Prestige
Prestige is what a galaxy collapse pays. It raises the energy every sun you own produces, permanently and everywhere.
You gain one prestige level each time you collapse a black hole. A sun then produces 1 + your prestige level energy per minute for you: 1 before your first collapse, 2 after it, 3 after the second. There is no cap on the number of levels, and the bonus applies to every sun you hold, not only to suns in the galaxy you collapsed.
Earning a level
A collapse requires you to own the black hole with 1,000 megaprobes garrisoned there, and every sun in the galaxy to be held by you or a clan ally. Black Holes has the full path; Suns covers the super-probes you need to get there.
What a level is worth
| Prestige | Energy per sun per minute | Income from 20 suns |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 20 / min |
| 1 | 2 | 40 / min |
| 2 | 3 | 60 / min |
| 5 | 6 | 120 / min |
| 10 | 11 | 220 / min |
Each level adds the same flat 1 energy per sun, so the early ones matter most: the first collapse doubles your rate, the second adds 50% on top of that, and the tenth adds 10%. What keeps later levels worth taking is the tech tree, where a single upgrade run to level 100 costs 33,835,000 energy (see Energy & Tech).
What a collapse costs
The collapse deletes the galaxy: every planet and sun in it, yours included, along with their automations. Holdings in other galaxies are untouched, and nobody is removed from the game. If the collapse leaves you with nothing at all, you can rebuild from whatever you hold elsewhere or use Restart in the account panel for a fresh home system. Prestige, your energy balance, tech levels, credits and skins live on your account and survive either way.
Whether a collapse costs you income depends on how much of your sun count was in that galaxy. At prestige 0 the rate goes from 1 to 2, so losing up to half your suns still leaves you earning more than before. At prestige 1 the break-even is a third of your suns, at prestige 2 a quarter, and it keeps tightening. Probe production takes the harder hit: the planets are gone, and only re-expansion brings them back.
Prestige in a clan
Allied suns count toward the sun requirement, so a clan can conquer a galaxy together, but the prestige level goes to the single player who collapses the black hole. Clans usually rotate who holds the black hole across collapses.
Where you see it
Your own level and the resulting rate are in the Tech panel next to your energy balance. Another player's card shows Galaxies collapsed once they have one. The collapse confirmation spells out the before and after rate before you commit.