I want to point out another crucial point:If you chose to start producing a bunch of diciples before you know the OP's fleet composition, you will lose.I have played as TEC and vasari many times against advent. Every time I play against them I rush lrms or assailants, and I ALWAYS win.If an advent player starts the game by waisting resources on disciples that do crap against long range ships, they will lose. The best tactic against the weak advent is to rush them with a HUGE long range frigate fleet.Defense vessels are a good counter, but, foolish to make before you know the OP's fleet composition. If you're playing advent, you're in a bind until you know what units your OP is getting. Getting diciples is a bad call, so what is a good call?.. starting with defense vessels works only if you know your opponent will lrm rush you. You could get carriers and micro well, but as other have pointed out that is a weak strategy.I chose to rush some military labs and not get forces until I know my OP's fleet composition. Critically though, I produce non-stop after I know what counter unit to build. If I don't know what the OP has I make the save bet and get carriers (they are weak but they can counter anything.. if in a less effective way). After I get 3 planets I start on illuminators and critically I micro them so that they fire all 3 arcs at all times. CHARGE them into your opponent!This isn't viable. Especially in 1.04 when defense vessels will be ineffective against LRMs. So then what? Even now your strat is extremely flawed, at least from my perspective. I'll tell you why:Not making Disciples will only put you in the a financial hole in the long run. You might be able to cap a asteroid but when it comes to getting a planet you won't be able to with just a cap ship. So basically sitting there with just a cap ship while trying to slowly wait to have enough resources to build 2-3 hostility temples will still put you at a severe disadvantage. Actually worse than making disciples to cap planets.Another thing is, advent doesn't have a long range frigate until tier 3. Which means you need resources to get there which you don't have and you need resources to make illuminators which you won't have. So its like you're running on a treadmill and getting no where. Since ever possible thing you can think of puts you in some sort of hole financially or offensively. While I'll agree that advent needs to scout before making moves, EVERY faction should need to scout before making plans. Unfortunately, there is no need for tec and vasari to make any plans to fight against advent. They just rush in and make quick work of them. It just shows that advent is broken, when you don't even have to consider your options when fighting against them. The only time they become a threat and on par with the other two factions is end game. But they will never get that far against a smart TEC or Vasari player.
It is entirely possible to skip deciples and get 3 military labs on maps where you have access to 2 asteroids, and even on other maps it is possible, especially with the progenitor colonizer cap where you can send it pretty far from your HW to capture planets without worrying about pirates or antimatter reserves hindering it.
What I would suggest for players who insist on getting disciples would be to "force" your opponent to get the ship that diciples are good against.. so like.. get illuminators still because the counter for illuminators is flaks, but diciples rape flaks. Just a suggestion.
My point was simply that advent are critically weak against a long range frigate rush because the ship that most advent players use to clear planets is weak against long range frigates. As far as specific ways that the advent can compensate for this, I have yet to see any that are effective in the long run.
The best advent players I know play defense until they have a few military labs and can get a good ratio of defense/illums/drones etc, but this strategy is particularly weak in multiplayer as it hinders an advent player from helping to rush an opponent or defend a team mate.
The advent are WAY too weak pre 1.04 I look forward to the illum buff.