Suggestions to a newbie

[Iselia]

I just bought AI War and all the expansions and have been playing for about two weeks. At this point, I've gotten a decent handle on the gameplay, but am having trouble in two areas. So! Suggest to me...

1. Which 3 ships do you you feel are most useful to have in your fleet?
2. What 3 structures do you feel are most threatening to your planets/ships/poor remaining humans and always try to destroy?

Reasons why for each thing would be awesome too. Thanks.

[x4000]

I don't think you're going to get any useful information from either of those questions, I'm afraid.  Different players will have different opinions because of personal playstyle, but even moreso because it varies from campaign to campaign.  What is most dangerous or most useful varies heavily based on your circumstances, so you're not going to be able to peg some favorite and then use it with the same effectiveness every time.

A big part of the goal of the game is to have every player analyzing their situation at all times.  What abilities do your ships have in the current campaign?  How about the enemy?  Okay, how can you exploit your strengths and/or their weaknesses in this specific matchup?  Paired with how you're comfortable with playing -- some people are by nature more defensive or more offensive, of course.

I'm sure some folks will weigh in with things they like to do personally, and there are some similar threads to that already in this subforum, but bear in mind there is no One Right Answer, not even close.

Not the answer you were looking for, I know, but I hope it helps all the same!

[Echo35]

I just bought AI War and all the expansions and have been playing for about two weeks. At this point, I've gotten a decent handle on the gameplay, but am having trouble in two areas. So! Suggest to me...

1. Which 3 ships do you you feel are most useful to have in your fleet?
2. What 3 structures do you feel are most threatening to your planets/ships/poor remaining humans and always try to destroy?

Reasons why for each thing would be awesome too. Thanks.

You know me, I love me my long range and beam weapons, but it's purely a matter of personal preference and what's going on at the moment (Situational awareness, USE IT!).

As far as structures go, each AI has its own special types and uses, so again, like Chris said, it's purely a matter of what's going on atm, though personally I HATE Super Fortresses with the fury of a thousand suns.

[BobTheJanitor]

Like mentioned, it's practically impossible to pick best ships without answering the question 'best against what?' Every combination of AI types and plots and minor factions and even map configuration is going to change this. I will say, though, that a ship that finds usefulness in almost every configuration is Zenith Viral Shredders. Popping one Zenith cache will give you enough to last the whole game, because they just keep replicating. They probably need rebalancing at some point. However, they can't be a jack-of-all-trades because of their inability to damage anything with a large HP pool. But they do a great job at buffing up your firepower numbers.

[zebramatt]

I feel I can accurately answer the first question: scouts, science labs, engineers.

Next question!

 

[Red Spot]

1) fighters, fighters mk2, fighters mk3

2) Raid-engines, thats about it when really, by default, prioritizing a target.


Based on the fact you ask this question I could advice you to use Blade Spawners, they are quite usefull, powerfull, and if you do not micro them still are very effective. However, you need to take carefull care of your starting econ as these guys cost quite a bit.

[Shrugging Khan]

1. Riot Starships, Bombers, Missile Frigats

2. AI Eyes, Spire Shield Guard Posts, Tachyon Guardians