Petroglyph shipped Empire at War on 16 February 2006 and the Forces of Corruption expansion the following October, and the Gold Pack on Steam bundles both. You run a galactic map of planets, income and fleets, then drop into real time battles in space and on the ground across more than 80 locations. Two decades later Steam sits at 97 percent positive over roughly 26,600 reviews, and the mod scene is most of the reason.
Starting STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack can feel overwhelming. This guide tells you exactly what to focus on during your first hours so you don't waste time on things that don't matter yet. For the full progression path, see our walkthrough.
What Kind of Game Is This?
STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack is a strategy game built around Galactic map into tactical battles and Capital ship hardpoints. The core loop involves mastering these systems to progress through increasingly challenging content.
What to expect: Time investment in learning mechanics, experimentation, and gradual mastery. The game rewards patience and knowledge.
Choosing Your First Build
| Build | Beginner Rating | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Galactic Empire | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Rebel Alliance | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Zann Consortium | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Pirates | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
| Hutts | Excellent for beginners | Balanced approach |
Our recommendation: Start with Rebel Alliance. It offers the most forgiving experience while teaching core mechanics.
Avoid Hutts as your first pick. It requires deep knowledge of game systems to use effectively. Once you're ready, check our classes guide for all options.
First Session Step-by-Step
Step 1: Learn Galactic map into tactical battles
The galactic layer handles planets, credits, build slots and fleet movement, and any contested move drops you into a real time battle. You fight with exactly what you brought, so the fleet you assembled on the map is the fleet you get.
This is the foundation. Spend your first 15-30 minutes getting comfortable with how Galactic map into tactical battles works before worrying about anything else. Our combat guide breaks this down further.
Step 2: Head to Kuat
The Imperial shipyard world and one of only four planets where capital ships can be built. Holding it cuts Imperial Star Destroyer cost by 25 percent, which makes it the single most valuable planet on the Imperial side of the map.
Clear the main content here before moving on. Everything teaches fundamentals you'll need later. See our maps guide for all locations.
Step 3: Get Your First Upgrade
Look for Mon Calamari Cruiser: it's the most accessible early upgrade. The Rebel heavy attack cruiser, armed with turbolaser and ion cannon batteries. Its defining feature is that the shield generator cannot simply be shot off the way an Imperial one can.
Step 4: Understand Capital ship hardpoints
Capital ships carry separate targetable hardpoints for shield generators, engines, turbolasers and hangars. Killing a Star Destroyer's shield generator opens the hull to everything, and killing its engines stops it retreating out of the battle.
This is the system most new players overlook. Invest time here early. It pays off throughout the entire game.
Step 5: Push to Mon Calamari
The Rebel counterpart to Kuat and the source of Mon Calamari Cruisers. Losing it removes the Rebels' only real answer to Imperial capital ships, so it is the obvious Imperial target once the war reaches the mid game.
Essential Mechanics Explained
Galactic map into tactical battles
The galactic layer handles planets, credits, build slots and fleet movement, and any contested move drops you into a real time battle. You fight with exactly what you brought, so the fleet you assembled on the map is the fleet you get.
Capital ship hardpoints
Capital ships carry separate targetable hardpoints for shield generators, engines, turbolasers and hangars. Killing a Star Destroyer's shield generator opens the hull to everything, and killing its engines stops it retreating out of the battle.
Land battle reinforcement points
Ground fights are decided by reinforcement points, which is where new units land once you hold the ground. Build pads scattered around each map take turrets, anti air emplacements and bacta healing stations, so pad control matters as much as killing units.
Zann Consortium corruption
The Consortium corrupts planets it does not own by sending a Defiler, then runs missions including Racketeering, Piracy, Kidnapping, Intimidation, Bribery, Corrupt Militia, Black Market and Slavery. Intimidation strips a planet's special bonus from whoever owns it, and Black Market unlocks upgrades no other route provides.
Planet specific bonuses
Planets carry hard mechanical effects rather than flavour. Holding Kuat cuts Imperial Star Destroyer cost by 25 percent, the Vergesso Asteroids give fighters and bombers a 25 percent damage boost, and capital ship construction is restricted to Kuat, Fondor, Mon Calamari and Sullust.
Common Beginner Mistakes
1. Attacking a capital ship's hull instead of its shield generator, which turns every space battle into a much longer fight than it needs to be
2. Leaving Broadside Cruisers unescorted
They outrange most of the fleet and die to the first pair of corvettes that reaches them.
