Arcs Dice Calculator for Battle Pools
Arcs Dice Calculator
Build assault, skirmish, and raid-style battle pools, then estimate hits, intercept exposure, raid keys, and target pressure before you roll.
This calculator uses a compact face model for Arcs-style custom dice. It focuses on probability planning and avoids long rule text; confirm final resolution against your table copy.
⚙ Descriptive Presets
🎲 Battle Pool Inputs
Burst hit dice; capped at 6.
Safer ship pressure dice.
Key and building pressure dice.
Adds flexible extra dice.
Use 0 to 3 for scenario tuning.
Models a single reroll pass.
Two damage points each.
One damage point each.
Also drives intercept danger.
Needs one hit to remove.
Fresh building health.
Damaged building health.
Choose whether the roll is about ships, a city, or the whole position.
Changes the practical verdict text, not the math.
Battle Pool Result
Expected Defender Pressure
0.00
ship-first hits plus building hits
Attacker Risk
0.0%
chance all attackers are lost
Raid Key Output
0.00
expected keys if ships survive
Target Success
0.0%
selected target profile
📊 Pool Spec Grid
18Dice in set
6Per die type cap
5Tracked symbols
1xDie per ship base
0.50Skirmish hit EV
1.17Assault hit EV
0.67Raid key EV
OnceIntercept event cap
📘 Dice Face Reference
| Die Type | Face Model Used | Expected Symbols | Planning Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assault | Blank, 2 hits, 2 hits+self, hit+intercept, two hit+self faces | 1.17 hits, 0.50 self, 0.17 intercept | Fastest ship damage with meaningful attacker exposure. |
| Skirmish | Three blank faces and three one-hit faces | 0.50 hits, no self, no intercept | Best for low-risk fleet cleanup and control checks. |
| Raid | Key faces, building-hit faces, hit+building faces, intercept faces | 0.50 ship hits, 0.50 building hits, 0.67 keys | Use when the prize is resources, cards, or buildings. |
| Bonus die | Copies the selected die type after pool caps | Depends on type and reroll setting | Tests card, setup, or house-variant modifiers. |
| Target Profile | Health Checked | Counts Ship-First Hits | Counts Building Hits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clear all defending ships | Fresh ships x2 plus damaged ships x1 | Yes | No |
| Destroy one fresh ship | 2 damage points | Yes | No |
| Destroy one damaged ship | 1 damage point | Yes | No |
| Crack all buildings | Fresh buildings x2 plus damaged buildings x1 | Only spillover after ships | Yes |
| Destroy one fresh city/starport | 2 building damage points | Only spillover after ships | Yes |
| Destroy one damaged city/starport | 1 building damage point | Only spillover after ships | Yes |
| Pool Pattern | Typical Dice | Best Target | Watch For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe probe | Mostly skirmish | Damaged ships | Low ceiling; blanks can stall. |
| Assault burst | Mostly assault | Fresh ships or fleets | Self-hit and intercept clustering. |
| Raid pressure | Raid plus support hits | Buildings and valuables | Keys are useful only with ships left. |
| Mixed battle | One or two of each | Flexible board states | Harder to read without expected values. |
| Modifier | Calculator Treatment | Good Use | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reroll skirmish blanks | Blank skirmish faces roll once more | Clean ship pressure | Does not add keys. |
| Reroll assault blank | Assault blank face rolls once more | Higher burst consistency | Can also roll risk symbols. |
| Reroll raid no-key | No-key raid faces roll once more | Resource or card raid checks | May trade building pressure for keys. |
| Bonus dice | Adds extra selected die type | Testing temporary bonuses | Kept separate from base cap. |
💡 Battle Planning Tips
Check fresh defenders: Intercept is modeled as a once-per-battle event, so the same symbol is much scarier when several fresh defending ships remain.
Separate keys from survival: Expected keys are discounted by the chance at least one attacking ship remains, because a raid plan can fail after a strong key roll.
Use target profiles: Ship-first hits and building hits answer different questions. Switch profiles before comparing a fleet attack with a city raid.
Rerolls have risk texture: A reroll can raise the hit average while also increasing self-hit, intercept, or building-damage exposure.
When you enter into a battle, your probability of success in the battle is determine by the dice rolls that take place within the battle. The results of your dice rolls isnt guaranteed, and your probability curve is based upon the different type of dice that are contained within your dice pool. Each type of die perform a different role within the battle, and has a different level of risk associated with there use.
Assault dice are used for high level of aggression in your attack. Assault dice is good for rapidly damage the hulls of ships. However, because assault dice have a chance of causing self-damage or an intercept, you must consider the risk of using assault dice.
How to Choose Dice and Balance Risk in Battle
If you use too many assault dice, you will increase your chance of self-damage. Self-damage can result in the loss of your ships, so you must determine whether the target you are attacking has the fragility to warrant the risk of using assault dice. Skirmish dice are used for reliability in your attack.
Skirmish dice are safer than assault dice. While skirmish dice do not have the same potential for damage the enemy ships as assault dice, they also do not pose the same risks. Many player will select skirmish dice for there safety, but using skirmish dice can be a mistake if they do not allow you to reach the threshold for taking a position.
Raid dice are used for find keys to unlock the cities that you will later attack to destroy there buildings. Raid dice are not as efficient at destroying ships as skirmish or assault dice. Using many raid dice will allow you to find much keys to unlock many cities, but your firepower may not survive the attack of the cities defenders.
Therefore, you must find a balance between raid dice and the other type of dice to ensure that you can find the loot that you need while not sacrificing your fleet. The risk of intercept is based off the strength of the enemy fleet that you will encounter. If the enemy fleet is strong and fresh, the risk of intercept will be more higher than if the enemy fleet is damaged.
When you calculate the risk of intercept for your attack, you cannot use a set number. The risk of intercept will change depending upon the strength of the defending ships. Rerolls allow you to roll a die again.
However, rerolls can pose some risks. For instance, using a reroll for a blank result on an assault die will cause the attack to either recieve a hit or suffer self-damage. A blank result is neutral; it will not cause self-damage.
Thus, using a reroll to replace a neutral result with either a good or bad result will increase the risk of attack. You must ensure that your dice pool match to the profile of the target that you are attacking in order to successfully complete your attack. For instance, if your goal is to destroy an opposing fleet, then you want to use dice that are efficient at destroying ships.
However, if your goal is to attack a city, raid dice will be required to find the keys that will unlock the city. Ship-first hits will only affect the enemy cities after there fleet is completely destroyed. Thus, using the dice to destroy an enemy fleet before using raid dice to attack the enemys cities is essential.
Using the wrong type of dice for your target will make your dice pool mediocre for all task. Rather than calculating the expected value of an attack, you should calculate the probability that you will survive the attack. Expected value determine the average of all possible outcome of an attack.
However, it does not take into account the chance of a total loss of your ships. You must consider the risk of a total loss of your ships to properly calculate your probability of success. If the chance of a total loss of your ships is too great, then the attack is not worth the potential reward.
Through testing different combination of bonus dice and rerolls, it is possible to move from guesswork for your attacks to planning your attacks. Through planning your attacks and testing their outcomes, you can find the right balance of bonus dice and rerolls to create a reward for your attack that justify the danger of the attack. Planning allows player to execute an attack based on calculated odds instead of a desperate gamble to win the battle.
You should of used more raid dice if you wanted more loot.
