The Exiled will introduce a number of new abilities and commands to Second Genesis, and we’d like to spend the next few weeks detailing these new mechanics, and their effects on gameplay. Today’s teaser reveals both Sentry and Exile, two passive abilities that will radically change the way you play in the outer regions.

To call Sentry an ability is a bit of a misnomer; it is actually a restriction. Any ship with the Sentry “ability” is unable to attack an enemy region, instead being relegated to guard duty in already-friendly regions. Because of this severe restriction on the versatility of Sentry ships, they have numerous other benefits, not the least of which are their low costs and almost-nonexistent assembly times. These cheap, powerful guards are set to make holding outer regions easier than ever.

The Exile ability is the heart of The Exiled. As with Sentry, it primarily concerns taking and defending outer regions, but it is a much more powerful ability. Any ship with Exile is granted +X/+X when in an outer region, where X is equal to the Exile ability strength. For example, a ship with 2 attack power, 2 shield and Exile 3 would have 5 attack and 5 shield in an outer region. Because Exile does not function in home regions, ships with this ability contribute little in the way of starbase destruction, but they are poised to become the undisputed kings of the outer regions.