Capture and Convert Prisoners in Pax Autocratica
The fastest way to grow your workforce and army beyond normal recruitment: weaken enemies on expeditions, fire Capture Rounds, jail them, break their will through daily Indoctrinate and Electroshock, then convert them into loyal workers or soldiers — keeping useful affixes from elite captives.
Prisoners are a population pipeline, not loot
In Pax Autocratica, captured enemies are the main way many players expand population beyond normal recruitment. Elites and bosses keep their affixes and traits when converted, making them stronger recruits than basic enemies — so who you capture matters more than how many.
The full loop is: craft Capture Rounds → weaken target on expedition → fire F to capture → assign to a prison cell → interrogate daily → convert into a worker or soldier. Skipping any stage wastes the captive or kills them outright.
01The Capture & Conversion Loop
Five sequential stages — each gates the next
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Craft Capture Rounds before every expedition
Build them at the Weapons Resource Center / Weapon Research Center (the same bench used for guns and ammo). Basic rounds need early materials like Tendril Logs. You can also loot rounds from resource nodes while exploring.
Stock more than you think you need — you typically start expeditions with around 10, and failures burn through them fast on tougher targets. Better advanced Capture Rounds (higher catch chance vs elites/bosses) unlock later via research and blueprints.
Common Complaint Running out mid-fight on an elite is the most-reported frustration. Craft extras before you leave base. -
Weaken the target, then press F to fire Capture Rounds
Get the enemy to very low HP without killing them. Precision matters — overly strong weapons make this hard, so many players swap to a weaker or "dud" weapon for control work.
Press F to fire a Capture Round. Success transfers the target to your captive holding. The catch chance improves at low HP; better rounds raise it further. After a failed attempt, recent updates prevent immediate killing of that enemy for a short window — but melee can still finish them, so hold off.
Prioritize Targets Focus on elites and bosses — they keep affixes and become stronger recruits. Not every enemy is equally capturable early on. -
Return to base and assign captives to prison cells
Captives wait safely in holding — you do not lose them if the prison isn't built yet. Unlock prison blueprints through Building Research, then build and assign each captive a cell.
Early on, multiple smaller prisons are cheaper and easier than one big upgraded one. You can dismantle them later. Upgrading increases capacity but is resource-heavy — only do it once conversion throughput justifies the cost.
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Interrogate daily to break will and convert
Once jailed, use interrogation options once each per day per captive:
Indoctrinate — persuade with your ideals. The safer starting method. Electroshock / Electrocution — shock treatment that forces submission faster, but can kill the prisoner or leave trauma if overdone.
Recommended loop: start with Indoctrinate for the first 2–3 days to gauge resilience, then mix in Electroshock as needed. Average prisoners break in ~3 days of combined actions; high-will or elite prisoners take longer. Keep going until the recruit/hire option appears (often at Victory Square or a similar structure).
End State Converted captives become workers or soldiers for your colony, retaining elite affixes if the source was an elite/boss. -
Choose an alternative outcome if conversion isn't the goal
If you don't want to convert, two other options exist:
Exile — frees the cell with no major fear spike. Execute (at the gallows) — raises fear among citizens as a warning, useful for control but hurts happiness/morale if overused. Some builds also expose a sacrifice option tied to upgrading other soldiers.
02Key Decision Points
Where players lose captives or waste resources
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Who to capture
Prioritize elites and bosses with good soldier type + affixes for stronger long-term units. Basic enemies are fine for pure workforce numbers. Skip capture entirely if you need combat XP/speed or are low on rounds.
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Indoctrinate vs Electroshock
Prefer Indoctrinate early or for high-value targets to avoid accidental death. Use Electroshock to speed up stubborn ones, but monitor closely — players warn against spamming it on day one.
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Prison capacity vs expansion
Build multiple basic prisons early rather than rushing big upgrades. Plan food, beds, and housing before mass conversion so new citizens don't tank morale.
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Fear vs morale balance
Executions and heavy electroshock raise fear (helps prevent strikes) but excess causes breakdowns or defections. Converted prisoners help workforce but still need management.
03Mistakes That Kill Your Captives
Avoid these to stop wasting Capture Rounds and prison slots
- Forgetting to craft or stock Capture Rounds before leaving base — or running out on an elite mid-fight.
- Killing the target by accident because weapons are too strong or you aren't watching HP closely enough.
- Overdoing Electroshock and killing a high-value captive you spent rounds to capture.
- Not building or assigning prison cells promptly — conversion can't progress without a cell.
- Trying to rush same-day conversion on high-will targets instead of running the daily interrogation loop.
- Neglecting base prep (food, housing space) so new converts create morale problems that undo the workforce gain.
- Treating the catch % as pure RNG without lowering HP first, or without using better rounds once they unlock.
A self-sustaining recruitment engine
Done correctly, the capture-and-convert loop turns every expedition into a population gain — with elite affixes preserved, fear controllable through selective executions, and no reliance on the slow normal recruitment path. Build the pipeline once, keep Capture Rounds stocked, and your colony grows itself.