[Won][7/7] Brutal Exodian Cheese -- A Practise Game

[carldong]

First thing first, I am looking forward to a Heavy Beam Cannon MkV. Which of course is as powerful as a Human Wrath Lance, and of course costs 10000K to unlock, and of course 1 million metal to build, and of course consumes as much power as a Superfortress.

So, this is a practise game. Which one is more powerful? Newbie skill + cheese, or two 7 Diff Brutal AI?

Positive Handicap: +300%
Map Seed: 1184351374/Simple/Complex
Ship Types: No CSG, Swallowers
AI Mods: Schizo, 2x Waves
No Auto AIP
4 Resistance, Exodian Blade, Alt Champ Progress 10
7 Brutal/7 Brutal

Extra Cheeses used:

I started with Zenith Siege Engines, and tried to find some use... But they don't quite blend in my Fleetball, and of course in defence they are outshadowed by... Everything. So I edited the save file, removed them from both me and the AI. I also removed Sniper from the AI (You know, I opened this game to practice on dealing with Wrath Lance and stuff like that). I will not consider modifying save files anymore in this game.

Techs Unlocked:

Harvester II
Force Field II
Mobile Space Dock
Decloaker
Grav I/II
All Heavy Beam Cannons
Human Modular Fortress(because who doesn't want FOUR extra superboosted HBC IIIs?)
Neinzui Modular Fortress
Tachyon Emitter

Current set up:

At 4:00:00 now, I have taken a few planets, have Cruiser Hull and anything except Zenith Hull. My homeworld is taking all waves. Not necessary with +300% resource: but I am practising that for my future games. Now, my HW station is close to the wormhole, so my defence is totally based on Alpha Striking:

Human Modular Fortress with 4 MkIII HBC module, 4 Missile module, 4 Doom Accelerator module, standing just outside station shield. Its missiles and flame waves can cover the wormhole, and the 4 HBC modules covers the station. A few Gravs are just inside the range of the HBC modules.

Then, the Neinzui MF loaded with 4 MkII shields covers the inlet wormhole, with full Nanosubverter IIIs. Well -- I almost reclaim the entire wave out of those.

Half of MkI HBC's and all MkII's almost cover the wormhole, too: Juuuuussst after the Nanosubverters does the reclamation damage, hundreds of death beam greets the ships.

The rest of my HBC I's are used in another entry point of my empire, covering the wormhole to prevent waves from running.

See attachment for my defence on HW.

[carldong]

Wow, wave comes -> reclaim 100 ships -> FRD them to death -> Reprisal -> reclaim 100 ships -> FRD them -> Reprisal -> ...

However, Core Raid Engines everywhere is just... Annoying.

[carldong]

Hacking

This time, I will hack the Heavy Bomber V Fab. I am going to see how well a HBC IV works on hacking beachhead.

Wait a second... Warp Gate Guardian? Problem arises. It is targeting my back system. Fleet to defend for now. Next: Up the fixed defence.

4:32:35 5 MkII Force Fields are up with a Counter Sniper turret, protecting Engies
4:34:54 Every single Per-planet turrets, plus the HBC IV, is on the beachhead. I am using the "Biased-Gaussian Kill Zone", i.e. Everything around the FF, with full Counter-Sniper, Gravity, and Tractor coverage

First, to test my BH, let's try pop that Barrack.

4:41:16 Hey, why doesn't Counter-Sniper turret work? OK, their range is too short.
4:42:03 That's it. I forgot remain rebuilders
4:42:16 Let's scrap that MkI FF elsewhere, and switch a MkII there. I will need that MkI to protect Engies.
4:44:03 Um, another back system will get attacked. Building defences.
4:46:53 Wave repelled. Now, snapshot time and hack.
4:46:54 Hold on a FREAKING second... There is no starship Fab on this planet? DAMN, the galaxy view confused me.... THIS IS THE WRONG PLANET!!!!

