Cydroid Raiding for Beginners (RT9)

Cydroid raiding is the first of the games Earth2 plans to build inside E2V1. A Pilot remotely controls a Cydroid from orbit, flies it over real Earth2 terrain, and collects loose E-ther particles before a timer runs out. The Pilot keeps an agreed share of whatever the Cydroid brings home, and the Cydroid's Owner receives the rest.

You do not need land, a Cydroid, or an existing E-ther or Essence balance to begin. You fly a Cydroid that an Owner has made available and earn a share of what you collect.

Raids happen in the ethereal layer: an inner copy of the same planet with the same coastlines, mountains and property lines, formed from Essence instead of solid ground. Resource units and Holo buildings already exist there.

E-ther forms in that layer underneath the property it belongs to. It does not appear on the surface. A property's Mentar opens a connection into the layer at the end of each production cycle, and when the Owner presses the usual collect button, that E-ther crosses into the solid world.

What this means for raids:

• E-ther the Owner collects within its collection window stays safe. It never appears in a raid.
• E-ther left uncollected past that window starts to destabilise. Unstable E-ther is what waiting Cydroids can go after.
• Avatars cannot enter the ethereal layer. Cydroids can, which is why Pilots fly them.

A Mentar builds each Cydroid from a Metasprite using Essence. The Cydroid stays tethered to that Mentar: it recharges and launches there, then returns to dispense what it collected. See our Cydroid catalog for every model.

A conflict forms only when Cydroids from different Owners are waiting on the same property as its E-ther becomes unstable. If every waiting Cydroid belongs to one Owner, there is no conflict.

1. An Owner leaves E-ther uncollected past the collection window.
2. Cydroids from at least two Owners are already stationed at the property.
3. The conflict appears in the Command Deck and waits five minutes for a Pilot.
4. If a Pilot takes control, the unstable E-ther becomes collectable particles across the landfield and the raid countdown begins.
5. If nobody joins, the conflict settles automatically and the E-ther is shared evenly between the waiting Cydroids.

More than one Pilot can compete for the same pool. Combat is only possible between Cydroids that belong to different Owners. Cydroids belonging to the same Owner are always allied and cannot damage each other.

A raid ends at 20 minutes, or earlier if your cargo hold fills, your battery runs flat, or your Cydroid is defeated. In every case all E-ther you already collected is kept. If your run ends early you can stay and spectate whoever is still flying.

Rewards from a piloted raid come in several forms:

• E-ther, which is useful across E2V1, including spawning Avatars and sustaining life.
• Red Energy, if you hold Civilians. Red Energy powers them.
• Raiding score, which moves you up the Rank ladder.
• PIPs, awarded when you reach new Ranks. PIPs buy upgrades that carry across every Cydroid you fly.

A base particle is worth roughly 0.01 E-ther. With PIPs spent on collection perks, the article gives about 0.05 E-ther per particle as one attainable example. It is not a cap, and it is not a direct multiplier from Rank.

Before the Owner and Pilot divide a raid's E-ther, 5% is converted to ESS and burned and 5% goes to a daily prize pool. For the full breakdown, read Cydroid Raid Rewards and Economy Explained.

• Spend an hour in Practice Flight. Learn the bank turn (Q and E to roll) before relying on your guns. See the flight and combat guide.
• Collection beats kills. A knockout that costs you collection time is not a win. Fighting never removes E-ther you already banked, but it can cost you time.
• Watch your hold and battery. A full hold or an empty battery ends your run before the timer does.
• Mind the clock outside your tier's hours. New Pilots begin on Tier 2 land and higher tiers unlock with Rank. A quiet board often means you are looking outside your tier's busy hours, not that the filters are broken. Check the missed-conflicts counter in the deck.
• Most raids are solo. More than 50,000 conflicts open daily and Tester access is small, so you will usually fly alone. That is a fully viable way to play.
• Use terrain. Trees block beams and hills block everything. Hitting a hillside at speed can cost you much of your shield and hull.
• Think before you spend PIPs. You cannot withdraw a PIP one at a time. Changing a build needs a full reset that wipes your Rank, score and all PIPs.
• Report problems. This is pre-alpha. Earth2 asks Testers to report bugs with their launcher and game versions.

• Command Deck and Launcher 2.0.0 Setup Guide
• Cydroid Raid Flight and Combat Guide
• Cydroid Raid Rewards and Economy Explained
• Cydroid catalog
• Earth2 news summaries

Source: Earth2 Reality Thread 9 announcement on earth2.io. Earth 2® is a trademark of Earth Version 2 Pty Ltd. E2 University is an independent community resource.