The Chain
What the Chain filters, where it is switched on and who stays out of it.
reviewed 8 August 2026
What it is
The Chain is a filter switched on inside a quadrant already won: from then on, encounters in that quadrant bring a single species, chosen by you.
How I do it
Before you startQuadrant won The Chain only switches on where the quadrant has already been won, that is, where each of its species has been contained.required
How to switch the Chain on in a quadrant:
- Win the quadrantContain each species that appears in it. Before that the Chain does not open.in gameMap → Incursion → Quadrant
- Return and open the Chain panelThe panel sits in the quadrant itself. The choice is drawn from the species of that quadrant.in gameQuadrant → Chain
- Choose the species and activateWith the Chain on, encounters in the quadrant filter to the chosen species. Edge Cases are not in the choice list.
In development
What is missing: Whether the Chain stays on after you leave the quadrant, and what switches it off.
What already holds: The prerequisite of a won quadrant, the filter to one chosen species, and the exclusion of Edge Cases.
What I get — and what it costs
What I get
Active ChainEncounters in the quadrant filtered to one chosen species, instead of the whole list.Requires the quadrant already won and applies in the quadrant where it was switched on. The Edge Cases stay out.
What it costs
Edge Cases stay outAn Edge Case cannot be chosen in the Chain.One species at a time, one quadrant at a timeThe Chain points at one species at a time and applies in the quadrant where it was switched on.