OK, let's grab another planet and get the K for Warp Jammer so that I let my HW to take waves. For now, let's see what happens when I scrap the entire beachhead at once.

Reprisal 3. Let's test our fleet/defence.

1062 ships. To my back system, of course. Actually I want to test my HW defence. Rewind time.

4:48:13 Warp Gate Guardian killed. BH scrapped.
4:50:44 713 ships to home world.
4:54:02 Wow, that was amazing! My Neinzui fort was scratched, and I captured tons of ships. HBCs and HBC Modules absolutely wreck havoc out of the fleet. Really, a few purple triangles scanned through the void, and really the ENTIRE fleet vaporized! And I lost, like, 10 engineers.

After some consideration, I think Warp Jammer will slow my fleet too much, so I will just go with Distributed Defence if needed. Although I want my HW to take waves.

4:58:22 Special Force wants to do something, but wrecked by me fleet.
4:59:30 Zenith Modular Fortress unlocked. You know what I am going to do.

Hey, I am still waiting for you, Heavy Beam Champion Module. In one test game, that was the best unlock ever. But I never got it again. I hope I will get it in this game.

5:05:09 Zenith Fort up on HW. Loaded with 4 Shields and Needler/MLRS Modules, covering the unshielded Human Mod Fort. Only the Spire one left.

Next part, I am going to beat down some Brutal MkIV worlds. I see lots of Dire Guardian Lairs, Core Raid Engines and Core CPAs mixing around. I am heading for a CRE planet, next.

Look at those Splinter Faction ships and my fleet! It is "only" MkI (except for the Merc Enclave)!

[carldong]

Core Raid Engine

That planet needs to be neutered. I will kill the CRE since it blocks my way to AI HW. Well, there is one DGL adjacent to that planet. Which means... I need to destroy them. Slowly, an Armored Warhead is made. Hey, when will one ever use a MkIII nuke?

5:23:52 Warp Gate Guardian spawned. Kill it.
5:25:32 Threat is wrecked. MSD's warp in for support. Embrace CRE wave
5:26:14 CRE wave killed. Fleet warp in orbit.
5:26:51 CRE killed. Much easier than Wrath Lance or Grav Reactor.

Dire Guardian Lair

Now, this time I will see if this fleet can actually kill three Dire Guardians. Of course, Armored Warhead is around.

5:28:52 Reprisal 1? Did I lose anything?
5:29:16 Allright, make a save. Oh, support group move back a bit
5:30:03 DGL boom. Let's see...

- Dire Implosion
- Dire MLRS
- Dire Widow

5:30:30 All killed. Wow, Splinter Faction fleet (plus Champion. Doom Accelerator maybe helpful) is really powerful! I lost, like, 30 ships, and none of them are starships. Great!

Prepping

5:34:21 Oh, wave is escaping through MY wormhole! Not good.
5:34:41 Energy Brownout. Damn. Scrapped reclamation.

Clever, huh! Damn Raptors.

Oh damn I didn't want to save scam, but I pressed the wrong button and scrapped the command station... Sorry.

5:33:53 Hmm, what happens if I scrap the FFs blocking the wave?
5:34:51 Same thing. OK, I think I will exchange my non-route stations to Military.
5:36:30 Uhh, Warp Gate Guardian spawned on Zarthoenan.
5:37:37 Crap, it is under Spire Shield and Fortress cover. Deal with it later.
5:42:53 Warp Gate Guardian down. Soon, Fortress is eaten too.

You know, for Neinzui Shadow Cruiser, Wormhole GP = Health Regenerator

5:46:51 A cap of MLRS is placed at the other exit wormhole on my HW to discourage Raptors from passing through.
5:47:06 Wait, the other side is fortified too. No need for that. Scraping.
5:47:21 Wave hits. Lots reclaimed.

Another Raid

Now, the next MkIV world is adjacent to another with a Planetary Cloaker. What will be under the Cloaker? Guess I will find out. My bet: Core Raid Engine.

