OGame Lifeforms Guide: Humans vs Rock'tal vs Mechas vs Kaelesh (Which to Choose?)
All four OGame lifeforms compared: how lifeforms work, the key buildings and research of Humans, Rock'tal, Mechas and Kaelesh, and which lifeform fits Collectors, Generals and Discoverers.
Short answer: OGame has four lifeforms. Rock'tal are the strongest producers and the natural pick for Collectors. Mechas are built for combat and ship production and suit Generals. Kaelesh boost expeditions and research and suit Discoverers. Humans, the lifeform every player starts with, are an all-rounder. You choose a lifeform per planet, and lifeform research bonuses apply to your whole empire, so most strong accounts mix them: mostly Rock'tal for the economy, with Mechas or Kaelesh on a few planets for their specific research.
Lifeforms arrived in 2022 and added a second economy on top of classic OGame: population, food, twelve buildings and eighteen research slots per planet. The first real decision is which lifeform to develop. It is also the question most returning players ask first, because the in-game screens do not tell you which one pays off.
This guide explains how the system works, what each of the four lifeforms is good at, and which one fits your class and playstyle.
In this guide
- How lifeforms work
- Humans
- Rock'tal
- Mechas
- Kaelesh
- The four lifeforms compared
- Which lifeform should you choose?
- Switching lifeforms and mixing them
- Common lifeform mistakes
- OGame without lifeforms
How lifeforms work
- Every planet has one active lifeform. You start with Humans. To find the others, unlock your first research slot with Humans, research Intergalactic Envoys to level 1, then send discovery missions from the galaxy view.
- Buildings work on their own planet, research works everywhere. Lifeform buildings only boost the planet they stand on. Lifeform research bonuses stack across all planets and apply to the whole account.
- Population unlocks research. Each lifeform has a housing building and a food building. Growing population unlocks the planet's 18 research slots in three tiers (T1, T2 and T3). Unlocking all 18 slots on one planet costs billions of resources, so this is a long-term project.
- Lifeform level. Each lifeform gains experience and levels up to a cap of 100. Every 10 levels add 1% to that lifeform's research bonuses, so level 100 gives +10%.
- Artefacts. Discovery missions also bring back artefacts. With them you can choose a specific research, including one from another lifeform: 200 artefacts for a tier 1 research, 400 for tier 2 and 600 for tier 3. You can hold up to 3,600.
- Discovery limit. The limit starts at 50 missions and grows by 50 per day, so you average about 50 discovery flights a day.
The building and research names below are the English names Gameforge itself uses in its lifeform overviews. For planning food and population on a planet, use our lifeform food and population calculator.
Humans
Role: all-rounder, research and production.
- Housing and food: Residential Sector and Biosphere Farm.
- Key buildings: Research Centre, Academy of Sciences, High Energy Smelting, Fusion-Powered Production, and the Metropolis, which strengthens the effect of all your lifeform research.
- Key research: Intergalactic Envoys (needed to discover the other lifeforms), Research AI, Improved Lab Technology, Enhanced Production Technologies, High-Performance Extractors, and ship upgrades such as Light Fighter Mk II and Cruiser Mk II.
Humans are rarely the best at one thing, but they are never a bad planet. Many players keep a few Human planets for Research AI and Improved Lab Technology even after switching the rest of the empire.
Rock'tal
Role: production and energy. Widely considered the best economy lifeform.
- Housing and food: Meditation Enclave and Crystal Farm.
- Key buildings: the Megalith (cheaper and faster Rock'tal buildings), Magma Forge, Crystal Refinery and Deuterium Synthesiser for metal, crystal and deuterium production, the Disruption Chamber for energy, and the Rune Forge and Oriktorium, which move your population up to the higher tiers.
- Key research: Volcanic Batteries, Geothermal Power Plants, Magma Powered Production, Acoustic Scanning, Hardened Diamond Drill Heads, Seismic Mining Technology, Magma Powered Pump Systems, and the Rock'tal Collector Enhancement, which boosts the Collector class.
If you are a Collector or a miner who mostly builds mines, Rock'tal on most of your planets is the standard choice.
Mechas
Role: war economy. Faster ship production, stronger fleets, cheaper flights.
- Housing and food: Assembly Line and Fusion Cell Factory.
- Key buildings: Robotics Research Centre, Update Network, Quantum Computer Centre, Automatised Assembly Centre, Production Assembly Hall, Chip Mass Production and Nano Repair Bots, which improves the Space Dock so more ships come back from a lost battle.
