Moving to a New System in War for Galaxy: What You Can and Cannot Do

The question of moving to a new system in War for Galaxy regularly appears in the gaming community. The situation is understandable: a player has developed their start base, looked around, and realized that there are already foreign planets in the system, some neighbors have long been inactive, there are few free convenient spots, and somewhere on the map there's a sector that looks quieter, more advantageous, or closer to allies. At such a moment, one wants to simply "free up" a spot, move their base to new coordinates, or relocate infrastructure entirely to a place where it's more convenient to play.

But War for Galaxy is not a sandbox where planets can be moved like pieces on a table. It is a browser online space strategy game with strict ownership rules. Foreign planets have one set of mechanics, free planets another, the main planet a third, and your own colony a fourth. Mixing all these up can easily lead to mistaking an attack for a capture, colonization for a transfer, and colony deletion for a safe way to relocate. These mistakes get very costly.

The main principle is simple: legal relocation to a new system in War for Galaxy is built not around evicting other players but around developing free planets and carefully managing your own empire. Foreign, occupied, and inactive planets cannot be considered empty slots just because they get in the way of your plans. Your own actions like changing the capital or deleting a colony require a cool head: some game decisions are immediate and irreversible.

Below, let's calmly and objectively break down: what you can do with foreign and inactive planets, how colonization works, why the "Pioneer" ship is needed, why the main planet cannot be simply moved, and what exactly is lost when deleting your own colony. If you want to reference the game directly, start with the official War for Galaxy website or log into the game client at play.warforgalaxy.com.

Foreign and Inactive Planets: What You Can Do With Them

The most common myth is this: if a planet is in the way, you can attack it, erase it from the map, or take it over. In a normal personal game, this is not true. A standard attack on another player's planet is a combat raid, not a mechanism for evicting the owner from the system.

If you attack another regular player's planet and win the battle, you can deal serious damage: destroy ships on the planet, break defense, and take some resources. According to game rules, upon victory you can take half the resources from the planet if your fleet has enough cargo capacity. But the planet itself remains with the original owner after the battle. The coordinate stays occupied, ownership does not change, and your colony does not appear there.

• You cannot completely destroy another player's planet by normal attack.
• You cannot capture a regular player's planet by standard combat.
• You can destroy the fleet and defenses if you win the attack.
• You can loot half the resources if victorious and with sufficient fleet cargo.
• Planet ownership remains unchanged after such an attack.

It is worth explaining the term "semerka" ("seven"). This refers to planets of players who have not logged in for seven or more days. This is an activity marker, not a permission to evict. The inactivity of another player does not give you the right to delete their planet, free up a spot in the system, or occupy the coordinate over them. Even if the owner hasn't logged in for a long time, their planet remains occupied according to game rules.

You can attack a "seven" planet as you would any other foreign planet if the game conditions allow sending an attack. The outcome is the same: battle, possible destruction of ships and defense, and resource loot if victorious with enough cargo. But this is not relocation, capture, or clearing the system.

It is important not to confuse regular player planets with alliance mechanics. In War for Galaxy, planet capture exists but only for Alliance multi-accounts. Only these accounts can capture planets from other alliances. If a regular account attacks an alliance planet, it is still a standard attack with loot: victory does not change ownership. Therefore, if your goal is relocation rather than a resource raid, foreign and inactive planets do not solve your problem. For relocation, you need a free planet.

The Legal Way to Relocate: Find an Empty Planet and Colonize It

The only working method to settle in another system is to find a free planet and send a "Pioneer" ship there with a "Colonization" mission. Not an attack, not evicting a neighbor, not moving your old base entirely — but colonizing a free point on the map.

This is a key difference. Colonization does not transfer your old planet as a ready-made object. When the Pioneer arrives, the empty planet becomes a new colony of the player. But buildings, resources, defenses, and fleet from the old planet do not automatically move there. The new colony is a separate planet in your empire, which you must develop, supply, and defend by usual game means.

The practical steps look like this:

1. Open the map and select a system with a free planet.
2. Prepare the "Pioneer" ship on one of your planets.
3. Send it to the empty planet with the "Colonization" mission.
4. Wait for the fleet’s arrival; after that, the planet becomes your colony.
5. Evaluate how suitable the new location is for further development.

This logic is familiar to fans of space games, browser strategy games, and galaxy gaming: empire expansion usually occurs via new outposts, not moving the entire base with one click. War for Galaxy as a browser and online space battle strategy adheres to this strict distinction: want to live in a new system — claim a free planet and develop it as a new colony.

Pioneer: Requirements and Characteristics

The "Pioneer" is a key ship for personal expansion. Without it, you cannot settle a free planet. According to the game knowledge base, to build it you need:

• Cost: 10,000 Titanium, 20,000 Silicon, 10,000 Antimatter.
• Requirements: Dock level 4, Annihilation Engine level 3, Planet Settling level 2.
• Base speed: 2,500.
• Engine type: Annihilation.
• Cargo capacity: 7,500.
• Fuel consumption: 1,000.

Before sending, ensure you have selected a free planet and the "Colonization" mission. Colonization is not a reconnaissance flight "just in case": if done correctly, upon arrival you will gain a new planet within your empire.

