PVE Mode

PVE Mode is a Store item that switches off player versus player combat in both directions. While it is running, no other player can attack you, spy on you or fire missiles at you, and you cannot do any of those things to them either.

NPC encounters and secret missions are not touched by it, so you can keep farming while it is on. Everything on your own planets carries on as normal. It is the mode to buy when you want to build, research and grind NPCs without watching for incoming fleets.

Buying it

PVE Mode lives on the Store page, which sits under the More menu. It is paid for with credits and it starts the second you buy it. Three lengths are sold:

Length	Cost
1 day	15,000 credits
7 days	60,000 credits
30 days	160,000 credits

Buying again adds time on top of what you have left instead of replacing it. Two 7 day purchases give you 14 days, and you can stack a 1 day onto a 30 day if you want the extra bit of cover.

What it blocks

While PVE Mode is active:

No player can attack your planets or moons, join a group attack on you, run espionage against you, or fire missiles at you.
You cannot attack, spy on or missile another player either. The protection cuts both ways, and that is the price of it.
You cannot send Group Defend fleets to allies or buddies. Sitting behind a shield while lending your fleet to someone else's war would be a one way trade, so the game does not allow it.
The Oracle scan for Active players is greyed out, and the Inactive players scan only turns up NPC targets. Scanning for Encounters works normally.

Try to launch a blocked mission and the fleet page tells you why:

What still works

Attacking NPC encounters and running secret missions.
Transport, Deploy, Colonization, Harvest and Fleet Save. Debris fields are fair game.
Everything on your own planets: buildings, research, shipyard and defenses.
Trading, the Lucky Draw and the rest of the Store.

Other players can still see you. You show up in the Galaxy view and in their Oracle scans as usual. They just cannot do anything to you.

The P marker

Every planet and moon you own carries a violet P in the Status column of the Galaxy view while PVE Mode is on. Hovering it reads "PVE Mode, cannot be attacked by other players". You see it on your own rows too, which is a handy reminder that the shield is still up.

Checking how long is left

Settings, then the Protection tab, shows whether PVE Mode is on, a live countdown and the exact expiry time in server time. The Store card shows the same countdown. When the clock runs out the protection just stops, with no warning message and nothing to renew, so keep an eye on it if you are relying on it.

Ending it early

The Store card has an End PVE Mode button while it is running. Pressing it drops the shield straight away so you can go back to attacking, but you forfeit every bit of time you have left. There is no refund and no partial credit back, so only do it when you really mean to fight.

Things to watch

PVE Mode only stops new attacks from being launched. Fleets and missiles that are already in the air when you buy it still arrive and still fight whatever is sitting at the target. Check your incoming list before you spend the credits, or fleet save as well.
The same goes the other way. Anything you launched before turning it on carries on to its target and comes home normally.
It is not a substitute for Vacation Mode. PVE Mode does nothing about the inactive account rules, and it costs credits where vacation is free.

SFC1 players knew this as the Neutrality Marker, or p-mode. SFC2 sells it as a timed Store purchase instead of as an item you stockpile, and it blocks your own attacks as well as everyone else's.