There is no official soldier ranking in Pax Autocratica, and the community's actual verdict is counterintuitive: the marquee soldier types, elites and chiefs, are widely called overrated. This page collects what players and creators recommend, separates it from the one official buff list, and links the verified soldier roster. Community read below; verify against your current patch.
Quick answer
Community guidance points away from chasing elites and chiefs: a troops guide video argues they are overrated, and a Steam discussion titled "Elites are weak" echoes it, with one player calling the starter female soldier the strongest troop in the game (a single community claim, not a consensus). For base labor, Sattleri units are named among the best worker types. Directive ST-11 also raised the combat power of five named characters, which is official.
The case against elites and chiefs
The YouTube troops guide "This Is Simply The Best Team You Can Have In Pax Autocratica" explains which soldiers are actually worth using and why elites and chiefs are often overrated. A separate Steam community thread titled "Elites are weak" reaches the same conclusion from the player side. Neither is official balance data, and Early Access patches retune soldiers regularly, but two independent sources agreeing is the strongest signal the community currently has.
The starter-soldier claim in that Steam thread, that the first female soldier you begin with is the strongest troop in the game, is one player's report. Treat it as a prompt to test your own starter rather than a settled fact.
Workers: the Sattieri case
The Time Saving Tips video names Sattleri units among the best worker types in the game: they live longer, are easy to recognize at a glance, and hold strong job performance. For a colony where the roster has to cover both base labor and expedition slots, durable recognizable workers reduce the cost of sorting your workforce, which pairs with the class-based sorting that the August 28 maintenance directive added to Soldier Management.
Expedition rosters carry a real cost
The IGN wiki tips page flags the tradeoff that matters for team building: soldiers who join you on an expedition do not work inside the base while away. Filling your squad with your best workers can stall production back home, so the practical pattern is a standing combat squad plus a protected worker bench, not one roster doing both. The expedition strategy guide covers the full loop, and the aging toggle and exile options from Directive AG-12 give you the management tools to shape the bench over time.
The official part: ST-11 named-character buffs
Directive ST-11 (September 11, 2026) raised the combat power of five named characters: Barbara Kosmos, Athena Thayer, Levia Brooks, Natalia Kandack, and Miralisse Novarin. That is the only officially confirmed soldier-strength change in the current patch window, and it is the one entry on this page that does not need in-game verification. The confirmed roster of soldier types, with evidence labels, lives in the soldier classes guide and the weapons database.
How this page stays honest
Every community claim above names its source and stays marked as community observation; the ST-11 buff list quotes the official announcement. When a future directive retunes soldiers, the patch notes guide records it and this page is recalibrated with it.
Sources and verification
- YouTube troops guide, "This Is Simply The Best Team You Can Have In Pax Autocratica": the elites-and-chiefs-overrated argument.
- Steam community discussion, "Elites are weak.": the player-side echo and the starter-soldier claim.
- YouTube, "Pax Autocratica Time Saving Tips: Gear Tiers, Best Soldiers": the Sattleri worker assessment.
- IGN wiki, "Essential Tips and Tricks": expedition soldiers not working in the base.
- Directive ST-11 announcement, September 11, 2026, via the Steam news feed: the five named-character buffs.
- Store page: Pax Autocratica on Steam.
- Verified Sep 14, 2026.