Orbital guide: upgrades, ships, worlds and tips
Everything you need to know to progress in Orbital, a free space shooter you can play in your browser and install on your phone.
Play for free
The basics
Move with the keyboard (WASD or arrows) or with your finger on mobile, like a joystick: shooting is automatic and aims at the closest enemy. Your only job: dodge, pick up crystals and choose your upgrades.
Every destroyed enemy drops crystals. They fill your experience bar: at each level, two upgrade capsules appear around you. The first one you touch wins, the other disappears.
Missions earn coins and up to three stars. Coins buy and upgrade your ships in the hangar.
In-mission upgrades
Upgrades only last for one mission: every run is different. There are 16 of them, in three families. The first upgrade of a mission is always a new weapon.
Weapon upgrades
| Upgrade | Levels | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Twin cannon | 1 | Fires two shots side by side |
| Spread | 3 | +2 spread shots |
| Overcharged plasma | 5 | +25% damage, bigger and hotter shots |
| Fire rate | 5 | +18% fire rate |
| Piercing | 3 | Shots pierce +1 enemy |
| Laser sight | 3 | +10% critical hits (×2 damage) |
New weapons
| Upgrade | Levels | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Explosive shells | 3 | Shots explode on impact Then: Bigger explosions |
| Missiles | 3 | Fires homing missiles Then: +1 missile, faster reload |
| Laser beam | 3 | A continuous laser burns the target Then: Wider, stronger laser |
| Support drone | 2 | An allied drone shoots with you Then: +1 allied drone |
| Orbital blades | 4 | Two blades orbit around you Then: +1 blade, wider orbit |
| Nova wave | 3 | Periodic shockwave around you Then: More frequent, wider wave |
Survival
| Upgrade | Levels | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Armor | 5 | +25% max HP and full heal |
| Nanobots | 3 | +1.5 HP/s |
| Thrusters | 3 | +10% speed |
| Magnet | 3 | +50% pickup range |
Ships
| Ship | Price | Hit points | Damage | Fire rate | Speed | Magnet | Starting power |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Interceptor The starter fighter, reliable and balanced. | Free | 100 | 10 | 2.6/s | 215 | 95 | 1 |
| Neon Stealth Very fast with a high fire rate, but light armor. | 800 🪙 | 80 | 10 | 3.1/s | 260 | 105 | 4 |
| Raptor Forward-swept wings and heavy cannons: the king of damage. | 1,800 🪙 | 95 | 14 | 3/s | 225 | 90 | 8 |
| Royal Gold-plated, very tough, with a super-powerful magnet. | 4,000 🪙 | 160 | 13 | 2.8/s | 205 | 150 | 13 |
| Pumpkin Halloween edition: repairs itself in flight. Regenerates 1.5 HP/s. Limited Halloween edition | 1,200 🪙 | 120 | 12 | 2.8/s | 225 | 110 | 5 |
Hangar upgrades
Each ship has 5 stats to upgrade with coins, each over 10 levels. A level fills in 10 steps: each step already improves the stat, and each full level adds 8% to its base value. Every upgrade also raises the ship's power, which opens new worlds.
| Stat | Effect |
|---|---|
| Armor | Hit points |
| Power | Damage per shot |
| Fire rate | Shots per second |
| Thrusters | Movement speed |
| Magnet | Pickup range |
Level costs (coins, from level 1 to level 10): 160 · 190 · 220 · 250 · 290 · 340 · 390 · 450 · 520 · 610. That's 3,420 coins to max out one stat (without discounts).
Modules
Modules are bought once per ship and work in every mission:
| Modules | Price | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Crystal analyzer | 500 🪙 | +20% experience per crystal: upgrades come faster. |
| Escort drone | 700 🪙 | Every mission starts with an allied drone. |
| Missile launcher | 900 🪙 | Every mission starts with homing missiles. |
| Emergency shield | 1,200 🪙 | Once per mission, absorbs a fatal hit and restores 40% HP. |
Worlds and bosses
Worlds are not linear: each one opens as soon as your ship reaches the required power. Each world has 6 missions: survive, destroy, collect, an elite mission, then the boss.
| World | Required power | Boss |
|---|---|---|
| Neon Nebula Where it all begins: neon drones in tight formation. | 1 | The Guardian |
| Ice Belt Shards of frozen crystal, faster and more numerous. | 6 | The Hive |
| Toxic Jungle Spores and mutant predators in an acid fog. | 6 | The Lancer |
| Electric Abyss An ocean of magnetic storms where lightning-charged tanks lurk. | 14 | The Leviathan |
| Solar Core At the heart of the star, the Titan has mastered every attack. | 22 | The Titan |
| The Void At the edge of the galaxy, where light itself fades away. | 32 | The Eclipse |
| Halloween Night Halloween event (limited time) | 1 | The Pumpkin King |
Game modes
Campaign
The world missions, with up to 3 stars each.
Endless survival
Hold out as long as possible against ever stronger waves, with a boss at regular intervals. Your best score counts for the weekly leaderboard.
Daily challenge
The same run for every player: same ship, same enemies, same upgrades, with a hard rule and a bonus drawn each day. Only the first run of the day is ranked.
