Based on the discussion so far, if I am reading it right, it sounds like something strange is going on with the Heroic AI type. It is somehow getting in waves higher level champion hulls than the current tech level should be letting it get. Or in some cases, two of them. 
Well, I just got 2x Human Shadow Frigates in the face which is the hull size I expect. I got two of them on Diff 9, AIP 51. That is about what I would expect I think.
Night #2 Game Log BeginsAnd so begins the second night.
I go back in time about 5 game minutes, just long enough to call my attack off.
Holding my entire fleet in reserve makes the 2x Human Shadow Frigates wait for a wave of fighters to be released.
However, holding my entire fleet back makes the difference and I stop the Shadow Frigates cold.
It only costs me about 15% of my mobile fleet and 60 turrets destroyed.
And I decided enough is enough. The different hull Shadow Ships have different hull types but the force fields all all Structural.
* Diazo unlocks Basic Turret Mk II and HBC Mk I
Time to fortify like it is a diff 10/10 game.
******* edit 1
On the game itself, I've captured my second system, it is the dead end world at the end of the chain that has an ARS. It got me Sentinel Frigates which actually are not half bad, especially with Military Command stations.
Because there was an eye I used zenith siege engines with cloakers to snipe the guard posts and then the command station.
By grouping the siege engines with cloakers, they are cloaked for the 15 seconds setup time after they start moving and do not get decloaked until they fire.
A cap of Mk I and II siege engines is enough to destroy the Mk IV guard posts in a single volley so after sniping the guard post I would run away and recloak. I only lost 6 or 7 seige engines sniping the 6 guard posts this way.
On the Shadow Ships. I saved quite frequently during my attack on the ARS system so I had a save from just before the 2 Human Shadow Frigates warped in. To test my fixed defences I pulled all my mobile units out.
To destroy 2x Human Shadow Frigates without them doing noticeable damage to the FFs over my command station took:
2 sacrificial gravity turrets away from my turret ball towards the warp point to slow their closure with my command station
Military Command Mk II for a 50% damage bonus
8x HBC Mk I
20x Laser Turret Mk I
20x MLRS Turret Mk I
9x Missile Turret MK I
30x Sniper Turrets
58x Basic Turret Mk I
68x Basic Turret MK II
Even that did not kill the 2x Shadow Frigates quickly, I would estimate that reducing the effective firepower by 20% would have made it a toss up and by 25% or more would have let the Shadow Frigates win.
However, taking that ARS system has my AIP up to 71 and the next wave is 717 ships. They are from the fortress baron though so no Champion will be with the wave.
******************* Strategy time:
Hmmm.
I'm feeling this game. You know I normally play a super low AIP game right? Well, not this time.
I'm taking the entire bottom left corner of the map, the worlds marked P4 and P5 will be my border systems.
This is going to be intense, I have stepped the difficulty down from 10 to 9 and capturing this bottom left corner is 9 more systems. I'll have to capture 2 or 3 more as staging for attacking the AI homeworlds also. Even allowing for the Data Centers I have not popped yet, I'm looking at an AIP of 200 when I begin my first attacks on the AI homeworld. That is a
lot higher then I'm used to.
And done for the night. Once I capture 2 more systems taking me to 130 AIP, time to go Data Center hunting, I have 5 that will be within reasonable easy reach by that time.
D.
