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When ships fire in ambush mode, they do double damage. Furthermore, I-Ships and P-Ships will ambush fire at the same strength as orbiting fleets (instead of at half that strength), so each I-Ship, P-Ship, or fleet ship that ambush fires can destroy one unloaded ship, or two loaded ships.
As if that weren't enough, ambushing ships can fire at multiple different targets in the same turn--so if an enemy attempts to bring more than one fleet through your world without stopping, your I-Ships, P-Ships, and fleets at that world will ambush fire at each of them, doing double damage to each enemy fleet.
There are some very important things to understand about ambush. First, it only applies when an enemy attempts to pass completely through a world enroute to another world, using multiple hops. That is, only the ships at the fleet's intermediate stops, if any, can ambush. The ships at a fleet's final destination will not ambush fire. (You do not have to be the owner of the world in order for your fleets to ambush fire at that world.)
Second, only those ships that did not not receive an explicit move or fire order will ambush fire. If you ordered a fleet to move, or if you ordered a fleet to fire at some target (even a conditional fire order that isn't fulfilled), then that fleet will not ambush that turn. Similarly, if you ordered your I-Ships or P-Ships to fire, then they will not ambush.
You will not ambush fire at your allies. However, ships declared At Peace will still ambush.
It is possible to turn off the auto-ambush feature at any particular world or worlds, or at all worlds you own, for a given turn. This is only very rarely done. You might do this, for instance, to extend safe-passage to an opponent through a particular set of worlds, without having to declare that opponent an ally.
The ambush rule helps you to defend your inner circle of worlds with I-Ships and P-Ships, forcing your enemies to approach slowly, one turn at a time, or risk being decimated by your ambush fire.
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