Star Conflict: Final Days & Community Edition Guide

A guide to Star Conflict as it winds down: when the official servers close, what the upcoming Community Edition (self-hosted local server) is, and a working primer on ship classes, roles, modes and tactics so you can enjoy the last weeks or run your own server afterwards.

Researched September 2026 — current as of patch 1.14.10 (monetization disabled 1 June 2026) and the Community Edition announcements of 14 and 21 September 2026. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Shutdown notice: Star Conflict's official servers are scheduled to shut down on 10 October 2026, after more than ten years of operation (open beta 24 July 2012, version 1.0 on 4 September 2014). The shutdown was announced on the Steam news page in April 2026. Timeline so far:

• 14 May 2026: New account registration and downloads from the official and Gaijin websites closed.
• 1 June 2026: Patch 1.14.10 switched off all monetization. Existing in-game currency and resources stay usable until shutdown, and some premium and event ships were unlocked for everyone.
• Summer 2026: A final free season: the "Legacy of the Precursors" battle pass (phase one from 1 June, phase two toward the end of July), "UMC archives: Shards of Eden" (early August), four monthly "25 for 30" marathons (25 tasks over 30 days, up to six ships per cycle) and the returning "Black relay race" adventure (from 2 July). Battle pass and UMC archives crates include ship components for three ships per phase.
• 14 September 2026: The developers announced a special Community Edition that can run a local server, and a new roguelite set in the same universe, Star Conflict: Burrownauts.
• 21 September 2026: General information on the Community Edition was published. Detailed server guides are still to come.

Quick Start (for the last weeks)

• Log in and claim everything. Events are now free and hand out ships, including premium ones. Clear the battle pass and marathon tasks while servers are up.
• Spend your currency. Credits, Galactic Standards and other resources vanish with the servers. There's nothing to save them for.
• Try every role. With so many ships unlocked, this is the cheapest the game will ever be to experiment in.
• Learn the four classes and their roles (below). Matchmaking is team-based, and a team with healers and control wins.
• Play PvE and Open Space too. Co-op missions and the Open Space sandbox are worth seeing before shutdown.
• Keep an eye on the Community Edition. Progress on the official server won't transfer automatically, but the Community Edition gives you a full server with every mode to keep playing.
• Screenshot your hangar. If you care about your collection, record it. Custom servers start with fresh accounts.

The Community Edition (Local Server)

Based on the 21 September 2026 announcement:

• What it is: A special version of the client that can launch a full Star Conflict game server on your own machine: all game modes, matchmaking, in-game chat, corporations, achievements, tournaments and the economy.
• How to run it: Press a button on the login screen, or start the required databases and server applications manually. Each server application is configurable, and some game data can be changed.
• Connecting to others: The client can connect to remote servers. Enter the server's address and port on the login screen, plus your username and password for that server.
• Accounts: Each server has its own account database. Your official-server progress won't transfer automatically, but server owners can customize accounts on their own server.
• More to come: The developers promised separate, detailed guides for configuring the server. Check the Steam news page for them.

In practice, expect community-run servers to appear after 10 October. Friends can host a private server for co-op PvE, custom tournaments or casual PvP.

Core Concepts

Factions

Faction | Flavor

Empire | Durable, armor-leaning designs

Federation | Fast, agile designs

Jericho | Shield-heavy, long-range specialists

Ellydium | Biotech faction added later, with unusual modules

You can fly ships from any faction. Faction choice mainly affects which ship lines and synergy (ship XP) you progress through.

Ranks and tech levels

• Ships have ranks from 1 up to 17, grouped into tech levels of three ranks each (T2 is ranks 4-6, and so on). The last new ship before the shutdown plan was the rank 16 gunship Chaos from the "UMC archives: Blood of the Frontier" event (May 2026). Matchmaking groups ships by rank ranges, and some modes (Beacon Hunt, Detonation) only open from rank 4.
• Leveling a ship's synergy unlocks the next ship in its line and improves its bonuses.
• Modules and weapons have their own ranks and upgrade paths, and can also be crafted.