3. Sending Rebel infantry against AT-ATs
Standard blaster troops do almost nothing, and the intended counter is airspeeder tow cables or heavy tanks.
4. Ignoring build pads in ground battles and then wondering why the defender has turrets, anti air and a bacta station and you have none
5. Playing the Consortium like a conventional faction
Ignoring Defilers and corruption throws away the entire reason the expansion added them.
First 5 Hours Checklist
- Understand Galactic map into tactical battles and Capital ship hardpoints
- Choose Rebel Alliance as starting build
- Clear Kuat main content
- Acquire Mon Calamari Cruiser or equivalent upgrade
- Reach Mon Calamari
- Shoot hardpoints, not hulls. Every capital ship carries separate shield generators, engines, turbolasers and hangars, and taking out the shield generator first turns a twenty minute slog into a short fight.
- Kill engines when you want a kill rather than a retreat. An enemy commander who is losing will pull ships out of the battle, and a Star Destroyer with dead engines cannot leave the map with its hull intact.
Tips for New Players
- Shoot hardpoints, not hulls. Every capital ship carries separate shield generators, engines, turbolasers and hangars, and taking out the shield generator first turns a twenty minute slog into a short fight.
- Kill engines when you want a kill rather than a retreat. An enemy commander who is losing will pull ships out of the battle, and a Star Destroyer with dead engines cannot leave the map with its hull intact.
- Corvettes and Gunships in pairs are the correct answer to an unescorted Broadside Cruiser. They arrive faster than the Broadside can reposition and put out more damage than its shields absorb.
- Tartan Patrol Cruisers exist for one job. If your fleet is losing hardpoints to fighter swarms, you did not bring enough anti fighter escort, and no number of extra Star Destroyers fixes that.
- The Nebulon-B is a support ship, not a warship. It repairs and screens, and sending it to the front line as a second line of hull is one of the most common Rebel mistakes.
- On the ground, reinforcement points decide the battle. Units land where you hold ground, so capturing points near the enemy base is worth more than a favourable trade in the open field.
- Build pads are free strength. Turrets, anti air and bacta stations all come from pads scattered around the map, and a player who claims them fights every subsequent engagement with healing and covering fire the enemy lacks.
- AT-ATs need anti air cover. Airspeeder tow cables bring them down in a way blaster infantry never will, so an Imperial column without AT-AA is one Snowspeeder squadron from losing its heaviest units.
- Playing as the Consortium, corruption is the whole strategy. Defilers spread corruption to planets you do not own, Intimidation strips the owner's bonus, and Black Market upgrades give you equipment your economy alone would never support.
- The mod scene is the main reason the game still holds 97 percent positive reviews after twenty years. Thrawn's Revenge, Awakening of the Rebellion and Empire at War Remake all rebuild the unit rosters and the galactic map, and they install through the Steam Workshop.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Empire at War Gold Pack include?
The 2006 base game and the Forces of Corruption expansion in one purchase. Forces of Corruption adds the Zann Consortium, corruption missions, and units such as the Executor Super Star Destroyer, the Eclipse, B-wings, Dark Troopers and TIE Interceptors.
How many factions can you play?
Three: the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and the Zann Consortium from Forces of Corruption. Pirates and the Hutts exist on the galactic map as non playable presences rather than sides you can command.
How do you beat AT-ATs?
Airspeeder tow cables, which trip them, or heavy tanks. Standard infantry blaster fire barely scratches them, which is why an Imperial column without anti air support is far more fragile than it looks.
What is corruption in Forces of Corruption?
The Zann Consortium's alternative to conquest. A Defiler corrupts a planet you do not own, after which you can run Racketeering, Piracy, Kidnapping, Intimidation, Bribery, Corrupt Militia, Black Market or Slavery missions on it for credits, upgrades or to strip the owner's planet bonus.
Is Empire at War still worth playing in 2026?
Yes, largely because of mods. Steam reviews sit at 97 percent positive across roughly 26,600 ratings, and projects such as Thrawn's Revenge, Awakening of the Rebellion and Empire at War Remake rebuild the rosters and galactic map through the Workshop.
More STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Guides
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Overview
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Best Builds
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Tier List
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Walkthrough
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Tips & Tricks
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Weapons Guide
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Combat Guide
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Boss Guide
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Maps & Locations
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Crafting Guide
- STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack Classes & Characters
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