Elites are a challenging combat encounter with greater perils and greater rewards. All Elite encounters begin a difficult battle with a hostile ship, and defeating them will always result in both a card reward (with increased chances for Uncommon and Rare cards) and a choice of 3 artifacts (2 on Harder+) after the battle. Elite encounters vary by zone, as shown below. A given Elite can only be encountered at an Elite node once per zone, and map generation will ensure you cannot encounter more Elites than the zone has.
Zone 1: Lazuli Nebula
| Name
|
Details
|
| The Humble Approach
|
A large bounty-hunting ship loaded with cannons, but with one glaring weak point
|
| Fireball¹
|
A small pirate ship piloted by a familiar face that turns up the heat with each shot
|
| Needler
|
A medium sized-ship that automatically fires back when attacked, intentional or not
|
¹Can be encountered up to two times-- once via the normal Elite map node and once via the Fake Distress Signal event
Zone 2: Sapphire Cluster
| Name
|
Details
|
| Crystalline Offshoot
|
Scattered remnants of an earlier fight, returned to battle with quickly scaling damage
|
| Rogue Starnacle
|
An aggressive ship-sized creature hides amongst the asteroid detritus it produces
|
Zone 3: Void's Cradle
| Name
|
Details
|
| Rusting Colossus
|
A dilapidated old wreck rusting itself apart... but perhaps not quickly enough
|
| Buried(?) Relic
|
Relic from an ancient era that might contain riches as long as it doesn't wake back up
|
