Moons are one of the most important elements in OGame, not only because they allow you to fleet save your fleet securely but they can also be used to intercept an enemy's fleet or to send your own ships to the other end of the universe in split seconds. For these reasons it's seriously recommended to work towards getting a moon as soon as you have developed a stable economy, able to sustain this expensive effort.
==What is a moon?==
Unlike planets, moons can be created and they can be destroyed in battles. If there's a big enough battle at a planet causing a huge debris field to occur, then with a little luck (moonchance) this can become concentrated into a moon. A moon only occurs on a planet that's been attacked and only one moon can exist per planet. Size is important when it comes to moons, if your moon is too small then it can easily be destroyed, after this the next big battle has a chance to create another moon but possibly a bigger one.
Moons created with less than a 20% moonchance will have a random size. However if you have a 20% chance, then you're guaranteed a moon that's at least 8,366 Kilometers in diameter, these are harder to destroy by other players and only at great effort and possibly many losses.
==How can I get a moon?==
A moon only occurs on a planet where there's been a battle. You can get a moon if some ships, yours or the ships of another player are destroyed near your planet. For the worst case, that means you haven't saved your fleet or you have saved it wrong and an enemy has destroyed it – at this point you can get a moon with a little luck as consolation. Of course it's better if you plan the attack and minimize your losses by just leaving a only the necessary amount of ships on you planet. The best way to get a 20% moonchance is to destroy 1,667 Light Fighters, alternatively also 112 Battleships but you can use any type of ships (espionage probes for example – although the crystal costs makes such a moon try very expensive). This way the enemy destroys your ships, but you do not lose any more points than is necessary for a 20% moon chance – with a little skill you can also harvest the debris field and further reduce your losses.
You must be aware that a moon is not easily formed; some players have tried for several dozens of attempts before a moon was achieved. When making moonshots take care to consider the pushing rules and also check in your own Ogame community the pushing rules specific to moonshots. More information can be found in the chapter regarding Moonshots and pushing.
This table show you type and number of fleet needed to create moonchance. However, it is different in special universes where bigger percentage goes to Debris Field.
Ship Amt. (for 20% Chance) Metal Required Crystal Required Deuterium Required
Light Fighter 1667 5001k 1667k 0
Heavy Fighter 667 4002k 2668k 0
Cruiser 248 4960k 1736k 496k
Battleship 112 5001k 1667k 0
Small Cargo 1667 3334k 3334k 0
Large Cargo 556 3334k 3334k 0
Colony Ship 223 2230k 4460k 2230k
Battlecruiser 96 2880k 3840k 1440k
Bomber 90 4500k 2250k 1350k
Destroyer 61 3660k 3050k 915k
Death Star 1 5000k 4000k 1000k
Recycler 417 4170k 2502k 496k
Espionage Probe 6667 0 6.667m 0
Solar Satellite 3334 0 6668k 1667k
==I finally have a moon – Now what?==
First you must build a lunar base which in fact uses the single field but when completed activates three further ones. For the further construction look to it that you upgrade the lunar base a further level as soon as there is only one field free, otherwise the moon is fully developed and you cannot build any more buildings. The 2 fields that you can use for other buildings between the levels of the lunar base is the robotics factory and the sensor phalanx and one field also for the Jumpgate. It is highly recommended to raise your robotics factories as high as possible to reduce the time on the other buildings. The building of metal storage's, crystal storage's and deuterium tanks is completely pointless. They appear in the building menu but because you can't produce resources on a moon there's no reason to get them.
Based on the shortage of space and the long construction time, the shipyard is hardly profitable; ships can be produced significantly faster and easier on the planet. However, if you want, you can build the shipyard on your moon to assemble defensive structures and so to protect it from raids. But while building defensive structures you grievously notice the lack of the Nanite factory, the build-up of a bunker takes significantly longer on a moon. But it can be wise to protect any deuterium you leave there overnight with a few cannons, or to make it difficult to destroy the moon with Deathstars by building a few plasma turrets. After you are done building the defensive structures you should tear down the shipyard to get more space for the upgrade of the sensor phalanx. On a moon you can't build Anti-Ballistic Missiles but can still be attacked by IPMs; however fear not, for moons are defended by the anti-ballistic missiles on the corresponding planet, you should always ensure you have enough of them ready. You can find more detailed information on expanding the moon here >>Moon guide<<.