Oh, I found another DGL. Go pop it. First, Armored Warhead Prepping.

5:50:06 Let's pop it.

- Implosion
- Munitions Boosting
- A missing one: That means Infiltration.

BOOM!

+3AIP, No more Dire Guardians.

Now, the next MkIV planet contains a Teuthida. What will be the results? I will continue next morning.

[carldong]

Teuthida

It is the first time I actually fight this thing. Well, let's see... Sentinel Frigates should be left behind. Scout and Cloaker Starships MkI will provide as much Counter-Sniper as possible.

5:55:38 CRE declares my bet is correct. Time to rush that Teuthida GP.
5:56:15 Boom! Fleet retreat! Drones scrapped!

Ipgarrin

This is where one of the CREs was. I am going to take it. It will be one big step forward to the end.

While I was neutering... CPA declares, 704 ships. Better wait for it.

Then, CPA is repelled.

6:56:39 Planet taken, Co-proc destroyed. Now AIP is above 200
6:57:19 Oh hey what is 500 threat doing there? Better be careful
6:57:23 They don't dare to attack
6:59:05 CS-Mil up, Ion II captured. Not much real use, though. Time to move back the fleet.
6:59:26 Gaussian kill zone prepared.
7:01:28 Fleetball vs 500 Threat. Lost about 50 ships, Reprisal 1

7:10:41 Planetary Cloaker popped. 111 MkIV Threat lying around.
7:16:53 I forgot the CRE. Dammit. Let's test how Gaussian Killzone works, and compare it with the Kahuna style concetrated vaporizing point.
7:18:10 Well, threat does not go to same planet.

Hey, I wonder how Threat considers an attack. It apparently does not attack when it outstrengths my defence.

Hmmm. Let's play with Threat more. Make a save, go irritate the CRE again.

7:27:32 Hmmm, when my 2000 strength champion retreats to 2 hops away, about 3000 Str of Threat attacks my 2316 strength defence. Interesting. Let's see how concentrated vaporizing ring works.
7:27:51 Bye bye, Ion Cannon
7:28:48 Oops, doesn't work well. Raptors killed my grav turrets. Let's give them some guards. No, first try double layer Grav turrets.
7:24:16 Oh, they start warping in as soon as my Champ goes away. Not sure if that is the truth since there are >5000 Str of threat now.
7:25:59 Ok, 500 MkIV ships are too much for a MkI defence. I am now certain about this. Rewind time.

7:22:04 Unlock some techs.

- Needler II
- Laser II
- Missile II
- Lightning II
- Spider
- Area Mine

Let's try that again. First, try putting down 45 Area Mine. And a Tachyon Drone is waiting at wormhole.

Um, with 6000 strength they come even when my Champ is still there.

7:25:52 This time it was beaten down by a Spire Starship IV.

Third trial.

45 Area Mine + 45 Normal Mine, + 48 Spider turret in addition. Of course, and two layer Grav

Looks like 4000 Str of Threat comes to attack when my Champ is exactly two hops away.

Ahh, I see how I failed. Remember I edited away Sniper? There are still some of them out there, and they trashed my turrets. Reload and retry. With Counter Snipers too.


Test Case 1.

Well, threat went to another planet. See if I can run them around.

Threat does not move. Wait, some of it changes its target. Now, a lone Fighter will go trigger the CRE.

Come on! Don't go elsewhere! I wanna test you!

Str 4142 vs Str 2604, does not attack.

Oh come on! I am not fighting a Cowardy AI! That Threat algorithm, whatever it is, really annoys me. It will definitely level my defence at that strength, please just let me test it!

Retest.

I scrapped the Ion Cannon, now I am down to 2412 Str. Poked CRE. AI at 5339 Str. Does not attack. That makes me mad. Why? This is Diff 7, not Cowardy AI. What is the threshold of attack? My nearest other planet is 3 hops away. If threat is taking that into account, that is cheating. 3 hops in "mainland" means the entire empire.

