These use the "system merits" shown on the tug-of-war display on the map. Personally-earned merits for rank are usually four times greater than these (but can have different multipliers).
"Preferred" activities for a Power and target system are shown on the map display and receive a 50% bonus to both personal and system merits.
When Undermining, the "System Strength Penalty" and "Beyond Frontline Penalty" will reduce the personal and system merits earned if either is above Standard, with the Beyond Frontline Penalty being more severe. The scale is Standard, Moderate, High, Very High. These measures do not affect Reinforcement.
Each player is given five tasks at the start of the Powerplay cycle, granting a significant number of bonus personal merits - though no additional effect on the control score of the system they are completed in beyond those obtained from the task activities.
Weekly tasks may specify particular systems to be carried out in; these will normally be near to the player's start of cycle location. To reduce the chance of being given an impossible task, it is best to start the week near a border with another Power.
Weekly tasks are mostly optional and there is no penalty for not completing them - a new set will be given the following week regardless. The initial set of five tasks given when joining a Power is required to unlock rank progression (but will never specify systems, so should always be possible).
| Activity | Acquisition? | Reinforcement? | Undermining? | Passive? | Odyssey? | Legal? | Details | Pickup/Activity Location | Hand-in Location | Notes | BGS effect? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bounty Hunting | Yes | Yes | No | High | No | Yes | Merit proportional to bounty claim, awarded on kill | In Target System | n/a | Cashing in the bounties at a friendly system power contact afterwards gives a bonus | Positive, generally for system controller |
| Collect Escape Pods A | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Power Signal Sources are a good place to look | In Target System | Supporting System Power Contact | Certain megaships and other POIs can give a higher rate of escape pods. Unavailable at Anarchy stations. | Mildly positive for hand-in station owner |
| Holoscreen Hacking | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Reinforcement Only (Fine elsewhere) | Requires Recon Limpet | Orbital Starports | n/a | In Acquisition and Undermining, rapidly damages reputation with station owner. In Reinforcement may not be available away from front lines. | None |
| Power Kills | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Reinforcement Only | In Undermining systems, killing ships belonging to another Undermining Power does nothing | In Target System | n/a | In Acquisition and Undermining, kills are illegal but do not increase notoriety | None |
| Retrieve Power Goods A | Yes | No | No | Low | Yes | If not caught | Goods are in locked containers, ebreach or combination to open | Surface settlements in target system | Supporting System Power Contact | None | |
| Scan Datalinks | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Scan “Ship Log Uplink” with Data Link Scanner | Non-dockable megaships | n/a | Only once per megaship per fortnight | None (unless combined with a mission to scan the same ship) |
| Sell for large profits A | Yes | No | No | Moderate | No | Yes | Any cargo worth 40% or more profit | Station in supporting system | Station in target system | Once profit threshold met, more expensive goods are better. Undocumented location requirement. | Positive for station owner |
| Sell for large profits R | No | Yes | No | Moderate | No | Yes | Any cargo worth 40% or more profit | Station in any system | Station in target system | Once profit threshold met, more expensive goods are better | Positive for station owner |
| Sell mined resources A | Yes | No | No | Low | No | Yes | Sell any actually mined goods, note location requirements | Mining sites in Supporting System | Station in target system | Location requirement is unusually harsh, and not documented | Positive for station owner |
| Sell rare goods | Yes | Yes | No | Low | No | Usually (Fine only) | Sell rare goods | Any rare goods producer outside target system | Station in target system | Merit gain is better for higher sale prices | Positive for station owner |
| Transfer Power Data A | Yes | No | No | Low | Yes | If not caught | Downloadable from data ports | Odyssey settlements | Supporting System Power Contact | Each Power has preferred types of data which give better merits. Data type chances related to data port type. | None |
| Transport Power Commodity A | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes, but other Power agents may attack | Location is crucial | Power Contact in Supporting System | Power Contact in Target System | Limited allocation per half hour, 15-250 dependent on rank. Cargo disappears at end of cycle if not delivered. | None |