Possible rules:
- 💨 Fast enemies : +35% enemy speed
- 🛡️ Armored enemies : Enemies 60% tougher
- 🐝 Swarm : Almost twice as many enemies
- 🥚 Glass Cannon : HP halved, damage × 1.5
- 👾 Boss nest : A boss every 45 seconds
- 🚀 Missile launcher : Start with missiles
- 💥 Shockwave : Start with the nova wave
- 🌀 Orbital blades : Start with orbital blades
- 🛸 Escort : Start with an allied drone
- 🧲 Super magnet : Double pickup range
Time trial
The same course for everyone, to finish as fast as possible, against the ghost of your record. Medals:
- Bronze under 100 s: 50 coins
- Silver under 75 s: 100 coins
- Gold under 55 s: 200 coins
Station defense
Protect your station's core against waves of enemies. Earns ore and crystals for the station (3 rewarded runs per day).
Orbital station
With an account (Google sign-in), you build your orbital station. It produces ore and crystals even when you're not playing, up to 8 hours of storage. Each building goes up to level 25; the Command Center caps the level of the others.
| Building | Unlocked | Example at level 5 |
|---|---|---|
| 🛰️ Command Center | From the start | Max level of other buildings: 5 |
| ⛏️ Ore Extractor | Center Lv 1 | 146 ore per hour |
| 🔷 Refinery | Center Lv 3 | 37 crystals per hour |
| 🔧 Shipyard | Center Lv 2 | −5% on hangar upgrades |
| 📡 Alliance Beacon | Center Lv 3 | Alliances unlocked |
| 🎯 Arsenal | Center Lv 4 | +15% special weapon damage |
| 🧪 Laboratory | Center Lv 5 | +10% coins in missions |
| 🛡️ Shield Generator | Center Lv 6 | +5% HP for all ships |
Alliances
To join or found an alliance, you need the Alliance Beacon (Command Center level 3) and a pilot name. Members help each other: each help shortens a construction (up to 10 helps per construction). Ore donations grow the shared buildings:
- 🏛️ Alliance HQ : 30 members max (Niveau 5)
- 🔬 Alliance Laboratory : −10% construction time for everyone (Niveau 5)
Alliances are ranked by their members' total power.
Leaderboard and leagues
Every week, your best Survival score ranks you in a league of 30 pilots. The top 5 move up, the bottom 5 move down: 🥉 Bronze → 🥈 Silver → 🥇 Gold → 💠 Platinum → 💎 Diamond.
A world leaderboard, plus Daily challenge and Time trial leaderboards, complete the picture.
Achievements and mastery
| Achievement | Effect | Tiers |
|---|---|---|
| 💥 Exterminator | Destroy … enemies | 1,000 / 10,000 / 50,000 |
| 👾 Boss Hunter | Defeat … bosses | 5 / 25 / 100 |
| 🚀 Ace Pilot | Complete … missions | 10 / 50 / 200 |
| ⭐ Perfectionist | Finish … missions with three stars | 5 / 25 / 75 |
| 🌟 Star Legend | Earn … stars | 15 / 50 / 108 |
| 🪐 Explorer | Complete … worlds | 1 / 3 / 6 |
| 💎 Collector | Collect … crystals | 1,000 / 10,000 / 50,000 |
| ⏱️ Survivor | Survive … min in Survival mode | 2 / 5 / 10 |
| 🔧 Mechanic | Buy … upgrade steps in the hangar | 25 / 150 / 500 |
| 🛸 Admiral | Own … ships | 2 / 3 / 5 |
| 📅 Loyal | Claim … login rewards | 7 / 30 / 100 |
| 🎖️ Veteran | Play … games | 25 / 100 / 500 |
Each ship gains experience as you play with it and ranks up to rank 10 (reward: rank × 30 coins). At rank 10, it gets a gold finish.
Daily rewards
Three challenges per day (enemies, missions, crystals, bosses, stars, upgrades) earn coins.
A login reward follows a 7-day cycle: 20, 25, 30, 40, 50, 60, 120 coins. Skipping a day resets the streak to 1.
Tips
- Go for the capsule you want, not the closest one: new weapons (missiles, orbital blades, nova wave…) change a run the most.
- Pick up crystals: they are your experience. The Magnet and the Crystal analyzer module (+20% experience) bring upgrades faster.
- The Emergency shield saves a run: once per mission, it absorbs the fatal blow.
- Worlds open with ship power, not in order: upgrade your ship to reach the next world instead of replaying the same missions.
- Build the Shipyard early: it lowers the price of every hangar upgrade (up to −25%).
- Visit your station at least every 8 hours: beyond that, storage is full and production stops.
- Play your 3 Station defenses every day: they're the best source of ore and crystals.
- Log in every day: day 7 of the streak pays 120 coins, and daily challenges add up.
- Switch ships from time to time: mastery pays coins at every rank, on every ship.
- In Time trial, watch the ghost: it replays your best run and shows where to gain seconds.
- Install the game on your phone (Install button or "Add to Home Screen"): it launches like an app and works offline.
FAQ
Is Orbital free?
Yes. The whole game is free to play, with no ads: coins are earned by playing. The shop offers optional packs to support the game, with no loot boxes.
Do I need to download anything?
No. Orbital runs in your browser, on computer, tablet or phone. You can also install it as an app to play offline.
Do I need an account?
Not to play. A Google account (optional) saves your game online and unlocks the station, alliances, leaderboards and purchases.
Which languages?
French, English, Spanish and German.
How many worlds and ships are there?
6 worlds of 6 missions each, plus limited-time event worlds, and 5 ships to unlock and upgrade.