Favorite race abilities?

+speed can really help get an early jump on collecting a huge chunk of the galaxy on larger more habitable maps. I've lately been going with the iconians for their +research (or at least they have +research for me and I don't remember changing it) and the technologist party for +40% research total . I'm usually so far ahead on the tech tree that even if I do poorly on the landrush I can defend myself well or force the AI to back down quickly enough in most cases.

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Diplomacy is my game, it allows me to focus on building my infrastructure early game without a lot of messy tech then getting up to speed by trading with the AI's.

Economy then Diplomacy for me. A good economy lets you keep building colony ships, long after the other races economies have stalled, and are out of cash.

I always take +30% economy and Federalist. The 10% morale bonus is great for only one point, although I agree that +20% morale for 3 points is mediocre. The other four points usually go towards the PQ bonus and a +10% diplomacy bonus. Playing as the Yor, I never have diplomatic trouble.

economy, morale and research bonuses are the one I almost always have. I used to go with federalists, but I've switched to populists. The way I see it a morale bonus is basically an indirect economy bonus.

i go for ship strength in defense, offense and then go for luck and research also.

Major help with research, a little help with the economy and a little help with soldiering. I never seem to bring enough soldiers for any big invasion, so every little bonus there helps. "Green thumb" I find also very very useful for those dull planets.

I don't see how, but I think there needs to be some balance changes to get people to switch from all the econ. bonuses + Federalists.. I just don't see how.

I have one in most of my abilities and I take the communist from the governement mod it's surprising to how much you can raise taxes with this +5% morale for an overall of 15% and taxes can substain my economy alone and normaly with 100bc or more in surplus if I dont produce expensive ships and I've my spending slider at 100%.

It's very possible to tax higher than 69% without being in the 30% or less of approval.

Its a pity its all about rushing in this game, but thats pretty much like any Strategy game.

rush ot the good planets or lose.

But i always use:

+30 Res (4 points)

+30 Econ (5 points)

+25 Creativity (1 point)

You get decent cash, so you can buy the beginning colony ships for all your precious rushing to the habital planets.

I still can't manage to out produce the Altarians on Normal though, even if i cheat with the ability points. (ie. set courage to cost -300 points and then max out all the abilities...they still out expand me. lol

I just suck that much. lol

Kirby are you setting your allocation bar to 100%? Also, you should be using that 5k BC's you start with to buy colony ships. I never have too much trrouble with the AI out producing me except in the very begining. I think the AI must cheat a bit in the begining or something because yeah it's just insane out of the gate, but then it crashes out, at least it always does for me. After that even on bright I can usually out produce them and end up owning 2/3 of the planets at least (versus one opponent).

I usually get morale, econ, lots in research, luck, and maybe speed.

I always go with technologists for research and that +1 sensors is not to be overlooked, information is power. I also go with speed every time for land grab and a general edge in combat. I am currently entrenched in a war in a gigantic gallaxy with all opponents on genius and I am making slow headway against the ALtarian/Torian alliance both of which with at least double my number of planets and this is all due to my slight tech and speed edge. I can cherry pick incoming transports because of my better speed and sensors. Countless billions of Torians died enroute to invasions that never make planetfall.

I've gotten to the point where I don't bother with econ any more, though I used to max it out. With tech trading the way it is I just grab diplomacy bonuses instead and prop the begining economy up with selling techs and finding cash from anomalies until my planets catch up in the mid game.

I've also tried to optimize my build order so that I buy as few ships as possible, which really saves some cash at the start. If you spend a few turns building factories on your home world, you can pump out 1 colony ship a turn without buying them, which is what I think the AIs are doing. For small maps you want the ships as soon as possible, whatever the cost, but on large maps a few turn delay won't matter if you can pump them out for a much longer time. And if you buy a sensor ship or two, you can spend the time it takes to build up your homeworld scouting for the good planets to colonize.

Against incredible or crippling AI I go for:

+full morale
+full econ
+some diplo
+technologists/pacifists (morale/diplo bonus)

I've found it to be vitally important to be able to max out your industrial capacity all the way. I tried several rounds with the tempting bonuses maxing out your social/millitary spending, but I inevitably get stuck by my lousy economy. What good is 100% social/mil bonus, if you can't spend more than 10% of it at any given time?

Hands down the most important racial pick is +50% diplomacy. Not 30%... not 60%... 50%.

Diplomacy let's you trade techs for massive profits, and to manipulate AIs to your hearts content... more so when you grab Total Majesty at the end of a relatively short tech branch.

With those left over points, you can grab either +50% military production bonus or a +50% research bonus. You decide.

I go for the diplomacy + research option... and choose populist party. Very efficient, as I trade tech for BC. On Suicidal.

I'm still trying to figure why...but with my custom race i tend to use the same abilities the Terrans have (but in greater numbers) and it seems to work everytime on Normal...Like i said i don't know why....for awhile there i tried to use my own set of abilities based on what i read in posts like this and got my butt handed to me.....Some insight maybe? i'd like to refine this a bit and see what it is exactly thats making the terran set up better...(the only differences between my Custom and Terran is higher values and Luck )

What are the default Terran abilities? I changed mine by accident so they're gone.

Umm lets see if i can remember, i think they start off with like 10Res, 10moral, 10econ, 10%trade and maybe diplo? i know when i pick Terrans i have like 4 extra points to play with soo i'm NOT sure if i'm right...and i'm heading to work here soon so i can't look to tell ya =P

I tend to go for a variety of small picks. I am of the mind (in all life not just this game) that the step from 0 to 1 is the biggest jump available. A series of 10% increases across a variety of fields feels to me more powerful than any 40%+ advantage in 1 (most of the time as you have to pay for it anyway) so I like to make sure I get some research, morale, diplomacy, soldiering, economics all at the lowest addition. I tend to pick the Populists party though because I prefer to use my tax to drive my economy rather than relying on trade.

Full Morale AND Full Economy is definitely the combination to have. Way over powered! Full morale allows you to tax you citizens more giving you more money as well as that extra ecomony bonus. No need for diplomacya s you can buy anything! So if you add some diplomacy after that you will become incredible!

This is of course using the Populist or the Ferderalist party.

I tried being the evil agressor choosing max Attack and max Hitpoints, junction with the War party. But maybe I just suck at strategies like that but I run out of cash to mount a decent defense against all those with lots of cash!

My fav is Creativity! "Put the right side of your brain to use"
There is nothing quite like getting 2 techs for 1 especially at the start of the game!

Lucky and Creative..definitely

As back up a little bit of Economy and Research, mix with a smidgeon of Morale and sprinkle with Planet quality and bake in the oven till done.

Then Top with a Universalist outlook and sit back as the Free "lucky Rangers" come rolling in...sweeeeet

In racial abilities, I pick Creativity, Luck, Military Production +20, Research +20, Hitpoints +20, Social Production +20

I then choose the Industrialist political party, picking up an additional +20 to Military and Social production, and +10 to economy.

It's a little tough to get my economy off the ground, but once I get an econ planet or two going and some trade/tourism income coming in, look out! In my game last night, I was saved by my military production. I was able to just barely crank out enough basic heavy fighters to stave off an early-game invasion by the Dominion of Korx. Oh, how quickly the tables turned on them.

Seriously, if it had taken just one or two extra weeks per fighter, the Korx would have had me, but, with my military production bonus, my manufacturing capital was building one heavy fighter per week, and my homeworld was building them in three. It was just enough to hold my losses down to a single planet, which I retook in less than ten turns. By the time I'd retaken the planet, I was cranking out medium hull destroyers (6 missle, 2 armor), and that was the end of the Dominion of Korx.

I love this game!