Walkthrough: The Base-Level Growth Route#

Infinite Lagrange is an ongoing space strategy online game where star systems run on seasonal cycles — there’s no single-player “story chapters” or “ending” to beat. For settlers, the “campaign” is simply the full growth line of expanding your base from level 1 to level 9: every expansion unlocks new facilities and new ships, and widens what you can take part in. This page lays out the route in five growth stages plus the branching playstyles that actually exist, so your effort lands where it counts.

The Governing Principle: Base Expansion Always Beats New Ships#

Every production line in this game is gated on base level: frigates and engineering ships have lines at base level 1, destroyers wait for level 3, corvettes wait for the level 5 aircraft production line, cruisers for level 6, battlecruisers for level 7, and carriers for level 8. In other words, if base level isn’t there, no amount of banked resources builds a higher-tier ship. So when quests stall, first check whether the prerequisite facilities for base expansion are upgraded, and put resources into the expansion chain instead of re-building same-tier ships. This principle runs through all five stages below.

Stage One: Founding the Base (Levels 1-3)#

Follow the tutorial to finish initial base construction, then focus on two things: building small engineering ships to mine the resource belts around your base, and upgrading production facilities. Nearby resource belts are tiered 1 to 5, and the early game touches only the low tiers. The official recommended gathering ratio is Metal : Crystal : Deuterium = 2:1:1 — Metal is the most-consumed base resource, so tilt toward it from your very first engineering ship.

Base level 2 unlocks the Liaison Command Center, an easily-missed early node: it opens contact with the NPC liaison stations, where you take commission quests and buy resources and tech — a key channel for plugging resource gaps. Establish contact the same day it unlocks.

Base level 3 unlocks the Destroyer Dock plus the Metal Refinery and Crystal Synthesis Plant. The Metal Refinery directly decides your Metal output and should be upgraded first. With the destroyer line online, the fleet transitions from pure frigate formations to destroyer mixed fleets.

Stage Two: Relocation and Medium Engineering Ships (Level 4)#

The level 4 expansion is the biggest watershed of the early game, unlocking two rhythm-changing facilities at once:

• Outpost Command Center: build forward outposts, then relocate your base to the resource-rich inner map;
• Large Engineering Dock: unlocks medium engineering ship production. Note the facility is named “large engineering dock” but produces medium engineering ships — each occupies 20 command points, the crew quota of two small ships, and can mine level 3-4 resource belts.

The fixed order: bank acceleration items, build the outpost, relocate the base, swap in medium engineering ships. The level 4 expansion has a waiting period — the official advice is to stockpile 30+ Mobilization Orders and prefab modules before it starts so you can max out the new facilities and production queue the moment it lands. Mobilization Orders accelerate ship production at 5 minutes per point, regenerating 2 points per hour up to a cap of 60 — a classic “stockpile early, enjoy later” resource. Moving into the inner map plus a medium-ship gathering rollout is one big efficiency leap, banking capital for the push to levels 5 and 6.

Stage Three: Fleet Power Takes Shape (Levels 5-6)#

Base level 5 unlocks Military Port 1, the Aircraft Production Line and the Advanced Residential Zone. The aircraft line is the prerequisite for corvette production: corvettes cruise and warp fast with thin armor, ideal for fast raids, and later can deploy from carriers. The Advanced Residential Zone raises electronic currency output, funding tech purchases in the blueprint shop.

Base level 6 unlocks the Gathering Command Center, the Cruiser Dock and Resource Port 1. The Gathering Command Center is the prerequisite of the mining platform system: platforms come in basic, intermediate and advanced tiers — within coverage they lower mining difficulty and raise efficiency without consuming planning circles, and the intermediate platform lets two engineering ships mine the same node. Meanwhile, upgrading stations to high tier unlocks the “docking” function, generating passive output from resource points. Run both lines and gathering upgrades from single-point ship mining to a network of platforms plus docking.

The official mid-game guidance: get the base to level 6 fast, then build the CAS066-class cruiser and let it replace destroyers as the fleet mainstay. The cruiser balances firepower, protection and command-point cost better — the axis of the mid-game formation.