Why Planet Parameters Are Unknown in Advance

A free planet on the map hides its properties until settled. The number of fields or sectors for construction, as well as temperature conditions, are unknown beforehand. These data are only revealed after successful colonization.

Therefore, colonization always contains an element of risk. You can choose convenient coordinates, the desired system, and a good direction for future routes, but the exact building capacities and climate will be known only afterwards. If the new planet turns out inconvenient, you will need to decide separately: develop it, keep it as an auxiliary outpost, or later leave it according to colony deletion rules.

Main Planet: Why It Can't Simply Be Moved or Deleted

In War for Galaxy, it's important to distinguish several similar concepts. The first planet is the one you started with. By default, it is your capital, i.e., the main planet. Colonies are additional planets obtained later via colonization.

The key rule: you cannot delete or leave the main planet while it remains the main one. Even if you are tired of the system, dislike the coordinates, or find a perfect place in another galaxy sector, there is no simple "take the capital and move" button.

The main planet does not transform into a ship, does not get packed into a container, and does not fly off to a new system along with buildings, defenses, resources, and fleets. If you want to develop elsewhere, this is done through a new colony and a separate capital status decision.

To renounce your current main planet, you first need to change it. This is done using an item from the premium store called "Capital Transfer". The purchased item does not activate by itself: it must be activated in the game via the "Arsenal" window.

• "Capital Transfer" changes the status of the main planet.
• The purchased item is activated through the "Arsenal".
• After activation, new colonies attach to the new capital.
• Previously built buildings and fleets remain where they are.

This is a crucial point. "Capital Transfer" is not a mass relocation of the entire empire. It does not teleport mines, docks, research centers, defenses, or ships to the new planet. If the fleet was stationed at old coordinates, it stays there. If buildings were on the old planet, they do not appear on the new. There is no game mechanic to transfer the entire first planet for free or normally, so relocation should be planned as a stepwise strategic operation.

How to Leave a Colony and What Is Lost

Deleting your own planet in War for Galaxy is better understood as "leaving the colony". This is not relocation and not packing the base into cargo. Once clicked, the colony disappears from your empire, and everything left at it at the moment of deletion is permanently destroyed.

Only planets with colony status can be left. The main planet cannot be deleted directly: you must change your main planet first, and only then consider further actions under colony rules. This restriction protects the player from instant loss of a key planet but does not negate the need to carefully check the status before acting.

The interface sequence is: open the desired planet, expand the "Construction" section card, enter "Management" window, and use the leave colony action. Before clicking, don't rush. In large empires, it's easy to confuse a temporary outpost with an important industrial base, especially if planet names are similar.

Deleting a colony irreversibly destroys:

• all constructed buildings: mines, docks, warehouses, and other infrastructure;
• all ships located on the planet at the moment of deletion;
• all defenses;
• all resources on the planet;
• the colony as an object of your empire.

This is not a battle, not debris recycling, and no return of investments. Ships do not automatically evacuate, defenses are not restored, and resources do not move to inventory. The planet just disappears from your holdings, along with everything you did not manage to move out.

The only practical benefit of deletion is that one slot is freed for new colonization. After this, you can again look for a free planet, send a Pioneer, and deploy a new colony in another system. But the old base does not move: buildings, defense, and local supplies are not transferred by any button.

The safe order is: first transport valuable resources by regular shipment, evacuate combat and work fleet, ensure nothing important remains on the planet, and only then open "Management." Before confirmation, double-check the name, coordinates, and status of the planet.

Checklist Before Relocation

To avoid losing fleets, resources, and weeks of development due to a single rash click, keep this short checklist. It suits both newbies and intermediate players expanding their empires.

1. Choose your target. Find the system where you want to relocate and a free planet to colonize. Foreign, inactive, or alliance planets are not suitable for regular personal relocation.
2. Build the "Pioneer". Check requirements: Dock 4, Annihilation Engine 3, Planet Settling 2, and build costs.
3. Send the "Colonization" mission. Select a free planet and dispatch the Pioneer with the correct task.
4. After settling, check parameters. Sector/field count and temperature are unknown beforehand, so first evaluate your new colony.
5. Decide if the planet suits your needs. Check if there's enough space for growth, convenient coordinates, and if the system aids routes, defense, and alliance play.
6. Do not delete the old colony immediately. If no longer needed, first transport the fleet and valuable resources away.
7. Check the planet's status. Only colonies can be deleted. You cannot leave your main planet.
8. If needed, change the capital. Use "Capital Transfer" from the premium store activated through the "Arsenal."
9. Before deletion, verify coordinates. Names, coordinates, and status must match the planet you intend to lose.

Main warning: deletion of a colony happens instantly and irreversibly. Buildings, ships, defenses, and resources on that planet are not returned. This is not a base move, building transfer, or neat address change — it's total destruction of the selected colony freeing a slot for new colonization.

If you have any doubt, don't act automatically. Open the game, double-check the chosen planet, and if necessary, visit the official War for Galaxy website or install the current client from the download page. If it's still unclear, better contact support through in-game channels than lose a colony, fleet, or resources due to a hasty click. In space and browser strategy games, the one who wins more isn't the one who clicks fastest, but the one who understands the consequences of every command in advance.