliable inactive players, build a farming route — a list of 5–10 targets you hit in rotation, waiting for their mines to refill between hits. Systematic farming of multiple targets simultaneously (using multiple fleet slots from Computer Technology) multiplies your raiding income dramatically.

For protecting your own fleet between raids, see the Fleet Saving Guide.