Classes and roles

Class | Size and feel | Roles | Job

Interceptor | Small, fast, fragile | Recon, ECM, Covert Ops | Scouting, capturing beacons, disabling, and assassinating isolated targets

Fighter | Medium, balanced | Gunship, Tackler, Command | Main damage (Gunship), counter-stealth and debuffs (Tackler), team auras and buffs (Command)

Frigate | Large, slow, tanky | Engineering, Guard, Long Range | Healing and warp gates (Engineer), shield wall and missile defense (Guard), artillery (LRF)

Destroyer | Extra large, huge firepower | — | Heavy line ship. Poor maneuverability, massive damage and durability

Role details from the official wiki:

• Recon: Bigger radar range and faster beacon capture, with stealth and target-detection tools. It's the best beacon capper.
• ECM: Disables and drains nearby enemies while staying protected. A superb counter to gunships and command ships.
• Covert Ops: Hit-and-run assassin with extra crit chance and anti-lock tools.
• Gunship: Its special module boosts firepower, speed and maneuverability. It's burst damage on demand.
• Tackler: Uses invisibility to hunt enemy Recons and Covert Ops, and slows and weakens targets.
• Command: Its Diffusion Shield protects it, and aura modules buff nearby allies. It leads pushes.
• Engineer: The only role that heals allies, using healing auras, combat drones and warp gates for team transport.
• Guard: An enhanced Phase Shield absorbs fire for the team. It denies missiles and area.
• Long Range: Six turrets (50% more main-weapon damage than other frigates), disintegrators and guided torpedoes. It can camouflage while stationary.

Controls

You fly with the keyboard (thrust, strafe, roll, afterburner) and aim with the mouse, firing your main guns with the left button. Missiles and your active modules sit on their own keys. Check Options, Controls on first launch, because binds differ between client versions. Many pilots move modules to mouse side buttons so they can fire and use modules at the same time.

Game Modes

PvP arena

Mode | Objective

Domination | Three beacons. Teams start with 999 points. The team holding fewer beacons keeps losing points, and much faster if the enemy holds all three

Team Battle | Deplete enemy reinforcement points. Each death costs 1 (3 if killed in your own spawn area). Artifact pickups give team-wide Damage, Invulnerability, Speed or Hull repair buffs

Beacon Hunt | One active beacon rotates between three spots and drains the enemy's 200 points at 1 per second. The holding team can't respawn until they lose it or a new beacon activates

Detonation | Plant bombs on enemy stations and defend your own three

Four Lives | Capture beacons or wipe the enemy. Every pilot gets three respawns regardless of hangar size

Brawls (Beacon Capture, Combat Recon, Survival, Spaceball, Last Man Standing, Beetle in the Anthill and seasonal variants) run in scheduled time windows (listed in GMT on the official wiki) and need a clearance level of 5 or higher.

Matches can start at 3v3 and grow to as many as 10v10 within about three minutes as the queue fills. Domination and Team Battle are open at every rank (1-17), while Beacon Hunt and Detonation start at rank 4.

Mode tips:

• Domination: Holding two beacons is enough to win the race. Grabbing all three drains the enemy far faster but spreads your team thin, so only push for the third when you're clearly ahead.
• Team Battle: Don't die in your own spawn, since it costs three points instead of one. Contest the artifacts: an Invulnerability or Damage buff on your team usually decides the next fight.
• Beacon Hunt: Because the holding team can't respawn, trading ships on the beacon is fine for the attackers and terrible for the defenders. Defenders should play safe and preserve ships.
• Detonation: Escort your bomb carrier. Planting takes time in range of the station, so Guards and Command ships around the carrier matter more than kills.
• Four Lives: Three relaunches each regardless of how many ships you brought, so pick your best-performing ships first.