Correct. I retreated fleet 3 hops away with two enemy planets inbetween, threat comes. I will post another thread to ask about opinion on this. I think something should be changed about the algorithm: there is no way I can reinforce in this amount of time through two enemy planets.

Those things aside:

Threat strength 5619, My strength 2412

Died again. This time: Plasma Siege V. I put turrets too close to the CS. Will try again.

First, let's see if I can deal with 3500 Str.

Well, fleet ships can't even make it past 5 rows of Area Minefields

Test Case 2.

This time, turrets will be moved forward. I mean, Needlers. Threat stirred, but turned back.

CRE poked.

5607 Str. Let's see if arrangement works.

No Plasma Siege this time so I don't know if it works. A Zenith Starship almost made it, though. It has damn high health and the Neutron hull. No fleet ship made it pass the Area Minefields, though.

Conclusion: I have to need at least MkII of turrets. Because of their Radar Dapening. Shame that Grav turrets don't have them.

Exile

Hey, it happens that I located the Exile planet. Now let's see what it is! Hacker building.

Can one lone Zenith Champion Cruiser hold of 85 Hacking Response?

Wait, I made the wrong guess. How is that even possible?

Alright, I see. Auto path does not make the shortest path.

The humans somehow sees the future, and starts to clear a way towards Murdoch, a MkIV planet with no Brutal pick

8:00:46 CRE poked, oops. That CRE is under a Fortress III + Grav CS protection. Really, really, brutal. When I decide to take it, you know, Armored Warhead time will come.
8:01:32 Hack starts. I am going to clear the CREs later.
8:02:33 Hack done. It is indeed here. Wait, do I need to capture the planet? Dammit, the journal is unclear about this. I thought hacking will get me something. Allright, human already knows the future.

I will use this to test whether Core Salvage Engine is doable with MkII turrets: I know MkI turret can make a Raid Engine a Salvage Engine. See "Vanilla in the Dark".

Next, Engineering Team is ready.

8:03:18 Fleet warps in.
8:03:26 CS destroyed.
8:05:44 CS-Mil up. Engineers pop from Transport. MkII FF down.
8:08:39 Hey, come at me, don't hurt the blade!

Now, everyone go cover the blade. CS should be safe.

Um... Exogalactic Attack? Let me guess. It heads for my HW, right? It heads for my single Super-Brutally fortified point of death, right?

8:11:06 5 seconds after I started the fix, my metal is in dumps. This is when salvage comes in handy. It's a Core Salvage Engine! Although with 4% efficiency...

Oh, HW fortress modules need upgrade. And I put down MkII turrets, just in case.

And of course my energy is dangerouslyl low. Getting MOAR matter converters.

And switch to Spire Battleship hull.

Right now, my economy is positive only because of salvage.

Wait... I need... 500K energy to power the thing? I need TEN matter converters?

OK, there is one single ZPG on Unthope (what about Onlyhope?). Better, it is close to one AI HW, so I will take it and adjacent one to get the ZPG, and a staging ground. Also adjacent is a Superterminal. I almost never touched any AIP reducers yet, so I have lots of room. But...

8 minutes to Exo. Can I fix the blade before that?

4 minutes to Exo. Exodian Blade online. OK, don't forget to pause while reading Journal. I won't spoil. Now, fleet retreat to backyard, and I will prepare for the ZPG siege.


The Blade

Let's look at the blade. Wooo! 27 million health, 4 million attack 23000 range, one second reload? OMFG I bet that is more than the DPS of my entire fleet, plus a large portion of my defences in the entire galaxy. Yet, it is SLOW.

Hmmm, let's blend that thing into my fleetball.

8:44:04 Threat attacks my outpost.

They underestimated the power of Spider Turret

Actually the Blade is immune to speed boost. That doesn't fit into my fleet.

