Marauders, Resistance Fighters, and Colony Rebellions

[laughingman]

I'm thinking of starting a game with these three option enabled, and setting their intensity from 6-8 each. I'm interested in other players' experiences with them.

I usually use, and quite like, the Colony Rebellions at an intensity of 4. Their fighter/bombers and frigates are some of my favorite units to use in the late game: they're fast, tough, and lethal. I assume that the higher intensity will mean that there are more rebellions, and that they will start earlier. I'm also assuming that the ship caps don't rise with the number of colonies you free. I'm looking forward to a fairly hectic mid-to-late game, as I struggle to split my time between making progress against the AI and managing the rebellions.

I can't remember using Marauders much at all. I do remember that their ships were durable and had a significant range advantage over most of my ships. They can show up anywhere, and probably will at inopportune times. I can imagine them causing a significant amount of frustration for the AI as well as me.

Resistance fighters should help to mitigate the Marauders slightly. I've rarely used this option so I don't know what to expect from it. I can't expect it will make the game any harder, though.

Has anyone else had experience with these settings and options?

[Faulty Logic]

Marauders like to attack your systems at the worst possible time, but then later bail you out by attacking the AI fleet at the best possible time. I advise having a rapid-response fleet ready for your back systems.

Resistance fighters are just awesome. They spawn in waves of up to 160 ships, which engage AI stuff, then patrol your planets until they die.

Neither is allowed to show up on the AI homeworlds, though.

[laughingman]

In the end, I decided to put them all at 6 and start the game. I'm about three and a half hours in now.

You're not kidding about the Marauders. It seems like they come in force just about every time a large wave hits. They have helped me once, when I was in the process of neutering a Mark IV world. 40 of them came in and drew off a significant part of the AI forces while I went to work. They even took out two of the guard posts! I'm inclined to use them again in future games, as it has been quite enjoyable so far.

I haven't seen the Resistance fighters yet, which surprises me somewhat. Maybe they're just waiting for the right moment to show up? They have the same stats as the Colony Rebellion fighters, I think. It's too bad they don't spawn on the AI homeworlds, but I'm not sure I would want to either.

[Marmu23]

 Resistance almost never come. I recently completed a ~28h game where I held 20 planets, rode the AI SuperTerminal for ~1000 AIP reduction, completed the fallen spire campaign, and i only saw the resistance 6-8 times. They are fun but don't count on them too much!

 Quick note about that special game, I wanted to have a faceoff between the SuperTerminal and the SuperSpire but it turns out they didn't care at all to go camp it, they just hanged around in some far off corner of the galaxy rather than join the fight

[laughingman]

The RNG might have just hated you in that game. I remember being surprised one game at how many small (5-20) groups of Resistance fighters kept springing up. What intensity were you playing at in that game?

I played another hour and a half and got a ship I rarely play with, the Eye Bot. With its cloaking and immunity to missiles and insta-kill, it's made the perfect MLRS and Missile guard post assassin. If you combine them with Shield Bearers, they can stand up to almost any combination of Guard post defenders. I only wish they were a bit faster, but then they might be too lethal in AI hands.

[LordSloth]

My experience with high intensity human colony rebellions, possibly out of date experience.

• They don't appear any earlier on high intensities. It may affect the timer on a -recloak- but not the initial cloak so much. Keith was surprised when I mentioned that the faction had an intensity, so...
• They are not immune to EMP, an EMP Guardian will instantly render them vulnerable.
• With the right map, they can spawn next to core worlds.
• I expect the HCR to show up on hour 6-8 regardless of intensity.
• The ships are fantastic when other superweapons aren't around... I've no clue how they handle against the new guard posts.

Human Resistance Fighters show up pretty frequently in my experience, even on four. I kind of have the impression they're like Marauders, in that they're drawn to protracted battles. If you're doing a good job of defense, they might not show up as often?

[laughingman]

The Shield Bearers have kept my losses to a minimum on offense and defense, so that may be why I'm not seeing the Resistance Fighters as much. I suppose that means they'll really be there for me when I need them? 

Regarding the Colony Rebellions, I got the first notice at 7 hours in, which is about 1 hour earlier than I usually get them. I've used the ships extensively in this game and they are superb, even with the buffs to guard posts. Properly micromanaged, they can clear even high-mark worlds with few losses. The Frigate, with its speed and superior range, is particularly effective at kiting enemy ships around while the fighter/bombers engage guard posts.

I did not know that the colonies were susceptible to EMP. That makes the strategic choice to keep them even more interesting. In this game the AI seems to like EMP Guardians so I had better keep my eyes open.

Next game, I think I'm setting all the intensities at 8 to see how it changes things. I'm having a lot of fun with them enabled and may make them part of my permanent setup.