Pax Autocratica Captives & Conversion Guide

Capturing enemies is a second recruitment route in Pax Autocratica, but the public sources do not reveal an exact universal success formula. This guide therefore emphasizes preparation, interface checks, and documented risks.

Evidence labels

• Verified fact: directly stated in the Steam store or an official update.
• Version note: behavior documented for a particular Demo or Early Access build.
• Practical safeguard: a cautious step that reduces avoidable failure without claiming hidden odds.

Capture loop overview

The confirmed sequence

The official store states that weakened enemies can be captured and brought to base. Official updates add Capture Rounds, temporary inventory storage, Prison Cells, prisoner attributes, interrogation, indoctrination, electrocution, re-education, and successful conversion.

A safe end-to-end workflow

1. Confirm that the target is a capturable enemy in the current encounter.
2. Reserve Capture Rounds and avoid uncontrolled finishing damage.
3. Weaken the target and use the capture action shown by the interface.
4. Return with prison capacity or use the documented temporary storage behavior.
5. Inspect attributes and begin interrogation deliberately.
6. Reduce resistance with indoctrination or accept the risks of electrocution.
7. After conversion, review attributes before assigning work or combat duty.

Capture conditions and process

Prepare before firing the capture round

Official updates name standard and advanced Capture Rounds. The advanced variants improve chances against elites and bosses, but the sources do not publish the percentages. Treat the ammunition as a planned expedition resource rather than something to improvise after the target is nearly dead.

Protect the target from accidental damage

An August update states that after a failed capture attempt the enemy briefly cannot be killed by most damage, but the Leader's melee attacks can bypass that protection. Avoid reflexive melee strikes while deciding whether to attempt another capture.

Prison space and resources

Check capacity before the expedition

An early Demo update described one Prison cell upgradeable to three, but explicitly limited that figure to the Demo/Prologue. The current guide therefore never presents three as the permanent cap. Use the live Prison detail panel to inspect slots.

Move temporary captives into cells

Official notes state that prisoners can be held temporarily in inventory when no cell is available on return. A later update also says automatic Prison Cell intake was disabled in that build, requiring manual imprisonment through the cell interface.

Prison planning checklist:

• Reserve a free slot before hunting a high-value target.
• Inspect prisoner attributes in inventory before choosing whom to keep.
• Move a temporary captive into a cell through the current Prison UI.
• Keep the Prison reachable and avoid allowing large units to block movement.
• Budget higher allowances for elite and boss-class soldiers after recruitment where the current build requires them.

Will, loyalty and conversion

Choose interrogation actions with the risk visible

The official conversion rework describes two interrogation approaches: indoctrination and electrocution. Electrocution can wear down resistance but can kill the prisoner or leave trauma. Another official update added an explicit risk warning to the interrogation interface.

Conversion is not the same as instant loyalty

Re-education is documented as a way to remove dissent and restore loyalty. Public notes do not establish that every newly converted prisoner begins with identical loyalty, trauma, or work readiness. Inspect the converted soldier rather than assuming the process erased every condition.

Post-conversion assignment

Read the attributes first

Official updates allow prisoner attributes to be viewed from inventory and show full attributes for recruited soldiers. Use that information to choose a role instead of assigning every convert to the first vacancy.

Integrate the new soldier in stages

1. Inspect work attributes, combat role, traits, loyalty, morale, and trauma indicators.
2. Resolve treatment or unstable conditions before a critical assignment.
3. Compare the soldier with the highlighted attributes of the target building.
4. Use auto-assignment as a starting point, then lock the role if it is essential.
5. Recheck pay, allowance, housing, and daily conditions after the first schedule cycle.

Steps two through five are practical management, not a hidden conversion bonus.

Why attempts fail

Capture-stage failures

• The target is not capturable in that encounter or version.
• Ordinary damage kills the target before the capture action resolves.
• The expedition runs out of Capture Rounds.
• A melee strike bypasses temporary anti-death protection after a failed attempt.
• Mission guidance or the capture prompt has not been completed or displayed.

Base-stage failures

• No usable Prison slot is available and the temporary captive remains in inventory.
• The prisoner was not manually placed in a cell in a build that requires manual intake.
• Electrocution kills the prisoner or creates trauma.
• Conversion feels stalled because the player expects an unpublished guaranteed threshold.
• A converted soldier has poor attributes or unresolved conditions for the chosen job.

Troubleshooting and sources

Symptom-to-check guide

• No capture prompt: verify the enemy type, mission state, remaining Capture Rounds, and whether the target is weakened but alive.
• Captive missing at base: check inventory and Prison Cell UI before assuming data loss.
• Indoctrination does not finish immediately: follow the current resistance indicators; no official instant-conversion formula exists.
• Converted soldier will not work well: inspect attributes, eligibility, trauma, treatment, allowance, and housing.
• Elite or boss is too hard to capture: use the best currently unlocked Capture Rounds and plan for repeated attempts without adding an invented probability.

Related wiki pages

• Browse all Pax Autocratica guides
• Weapons & Combat
• Base & Resources

Official sources

Pax Autocratica on Steam

Official capture-system update

Official prisoner-conversion rework

Official advanced Capture Rounds update