The Polaris have lain trapped in the far reaches of the freezing tundra for eons, but were blessed by the unknowable Gaami with the power to expand their unnatural icy terrain farther than the weather permits. With the might of sleds and Mamoos, the mystical Polaris are determined to entomb the Square in ice and transform the land into a frigid paradise.
Tribe description
Polaris is the third special tribe and the 15th tribe overall in Polytopia. Polaris starts with the Frostwork technology.
Polaris has the ability to freeze water and enemy units, five unique units, and two unique buildings (the Outpost and the Ice Bank).
Polaris is typically considered to be an upper-mid-tier tribe comparable to Yădakk and ∑∫ỹriȱŋ due to its ability to freeze enemy units and its powerful unique units, such as the Gaami and the Ice Fortress.
As a special tribe, Polaris has modified technologies that unlock unique units, buildings, and abilities.
For a list of Polaris's unique units, see List of Units. For a list of Polaris's unique unit skills, see Unit Skills. For a list of Polaris's unique buildings, see Buildings.
Polaris is unique in that it has neither its own specific resource spawn rates nor any terrain allotted to it during world generation. Instead, other tribes in the game determine the land and resources, and Polaris simply freezes its territory in the same way as the Freeze Area unit ability. (When a Polaris city is captured, the city's terrain will be converted to the capturing tribe's terrain.) If all players play Polaris, the game will occur on Imperius land with default resource spawn rates. This is because Imperius used to have such default rates.
The Polaris have lain trapped in the far reaches of the freezing tundra for eons, but were blessed by the unknowable Gaami with the power to expand their unnatural icy terrain further than the weather permits.
Tribe Celebrations[]
The 2021 Polaris Tribe Week poster
2021 Tribe Week: The Polaris Ice Bank serves as a grand display of what the Gaami are capable of. Built at the site where the Polaris first made contact with the Gaami, the rewards which flow out of it remind Polaris citizens of what they owe to their subzero saviors.
The 2022 Polaris Tribe Week poster
2022 Tribe Week: As mysterious as they are majestic, the Gaami are beings from an alien world of eternal permafrost, and the source of the ice magic that the Polaris society relies on. While the Polaris might see them as benevolent saviors, many believe that the Gaami have ulterior motives...
Polaris tribe moon 2023
The 2023 Polaris Tribe Week video
2023 Tribe Week: A happy relationship exists between the Polaris and the Gaami - the Gaami rule and the Polaris enact their will to freeze over the Square. But, of course, there's bound to be some of those who aren't always the happiest with this arrangement, such as this Polaran dissident trying to flee...
The 2024 Polaris Tribe Week poster
2024 Tribe Week: Few things can live out in the utterly inhospitably frozen land of the Polaris, but the Polaris have adapted. Warm igloos, resilient Mamoos, parkas made with Inqi fur, and magical blessings by the Gaami all help provide the Polaris with the strength to freeze the Square.
The 2025 Polaris Tribe Week poster
2025 Tribe Week: Some leftover bones, strips of Inqi fur, horns of a Paati, and a touch of Gaami magic are all it takes to create an adorable Mooni. In this stage, they await their icy shells, crafted by Polaris icesmiths, before setting out on their fun, frosty adventures!
Webshop[]
The Polaris devoutly worship the [benevolent] Gaami through a myriad of practices, including dances, singing, sacrifices, and wearing [special shirts]![1]
Cute and cold, Mooni focus the moon beams to spread ice far and wide, all while humming a happy tune![2]
Magical Annuqi crystals emanate an energy that helps power the spread of the Polaris ice, heal wounds, and cool off a nice slushy cup of Cryoferous Tree sap, which can be enjoyed in [a] Mamoo tusk cup![3]
Inspiration[]
Polaris is based on the indigenous cultures of Siberia and northern Canada (cold biome, coniferous trees, fur-trimmed hoods).
City Naming Syllables[]
Aa, an, do, 'il, iq, nuu, pi, pol, ta, to
City Buildings[]
Monuments[]
Design[]
Fruit: Annuqi crystals
Animal: Mamoo (mammoth)
Field: Snowy fields (similar to Bardur's) with blue ice underneath
Forest: Cryoferous Trees (light-blue fir trees)
Mountain: Several large masses of ice
City: Similar to large igloos with windows, and sometimes spires on top
Helmet: Tan-colored hood with a white-colored fur trim
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A sudden eruption has surfaced the Solaris from their deep mountain caves. Led by the mighty Ralmi they are determined to burn every inch of the Square to ashes.
Solaris starts the game with the ability to burn surrounding terrain and turn water into solid lava
Solaris skin description
The splash screen for the Solaris skin in the Tribe Selection menu.
