Spy on planets and frontier outposts

A.R.G.U.S. probes gather intelligence on other players’ planets and frontier outposts. Each mission travels to its target, scans it and begins the return trip. You receive a notification when it closes; it contains target intelligence only if at least one probe survives and is recovered at a planet in your empire.

Prepare a mission

You need available A.R.G.U.S. probes and an unlocked model. See how to build exploration and espionage probes if you need to make probes first.

Open the Espionage tab in the Espionage Center, or select another player’s planet or frontier outpost in the solar system and choose Spy.

You can only spy on systems you have explored or monitored, or where you own a planet. A.R.G.U.S. probes cannot discover unknown areas; use S.P.E.C.T.R.A. probes to scan a solar system first.

When you open the Espionage Center, its planet is already set as the origin. From the solar-system view, choose one of your planets. Enter the galaxy, system and orbit coordinates; frontier outposts use orbit 0. Select the probe model and count. Each mission uses one A.R.G.U.S. model. Review the hydrogen cost, estimated travel times and available mission slots before launch.

The target must be another player’s planet or active frontier outpost in your universe. You cannot spy on your own planets or NPC targets.

Scan duration

Travel time depends on the route. Scanning starts when the probes reach the target and takes:

Target	Scan duration
Planet	1 second for every completed building level on the planet. Levels still under construction do not count.
Frontier outpost	20 seconds.

For example, a planet with 12 building levels in total takes 12 seconds to scan. These are the game’s current settings.

What the probes can discover

The result is calculated once, when scanning begins, and a snapshot of the target is saved. The roll compares your probe model and count with the target’s counterintelligence; active espionage modifiers also apply. On a planet, its operational Espionage Center and available A.R.G.U.S. probes contribute to defense. A frontier outpost uses its own defense value.

The probe model sets the maximum intelligence level. Defenses and the scan roll can produce a lower level.

Intelligence level	Information the report may contain
1	Buildings and outpost infrastructure.
2	The above, plus stored resources.
3	The above, plus fleet and defense estimates in broad ranges.
4	The above, plus population and workers by building on a planet. This does not apply to outposts.
5	The above, plus the exact composition of ships and defenses present.

A.R.G.U.S. MK I reaches level 1; MK II, level 2; MK III, level 3; MK IV, level 4; and MK V, level 5. An advanced model does not guarantee that you will discover every section: a scan can return a lower level. Undiscovered sections appear as unknown, not as if the target had zero units or resources.

Counterintelligence can destroy probes, but only after detecting the mission. The stronger the target’s defenses, the more likely it is to detect you and, if it does, to cause probe losses. A planet’s defenses grow with its Espionage Center level and available A.R.G.U.S. probes; an outpost uses its own defense. Probe model and count also affect the result, so you cannot predict losses with certainty. The defender may receive an alert without identifying you. Your report shows how many probes returned and how many were lost. If none return, you will not receive the scan data.

Track the mission and read the report

Check active missions in the Espionage section of the Fleet view in the game (/fleet). You can follow the outbound trip, scan and return.

For fleet mission basics, see Send a fleet and choose its mission.

When the mission closes, you receive a notification with its result. If probes return with usable intelligence, the report shows the sections they discovered and their level of accuracy. The data reflects the moment scanning began; later changes to the planet do not update an existing report. Missions with no intelligence, an unavailable target or no recovered probes can also close with a result notification, but it will not show the target’s secret data.