Grid Power is reduced when Civilian Buildings are damaged. When it reaches zero, the player loses and the current run ends.
The Power Grid indicator shows how much Grid Power remains. The player begins the game with 5 Grid Power and may have up to 7. If Grid Power would be increased beyond 7, Grid Defense increases instead.
Increases and decreases to Grid Power persist between Islands.
Gaining Grid Power[ | ]
Grid Power can be regained by the following means:
- Some missions grant
Grid Power as a Resource reward for completing bonus objective(s). * - After finishing a Corporate Island, the player can buy 2 Grid Power for every 1
Corporate Reputation point spent. * - When completing a Perfect Island, the player can choose +2 Grid Power as their reward. *
- The Grid Charger weapon, if found, restores 1 Grid Power when used successfully.
(* On Unfair difficulty, this gain is doubled.)
Grid Defense[ | ]
Grid Defense is the percentage chance that a building tile will resist damage. Grid Defense starts at 15%. (On Unfair difficulty, Grid Defense starts at 0% but can still be increased.)
Grid Defense can be increased by the following means:
- Overpower Bonus. Each point of Grid Power obtained when the Power Grid is full increases Grid Defense by 2% (the first 5 times), then by 1%, up to a maximum of +25%.
- Pilot Bonus. While equipped, a pilot with the +3 Grid DEF skill increases Grid Defense by that amount. With three pilots, this bonus can reach +9%.
Combined, these bonuses can raise Grid Defense to a maximum of 49%. (34% on Unfair difficulty)
Resists & Resets[ | ]
(This section discusses a quirk of the Grid Defense mechanic.)
Into the Breach uses a seeded random number generator to see if the Grid will resist damage. If a Grid Building tile is hit during the player's turn and does not resist, using the Reset Turn button will not change the outcome. Similarly, if the Grid resists damage three times in a row during the player's turn, resetting the turn will not change the outcome. In both cases, the source of the damage and the specific building hit also have no impact on the outcome.
Players can exploit these predetermined outcomes to "fish for resists", a risky technique which can be useful in some situations. Example: An Alpha Firefly is targeting a tile which contains 2 buildings. The player is ready to put a Mech in the way of the Firefly's projectile, disabling the Mech and killing the pilot. However, there is a chance the building might resist the attack, which would avoid an unnecessary sacrifice. The player uses a Mech to damage one of the buildings on the map, which luckily resists. Knowing this, the player resets the turn and does not block the Firefly's projectile. When the player's turn ends, the Firefly hits the building. The building remains intact, saving the Mech and the pilot from a pointless death.
In the unlikely event that Grid Defense changes during a mission (due to Grid Charger, a pilot gaining the +3 Grid DEF skill, or a pilot with that skill dying between missions), and this would have caused the outcome to be different, the outcome will change.
Lore[ | ]
In the world of Into the Breach, Grid Power is the source of energy that powers Mechs. This energy is distributed through a common network across the Corporate Islands. When Power Grid is destroyed, the Mechs are disabled and Vek emerge from the underground in great numbers, and the timeline is lost. The player may bring one surviving pilot back to the Carrier to try again in a different timeline.