Lexes

What a lex is

A lex is a law for your whole empire, bought with ideology. A lex you own does nothing until it is active. Many lexes have a drawback next to their benefit. Each lex's own page lists both.

The lex tree

Every lex except the first needs one lex before it, its ancestor. The first is Age of Exploration, in the Origin branch.

The rest of the tree is split into more branches, which differ by game mode (see Game time):

  • Legacy and Tactic: Expansion, Navarchs, Erased, Siderians
  • Flash: Expansion, Characters

Buying a lex

You need the lex's ancestor and enough ideology. Every lex you own makes the next one dearer. See How prices grow.

A lex is yours for the rest of the game. You can't sell it back, and there is no refund.

A lex's card also has Buy and Activate. It buys the lex and picks it for your next change of active lexes. You still apply that change yourself, as the next sections explain.

The card of a lex you can buy, with its Buy and Buy and Activate buttons
Buy (1) and Buy and Activate (2) on the card of a lex you can buy.

Active lexes

Only active lexes give their effects. Each one takes a lex slot. You choose them by picking lexes you own in the lex panel, then applying that set. A new set works at once for your empire, every system, every dominion and every agent on the board.

Lex slots

You start with one lex slot. The +1 slot button buys another with ideology, at once. There is no limit on the number of slots. Each slot costs more than the one before, up to a maximum price. See How prices grow.

Changing your active lexes

You pick a new set of lexes in the lex panel, then apply it. After each change, you must wait before the next one. That wait grows with every change for the rest of the game.

0102030050100150200250Change of active lexesWait (ticks)wait after the change
01020300246Change of active lexesWait (minutes)wait after the change
The wait each change starts, from your first change to your 30th.

While you have a change picked, the lex panel shows the wait applying now would start, as in the lex panel screenshot below. See Changing active lexes for the exact waits and what counts as a change.

Limits

Active lexes raise your System, Dominion, Navarch, Erased and Siderian Limits, and Age of Exploration is the first to raise your agent limits above zero. See System and dominion limits and Agent limits. A change that would leave you over one of those limits is refused. See Changing active lexes.

The lex panel

Press L to open the lex panel. See hotkeys. Once you own a lex, the panel has one tab per branch other than Origin, and each tab starts from Age of Exploration.

The lex panel with a change picked: branch tabs, the picked lex, the lex slots, the apply stamp and the wait that applying now would start
The branch tabs (1), a picked lex (2), the apply stamp (3) and the wait that applying now would start (4).
  • Click a lex you can buy to buy it. There is no confirm.
  • Click a lex you own to pick it. Click a picked lex to take it out.
  • Apply these lexes applies your picks. If you pick fewer lexes than you have slots, it asks for a second click.
  • +1 slot buys a lex slot, with no confirm.
  • The Cancel the changes button puts your picks back to your active lexes. The Remove all lexes button takes out all your picks.
  • While a wait runs, you can't pick or take out lexes. See Changing active lexes.
  • Lexes you picked but didn't apply are dropped when you close the panel.

On a phone, tapping a lex opens its card instead of buying it.

