Upgrades
Some units can be upgraded . . . transformed from a base model into a stronger one. Most of the best units in UltraCorps are created by upgrading.
For example, if you own a HEW-9 Eliminator, you may purchase the HEW Upgrade Kit design license, produce an Upgrade Kit, and turn a HEW-9 into the much more powerful HEW-10 Annihilator v2. You can keep on building upgrade kits; each one will upgrade one HEW-9 into a HEW-10.
Upgraded units are indicated by a version number, abbreviated v. All "basic" units are considered to be version 1, or v1. After one upgrade, a unit becomes v2. A second upgrade would make it v3, and some units can take a third upgrade and become v4. Units must upgrade in order - for instance, you cannot go from v1 to v3.
A unit's icon shows its upgrade status. Look for dots on the side or bottom of the icon.
- No dots: The unit cannot be upgraded.
- One dot: The unit is a v1. It can be upgraded to v2.
- Two dots: The unit is a v2. It can be upgraded to v3.
- Three dots: The unit is a v3. It can be upgraded to v4.
- Four dots: The unit is a v4. No further upgrades are possible. Nor will any be needed . . . a v4 unit is a monster!
Zenrin units, from the cannon-fodder Zenrin War Monk v1 through the fleet-shattering Zenrin Master v4.
If a unit can be upgraded, its description will tell what is required to upgrade it, and link to the description of the unit that it upgrades to. Click on any unit name to read the description.
"Upgraders" - the items that make upgrades happen - are produced just like any other unit. Some things to remember about upgraders:
- They are represented by icons in square boxes.
- They are not combat units, and cannot be destroyed. Upgraders will be captured if they are on a conquered planet.
- Each upgrader will improve a single unit. The upgrade item disappears.
- No upgrader can move on its own, but they can be transported. They make good trade items if you have allies who can use them!
Upgraded units are not reversible. You cannot go back to the original unit.
The square box around this icon shows that it is an upgrader, not a regular unit.
The Upgrade Process
- For an upgrade to take effect, you must own both the initial unit and the required upgrader.
- They both must be in your base fleet. If either one is not in the base fleet, the upgrade will not take effect!
- Upgrades take place during the tick, immediately after production. If you already have the initial unit in the base fleet, and produce the upgrader (or vice versa), the upgrade will take effect that same tick and you will see the upgraded unit in your base fleet on the next turn.
- If you produce both the initial v1 unit AND the upgrader on the same tick, the upgrade will take place immediately. You will never see the v1 unit or the upgrade, because the upgraded (v2) unit will appear in the base fleet.
- Because upgrading takes place before combat, any upgraded units that you create will be able to fight on that tick with their new and improved stats.
- Each unit can upgrade only once a tick. If you have a v1 unit in the base fleet along with the upgraders for both v2 and v3, it will upgrade only to v2 when the tick runs. The v3 upgrader will stay there unchanged . . . but if it and the v2 unit are both still there on the next tick, the v2 will upgrade to v3.
- IMPORTANT: Upgrades must take place in order. A v1 unit must be upgraded to a v2; it cannot jump to a v3. If you have a v1 unit and a v3 upgrader together, nothing will happen! Be careful, when you build upgrade items, to create the right one . . .
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The Zenrin War Monk v1, plus the Mystic Breath upgrader, yields the Zenrin Fighter v2.