8:47:15 First Exo hits. War of attrition should work here.

Hey, I still want Heavy Beam Module. With that, I will create a fleet of Death Ray.

Oh, the Exo is actually heading for the Blade. I will put that on HW.


Power Siege

This time, I am going to take the Zenith Power Generator. First, I will pop a Core CPA post. Preparation: Blade to HW, Fleet to backyard.

8:57:04 973 ships to CPA.

Let's try to deplete the galaxy of ships!

Oh, enemy has >13000 ships. Not practical.

Boom! Now, Champion, run!!!

That's unfair! Riots are jamming my Champion!!! Well, escaped.

9:10:16 1578 Threat is a bit high.
9:17:57 For the first time ever, a heavily damaged Flagship made its way to my HW.
9:18:37 Let's warp out my fleet and see if threat attacks.
9:19:00 No, it is still too weak.

OK, I will throw the Champion to clear threat.

Wow, I am taking waves every minute. None of the fronts are at rest.

9:44:00 Neutered both planets. Now, fleet comes!
9:45:30 Oh, another CPA declared. 980 ships
9:46:38 Two command stations popped simultaneously
9:47:24 CS-Mil up. Quickly warp to the other side. Full caps of everything on this side.
9:48:29 Same thing for other side.
9:48:41 Spire Modular Fortress is coming! Oh, and that Ion III is nice.

Now, energy is at 576650.

9:49:19 Another Splinter Base. Looks like Human really likes Metal, and Zenith really likes Power

OK! Power Siege is done! Now I have a stepping stone towards the first AI HW.


The Blade II

I am proceeding with the Exodian Blade. Also, I will raid a few MkIV to practice dealing with the rest of the Brutal GPs: Wrath Lance, specifically.

First, let's wait for that CPA.

Murdoch Command Station is destroyed.

Oh, threat came... Along with CRE wave. I think the extra AIP broke my defence.

Oh that's it! 374 MkIV ships? That much increase just from 40 AIP??

I need to destroy that CRE, now! An Armored Warhead is being made.

10:00:19 Another CRE wave. I really need to be quick.
10:03:10 Threat kicks into Ipgarrin. Dammit.
10:03:20 Shoot! Forgot to turn off Missile Silo Warp Gate!
10:04:00 And TWO waves to my ZPG worlds!
10:05:34 Resistance Fighters come to shoot at the engine-damaged ships on Ipgarrin.

10:06:09 Warhead and Cloaker ready, Warp in!
10:06:10 Cloakers died. Well. No problem, it is an Armored Warhead.
10:06:56 ANOTHER Core Raid Engine is near by, totally forgot about that.
10:07:29 Boom! CRE and Fortress III gone. I desparately need some Tech upgrades: it is time to use that 11250 K


Prepping

Immediately unlocked was:

- Engineer III
- Grav III
- Needler, Laser, Missile III

This leaves me 2250 K for emergency reserve.

Full cap of Engr MkIII are immediately built on HW.

ZPG worlds are fortified the hell out of the new MkIII turrets. This gives me 6x Raw firepower, plus 4x slowing.

Although crazily fortified, I still spare 577240 energy. Despite that I lost the Murdoch collector.

10:10:28 300 MkIV ships attack Ipgarrin. Champion to support!!!
10:11:11 Um, attack was basically repelled by fixed defence... Although my MkIII gravs are not finished yet

Looks like it is effective.

10:19:42 That was close. Ipgarrin almost fell.

You know, I don't want to spend that much time clearing Threat. A Lightning Warhead is ordered.

10:25:47 Lightning Warhead sneaks in. Boom. Threat away.

Next, I am going to pop all Co-processors in the galaxy. Starting from the farthest. This means, a Core Raid Engine and a Core CPA post must be killed.

Um... Heavy fleet loss just outside the door. Dammit, I will avoid the Exo route.

