Combat Basics

CONTRABAND has real ship-to-ship combat that is not optional if you follow the main story. This guide covers how it works.

Core mechanics

Combat is turn-based. Both ships have HP, Shields, and an Energy pool. Each turn you pick one of your ship's abilities. Abilities consume Energy. Energy regenerates slowly between turns.

The enemy uses an AI that picks based on current state — it will heal when low, attack when strong, and occasionally try abilities that stun or disable.

Abilities by ship class

Different ship classes have different ability loadouts. There are 14 total abilities across all classes. You only have access to the abilities of your currently active ship, so switching ships mid-mission (at a base) can be a strategic move.

• Skiff-class (starter): Basic laser, evasive maneuver, emergency repairs. Low HP but quick.
• Frigate-class: Torpedoes, shield boost, broadside. Medium-range balanced.
• Gunship-class: High-damage cannons, overcharge, sustained fire. Glass cannon.
• Cruiser-class: Armor, EMP, heavy beams. Tank.
• Dreadnought-class: Capital weapons, multi-target, last-stand. Endgame.

Crew bonuses

Having the right crew dramatically changes combat. Kairos (Gunner) adds +15% damage. Phase (Pilot) adds +20% speed (more turns per round). Veth the Defector adds +25% damage against Black Fleet specifically. Stacking these makes Black Fleet fights trivial.

Escape

Some fights allow escape. Look for the escapeAllowed: true indicator. Escape costs fuel and ends the encounter without victory rewards but also without defeat. Some story combats force a fight (escapeAllowed: false).

Defeat

Losing a combat brings up the Game Over screen. You have three options:

• Revisit the last decision — cleanest recovery, undoes the choice that led here
• Continue anyway — recover at the nearest station with 50 fuel, lose some credits
• Start a new branch — full game reset

Achievements

• First Blood — First win
• Veteran — 10 wins
• Legend — 50 wins
• Untouchable — Win without hull damage
• Giant-Slayer — Defeat a Dreadnought
• Ghost-Hunter — Defeat the Rift Phantom (legendary)
• Pacifist — Reach Chapter 3 with zero wins (secret)
• Warmonger — 20 wins by Chapter 3 (secret)

Damage types and resistances

Not all damage is created equal. CONTRABAND distinguishes between five damage types, and each faction and ship class has specific resistances or vulnerabilities. Understanding the matchup dramatically changes difficulty:

• Kinetic — Basic cannons, broadsides. No special resistances. Reliable baseline damage.
• Energy — Lasers, beams. Doubles against Black Fleet ships because their absorptive plating converts kinetic damage but is transparent to coherent light. Halves against Guardian resonant shields.
• EMP — Electromagnetic pulse. Ignores HP directly, stuns the target for 1-2 turns. Does not work on Rift Echoes (they have no conventional electronics).
• Torpedo — High single-burst damage. Slow to charge. Very effective against Dreadnoughts but nearly useless against small agile targets.
• Branch — Unique to Guardian ships and Vex's custom loadout. Damages across branches, meaning revisiting doesn't undo it. Deals half damage but unignorable.

Ability synergies

Combining abilities in the correct sequence multiplies their effect. A few high-value combos that players discover through experimentation:

• Shield Strip + Overcharge — Remove enemy shields first, then apply Overcharge for 50% bonus hull damage. Works on any enemy.
• EMP + Torpedo — Stun the target, then fire a torpedo with guaranteed hit. Wastes no accuracy against evasive enemies like Interceptors.
• Evasive + Broadside — Reposition to get flanking bonus, then fire broadside for +30% damage. Frigate-class bread and butter.
• Heavy Beam + Shield Boost — Cruiser-class sustain combo. Apply damage while soaking incoming fire. Slow but unkillable.

The revisit and combat

Revisiting during combat is one of the game's most powerful mechanics but also one of the most consequential. Each revisit in combat generates a Rift branch that persists permanently. Black Fleet AI specifically tracks these branches and sends reinforcements to their origin point in subsequent chapters. This means a player who revisits every hard fight will eventually face reinforcement spawns that are harder than the original fight would have been.

The silent revisit (learned from Vex at +80 reputation) solves this: it undoes a combat round without generating a branch. Silent revisits are limited to 1 per chapter but are invaluable for the hardest encounters, particularly the Chapter 4 Rift Phantom and the optional Starforge sentinel.

Crew positioning and morale

Each crew member occupies a specific role: Gunner, Pilot, Engineer, Medic, or Specialist. Only one crew member of each role can be active in combat. Choosing the right crew composition matters more than ship class for most encounters. A Gunship with the right Gunner outdamages a Cruiser with no Gunner at all.

Morale is a hidden stat that affects crew ability effectiveness. Morale rises by completing missions, visiting friendly ports, and winning combat. It falls when you lose combat, abandon missions, or betray allies. At low morale, crew abilities fire at 70% effectiveness; at high morale, 120%. Keeping morale high is worth more than most ship upgrades.