Early access · Release date: February 5, 2026
UpdatedMENACE How to Get More Squaddies: Recruitment Guide
MENACE how to get more squaddies: boost mission recruits, expand your roster cap, and improve rescue chances with Command Room, Quarters, and First Aid.
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MENACE How to Get More Squaddies: The Quick Answer
Running short on squaddies makes every casualty harder to replace before your next deployment. The answer to MENACE how to get more squaddies starts with the Impetus’s built-in +1 squaddie per mission, plus another +1 from Command Room. This MENACE how to get more squaddies guide explains how to combine that income with extra capacity and rescue bonuses so your reserve can recover between fights.
Your immediate checklist is straightforward:
- Install Command Room in the Bridge slot to increase squaddie income.
- Install Quarters in the Hull slot when you need more capacity.
- Check the Black Market for Recruitment Effort.
- Use rescue bonuses to reduce permanent losses.
- Check your squaddie limit whenever replacements stop arriving.
These options affect different parts of your manpower situation. Command Room increases the number arriving per mission. Quarters increases how many the Impetus can hold and improves rescue chances. Rescue equipment and perks help retain troops after casualties.
| Option | Slot or location | Squaddie-related effect |
|---|---|---|
| Impetus baseline | Ship | +1 squaddie per mission; 15% rescue chance |
| Command Room | Bridge OCI slot | +1 additional squaddie per mission |
| Quarters | Hull OCI slot | +20 maximum squaddies; +10% rescue chance |
| Recruitment Effort | Black Market | Recruitment option with a trade value of 50 in v0.7.16 |
With Command Room installed, the baseline and its bonus add up to two squaddies per mission, provided your roster has room. That makes it a direct way to improve steady replenishment without waiting for faction OCI unlocks.
Official page: MENACE (menacegame.com)
Use Command Room and Quarters Together
The July OCI rework introduced base Operational Capability Improvements that are always unlocked. Command Room and Quarters belong to that group, so faction trust is unnecessary to unlock these basic options.
Image: Steam / Overhype Studios
They occupy separate slots, allowing you to install both. That combination addresses two problems at once: slow replacement income and limited room aboard the Impetus.
Command Room Increases Your Replacement Income
Command Room occupies the Bridge slot and contributes one extra squaddie per mission. The Impetus already supplies one, so the combined income doubles that baseline.
Across several missions, that difference accumulates. However, those arrivals still have to cover your losses. Two replacements cannot rebuild your reserve if you consistently lose more than two squaddies per mission.
Track arrivals alongside casualties. If the reserve keeps shrinking despite Command Room, focus on preserving troops and improving rescue chances alongside recruitment.
The Bridge slot also offers Intelligence Center, which provides +1 Intelligence. Choosing Command Room therefore uses a slot that could support another campaign benefit. Pick the effect that addresses your current shortage.
Quarters Raises Capacity and Supports Recovery
Quarters occupies the Hull slot and adds 20 to your maximum squaddie capacity. It also provides a +10% Squaddie Rescue chance bonus.
Capacity matters because reaching the limit stops additional squaddies from entering your roster from any source. Extra recruitment cannot push you past that ceiling.
Install Quarters when your existing limit prevents you from building the reserve you want. If you are far below the cap and struggling with casualties, its rescue bonus is the part that directly supports recovery.
The Hull slot also offers Garage, which repairs one defect and 10% vehicle HP after each mission. Consider that tradeoff when your force depends heavily on vehicles.
Recheck OCIs After Replacing Them
Faction OCIs install over base OCIs and replace them. Non-ability OCIs usually retain the underlying base effect, but upgraded versions can change an OCI’s behavior substantially.
Read the effects before installing a replacement. Check that your intended recruitment, capacity, or rescue benefit remains part of the new configuration.
For MENACE how to get more squaddies, keeping the relevant effect installed matters just as much as unlocking a more advanced ship upgrade.
Preserve Your Squaddies With Rescue Bonuses
Recruitment adds replacements; rescue bonuses help prevent casualties from becoming permanent losses. Both contribute to the number of troops available across your campaign.
Image: Steam / Overhype Studios
The Impetus begins with a 15% Squaddie Rescue chance. Quarters adds a ship upgrade that supports rescue, while the October v0.7.16 balancing update strengthened First Aid options.
| Rescue option | Effect | Scope stated by the mechanic |
|---|---|---|
| Impetus baseline | 15% Squaddie Rescue chance | Starting ship benefit |
| Quarters | +10% Squaddie Rescue chance | Hull OCI benefit |
| First Aid perk | Additional 20% rescue chance, with a minimum of one rescued squaddie | All units |
| IFAK — “First Aid” accessory | +25% rescue chance; one squaddie always rescued | Equipped unit |
Use the Updated First Aid Perk
In v0.7.16, First Aid gained an additional 20% squaddie rescue chance for all units, with a minimum rescue of one squaddie.
That gives the perk a direct connection to campaign manpower. When reviewing a leader’s available promotions, consider that rescue benefit alongside the rest of your planned build.
Promotions also increase deployment costs through each leader’s promotion tax. Check the resulting supply cost before committing, especially when you already struggle to fit your preferred equipment into a mission.
Equip IFAKs Where You Need the Unit Benefit
The IFAK — “First Aid” infantry accessory increases the equipped unit’s rescue chance by 25% and guarantees one rescued squaddie.