Plan formation capacity early: a single fleet starts at 300 command points, raisable to 400 by maxing the base-related buildings; frigates cost about 3-6 points each, easy to field in numbers, while battlecruisers and carriers usually run 30+. One more hard mechanic for fleet building — emergency evasion only functions when the fleet’s ship count is an even number of 6 or more. Even counts aren’t superstition here; they’re a mechanical requirement.

Stage Four: Regional Expansion (Levels 7-8)#

Base level 7 unlocks the Capital Ship Production Line (battlecruiser production) and Resource Port 2. Battlecruisers are among the game’s firepower-and-armor ceiling: armor generally above 110,000 and output variants reaching 30,000+ firepower — but builds take eight to nine hours, so plan them early as alliance decisive-battle assets and accrue slowly.

Base level 8 unlocks Engineering Platform production, Carrier production and the Platform Command Center. Carriers carry aircraft and corvettes into battle, extending the fleet’s combat radius from ship-vs-ship duels to a full carrier aviation system, while the Platform Command Center further strengthens mining platform coordination.

From level 7 the focus visibly shifts from your own base to regional contest. City levels run 2 to 10 (usually one level-10 city per system); cities at level 6+ count toward system occupation, and a level 6+ city’s central stronghold can’t be taken directly — capture all its satellite districts and the center flips automatically. Alliances organize rallies around cities, and captured cities pay dividends by member rank; construction of the Lagrange Gate also becomes a long-term all-alliance project from this stage onward.

Stage Five: Endgame (Level 9)#

Base level 9 unlocks the Battlefield Command Center and Resource Port 3 — the base growth line ends here. The endgame core is no longer quiet development but sticking with your alliance: relocate frequently, follow the alliance’s front line, and either push the Lagrange Gate together or repel hostile alliances’ attacks and infiltration.

The resource structure shifts too: advanced mining platforms, alliance city dividends, stronghold docking, the Troy crystal mining fields, field salvage of wreckage, and — after moving your base into fog zones — docking with fog-zone resource synthesis plants jointly replace early single-ship gathering as your main income.

Four Branching Routes That Actually Exist#

The game’s “branches” aren’t in the story — they’re organizational and playstyle choices. The four routes below are real and can run in parallel.

Organization Route: Families, Guilds, Alliances#

United Bodies: The Joint Agreement and System Evaluation#

Families form consortiums, Guilds form legions, Alliances form coalitions — collectively united bodies, founded by signing the Joint Agreement to face the challenges of system colonization. United body members share a chat channel and never trigger combat with each other unless an “Action” order is issued. Note that united bodies are seasonal: they auto-disband when the system colonization evaluation ends, so plan the investment as one complete campaign.

Agreement Route: Three Colonization Protocols#

System colonization runs through signed protocols — commonly the Colonization Protocol, Colonization Protocol 2.0 (stronger NPC factions) and the Mutual Aid Protocol (two factions). Different protocols mean different system environments and conflict intensity; check which protocol your alliance signs before committing, since it sets the whole season’s tone.

Event Route: The Treasure Hunt Protocol#

A search-fight-extract mode set in Holy Star Empire ruins. One loop: play the hunter, explore the ruins, fight the garrison, watch other hunters, dig up treasure, and get out alive. Runs take 5-10 minutes on a 30-day seasonal cycle; total beginners can enter solo just to practice extracting. Extraction hauls (personal protocol points, resource crates, blue coins, etc.) convert into base-building materials that feed the main game. Players at base level 7+ can additionally unlock any one corporation’s full blueprint catalog during the protocol — an early taste of top-tier (T0) ships.

Stage Blockers Quick Reference#

Related Pages#

• Beginner’s Guide — the opening three moves and the level-4 expansion goal in detail
• Base Construction — central, dock and industrial districts plus the full level 1-9 unlock table
• Ship System — blueprint modification and sub-type mechanics
• Fleet Composition — command point allocation, formation pairing and fleet capacity
• Alliance System — Families, Guilds, Alliances and united bodies in full
• Tips & Tactics — strategy point and Mobilization Order management, emergency evasion and more