A fleet is a formation of ships. They are the basic "unit" of Endless Space; all ships must form a fleet to be deployed (from a star system), even individual vessels. Combat is always performed between fleets.
Each fleet is given a combined rating of 
and 
. A hero can be attached to a fleet to give bonuses.
Travel[]
- Main article: Travel Mechanics
Fleets travel between systems. Travel speed () is always at the pace of the slowest ship in the fleet. However, some engine modules can offset this by increasing the fleet speed.
Combat[]
- Main article: Combat
Ships in a fleet engage together in combat. It is often beneficial to combine small fleets, as a group of ships is harder to eliminate at a single time. Often smaller fleets can easily be eliminated by fighting each of them in sequence.
There are several modules (Weapon, Defense, or Support) that boost the abilities of the the entire fleet, if present on any of the ships. More than one of these modules can be present, and the effects stack (add) together.
Orders[]
Movement orders are carried out by right clicking after selecting the fleet. A fleet must reach a system before it can act - it cannot stop a move order in the middle of a path. You will not get error messages if a fleet cannot move to a certain position because of a lack of technology.
All other orders - management orders such as merge, disband, as well as attack, blockade, and invade, may only be carried out on a system. Note that automatic combat from enemy blockades/interception will prevent you from ending your turn.
Command Points[]
- Main article: Command Points
Fleet size is limited by the amount of command points (
) required by each vessel.
Your empire is not limited to any number of fleets, however.
Hero[]
- Main article: Hero
A hero can be attached to a fleet to provide bonuses. They may be reassigned any turn after the first 5-or-so.