So I did my first couple of MP games today. It went well enough, my experience with SP games meant I didn't get crushed; but I also wasn't much of a threat. In both games I actually had number 1 in military for the first 20 min or so, and I expanded decently, but the second I hit an enemy world and the first enemy fleet, my progress was stopped cold and I was forced into turtle mode. Can't risk attacking because I'll lose my fleet, or leave some of my worlds undefended. It just takes far too long to siege a planet with only 1-2 caps. At this point with like 4-6 planets, even with trade depots, my eco slows to a crawl as I spend everything I have maxing out ship build queues just to keep up with my enemies. At this point I'm basically nullified as a threat because I don't have enough fleet to rush my enemies without taking heavy losses, but my eco is so slow I can't build a decent fleet. By this time also my enemy is starting to bust out heavy cruisers and 3-4 cap ships, and I'm stuck with Illums and such ( I only play Advent ) because al lof my eco is going into ship produciton and I can't spend much on techs. Seems like everyone is able to get a great economy, tech up , AND build huge fleets so fast. Before I'm even halfway down the research trees, my enemies are building Novaliths and crap.
I guess what I'm looking for is advice, just general advice based on what I've said; but maybe also answers to these specific questions.
1.) Fleet building vs. teching up. How much should I do one over the other and for how long? Is it better to have more ships with less hp and attack power (because you bought ships and NOT techs), or less ships that are sturdier and more effective?
2.) I understand most people avoid star bases, so when should I use them? Just to defend a choke point? Only late game?
3.) I know the ultimate answer is "build whatever counters your enemies", but is there a good all round fleet setup for Advent? It seemed like all the Tec guys I was facing spammed NOTHING but LRF at first, and then switched to TONS of Hosi's plus Kodiak's mixed in. Any solid fleet comp spam I can focus on, or should I really just diversify? I know Anima Drone Hosts are wicked good, but my god are they expensive, and take so much FS and time to build.
4.) What can I do about getting my eco flowing? I know that the techs that increase crystal and metal extraction rate are considered junky, but thats the thing. I almost always have decent money, and ok metal, but my crystal is a HUGE game breaker. I end up spending more credits buying crystal and sometimes metal, than I spend on ships. Even with a Trade Depot on every planet, I just can't seem to keep my eco flowing well, and the more I upgrade fleet supply the more I bog down.
5.) The last game I was in, one of my team mates was wanting me to build 3+ Phase Jump Inhibitors on every frontline world. He said it was to stop them from jsut blitzing past a planet and hitting vital areas. In PVE, even on the hardest difficulty modes, I only ever build 1 MAYBE 2. Do their effects stack? Or is it just to make it so they can't quickly bomb one all to hell and hten leave? Any other multiplayer oriented building stacking I need to know about that wouldn't really be used in SP?
6.) How much is micro important? I know using certain abilities to interrupt caps and to drain their AM is important, but I'm just worried because I tend to over focus on one battle. I get caught up in focusing on one battle and pretty much stop worrying about much else. Are there times where I should just send my ships to attack and go do other crap, or should I always micro?
7.) And lastly, how many of you use keybinds? I know in pvp for other games, using keybindings instead of clicking with the cursor was absolutely vital, and the first step to separate the scrubs from the decent players. Is that true in Sins, or is it not that much better than just being fast at clicking with a high DPI mouse?
Anyhow, I know the best way to learn is to just play and get owned alot. But I hope someone will have the patience to offer me advice, I'm really liking the MP in this game and I don't want to let future team members down. Thanks for any help in advance! 