- Key research: Plasma Drive, Catalyser Technology, Efficiency Module, Depot AI, Automated Transport Lines, Artificial Swarm Intelligence, Experimental Weapons Technology, and the Mechan General Enhancement, which boosts the General class.
Mechas populations grow quickly, because Mechas are built in factories rather than born. They are the usual pick for Generals and active raiders who spend a lot of deuterium on flights.
Kaelesh
Role: expeditions, research and moons.
- Housing and food: Sanctuary and Antimatter Condenser.
- Key buildings: Vortex Chamber, Halls of Realisation, Forum of Transcendence, Cloning Laboratory, Chrysalis Accelerator, Bio Modifier (extra planet fields), Psionic Modulator, Ship Manufacturing Hall and Supra Refractor, which raises the chance and size of moons.
- Key research: Telekinetic Tractor Beam, Enhanced Sensor Technology and Sixth Sense for expeditions, Psionic Network, Neuro-Interface, Overclocking, and the Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement, which boosts the Discoverer class.
Kaelesh are the expedition lifeform, but since the artefact update many Discoverers rate them lower than before. Kaelesh have no production buildings, and their best expedition research can be bought with artefacts on a Rock'tal planet instead. A common Discoverer setup today is a Rock'tal economy with Kaelesh research picked up through artefacts or a few Kaelesh planets.
The four lifeforms compared
| Lifeform | Strength | Class synergy | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Humans | Research speed, balanced production, discovery missions | None in particular | New and returning players, research planets |
| Rock'tal | Metal, crystal and deuterium production, energy | Collector (Rock'tal Collector Enhancement) | Miners, Collectors, most economy planets |
| Mechas | Ship production, combat, fuel savings, fewer losses | General (Mechan General Enhancement) | Fleeters, raiders, Generals |
| Kaelesh | Expedition finds, research speed, planet fields, moons | Discoverer (Kaelesh Discoverer Enhancement) | Expedition players, Discoverers |
Which lifeform should you choose?
- Collector or miner: Rock'tal on almost every planet. Nothing else comes close for production.
- General or raider: Mechas on the planets that build your fleet, Rock'tal on the rest to pay for it.
- Discoverer: Rock'tal as the base economy, plus Kaelesh research, either from a few Kaelesh planets or bought with artefacts.
- New or returning player: stay with Humans on your first planets while you learn the system. Research Intergalactic Envoys early so discovery missions start collecting artefacts and lifeform experience.
Your player class matters as much as the lifeform. If you have not chosen one yet, read our OGame classes guide first.
Switching lifeforms and mixing them
- You can change the lifeform of a planet. You do not lose anything permanently: building levels, research picks and research levels are kept and come back when you switch back.
- Watch out for fields. If you leave Kaelesh and the Bio Modifier's extra fields disappear, you cannot build anything until you are below the planet's field limit again.
- Research is levelled per planet. You can pick the same research on several planets, but you have to level it on each one.
- Because research bonuses stack across the empire, mixing lifeforms is normal. Put your production lifeform on most planets and the specialist lifeforms where their research is worth it.
Common lifeform mistakes
- Ignoring food. Population without food stops growing, and your research slots stay locked.
- Building everything at once. Lifeform buildings get expensive quickly. Focus on housing, food and the one or two buildings that fit your plan.
- Delaying Intergalactic Envoys. Without discovery missions you get no artefacts and no other lifeforms.
- Neglecting mines and classic research. Lifeform bonuses are percentages on top of your normal production. They cannot make up for weak mines.
- Copying a build without checking your class. A Kaelesh build is wasted on a Collector who never flies expeditions.
For the production side in more detail, see our guides to lifeform resource management and managing population.
OGame without lifeforms
Lifeforms add a lot of depth, but also a lot of homework: four races, 48 buildings, 72 research options, artefacts and daily discovery missions. Some players love it. Others came back to OGame, saw the second tech tree and missed the game they remember, where mines, research, fleet and moons were the whole game.
OGameXL is built for the second group. It recreates OGame as it was before lifeforms, with the three player classes, alliance classes, expeditions and ACS, on a fast x1000 universe where you can build a real fleet in days instead of months. The OGameXL overview explains the settings.
Sources
- Gameforge: "OGame Lifeforms: All 4 Types, Buildings and Bonuses Explained" and "OGame Lifeforms Strategy".
- OGame Forum Origin (PTS): "Lifeforms FAQ".
- OGame Wiki: Lifeform, Lifeform Buildings and Lifeform Research articles.
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
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Playing and helping run OGame.life since its early seasons. Every build order, fleet composition, and expedition setup covered in these guides has been tested first-hand on our own servers before being written up.
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