Revision 1

The Commando is the Protectorate Tier 1 infantry unit and the faction's opening army unit, ranged infantry with a jetpack that jumps over terrain. It costs 50 hexite with no flux, takes 2 supply, and its rifle is one of the few weapons on the faction that hits ground and air with the same shot. Figures below describe build ZS.c36778 of 11 September 2026 and move with the weekly patch cadence.

Stat Block

Weapons

Abilities

Upgrades

Role

Commandos are what a Protectorate army is made of before anything else exists. They come out of the first Barracks, they cost no flux, and they are the faction's only early answer to an enemy flyer, because the S-10 Combat Rifle targets air and ground with the same 7 damage shot. Nine damage per second per Commando is low, so the unit works as a mass rather than as individuals.

The jetpack is what separates them from ordinary line infantry. An 18 second cooldown jump that ignores terrain means Commandos can cross a cliff into a mineral line, escape a slow siege unit, or reposition onto a high ground the enemy is holding. Impulse Thrusters cuts that cooldown by a third and extends the jump, and Eagle Tactics turns each jump into a four second window of +40 percent attack and move speed, which is how a Commando mass wins a fight it would otherwise lose on raw numbers.

Magnetic Rifling adds 3 range, taking the rifle from 7 to 10. That matters most against units that have to close, and it is the cheapest way to stop Commandos from being run over by fast Light armour.

All three upgrades also affect Prefect Aster, the Protectorate commander, so a Commando focused build improves the hero at the same time. See Heroes and Commanders.

Faction Context

The Commando is produced at the Barracks, the Protectorate's first production building, which also opens Tier 1 mercenary hiring. Its upgrades split across two buildings: Impulse Thrusters and Magnetic Rifling sit in the Research Lab, while Eagle Tactics sits in the Mechanical Research Lab at Tier 2.

In army composition the Commando pairs with the Bastion for splash and the Sentinel for anti heavy fire, which is the standard Protectorate infantry core before vehicles arrive. Against Light armour the Bastion does the damage; the Commando provides the anti air cover neither of the other two has.

Tier and Armour Interactions

The Commando carries Light armour with a flat armour value of 0, which is the most exposed combination on the Protectorate roster. Nothing is subtracted from incoming hits, and every anti Light bonus in the game multiplies against it.

Its own rifle has no armour bonus at all. That is the trade for hitting both domains: the Commando is never the efficient answer to a specific armour type, it is the unit that can shoot whatever is in front of it.

Counters

Strong against:

Weak to:

Balance History

• 28 August 2026: weapon damage reduced from 8 to 7, weapon cooldown reduced from 0.89 seconds to 0.8 seconds, and the Eagle Tactics attack and move speed bonus reduced from +50 percent to +40 percent.

• 14 August 2026: Eagle Tactics moved back to the Mechanical Research Lab after three days at the War Foundry.

• 11 August 2026: Magnetic Rifling range bonus reduced from +4 to +3, and Eagle Tactics moved from the Mechanical Research Lab to the War Foundry.

Notes

The Commando was one of the first two units moved onto the current animation system, alongside the Grell Stinger, which is why later performance passes are described as bringing other units up to Commando and Stinger standard.

For the rest of the roster and how to read a stat block, see Units. For hexite, flux, supply and the power pool behind unit conversions, see Resources and Economy.

These numbers are the ZS.c36778 build of 11 September 2026. Early Access balance passes land roughly weekly, so check the dated record before relying on an exact figure.