Allegiance is a percentage measure of how loyal your colonies are to you. It is individual for each colony.
Effects of Allegiance[]
Allegiance directly affects the income rates of planets. At an allegiance of 50%, credit, metal, and crystal income rates are cut in half. On large maps, low allegiance can tremendously affect your economy, so it is wise to pay attention to it.
In a vacuum, allegiance will not drop below 25%. But during "culture wars", if another empire broadcasts their beliefs to your planets (watch the colored lines radiating out from planets), allegiance can drop lower than this. If it drops to 0%, your colony will revolt and be lost... all people simply die, and it turns into an unowned planet. (Any orbital structures already built will continue to exist and function, however.)
Maximum Allegiance[]
The maximum allegiance for a planet is based on its distance to your homeworld, as shown in the table below. Up to 3 jumps from your homeworld, allegiance drops by 10% for each jump. From 4 to 6 jumps away, it drops in increments of 15% per jump.
No. of
Jumps |
Base
Value |
With
Culture |
Culture
+ Allure |
---|---|---|---|
0 | 100% | 110% | 120% |
1 | 90% | 100% | 110% |
2 | 80% | 90% | 100% |
3 | 70% | 80% | 90% |
4 | 55% | 65% | 75% |
5 | 40% | 50% | 60% |
6+ | 25% | 35% | 45% |
Affecting Allegiance[]
Allegiance is affected by Culture. If friendly culture (yours or an ally's) is dominant at a planet, the allegiance will increase up to its maximum. If enemy culture predominates, it will eventually decrease down to 0.
The Advent have a high level (8 lab) research topic called Allure of the Unity that can further increase allegiance by another 10%. Allure requires culture in order to work; once you've researched it, you either have 0% increase (no culture) or 20% increase (culture plus Allure).
Analysis[]
Constructing Broadcast Centers at the edge of your empire near an enemy will spread your culture into his empire, decreasing his allegiance, crippling his economy, and ultimately costing him his planets.
Planets influenced by your culture will increase their allegiance up to 10% over what it can normally be (see table). This not only increases your income, but also makes it more difficult for your enemies to sabotage it.
Expansive empires on large maps are especially prone to allegiance effects. At the edges (25% allegiance), the 10% increase due to culture actually increases that planet's income by 40% (35/25), or even 80% with Allure of the Unity (45/25). This can make a big difference to one's economy. Such empires should also consider Trade Ports and Orbital Refineries. These provide fixed incomes that are not affected by allegiance.
If your capital is to one side of your empire (common because homeworlds are typically at the edge of a system), it may be wise to move it near the center, so that the overall allegiance is increased. Compare these situations:
110 100 90 80 65
X-------O-------O-------O------O Sum=445
90 100 110 100 90
O-------O-------X-------O------O Sum=490
In the second, your allegiance has increased by 45, which represents a 10% increase in your overall income. This quickly pays for the expense of moving your capital. For the same reason, it is usually advisable to move your homeworld adjacent to a star, if your map has multiple star systems. If you do move your homeworld, look for a planet with lots of population and extractors at and near it, so that their collective income is increased.