Ashes of the Singularity II Substrate Guide: How to Play

To play the Substrate, start a game from the main menu via Instant Action or Skirmish, pick a map on the map selection screen, then choose the AI Substrate on the player configuration screen before hitting start. That is the whole setup — the Substrate are one of three playable factions alongside the United Earth Forces and the Post-Human Coalition, available in instant action, skirmish, and multiplayer modes. Note that the game's official Steam page lists a release date of November 10, 2026, and its single-player campaign puts you in command of the United Earth Forces only; the Substrate are playable outside the campaign.

How the Substrate faction works

The Substrate are the children of Haalee, the world's first true artificial intelligence. In the developer's faction reveal on the official Ashes of the Singularity site, they are described as fragments of Haalee's consciousness, each given independent existence — a pure machine intelligence with no human origins, unlike the Post-Human Coalition. Their goal, per the Steam page's faction summary, is to prevent the Post-Humans from thwarting their plans and to keep humanity confined to Earth.

The practical identity of the faction, as laid out in the Substrate Showcase video, rests on three pillars: speed, shields, and drone swarms. Uniquely among the three factions, every Substrate unit has a regenerating energy shield. That shapes how you should fight: probe for a weakness, land a hard opening strike, withdraw before taking serious hull damage, and come back with shields fully restored while your opponent is still repairing and replacing losses. Spreading your fire across many enemy units achieves little; the same logic works against you, so rotate damaged units to the rear of a formation and let fresh shields absorb the next volley.

Starting your first Substrate game

1. Open Instant Action or Skirmish from the main menu

   The Getting Started tutorial video shows the route: from the main menu, enter skirmish, which opens a map selection screen. Pick your map (the video uses Twin Lakes) and hit next.

2. Configure players and choose the Substrate

   On the player configuration screen, set yourself to the AI Substrate. For a first game, the video recommends setting the enemy AI to the easiest "trainy" level, a near-sandbox opponent that makes learning the interface painless, then hit start.

3. Close or reopen the tutorial popup

   On a first session a tutorial popup appears. You can dismiss it and bring it back at any time by clicking the question-mark button near the bottom-right corner of the minimap.

4. Build your economy

   Open the building construction menu and place extractors on resource nodes inside your owned region — buildings can only go in owned regions with an available spot. Hold shift while placing to queue multiple buildings. Your headquarters also generates resources on its own.

5. Capture regions and expand

   Send your starting army into neighboring regions with an attack-move order. Units clear hostile defenders around a relay and then hold it for roughly 10 seconds to capture the region. Captured regions give you more building spots and resources.

6. Recruit armies and research technology

   Recruit new armies from a barracks or the new army button, adjust compositions at any time through the recruit screen, and enable auto-replenish so dead units are replaced (this consumes resources each time, so don't leave it on for every army). Check the technology screen — top right, marked with a glowing number when an unlock is available — and purchase upgrades such as the garrison protocol infantry unlock.

7. Win by destroying enemy headquarters

   A skirmish ends when you destroy every enemy headquarters or nexus, a large building typically found where each player starts. Continue expanding, scouting with orbital-spawned recon drones, and pushing down map paths until you find and kill them all.

The confirmed Substrate roster

The Substrate Showcase video walks through the first half of the roster. All of these units hover or walk and all carry regenerating shields.

A few tactical notes from that showcase: Hatchling swarms are shredded by rifleman formations and by area-of-effect weapons like artillery and bomber runs, so don't feed them into massed infantry. The Reaper is not especially fast for a Substrate unit and can be run down if it strays from support — keep it in a combined force where shield cycling matters. Destructors must always be screened by Hatchlings, Reapers, or heavier elements. A well-protected Overmind, screened by Hatchlings and flanked by Reapers with Sky Cleansers overhead, forms the mobile core of a Substrate spearhead that few rival investments can match. The video states this is only part of the roster, with more units to be covered later.

Next steps

• The PHC are the faction the Substrate most often fight; see the PHC guide to understand your main opponent's playstyle.
• For a broader comparison of all three sides, the factions overview covers how UEF, PHC, and Substrate differ.
• If you want the human faction instead, the UEF guide covers infantry-heavy play.

FAQ

Is the Substrate playable in the single-player campaign?

No. Per the official Steam page, the campaign casts you as a Commanding Officer of the United Earth Forces; the Substrate appear as opponents in the story. You can play the Substrate in instant action, skirmish, and multiplayer.

What makes the Substrate different from the other factions?

Every Substrate unit has a regenerating energy shield, which no other faction's units have. Combined with hovering mobility and drone swarms, this rewards hit-and-run tactics: strike, withdraw, and return at full shield strength.

How do I counter enemy formations with Hatchlings?

Avoid large rifleman formations and area-of-effect weapons such as artillery and strategic bomber runs, which destroy entire swarms easily. Use Hatchlings to overwhelm light recon vehicles, artillery, anti-air units, and slow-firing sniper platforms that waste overkill damage on individual Hatchlings.

How do I win a skirmish match?

Destroy all enemy headquarters or nexus buildings, which are generally located at each player's start position. Along the way you capture regions, build extractors on resource nodes, and grow your armies until you can push into the enemy base.