10:33:30 Why did I forget about Warp Gates? I mean, my warp gates.
10:38:30 Warps in CRE planet.

Now, CPA post. It has an Ion Eye, too, but it is irrelevant.

10:40:30 1088 ships to CPA.
10:42:00 CPA post killed. Proceed to the Co-proc

10:43:00 543 ships attack Ipgarrin.
10:44:32 CP destroyed. Everyone, return to Ipgarrin! My fleet shrinks into half by now.

Ipgarrin did not fall. Thin Ring of Death apparently works

10:47:40 MSD and Fleet finally back to Ipgarrin. That was intense fleet fight all around. And still, everywhere is attacked. One more co-processor to go. I am at 269 AIP
10:51:05 Half-fleet is at the last Co-proc planet: Jocu. Raids, kill it!

AIP down to 149. Phew.


The Defence

Now, AIP is lower. Let's spend some time on my defence in depth so that I can auto-stop Exo waves. First, everything is put on HW Exo path.

Then, make a save. Move the Blade elsewhere, and see if my HW defence works.

11:00:09 The Blade, and the Fleet, are issued towards my ZPG world. I hope it holds.

Heck, the Blade is really powerful! We shall end the AI, once and for all! Of course, not now.

For now, I will rest.

[carldong]

The Blade III

First, I found that my ZPG-Protection world also has an Acid Sprayer V fab. Well, still a nice addition to my fleet, anti-bomber. So I popped down a MkI Force Field and a few Grav turrets to protect it.

Then, sooner or later I will need to K-Raid. The first thing I am going to unlock is Assault Transport. HW strike is soon: I will need AT + regular transports by then.

11:24:28 Snapshot of time is done. HW defence is holding perfectly. Let's try a run of the blade to HW. It has a Raid Eye: which I am of course triggering. I expect to die in this test run
11:25:05 Engineer III's warp into Shufall: the other side of ZPG, and 3 hops away from AI 1 HW.
11:25:12 All remaining Space Docks are constructed on Shufall. I am Dock-Cannoning Fighters, this time, because I don't have cheap stuff to throw.

Except... There is a Zenith Autobomb backup near, a Neinzui Scapegoat/Exp Engr Drone near, and Vorticular Cutlasses somewhere. Oh, and a Spire Grav Drain far out in the galaxy.

Let's see... After this dry run fails, I am going to take the Grav Drain, Vorticular Cutlass, and Heavy Bomber + Anti Armor. At 229 Hap, the third hack will drive me negative. But, I am not hacking for this run, and we'll see whether the Blade can deal with a Forestfire hacking response.

For now, scrap the Fighters on HW. Oh, and put a Missile Silo on Shufall. Though I heard that scrapping all M.S. on all worlds can reset timer, I won't cheat like that. Though this is supposed to be a cheesy game. For now, I will make cap of all Armored Warheads. That means, I need 4 other Matter Converters.

11:27:06 Oh crap, Exo attacks ZPG world. And it is a hard block so it must be stopped! All remaining MkII FF's covering Command Station.
11:28:55 Considering the importance of that ZPG, I am putting two MkIII Heavy Beam Cannons to protect it. This leaves me another two, plus the mighty MkIV, for Liquid Defence.
11:30:31 OK. ZPG will be constantly hit by Exos. Half MkIII engineers will go for permanent support. Also, many Grav Turrets are put down as decoys. HBC's moved.

What is that mysterious Control Group 8? Well, it is something that comes with even higher damage than the Blade, and should be able to obliterate anything. What is it?

And this Control Group takes forever to build. Let's try the trick. I am in a stable state, so I think it is fine to mass produce Warheads.

