Putting economy and non-military labs in perspective

from Sins Forums

When I started playing the game I played TEC because of their economic advantage. As I see more and more though it seems like the advantage to TEC is the cheap ships more than the strong econ. I play mostly 3v3's and haven't played diplomacy yet, but econ seems more or less useless unless you are in the econ spot. I started out building econ upgrades until I read about trade ports not being useful until you have a 6 planet chain. Then I read about how small an increase you get by increasing your 2.0 metal per second by a few percent, which makes obvious sense. Really the only reason I build them any more is for ice and volcano planets. Then I learned about how strong TEC LRM's are in mass and skip the well defended planets and the ice and volcano just to grab a roid or terran. It seems easier to go around, or let them make the mistake of committing to the planet and then double teaming their army along with the pirates. Anyways that being said I still use the colonizer cap start, so skipping a planet or two isn't all that bad. I could see if being a problem if you get swarmed with fighters right after that.

Do the economy upgrades really make a difference in Diplomacy? Do pacts make the big of a difference?
Should you really only invest in econ if you are in the econ slot?

I'm really close to starting every game with 2 military labs. People complain about rushing, but I really just don't feel sorry about it at all. Y'all let me know what you think since I haven't seen diplomacy or any 5v5 matchups.

Also, are the servers better in diplomacy? I hear you don't drop as many people, and there is less lag because of better servers.

Thanks for the time. Peace

strategy
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Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top

As I see more and more though it seems like the advantage to TEC is the cheap ships more than the strong econ
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Very much so; the only areas in which TEC has a major economic advantage are with its Akkan Battlecruiser, Development Mandate, and Pervasive Economy.  Other than these three phenomenal assets, the TEC economy is no better than the Vasari economy, and only marginally better than the Advent economy.  Those higher-level civic technologies rarely come into play in a 1v1 scenario, and even in team games only appear later on, so in practice the Akkan is the TEC's only reliable economic edge.

Really the only reason I build them any more is for ice and volcano planets
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That's the reality of a front-line player.  You generally need a large and established empire to get bang for your buck from civic technologies, and this means you're usually 40-50 minutes into the game before they start to be desirable for a front-liner.  Unless you're in a stalemate, however, by this point in the game you're usually knee deep in upkeep and you can't afford them anyways. 

Should you really only invest in econ if you are in the econ slot?
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No, you can and should do it on the front lines.  You must be careful, however.  You will always need to prioritize your military first.  You will never become an economic powerhouse like a true eco player, but you can build a large and powerful empire.

I'm really close to starting every game with 2 military labs. People complain about rushing, but I really just don't feel sorry about it at all. Y'all let me know what you think since I haven't seen diplomacy or any 5v5 matchups.
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Diplomacy is... controversial.  You now need to research a technology to send money to allies.  This prevents feed-rushes where one player is given an inordinate amount of cash by allies to beat his opponent, but it also makes it very difficult to survive an early 2v1 scenario.  A 5v5 is one of the most brutal and rush-happy settings possible, but often times (due to the way teams usually end up) both sides will end up killing off one player and it effectively can become a 4v4 on a 5v5 map, which gives you the breathing room for some late-game economic tactics.

Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top

I'd say pacts are very important in any game that lasts more than about 2 hours...as TEC, you have really good pacts and good envoy bonuses...your envoys give you money simply for existing, and increase trade revenue for the planet they are at...in addition, you armor pact is immensely powerful for ALL factions, and the missile pact is very good for both you and Vasari (assuming it affects phase missiles)...the Supply Pact is UNGODLY...if you have it and your opponents don't, they don't have much of a fighting chance...

Vasari envoys give massive resource bonuses...like the TEC trade pact, the Vasari Resource Pact is available early on and is a nice boost...

Advent got screwed in diplomacy...their envoys don't have very good abilites unless all your enemies are Advent and are culture bombing you...the research pact is very nice...the anima pact actually benefits the advent the least since they have the most SC per squadron...the beam pact is only useful for the advent, and the shield pact isn't that great considering its their highest level pact...

All in all, TEC and Vasari Envoys are VERY useful due to the economic benefits...and their packs are very potent both economically and militarily...

Advent envoys won't do you much good and their pacts they can offer you aren't as powerful...the game WAS balanced with entrenchment, but the pacts available are heavily imbalanced...so long as each side has the same composition of factions, it doesn't matter...but if you put two TECs against two Advents, the TEC supply pact pretty much just gave the TEC side victory on a silver platter...

Galactic Civilizations IV