All lexes

Lex Branch Requires Ideology Base price Effects
Age of Exploration Age of Exploration Origin — 50 +1 Erased Limit; +1 Navarch Limit; +1 Siderian Limit
Proto-Empire Proto-Empire Expansion Age of Exploration 1,200 +1 System Limit
Exclusive Trade Zone Exclusive Trade Zone Expansion Proto-Empire 3,000 +3 Dominion Limit; +20 % Dominion Tax Rate
Empire's Edge Empire's Edge Expansion Exclusive Trade Zone 6,000 +2 System Limit; +4 Dominion Limit; +20 % Dominion Tax Rate; -8 Stability
Second Core Second Core Expansion Empire's Edge 8,000 +3 System Limit; -8 % Credit; -16 Stability
Federation of Protectorates Federation of Protectorates Expansion Second Core 10,000 +7 Dominion Limit; +20 % Dominion Tax Rate; -12 Stability
First Contacts First Contacts Expansion Age of Exploration 300 +3+7,200/h Ideology; +3+7,200/h Technology
Sponsored Chairmanship Sponsored Chairmanship Expansion First Contacts 900 +20+48,000/h Technology; +2 Siderian Limit
Technocracy Technocracy Expansion Sponsored Chairmanship 8,000 +30 % Technology; -6 % Ideology; -4 % Production
Stelloliberal Maze Stelloliberal Maze Expansion First Contacts 700 +100+240k/h Credit
Confiscatory Policies Confiscatory Policies Expansion Stelloliberal Maze 2,800 +300+720k/h Credit
Secret Organization Secret Organization Expansion Confiscatory Policies 3,500 +15 % Credit; +2 Erased Limit
Embezzlement Embezzlement Expansion Secret Organization 5,000 +500+1,200k/h Credit
Freedom of Movement Freedom of Movement Expansion Embezzlement 8,000 +20 Mobility
Trade Secrets Trade Secrets Expansion Freedom of Movement 11,000 +10 % Mobility; -100-240k/h Credit
Centralization of Power Centralization of Power Expansion Embezzlement 6,000 +2+4,800/h Credit per Population; -25 % Defense
Financialized Society Financialized Society Expansion Centralization of Power 9,000 +40 % Credit; -10 % Technology; -10 % Ideology; -24 Stability
Mass Media Mass Media Expansion First Contacts 800 +22+52,800/h Ideology
Propaganda Propaganda Expansion Mass Media 2,000 +40 Stability
Fake News Fake News Expansion Propaganda 8,000 +30 % Ideology; -6 % Technology; -4 % Credit
Reaction Force Reaction Force Characters Age of Exploration 400 +2 Navarch Limit
Tactical Scouting Tactical Scouting Characters Reaction Force 1,000 +20 Armed Forces Bombing; -50-120k/h Credit
Galtacon Orthodoxy Galtacon Orthodoxy Characters Tactical Scouting 3,000 +4 Navarch Limit
Pace of War Pace of War Characters Galtacon Orthodoxy 4,800 +50+120k/h Production; +10 % Production
War Propaganda War Propaganda Characters Pace of War 6,400 +5 Navarch Limit; +2 Siderian Limit; -4 % Credit
Component Standardization Component Standardization Characters War Propaganda 9,000 -25 % Armed Forces Maintenance
Armed Forces Automation Armed Forces Automation Characters Component Standardization 10,000 +20 % Armed Forces Repair; +8 % Armed Forces Invasion; +10 % Armed Forces Bombing; -8 % Credit
Modular Construction Modular Construction Characters Component Standardization 7,500 +10 % Armed Forces Repair; +12 % Production
War Council War Council Characters Reaction Force 700 +30 Defense; -30 % Production
Public Relations Public Relations Characters War Council 1,800 +3 Siderian Limit
Embassy Arsenal Embassy Arsenal Characters Public Relations 6,600 +6 Siderian Limit; +2 Erased Limit; -10 % Production
Cultural Imperialism Cultural Imperialism Characters Embassy Arsenal 8,500 +20 % Siderian Propaganda; +20 % Siderian Destabilization
Digitalization of Interactions Digitalization of Interactions Characters War Council 4,000 +30 Intelligence; +20 Cybersecurity
Total Surveillance Total Surveillance Characters Digitalization of Interactions 7,000 +50 % Intelligence; +100 % Cybersecurity; +5 % Credit
Underground Networks Underground Networks Characters War Council 1,500 +4 Erased Limit
Information Systems Surveillance Information Systems Surveillance Characters Underground Networks 3,000 +25 Erased Infiltration
Parallel Military Strategy Parallel Military Strategy Characters Information Systems Surveillance 6,000 +7 Erased Limit; +2 Navarch Limit; -12 Stability
Simpler Practices Simpler Practices Characters Parallel Military Strategy 7,000 +25 Erased Removal
Deep State Deep State Characters Simpler Practices 10,000 +25 % Erased Infiltration; +15 % Erased Sabotage; +15 % Erased Removal

Production, credit, technology, ideology and upkeep amounts are per tick.Production, credit, technology, ideology and upkeep amounts are per hour.

Related

Numbers shown for Flash games. Other speeds: Legacy Tactic