What are the fog of war and hotspots modes?

Conqora FAQ · updated 2026-10-16

Public quick games rotate through modifiers so no two matches feel the same. The next game's modes are shown on the menu card before it starts.

Fog of war

You see only what your land, units and allies can see. Everything else is the bare map.

• Other players' starts are hidden during the spawn phase, except your team's.
• Air raids can only hit buildings you can see.
• Shared vision makes alliances more valuable than ever.
• Scouting with boats and early expansion matters.

Hotspots

Gold mines and oil fields are scattered over the land. Whoever owns the tile gets the bonus:

Three nukes on a hotspot destroy it and leave a crater. See the hotspots guide.

Economy modifiers

• Fast economy: more gold sooner and a more generous building curve; silo cooldowns are shorter.
• 2x gold and other gold rates.
• Starting gold: everyone starts with a purse (territories don't).
• Instant build: no construction time.

Rule modifiers

• No nukes: a pure conventional war.
• No ports, no alliances, random spawn, time limit (for example 30 minutes, then the biggest wins).

Teams

Two to four teams; teammates are permanent allies and the team wins at 95%.

Private lobbies let you pick any combination. See playing with friends.

Fog of war: a practical game plan

Fog of war changes how you make decisions more than how you fight. Here's how a strong fog game usually goes:

1. Spawn phase. You see your own ping and your team's, not everyone else's. Pick a spot with room to grow rather than reacting to rivals you can't see.
2. First minutes. Expand quickly through territory. Your land is your vision, so more land means more information.
3. First alliance. An ally's vision is shared, which can double what you see. In fog games, ally early.
4. Scouting. A boat sent across the water reveals the coast it lands on. Use small boats to check whether a rival has built a silo before you commit.
5. Air raids. You can only raid buildings you can see. Scout first, then strike.

Common fog mistakes

• Assuming an empty-looking area is empty.
• Building your silo where an ally can see it, then breaking that alliance.
• Forgetting that your rival is just as blind. A boat landing on an unwatched coast is stronger in fog than in a normal game.

Hotspots: worked numbers

A gold mine pays 7,500 gold every five seconds. That's 1,500 gold per second or 90,000 gold per minute per mine, on top of what your land pays. Some quick comparisons:

Two mines halve those times. Because every second counts, a mine in minute one is worth more than ten tiles of empty land.

An oil field pays no gold, but each one adds 25% troop growth. Three oil fields mean your troops grow much faster than anyone around you, which matters most in long wars of attrition.

Gold mine or oil field?

• Builders who play ports, trade and nukes want gold mines.
• Fighters who win with land attacks want oil fields.
• The best combination is one of each: gold for buildings, oil for the army to protect them.

Scenario: someone holds three mines

You are at 20% and the player next to you sits on three gold mines behind a Defense Post (land within 30 tiles is five times harder to take). You can't break it by land.

• Option 1: ally their other neighbour, mark them as Target, and attack from two sides.
• Option 2: three nukes destroy a hotspot. Three atom bombs (2.25M in total) remove a mine from the game for everyone and leave a crater. Expensive, but it ends a 90,000-per-minute income.
• Option 3: go to sea and out-trade them. A trade ship pays 100,000 gold plus 100 per tile travelled, with a port bonus of up to 3x.

Modifier combinations to know

• Fog of war + hotspots: you may not see who owns a mine until you are next to it. Scout before you plan a nuke on one.
• Hotspots + fast economy: more gold sooner and a 45-second silo cooldown. Expect craters around the mines early.
• Instant build + starting gold: buildings appear the moment you pay. A Defense Post on a hotspot on minute one is very hard to take.
• No nukes + hotspots: nobody can crater a mine, so every hotspot is decided by land.
• 30 min limit: the biggest empire wins when the clock ends, so steady income beats a risky gamble.

Hover any mode tag on the menu to see a short explanation before the game starts.

Beginner vs advanced

Beginners: in hotspots, spawn near a mine and put a Defense Post on it. In fog, ally early and expand fast for vision.

Advanced players: read the map for which hotspots sit on chokepoints, deny rivals with craters, and use fog to land boats where nobody is watching.

More questions

How do I see enemies in fog of war?

Through your own land and units, and your allies' shared vision. Expand, ally, and scout with boats.

How do I destroy a hotspot?

Land three nukes on it. It becomes a crater and nobody gets its bonus again.

Can I choose these modes?

Quick games rotate them, and the menu shows the next game's modes. In a private lobby you pick any combination. See the hotspots guide and playing with friends.

Do territories get starting gold?

No. Territories never get the starting gold that the 1M, 5M and 25M modifiers give players.

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More answers in the Conqora FAQ and the guides. Updated 2026-10-16.