The Solaris skin is the third special tribe skin. It is based around volcanism, lava, and steam. The Solaris have glowing lava-like heads covered with black stones.
Fields have dark brown surfaces and soil.
Fruits are renamed to Minerals, appearing as three icy blue crystals and known in lore as Igmina Crystals.
The forests are palm trees, exactly identical to those of Kickoo.
Wild animals are replaced with squat purple salamanders or lizards, known in lore as Tuagama.
Mountains are replaced with conical volcanoes in the same color as fields.
Ice tiles are renamed to Lava and have brown surfaces with glowing orange magma underneath. Accordingly, the Break Ice unit ability is renamed to Break Lava.
The metal resource is renamed to Volcano, appearing as the open, lava-filled crater of an active volcano.
Fish in Solaris territory are replaced with white fish skeletons.
Starfish in Solaris territory have black skin.
Solaris city buildings have dark red walls with glowing yellow windows.
All Solaris land units have craggy bodies with veins of orange magma.
Defenders' shields are more curved and have visors reminiscent of those of welding helmets.
Riders' saddles appear three-dimensional with an indented side.
Mind Benders' staves have heads made of magma.
Cloaks' heads and feet appear to be made of fire or lava.
Daggers are renamed to Flames and appear as flames with eyes and a colored headband. They wield a small flame as their weapon.
Knights have black ornamentations on their saddles and ash-darkened spears.
The Ice Archer is renamed to Ash Archer, and its arrowhead appears red-hot.
Moonis are renamed to Pyros, having glowing orange bodies with two wheels and horns strapped above their heads.
Battle Sleds are renamed to Steam Wagons, containing black stones and moving with four wheels.
Ice Fortresses are renamed to Steam Fortresses, having more rounded surfaces, orange windows, and two wheels.
Gaami are renamed to Ralmi, having craggy bodies, grey bull-like skulls, protruding ears, curved horns, and a gold nose ring.
The Skate unit skill is renamed to Roll.
Mines are renamed to Turbines, appearing as round red domes with yellow windows that top a volcano's crater.
Outposts are renamed to Craters, appearing as pits of lava surrounded by stones.
Ice Banks are renamed to Lava Banks, being made of lava rather than ice.
Frostwork is renamed to Heatwork.
Ice Fishing is renamed to Osteophagy.
Sledding is renamed to Steam Engine.
Polarism is renamed to Magmaism.
Polar Warfare is renamed to Explosives.
Mining is renamed to Geothermics.
The Frozen unit effect is renamed to Petrified.
City Naming Syllables[]
py, sul, ph, tan, luc, fer, min, r◊, sa, im, mag, v◊l, can, pen, ash, ra
History[]
An alpha version of Polaris featuring polar bears as animals, a different forest design, and different city syllables.
Polaris was teased by Midjiwan on April 28th, 2017[4] and confirmed on the Beta Test Discord for release in 2018. It was originally slated for release in early 2018, but Midjiwan later stated that at that time, Polaris was "not fun to play" and was pushed onto "the backburner." In August 2018, a revamp of the tribe was proposed, and development restarted in early 2019. Polaris was finally released on June 14, 2019, over two years from its initial tease. Teasers were posted on the website subzero.science.blog in the months leading up to the release.
Polaris was considered very overpowered at the time of its release since the Outpost produced two population. This not only granted Polaris a cheap and plentiful source of population but also allowed the tribe to upgrade its capital on turn 0, a very potent advantage. In response, Polaris was nerfed shortly after its release on July 5, 2019 (update 1.14.1). The Outpost now produces only one population; however, the maximum level of the Ice Bank was increased from 8 to 10, which may have been done to offset how the lack of Customs Houses made Polaris weak in Perfection before the advent of mirror matches in Moonrise.
Trivia[]
The Gaami are inspired by the Wendigo, a mythological creature found in the folklore of many Algonquin-speaking North American indigenous cultures.
An early model of the Polaris tribe featuring the Lantern
An early model of the Polaris tribe featured the Lantern, a building that can transform water into ice, and a unique unit with a skull instead of a head, which may have been the precursor to the Mooni.
The unused Polaris forest
There is an unused forest with pink trees, which may have been used as a placeholder during the development of Polaris. Some of these trees are also seen in the ∑∫ỹriȱŋEmperor's Tomb, and these trees are similar to the Fungi.[5]
The name of the tree "Cryoferous" is a portmanteau of "cryo-" ("ice") and "coniferous" (bearing cones).[6]
The bottom of the sky is tinted ice blue as Polaris freezes more terrain, and red-orange as Solaris burns more terrain.
