GAME GUIDES

PAX AUTOCRATICA (Peace Under Autocracy) is a grand strategy and political simulation game that has captured the attention of players who enjoy deep strategic gameplay. PAX AUTOCRATICA combines the narrative depth of Crusader Kings with the macro-management systems of Stellaris or Victoria, creating a hardcore strategy experience.

Set in a fictional near-future parallel universe filled with technological advancement yet marked by retro authoritarianism, PAX AUTOCRATICA places players in the role of a high-ranking Autocrat of an emerging or declining empire. The core themes of PAX AUTOCRATICA explore the cost of power, the balance between order and freedom, and geopolitical strategy in interstellar politics.

Visual Style

PAX AUTOCRATICA features minimalist high-end UI design, complemented by cool-toned star maps and exquisite character portraits that bring the satirical world to life.

Core Themes

• The Cost of Power: Every decision has consequences in PAX AUTOCRATICA
• Order vs Freedom: Balance authoritarian control with population needs
• Geopolitical Strategy: Navigate complex interstellar politics

In PAX AUTOCRATICA, the game is not just about map painting, but about interpersonal politics. Understanding and managing different character types is crucial for success.

Managing Relationships

Each character type requires different management strategies. Cabinet loyalty is essential for preventing coups, while managing Dissident influence prevents civil wars. Warlords provide military strength but can become independent if their power grows too high.

The map in PAX AUTOCRATICA uses a dynamic star system network system with distinct regions:

The Core Regions

Resource-rich areas where government decrees are enforced, but bureaucratic corruption can easily emerge. These regions provide stable income but require constant monitoring to prevent corruption from reducing tax revenue.

The Fringe Zones

Legal vacuums where smugglers and rebels thrive. These zones serve as both expansion frontiers and potential threats. Controlling the Fringe requires military presence and careful management to prevent rebellion.

Trade Nodes

Critical strategic points - controlling these nodes allows you to dominate entire sectors' economic lifelines. Trade Nodes are highly contested and provide significant economic advantages to those who control them.

1. Domestic Simulation

Adjust social structures by enacting Edicts. These decrees affect everything from population control to resource allocation. Choose your Edicts carefully as they have long-term consequences on your regime's stability.

2. Secret Diplomacy

Sign non-aggression pacts with other empires, or disrupt enemy succession lines through assassination. Use false flag operations to create casus belli when you need to justify military action.

3. Real-Time Tactics

Combat is not fully automatic. You must assign commanders and decide tactical approaches such as "scorched earth" or "precision strikes." Each battle requires strategic decision-making rather than relying on automatic combat resolution.

4. Legitimacy System

This is the game's most critical resource. If your legitimacy reaches zero, even the strongest armies will face coups. Maintaining legitimacy requires balancing authoritarian control with population satisfaction and managing faction relationships carefully.

Early Game Priorities

Prioritize securing cabinet loyalty early. A loyal secret police chief can prevent 80% of early-game assassinations. Focus on building relationships with your cabinet members before expanding your territory.

Resource Balance

Don't blindly expand. Expansion too fast leads to "management efficiency" drops, and tax revenue will rapidly shrink. Balance territorial growth with administrative capacity to maintain economic stability.

Tech Tree Strategy

Early game, consider the "Social Engineering" route. This path uses brainwashing and propaganda to lower the population's rebellion willingness, providing stability for your regime.

Diplomatic Approach

For weak neighboring countries, first use trade agreements to soften them, then incorporate them into your territory through "peaceful evolution" tactics rather than direct military conquest.

Q: Why is my tax revenue constantly declining?

A: Check the corruption value of administrative regions, or whether over-mobilization has caused labor shortages. Corruption in Core regions can significantly reduce tax collection efficiency. Monitor administrative efficiency and avoid over-expanding beyond your management capacity.

Q: How do I handle rebellions?

A: You can choose between violent suppression (short-term effective but damages the economy) or making concessions (increases public satisfaction but loses authority). The best approach depends on your current legitimacy level and economic situation. Sometimes a combination of both is necessary.

Q: Does the game have an ending?

A: The game features multiple endgame crises (Endgame Crises), such as AI uprisings or cross-dimensional invasions. When you control 60% or more of known star systems, random endgame challenges will trigger, testing even the most experienced players.

In PAX AUTOCRATICA, technology is not just numerical bonuses - it determines your empire's "essence". Choose your path carefully as it fundamentally shapes your gameplay experience.

A. The Purity Path

Core: Enhance bureaucratic efficiency and human potential.

• Universal Surveillance Network: Greatly reduces assassination success rates, but slowly decreases public happiness.
• Loyalty Circuits: Through biotechnology, ensures generals will no longer rebel.
• Ultimate Weapon - "Truth Broadcasting Station": Through orbital satellites, directly projects brainwashing signals to the ground, instantly eliminating rebellion levels.

B. The Machine Hegemony

Core: Automated production and synthetic replacement.

• Automated Factory Matrix: Production output greatly increased, no longer affected by population aging.
• Consciousness Upload: Elite class immortality, removes character lifespan restrictions.
• Cost: Easily triggers "AI Awakening" endgame crisis, and human factions will extremely hate you.

C. The Void Cult

Core: Religious control and unconventional warfare.

• Prophet Predictions: Through probability calculations, predicts enemy actions, increases combat dodge rate.
• Sacrifice Rituals: Sacrifice part of the population to obtain brief production bursts.

Combat in PAX AUTOCRATICA is divided into orbital air superiority and ground occupation phases.

Combat Formula

The final combat power calculation considers base attributes, morale bonuses, and logistics supply levels. Proper unit composition and tactical positioning are essential for victory.

1. Divide and Conquer

Don't let any single department's power become too great. If military power is too high, they will launch a coup; if intelligence department power is too high, you will be rendered powerless.

Operation: Regularly rotate provincial governors, use their personal rivalries to keep them in check against each other.

2. False Flag Operations

If you want to start a war but lack a "legitimate excuse" (Casus Belli):

Operation: Send agents disguised as neighboring country terrorists to attack your own border outposts. This instantly ignites domestic nationalist sentiment, allowing you to skip parliamentary review and declare war directly.

3. Debt Traps (Economic Levers)

Provide high-interest loans to surrounding small countries. When they cannot repay, use this as a reason to forcibly take over their mining planet operations.

When you control 60% or more of known star systems, the system will trigger the following random challenges:

Internal: The Great Schism

Your heir (eldest son or trusted confidant) will take half your fleet and territory, establishing an opposing regime. This crisis tests your succession planning and relationship management.

External: Extra-dimensional Breach

Physical laws fail, unknown void creatures begin devouring edge star systems. This crisis requires immediate military response and may force you to abandon certain territories.

System: The Digital Plague

All mechanized units and technological facilities may instantly become paralyzed. This crisis particularly affects Machine Hegemony empires but can impact any technologically advanced civilization.

The design philosophy of PAX AUTOCRATICA is to let players experience "the loneliness of power". In the game, the better you perform, the fewer people around you are worth trusting. The developers attempt to explore the stability and fragility of authoritarianism in extreme environments through this mechanism.

Support & Feedback

If you encounter bugs or save file corruption during gameplay:

• Official Community: Visit Discord or Steam community channels.
• Wiki: Check detailed numerical formulas and game mechanics.