PvE and sandbox

• PvE missions / Special Operations: Co-op scenarios against NPCs, with difficulty tiers.
• Open Space: A sector-based sandbox. Fly between sectors, take contracts, fight aliens and pirates, mine and loot components, and craft modules and ships.
• Sector Conquest: Corporation-versus-corporation territory war using fleets and, at the top, dreadnoughts.
• Tournaments and custom battles for organized play.

Building a Ship

• Match the role's special module. Every build starts from what the role does best (for example, a Command ship with auras should stay with the team).
• Resistances matter. Hull and shield have separate resistances to thermal, electromagnetic and kinetic damage. Plug the weakest one.
• Weapons: Pick a weapon type suited to your range (lasers and plasma for medium, rail-type guns for long range, close-range shotgun-style weapons for interceptors).
• Implants: Pilot implants add passive bonuses per rank tier. Pick survivability early and damage later.

Tactics by Role

• Recon/Interceptor: Cap distant beacons early, then harass. Never duel a Tackler.
• Gunship: Wait for the enemy's attention to turn, then burst the most dangerous target. Retreat to your Engineer.
• Command: Stay close to allies so your auras affect them. Lead with the Diffusion Shield up.
• Engineer: Position behind cover, drop healing, and put down a warp gate to speed team rotations.
• Guard: Absorb missile barrages and shield the push.
• Long Range: Pick lanes with long sightlines and relocate often. Stationary camo only helps if nobody has spotted you.
• Destroyer: Keep allies around you. Destroyers are slow and interceptors love flanking them.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Hoarding currency in the final weeks. It all disappears on 10 October.
• Flying frigates alone. They're slow and die to coordinated interceptors.
• Chasing kills instead of beacons in objective modes.
• Ignoring resistances when fitting modules.
• Wasting afterburner energy and then being unable to escape.
• Expecting official progress on community servers. Each server has its own account database.

Advanced Tips

• Use warp gates as a team. A well-placed Engineer gate turns a slow rotation into an ambush.
• Target priority: Engineers first, then Command ships, then Gunships. Remove sustain and buffs before damage.
• ECM versus burst: An ECM that times its disables right can shut down an enemy Gunship's special module window.
• Hangar variety: Carry multiple roles so you can counter-pick after a death.
• For future server hosts: Wait for the promised detailed configuration guides before editing game data, and keep backups of the databases.

FAQ

When does Star Conflict shut down? The official servers close on 10 October 2026.

Can I still download it? Registration and downloads through the official and Gaijin sites stopped on 14 May 2026. The Steam page still lists the game as of late September 2026, but new accounts may not be possible, so check the Steam news page.

What happens to my progress? It won't carry over automatically. The Community Edition uses local and custom servers with separate account databases.

What is the Community Edition? A special client that can host your own complete Star Conflict server (every mode, matchmaking, chat, corporations and economy) and connect to other players' servers by address and port.

What is Star Conflict: Burrownauts? A new roguelite action game in the Star Conflict universe. You play a space miner exploring ancient planetoids, mining resources, upgrading gear and fighting waves of enemies.

Who made Star Conflict? It was developed by the Russian studio Targem Games (its StarGem department) and published by Gaijin. It launched in open beta on 24 July 2012 and reached version 1.0 on 4 September 2014.

Can I still buy anything? No. Monetization was disabled on 1 June 2026. Everything left is earned through the free events.

Sources

• Star Conflict on Steam
• Star Conflict — Wikipedia (shutdown date, history)
• Steam announcement: Community Edition general information (21 Sep 2026)
• Steam announcement: Local server and Burrownauts (14 Sep 2026)
• Steam announcement: 1.14.10 Disabling monetization (1 Jun 2026)
• Steam announcement: Summer season event schedule (25 May 2026)
• Steam announcement: Registering new accounts restricted (14 May 2026)
• Official Star Conflict wiki: Interceptors
• Official Star Conflict wiki: Fighters
• Official Star Conflict wiki: Frigates
• Official Star Conflict wiki: PvP Arena