Its scope differs from the First Aid perk: the accessory specifies the unit carrying it, while the perk’s updated effect applies to all units.
Check which squads carry rescue support during preparation. Keep those effects in mind when assigning dangerous jobs, but continue using cover and positioning to avoid casualties in the first place.
Keep Recruitment and Rescue Separate in Your Planning
Use the listed bonuses to compare individual effects, and read their current tooltips when configuring your force. Recruitment income and rescue chance solve different problems, even when both improve your reserve over time.
For MENACE how to get more squaddies, preserve the troops you already have while building your replacement income. Otherwise, recruits can disappear into the next mission’s losses before your reserve grows.
Check the Black Market and Identify the Right Recruitment Option
The Black Market includes Recruitment Effort, whose trade value dropped from 60 to 50 in v0.7.16. Check that entry when you need recruitment support.
Image: Steam / Overhype Studios
The market can also be restocked for a fee, a feature added in SL Update 1. Check existing stock before paying for a restock, and keep the squaddie cap in mind before spending resources on recruitment.
You will also encounter dossiers connected to named squad leaders and pilots. Those belong to a separate recruitment process.
| Black Market option | What it concerns | Relevant mechanic |
|---|---|---|
| Recruitment Effort | Recruitment support | Trade value reduced to 50 in v0.7.16 |
| Leader or pilot dossier | Named characters | Adds a random leader or pilot to the hiring pool |
| Market restock | Available stock | Restocks the market for a fee |
Dossiers Expand Your Hiring Pool
Between missions, open the Black Market through the left-hand menu. Trading for a dossier adds a random squad leader or pilot to your hiring pool.
You then spend Authority to hire that character for use. Characters can remain in the hiring pool until you choose to activate them.
Plan those hires around your command resources. Higher Authority provides a combat discipline bonus, while low Authority reduces discipline and can lead to conflicts between leaders.
Named Characters Carry an Authority Tradeoff
Since the OCI rework, maximum Authority starts at 120, and each hired squad leader or pilot reduces that maximum by four.
That creates a continuing cost to expanding your active character roster. Faction trust also unlocks certain named characters, including Weiwu, Corlain, and pilot Murdock, introduced in SL Update 1.
For MENACE how to get more squaddies, focus on the recruitment and reserve mechanics that address your troop shortage. Expand your leader roster when you need another character’s role, skills, or vehicle support.
Diagnose Roster Limits Before Your Next Deployment
When working through MENACE how to get more squaddies, identify which limit is causing the problem. Ship capacity, recruitment income, and mission supply points each affect a different part of force preparation.
A larger reserve helps replace losses across missions. Your deployment budget determines how much of your force and equipment you can bring into an individual battle.
| Constraint | What it controls | Relevant mechanic |
|---|---|---|
| Squaddie capacity | Total squaddies held aboard the Impetus | Quarters adds 20 maximum squaddies |
| Replacement income | Squaddies gained per mission | Impetus grants one; Command Room adds one |
| Mission supply budget | What you can bring into a mission | Leaders, promotions, and equipment contribute costs |
| Maximum Authority | Command capacity affected by hired characters | Starts at 120; decreases by four per hired leader or pilot |
If No New Squaddies Are Arriving
Check your current total against the maximum. At the cap, every recruitment source stops adding squaddies.
Review Quarters and any replacement Hull OCI. Also remember that the squaddie maximum can be set through the initial difficulty options when starting a campaign.
For an older save carried through the OCI rework, inspect your installed upgrades. That update removed old OCIs and refunded their costs, so your previous ship configuration needed rebuilding.
If Your Reserve Keeps Shrinking
Compare casualties with replacement income. Install Command Room if you need its additional recruit, then review First Aid and IFAK access.
Avoid spending your reserve as quickly as it replenishes. Use squad roles, equipment, and positioning to limit losses, and check rescue support before deployment.
If You Cannot Field the Force You Want
Review the mission’s supply budget. Leaders have a base deployment cost, and promotions add their individual promotion tax. Weapons and other equipment also contribute to the total.
Trim costs where your planned force allows it. A larger reserve does not remove the supply decisions involved in fielding promoted leaders, larger squads, and expensive gear.
FAQ
MENACE how to get more squaddies: What should I change first?
Check your capacity, then install Command Room if you need more regular replacements. It adds one squaddie per mission to the Impetus’s built-in one, bringing the combined income to two while space remains available.
Why am I getting no squaddies after missions?
Check whether you have reached the Impetus’s squaddie limit. Once full, the ship cannot receive additional squaddies from any source. Quarters increases that maximum by 20.
Does Quarters give extra squaddies every mission?
Quarters provides +20 maximum squaddie capacity and +10% Squaddie Rescue chance. Command Room provides the additional +1 squaddie per mission.
How do First Aid and IFAKs help maintain my reserve?
In v0.7.16, the First Aid perk gained an additional 20% rescue chance for all units, with a minimum rescue of one squaddie. The IFAK accessory provides +25% rescue chance for its equipped unit and guarantees one rescued squaddie.
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MENACE How to Hire More Squad Leaders: Recruit GuideMENACE how to hire more squad leaders explained: use Black Market recruitment, unlock faction Honor Guards, and choose your next infantry leader or pilot.Join the community
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