Prisoners: Capture, Hold, Convert, or Spend

The prisoner loop begins in combat and ends in colony management. The current main-app design confirms the broad sequence: weaken enemies, capture them, hold them, then choose whether to convert, recruit, sacrifice, or use another available outcome.

Exact health thresholds, current capture probabilities, conversion times, and capacity formulas are not exposed clearly enough here to publish as rules. Plan around the confirmed process and read current numbers in your own game.

The confirmed flow

1. Decide why you want a prisoner

Before firing a capture round, name the intended outcome. A potential recruit, conversion target, or sacrifice creates different value and capacity pressure. Capturing without a plan can fill holding space with units that do not solve a colony need.

2. Weaken the target

Capture is part of a combat decision, not a replacement for fighting. Control nearby threats and avoid letting the squad spend the target by accident. The current system has used dedicated capture rounds and protection against long runs of failed attempts, but exact values are balance-sensitive.

3. Complete the capture

Confirm the result rather than assuming a shot succeeded. Do not publish or follow a universal health percentage unless the current screen states it.

4. Return with enough colony capacity

A captured target becomes a holding, staffing, security, and timing problem. The colony must be able to absorb that cost while normal production continues.

5. Choose the outcome

Compare the prisoner’s potential value with present needs and the opportunity cost of holding them. “Keep everything” is not a strategy when space and labor are bounded.

Before the expedition

Use this checklist:

Is there known holding capacity available?
Which type of target would improve the colony or squad?
Does the squad have a safe way to attempt capture?
Can you stop ordinary damage after committing to the capture?
What expedition condition makes returning with the prisoner worthwhile?

The last question prevents capture from turning a successful run into an unnecessary wipe.

During the attempt

Treat capture as a control problem:

Remove or separate threats that make precise action impossible.
Keep an escape route and enough ammunition for the rest of the encounter.
Weaken the intended target deliberately.
Switch to the capture method only when the field is controlled.
Confirm the result, then reassess whether to continue the expedition.

Large enemies, elite abilities, mines, and projectile pressure can make a capture attempt much more expensive. Use Enemies and Sector Overlords to classify those threats before committing.

At the colony: outcome questions

Outcome direction	Ask first
Convert or recruit	Which current work or field role would this fill?
Continue holding	What capacity, time, and risk does delay consume?
Sacrifice or spend	Is the immediate return worth losing the future option?
Release or decline	Is capacity more valuable than this target?

The labels and exact available choices can move during Early Access. The stable decision is to compare present value, future option value, and holding cost.

Prisoners are not ordinary citizens yet

Do not merge captive management into the citizen plan too early. A captured unit may have a future job or squad use, but their current state, risk, and conversion process are different. Once they join the population, evaluate work aptitude, age/status, loyalty, and field role as separate dimensions.

Continue with Citizens for colony signals and Soldiers and Squad Roles for the difference between a good worker and a suitable combat unit.

What not to assume

A fixed capture percentage from an older build.
A universal target-health threshold.
A guaranteed conversion duration.
Unlimited or interchangeable holding capacity.
That every captured enemy can take every outcome.

Unknown here means “read the current game and record it before planning around it,” not “the mechanic does not exist.”