=What is the Sensor Phalanx?=
The sensor phalanx is one of the strongest weapons that you can own in OGame. With it you can't destroy ships or attack planets, but it gathers useful information with which you can intercept enemy fleets. If you are on a moon with a constructed phalanx, you will be able to click on the names of enemy planets in the galaxy view up to a certain range. The range of a phalanx is calculated using the following formula: ((level of sensor phalanx)² - 1), so with a phalanx of level three you can scan eight systems in both directions. By clicking, a window will be opened, in which all fleets that are approaching the planet are listed - Now you know exactly when you have to strike to catch those ships. How much information you can see depends on the level of the espionage technology (level 2: total of the ships without ship type, level 4: number of the ships and ship types, level 8: ship types and their number). However you should use the sensor phalanx wisely, because every scan costs 5,000 deuterium. More information about using the Sensor Phalanx can be found in the chapter >>Blind phalanx guide<<.
=How do I use the Jumpgate?=
If you distribute your planets and moons throughout the galaxies, you will have to spend large amounts of deuterium to move your ships around. But once you have at least two moons with a Jumpgate you can travel instantly without incurring any cost. You simply have to be on the starting moon and click on the button next to "Facilities", then in this new window type the number of ships you wish to send or alternatively click the "All ships" button to select all, and select the target moon to send to. Immediately after clicking the send button your ships will appear on the target moon.
Jumpgates are not only useful for moving fleets into new raiding areas, they are also good for setting traps to destroy enemy players. You'll learn more about that in the chapter Ninja guide. Unfortunately with the Jumpgate you can't send resources with your ships, they still have to be transported with the fleet - remember to provide deuterium before jumping to the target moon, otherwise you might find yourself grounded with nowhere to go. Also bare in mind that jumpgates have to cool down for one hour before they can be used again. The cool down time depends of the on the universe speed and on the jumpgate’s level (since version 5.6.2).
==How can I now fleet save safely?==
A huge advantage of a moon is that it cannot be scanned by the enemy's sensor phalanx, hence the fleet movement is invisible. For this reason you can save significantly more securely with less effort by moon as by planet. For information on the best methods, see our chapter Saving.
==How can my moon get destroyed?==
Moons aren't invincible and so can be destroyed by the enemy. To do this requires Deathstars and is both risky and expensive. Anyhow, to be armed for this case have a look at the Moon destruction guide. Moon destruction is not resulting in a debris field if successful.
==Premium items for moon==
You can buy M.O.O.N.S to have a moonshot without the help of another player. Be aware, they are expensive and they give you only the chance to have a moon, getting a moon is not guaranteed.
If you need more active fields on moon, you can buy extra fields from the shop. You can find information about these in >>Premium Features<< Tutorial.
==What is a moon?==
Unlike planets, moons can be created and they can be destroyed in battles. If there's a big enough battle at a planet causing a huge debris field to occur, then with a little luck (moonchance) this can become concentrated into a moon. A moon only occurs on a planet that's been attacked and only one moon can exist per planet. Size is important when it comes to moons, if your moon is too small then it can easily be destroyed, after this the next big battle has a chance to create another moon but possibly a bigger one.
Moons created with less than a 20% moonchance will have a random size. However if you have a 20% chance, then you're guaranteed a moon that's at least 8,366 Kilometers in diameter, these are harder to destroy by other players and only at great effort and possibly many losses.
==How can I get a moon?==
A moon only occurs on a planet where there's been a battle. You can get a moon if some ships, yours or the ships of another player are destroyed near your planet. For the worst case, that means you haven't saved your fleet or you have saved it wrong and an enemy has destroyed it – at this point you can get a moon with a little luck as consolation. Of course it's better if you plan the attack and minimize your losses by just leaving a only the necessary amount of ships on you planet. The best way to get a 20% moonchance is to destroy 1,667 Light Fighters, alternatively also 112 Battleships but you can use any type of ships (espionage probes for example – although the crystal costs makes such a moon try very expensive). This way the enemy destroys your ships, but you do not lose any more points than is necessary for a 20% moon chance – with a little skill you can also harvest the debris field and further reduce your losses.
You must be aware that a moon is not easily formed; some players have tried for several dozens of attempts before a moon was achieved. When making moonshots take care to consider the pushing rules and also check in your own Ogame community the pushing rules specific to moonshots. More information can be found in the chapter regarding Moonshots and pushing.
This table show you type and number of fleet needed to create moonchance. However, it is different in special universes where bigger percentage goes to Debris Field.