11:38:00 Actually, I am removing the HBC I's from my homeworld. At 154 AIP Diff 7, it doesn't need that much power to stop normal waves. And Exo's are redirected away since the Blade is at Shufall. All HBC I's are thrown on ZPG, in line with Exo path, along with the blob of MkI turrets (Which, since they have no Radar Dampening, need to be placed separately)
11:39:57 No. Global-timer trick doesn't work.
11:45:52 ZPG upgraded defence is very effective.
11:47:56 OK, Exo IS immune to Gravity even when its lead is a Flagship. That is why I placed three layers of Grav turrets: the Flagship will be vaporized immediately at the end of layer 1, when the HBC MkIII's fire.
11:49:06 All right, I am putting down all HBC III's. It's not like I am beachheading any time soon.

11:50:55 I have full caps of MkI/II Armored Warheads now. It is time. Embrace the next Exo, then attack.

Oh, the Core world has a Grav Reactor. But who cares when I am moving at 32 speed anyways?

11:55:00 MkI Fighters are being thrown onto Core world.
11:57:39 Everything on Core World is on fire.
11:57:43 Oh hey, the Warhead Intercepter is on the other side of the HW, near the next Core World. We will take that route.
11:58:24 Core world down.
12:00:13 Core CPA declares. If this strike fails, I will die. Also, a 625 ship wave going to ZPG in 1:26, and 55 seconds to another Exo wave. And I am out of metal, and at 53000 energy

AI: Did you really expect that to work?

3 seconds to ZPG wave.

Everything camping at HW wormhole, waiting for the wave.

5 seconds later, half of wave died on Area Minefields. Oh well, my defence is really strong.

12:02:40 Group 0, except for the blade warps in wormhole
12:02:50 Warhead Intercepter dead. Group 8 merges with Group 0. Blade at 77% health. EVERYTHING MOVE AT THE WORMHOLE!!!!
12:03:02 MSD warps in, emitting every available ships in order to distract.

Exo starts spitting ships. Scout Starship sacrificing to cloak the Warheads.

12:03:26 Armored Warhead, and everything is in range of Exo Wormhole
12:03:35 Blade reaches wormhole.

YOU WIN!!!!

Um, that is surprisingly easy. Only one Warhead used, and Blade at 76%. And I have about 100 ships out of 152 left, despite that Orbital Mass Driver always pounding on my fleet.

Out of curiosity, just what will happen if I continue playing?

Wait, the two HW's vanished? With my fleet?

And, let's see what that HBC IV can do.

It one-shots a few starships at once.

AAAnd of course the AI is still sending waves at me, despite the game Intro says it can't

BTW, I end at AIP 317, and lots of DCs in galaxy untouched.

OK, summary for this part. The best things (and some cheeses) I have used in this game are:

- +300% handicap. That is real cheese because there is no other way I can support such a fleet, except for probably getting more ZPGs. Or getting Econ II's and placing them instead of Logistics. Plus some more time, and spending those 200+ HaP on K raiding.
- Champion....Modules. The Champion was not used a lot, but its modules mounted on Modular Fortress are just awesome. I mean, Nanosubverter module. Although I never used the reclaimed fleet. I still hope I can get the HBC module, though. That way I will use the hell out of it.
- Modular Fortresses. The Human Modular Fortress is the most powerful thing on my HW. With its 4 extra HBC III modules, of course. It absolutely vaporizes everything in one shot. Also, the three extra Mod Forts from Champion Progress are really nice addition with no K cost.
- Heavy Beam Cannon. If I knew I am never beachheading, I would have used that HBC IV somewhere. These things wreck havoc of the waves. Especially if I camp them at wormholes: waves don't dare to escape through that way, even if my main defence is on the far edge of galaxy. Also, waves are half dead the moment they warp in.
- Area Mines. Anyone that has used it knows it.
- Grav turrets. Put many Grav I, II, and III's so that their front meets. That way, the I's will absorb all fire, while the enemy suffer that 8 speed. Meanwhile, your other turrets are doing their jobs.

[carldong]

Oh, and this is actually my first finished game. Except for the other one where I poked a hack at -34Hap, and 5000 Heavy Beam Guardian killed me