Annexation
A captured city is yours — but frozen until you annex it.
FROZEN ON CAPTURE
A city changes hands the moment the province it stands in is captured. It arrives frozen:
| WHAT | WHILE FROZEN |
|---|---|
| OWNERSHIP | Yours immediately, with every building and everything stored in it |
| PRODUCTION | Nothing — no construction, upgrades, units, missiles or ammunition |
| QUEUES | Whatever the old owner had queued there is lost, with no refund to anyone |
| OUTPUT | Starts at 20% morale and can recover only to 60% (see Morale) |
ANNEXING
Start the annex on a frozen city you own. You pay up front and a timer runs; when it completes, the city unfreezes and its morale jumps straight to 100%. Cost and time climb steeply with the city's rank — the capital is by far the hardest to secure.
| CITY RANK | TIME | COST |
|---|---|---|
| 5TH — ELECTRONICS | 3h | 3,000 money · 500 manpower |
| 4TH — ADVANCED MATERIALS | 6h | 8,000 money · 1,200 manpower |
| 3RD — OIL | 12h | 20,000 money · 3,000 manpower |
| 2ND — STEEL | 20h | 45,000 money · 6,000 manpower |
| 1ST — CAPITAL (RESEARCH POINTS) | 40h | 100,000 money · 12,000 manpower |
RECAPTURE
If the city's home nation takes it back, it reverts completely: unfrozen, nothing to annex. If anyone else captures it — even from a conqueror who already annexed it — it's frozen again under its new owner, and they have to annex it themselves.