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What's the difference between thrust and torque?

Thrust pushes your ship forward; torque turns it. Mass works against both.

  • Thrust sets your acceleration: how quickly the ship reaches max velocity. Acceleration is thrust divided by mass.
  • Torque is the turning force. Turn rate is torque divided by mass.
  • Mass is the hull plus every fitted module. More mass lowers acceleration and turn rate for the same thrust and torque. Top speed doesn't depend on mass.
  • Your ship's stats show the results under Mobility: turn rate (°/s), acceleration (m/s²) and mass (t).
  • Modules such as Impulse Nacelle and Plasma Burners add thrust.

Good to know

Beta Patch 2 made the Thrust Scrambler shut off an NPC's boost and the Torque Snare shut off its drift. What they do to player ships isn't confirmed yet.

Dev-confirmedBeta Patch 2Sign in to report as outdated
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Sources (7)
SpeakerTierSaid on
In-game stat tooltips (Acceleration, Mass)Official4 Oct 2026
Citadel Wiki, Ship statsOfficial3 Oct 2026
Official patch notes: Beta Patch 2Official4 Oct 2026

Paraphrased from the Citadel Discord. Developers and official documents are named; other players by trust tier. Last verified 4 Oct 2026 for Beta Patch 2.

Also drawn from

  • In-game stat tooltips: Acceleration and Mass: Acceleration is how quickly the ship reaches max velocity, from thrust divided by mass; higher mass reduces acceleration and turn rate for the same thrust and torque; Mobility lists turn rate, acceleration and mass
  • Citadel Wiki: Ship stats: Turn rate is turning force divided by mass; max velocity doesn't depend on mass
  • Citadel Wiki: Modules: Impulse Nacelle and Plasma Burners list a thrust bonus
  • Official patch notes: Beta Patch 2: Thrust Scramblers shut off an NPC's boost; Torque Snares shut off its drift

Written from the game reference notes.