Ship Amt. (for 20% Chance) Metal Required Crystal Required Deuterium Required
Light Fighter 1667 5001k 1667k 0
Heavy Fighter 667 4002k 2668k 0
Cruiser 248 4960k 1736k 496k
Battleship 112 5001k 1667k 0
Small Cargo 1667 3334k 3334k 0
Large Cargo 556 3334k 3334k 0
Colony Ship 223 2230k 4460k 2230k
Battlecruiser 96 2880k 3840k 1440k
Bomber 90 4500k 2250k 1350k
Destroyer 61 3660k 3050k 915k
Death Star 1 5000k 4000k 1000k
Recycler 417 4170k 2502k 496k
Espionage Probe 6667 0 6.667m 0
Solar Satellite 3334 0 6668k 1667k
==I finally have a moon – Now what?==
First you must build a lunar base which in fact uses the single field but when completed activates three further ones. For the further construction look to it that you upgrade the lunar base a further level as soon as there is only one field free, otherwise the moon is fully developed and you cannot build any more buildings. The 2 fields that you can use for other buildings between the levels of the lunar base is the robotics factory and the sensor phalanx and one field also for the Jumpgate. It is highly recommended to raise your robotics factories as high as possible to reduce the time on the other buildings. The building of metal storage's, crystal storage's and deuterium tanks is completely pointless. They appear in the building menu but because you can't produce resources on a moon there's no reason to get them.
Based on the shortage of space and the long construction time, the shipyard is hardly profitable; ships can be produced significantly faster and easier on the planet. However, if you want, you can build the shipyard on your moon to assemble defensive structures and so to protect it from raids. But while building defensive structures you grievously notice the lack of the Nanite factory, the build-up of a bunker takes significantly longer on a moon. But it can be wise to protect any deuterium you leave there overnight with a few cannons, or to make it difficult to destroy the moon with Deathstars by building a few plasma turrets. After you are done building the defensive structures you should tear down the shipyard to get more space for the upgrade of the sensor phalanx. On a moon you can't build Anti-Ballistic Missiles but can still be attacked by IPMs; however fear not, for moons are defended by the anti-ballistic missiles on the corresponding planet, you should always ensure you have enough of them ready. You can find more detailed information on expanding the moon here >>Moon guide<<.
=What is the Sensor Phalanx?=
The sensor phalanx is one of the strongest weapons that you can own in OGame. With it you can't destroy ships or attack planets, but it gathers useful information with which you can intercept enemy fleets. If you are on a moon with a constructed phalanx, you will be able to click on the names of enemy planets in the galaxy view up to a certain range. The range of a phalanx is calculated using the following formula: ((level of sensor phalanx)² - 1), so with a phalanx of level three you can scan eight systems in both directions. By clicking, a window will be opened, in which all fleets that are approaching the planet are listed - Now you know exactly when you have to strike to catch those ships. How much information you can see depends on the level of the espionage technology (level 2: total of the ships without ship type, level 4: number of the ships and ship types, level 8: ship types and their number). However you should use the sensor phalanx wisely, because every scan costs 5,000 deuterium. More information about using the Sensor Phalanx can be found in the chapter >>Blind phalanx guide<<.
=How do I use the Jumpgate?=
If you distribute your planets and moons throughout the galaxies, you will have to spend large amounts of deuterium to move your ships around. But once you have at least two moons with a Jumpgate you can travel instantly without incurring any cost. You simply have to be on the starting moon and click on the button next to "Facilities", then in this new window type the number of ships you wish to send or alternatively click the "All ships" button to select all, and select the target moon to send to. Immediately after clicking the send button your ships will appear on the target moon.
Jumpgates are not only useful for moving fleets into new raiding areas, they are also good for setting traps to destroy enemy players. You'll learn more about that in the chapter Ninja guide. Unfortunately with the Jumpgate you can't send resources with your ships, they still have to be transported with the fleet - remember to provide deuterium before jumping to the target moon, otherwise you might find yourself grounded with nowhere to go. Also bare in mind that jumpgates have to cool down for one hour before they can be used again. The cool down time depends of the on the universe speed and on the jumpgate’s level (since version 5.6.2).
==How can I now fleet save safely?==
A huge advantage of a moon is that it cannot be scanned by the enemy's sensor phalanx, hence the fleet movement is invisible. For this reason you can save significantly more securely with less effort by moon as by planet. For information on the best methods, see our chapter Saving.
==How can my moon get destroyed?==
Moons aren't invincible and so can be destroyed by the enemy. To do this requires Deathstars and is both risky and expensive. Anyhow, to be armed for this case have a look at the Moon destruction guide. Moon destruction is not resulting in a debris field if successful.
==Premium items for moon==
You can buy M.O.O.N.S to have a moonshot without the help of another player. Be aware, they are expensive and they give you only the chance to have a moon, getting a moon is not guaranteed.
If you need more active fields on moon, you can buy extra fields from the shop. You can find information about these in >>Premium Features<< Tutorial.
