Hey all. 

Having a strong love of online multiplayer games and recently falling head over heels for Sins: rebellion, I have some questions about the game.  Particularly if whether my strategy makes any sense or if I am missing out on any vital knowledge or glaring holes that I might need to fill to win any games.

I like the Vasari Loyalists the most becaues of their titan and tech style and I am aware of the stripped to the Core rushing concept, but am more fond of improving my overall game rather than developing skills in this field.  I want to know whether this is a logical build order for myself as a player.

I have so far failed spectularly on 2 seperate 2v2 and 3v3 team matches.  From what I have gleamed after those games watching other VL players as well as testing and montoring other players, this is currently what my default 'build' is:

General Strategy:

Buy a lvl of EXP on my first CAP ship to accelerate its abilities and make it more autonomous in the openning stages of the game when I need to colonize worlds.  Expand as FAR out as possible to stake my claim on distant worlds to ensure that I have an expansive empire and am not constricted too early.  Build Starbases on contested worlds, scuttle the CAP ship factory and the Frigate factory when a front opens up to move my production facilities close to the front line.  Replace those structures with either Processing Plants or Labs as required.  Dont level supply until at max CAP, two capital ships is good for first while of the game.  After your navigators have uncovered the map, lockdown asteriods in key systems by camping a Navigotor there and be prepared to retake the system regularly.

Build Order:

Spawn 3 Navigators, 2 Skirmishers.  Make first CAP ship either a Devestator on a smaller map with less than 30 odd planets or an Evacutaor on a larger one.  If you go Devestator, get a pair or three colonizers.  Build 2 War labs and then keep making civiilian labs until you get to CIV tech 4.  When you se another empire get Sentinels if they have carriers, get assailants if they have many corvettes or Skirmishers.  Build repair bays on several worlds and a Starbase is worth more than 10 missile platforms if built correctly (a few missile platforms dont seem to hurt though)  Build Skirmishers to counter cap ships, support cruisers or enemy flak, assailants are a good core frigate to use either.  If you are going offensive a Dreadnaught, if more balanced for defense a carrier can fufill both roles well.  The marauder is a strong third cap ship as it amplies the force of your army.

Tech Priorities:

Start with the Civ lab and start researching Terran Lockdown to increase income at initial worlds, then get starbase research to transform migrators into defensive positions early to hold your claim.  Follow with research in mineral extraction and then get the assailant or any other frigate that is early tech as you then rush up to onboard labs, colony pods and find new ways to increase passive income while getting some of the VL unique technolgoies online.  When battle starts heating up, make sure you have repair bays, assailants, overseers, Sentinels and Enforcers good to go to counter the enemy.  Phase missile tech is incredilby powerful and if my composition allows it makes a good way to improve fleet DPS.  Forced Labour to reduce building cost pays itself off quite quickly.

Economic Focus:

Find ways to improve taxation and reduce cost early to maximise the speed to assembly your fleet.  Cap ship income and colony pods give a great boost to income, if you have a starbase in your homeworld, give it a few colony pod upgrades and it will pay handsomely in long games.  Increasing population yields results slowly and you always need metal and crystal and so tech 2 extraction upgrades are very handy.  Extractors on planets are too cheap to skimp on and their benifits add up.  Learn how to maximise the trade route system and always get Civilian Infustructure built quickly because it is what creates earning potential.   Also dont advance in supply needlessly, you cant go back on upkeep and it can lead to ruin for your empire if not managed properly,  if you can get buy on a well organised and much smaller fleet then do so.

This is pretty much for the first hour or so of the game, still getting the hang of how the game trantions into late game but any input would be nice.

Thanks.