A thematically appropriate replacement for troop "death" that creates meaningful recovery mechanics and natural monetization opportunities.
"When a soldier falls in the Grid, they don't die — not really. Their neural patterns scatter, their cyber-components desync, and their physical form loses coherence. We call it Fragmentation. The good news? With enough Quantum Cores and the right protocols, we can pull them back together. The bad news? Until we do, they're just ghosts in the machine."
Every term is designed to fit the post-apocalyptic, AI-dominated world of Gridfall.
| Old Term | New Term | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Dead / Killed | Fragmented | Troops defeated in combat |
| Hospital | Reconstitution Chamber | Recovery facility |
| Healing | Reconstitution | Recovery process |
| Revive | Reintegration | Returning to active duty |
| Old Term | New Term | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Heal | Emergency Extraction | Paid instant recovery |
| Death Timer | Fragmentation Duration | Time until recovery |
| Building Destroyed | Gridlocked | Building offline |
| Base Burned | Grid Collapse | Base in critical state |
When troops are defeated in combat, they enter the Fragmented state rather than being permanently lost.
Defending troops have better recovery rates due to proximity to base systems.
Attacking troops take more permanent losses due to distance from reconstitution systems.
| Troop Tier | Base Time | Time Modifier | Example (1,000 troops) |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1-T3 (Conscript) | 1 min / 10 troops | ×1 | 1h 40m |
| T4-T6 (Veteran) | 1 min / 10 troops | ×2 | 3h 20m |
| T7-T9 (Elite) | 1 min / 10 troops | ×4 | 6h 40m |
| T10 (Apex) | 1 min / 10 troops | ×8 | 13h 20m |
The Reconstitution Chamber is the critical building that processes fragmented troops.
When the Reconstitution Chamber reaches capacity, excess fragmented troops are permanently lost.
80% Capacity
Warning notification sent
100% Capacity
Excess troops lost
Overflow in Battle
Immediate permanent loss
Multiple paths to recover fragmented troops, creating natural monetization touchpoints.
FREE
Fragmented troops naturally reconstitute over time.
QUANTUM CORES
Instant reconstitution using premium currency.
| T1-T3 | 10 / 1K |
| T4-T6 | 50 / 1K |
| T7-T9 | 200 / 1K |
| T10 | 1,000 / 1K |
SPEEDUP ITEMS
Reduce reconstitution time with speedup items.
When buildings are damaged, they enter the Gridlocked state with varying severity levels.
25-50% damage
-50% production
Auto-repairs in 1h
50-75% damage
0% production
Manual repair required
75-100% damage
Building offline
Urgent repair needed
Building destroyed
Must rebuild
Progress lost
When a base's wall durability reaches zero, the base enters Grid Collapse — the most devastating state in the game.
Progressive system failure when wall durability hits zero
0-10 min
100 Cores to stabilize
10-20 min
300 Cores to stabilize
20-30 min
500 Cores to stabilize
30+ min
Cannot prevent
"Never call it 'pay to revive.' Call it 'Reconstitution,' 'Reintegration,' or 'Extraction.' The language matters — it should feel like a tactical decision, not a death tax."