| Upload Power Malware A | Yes | No | No | No | No | If not caught | Upload Power Injection Malware to data ports | Any Power contact | Odyssey settlements in target system | Only one item can be uploaded per port. Long upload time. | None |
| Complete Support Missions | Conflict only | Yes | Yes | Moderate | Some | Yes | Any mission in the “Support” category | Station in target system | n/a | Merit gain proportional to donation size for those missions, with cargo donations much more effective. Restore/reactivate Odyssey missions are very good. | Positive for mission faction |
| Flood markets with low value goods | Conflict only | No | Yes | Low | No | Yes | Goods must sell for 500 cr or less, and be on the station market as supply or demand | Station in any system | Station in target system | The cheaper the better. Hydrogen Fuel is usually a safe bet, Limpets also work well. | Variable but small for station owner |
| Scan ships and wakes | Conflict only | Yes | No | High | No | Yes | Normal scan of ships. | In Target System | n/a | Autoscans count (including your own SLF, though the merit count is far too small to be exploitable) | None |
| Collect Escape Pods R | No | Yes | No | Low | No | Yes | Damaged or Occupied Escape Pods | In Target System | Target System Power Contact | Unavailable at Anarchy stations. S&R payout bonuses help with this | None |
| Exobiology | No | Yes | No | High | Yes | Yes | Anywhere | Station in target system | Data collected after 7 Nov 3310 only | None | |
| Exploration Data | No | Yes | No | High | No | Yes | Merits per system, not per page – cheap systems get nothing | Anywhere >20LY | Station in target system | Data collected after 7 Nov 3310 only | Positive for station owner |
| Collect Salvage R | No | Yes | No | Low | No | Yes | Black boxes, Personal Effects, Wreckage Components | In Target System | Power Contact in Target System | Unavailable at Anarchy stations. | Positive for station owner |
| Sell mined resources RU | No | Yes | Yes | Moderate | No | Yes | Sell any actually mined goods, note location requirements | Mining sites in Target System | Station in target system | Location requirement is unusually harsh, and not documented. Merits proportional to sale price. | Positive for station owner |
| Transport Power Commodity R | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes, but other Power agents may attack | Power Contact in Stronghold System | Power Contact in Target System | Limited allocation per half hour, 15-250 dependent on rank. Can’t reinforce a system with its own supplies. Cargo disappears at end of cycle if not delivered. | None | |
| Collect Escape Pods U | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Power Signal Sources are a good place to look | In Target System | Friendly System Power Contact | Unavailable at Anarchy stations. Certain megaships and other POIs can give a higher rate of escape pods | Mildly positive for hand-in station owner |
| Commit Crimes | No | No | Yes | Very Low | No | No | Murder of Power or minor faction ships or personnel | In Target System | n/a | System authority appear not to count | Negative for ship owner (irrelevant for Power ships) |
| Collect Salvage U | No | No | Yes | Low | No | Yes | Black boxes, Personal Effects, Wreckage Components | In Target System | Friendly System Power Contact | Unavailable at Anarchy stations. | Positive for station owner |
| Transfer Power Data U | No | No | Yes | Low | Yes | If not caught | Downloadable from data ports | Odyssey settlements | Friendly System Power Contact | Each Power has preferred types of data which give better merits. Data types chances related to data port type. | None |
| Transfer Power Data R | No | Some Types | No | Low | Yes | If not caught | Downloadable from data ports | Odyssey settlements | Same System Power Contact | Research and Industrial data do not work in Reinforcement | None |
| Retrieve Power Goods U | No | No | Yes | Low | Yes | If not caught | Goods are in locked containers, ebreach or combination to open | Surface settlements in target system | Friendly System Power Contact | None | |
| Transport Power Commodity U | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes, but other Power agents can legally attack | Power Contact in Stronghold System | Power Contact in Target System | Limited allocation per half hour, 15-250 dependent on rank. Cargo disappears at end of cycle if not delivered. | None | |
| Upload Power Malware U | No | No | Yes | No | No | If not caught | Upload Power Tracker Malware to data ports | Any Power contact | Odyssey settlements in target system | Only one item can be uploaded per port. Long upload time. | None |
A, R and U on the end of an activity description are used to distinguish the same base activity carried out in different states.