ancient guardians and loros

[Data]

i just started another test game to investigate some features and from day one i meet the ancient guardians
looking at them in the diplomacy screen i notice they have loros which they refuse to trade with me
i'm ok with that but a bit surprised they get loros so fast....you only get two locations for these precious goods (loros, korrabian and zentabia).

upon checking further in the editor i see they also have it on their capitol so i'd probably have to exterminate them to get it; have not played much with them and just wanted to confirm if this is expected or not. They always have loros or one of the three precious resources?

[sbach2o]

SPOILER:





Ancient Guardian seem to always have Loros Fruit on their home world. I bet they'd also rush to put mining stations over any other rare and super-rare resource they find, but to get at least one of these rare resources they do not have to stretch their legs.

This source of Loros Fruit is in addition to what the game generates with the galaxy.

[Data]

thank you, sbach2o, and good to know there's someone out there now that actually targets this important stuff....one more step away from an easy victory, nice

[Shark7]

SPOILER ALERT:
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Guardians always start on the planet Utopia, which is always continental and always high quality, as well as always has Loros fruit. This seems to fill the request many of us had of the 'Jewel' of the galaxy that everyone wants control of.

[Data]

a sort of Orion system from MOO2, hope is heavily defended too
from what i see in my own case it does not have a central location (actually, it's near me) so i can gain a big advantage by overruning them - they also seem to be lightly defended by mobile forces, the only notable defence is an LP with some fighters and bombers
i haven't paid much attention tough, i was more suprised about the fact that one of the two possible loros locations was in their possesion...but sbach2o clarified that nicely

[sbach2o]

ORIGINAL: Data

I was more suprised about the fact that one of the two possible loros locations was in their possesion...but sbach2o clarified that nicely

Just to clarify: The Guardian's Loros Fruit is not one of those the game creates with a new galaxy. It is an additional source.

In me previous games with 1000 stars I always had two of Loros Fruit, Xentabia Fluid and Korabbian Spice. In my current game there's still two of the others, but for Loros Fruit there are three sources.

Regarding the 'well defended', there's some debate. Most think it is too easy to invade and take over any of the AI homeworlds. The Guardians are typically a bit harder to crack but not insurmountable.

Oh and a little addendum to Shark7's spoiler: The Guardian's homeworld always has an Ancient Ruins site with a very hefty bonus. No empire-wide effect but by far the best local boost of any ruins site. To get an idea about its power, just look at the economy-tab of the empire comparison dialog. Much of their initial economic strength comes from those ruins (but they also have all technology already researched with the corresponding boosts).

[Data]

yap, i've noticed that econimic bonus also...very attractive homeworld they have; and so near to me I can barely hold myself from taking it

[Shark7]

ORIGINAL: Data

yap, i've noticed that econimic bonus also...very attractive homeworld they have; and so near to me I can barely hold myself from taking it

I would not even consider it until my tech level progressed a bit...judging by the Mechanoids firepower, I'm guessing they are level 2 tech or higher at game start.

[Data]

correct....i'm coming from the MOO2 military school where a rush to grab the basic tech to capture Orion and all it's goodies was enough for a final win so I'm always exploring for such a strategy as well
it will not make the game more fun, tough, it's just a fun test to attempt

[Shark7]

I usually just leave the Guardians be, I have enough advantages in the early game. I also found a colony ship of Shakturi floating around in my current game, so soon I will have an uber army.

[Kevin2202]

Ancient Guardians became a useless target after I found planet Loros for Loros fruit. And Loros was damn close to my empire. I just annihilated the Ancient Guardians anyways and took Utopia for myself.

[WoodMan]

I usually just leave the Guardians be, I have enough advantages in the early game.

Shark have you tried using the editor to erase everything you start with except your colony?  I'm going to try this next game [:D]

[BigWolfChris]

Thats the only way I play now (also allows me to get rid of designs I don't want)
Loads of fun tbh, but be prepared for a very slow start

[Setekh]

I play like this also, I start a new game, delete everything that I start with, load my own saved starting designs, use editor to plonk down a medium spaceport over my HW then go from there.

[Data]

same here, without the spaceport plonking part [:)]
i retrofit mine to a small one to save some money in the long run

[kenata]

The ancient guardians are deceptively powerful. The space port at Utopia has the most powerful weapons, armor, and shields, which spams Area weapons, and the planet itself has an Ion Cannon which constantly disables your ships. There have been posts about how easy it is to take their home planet, but even in the game where I allied with the shakturi, I found it a daunting task to assault.

[Data]

allied with the shakturi, sounds cool.... i wonder if an alliance with these documented destroyers should incurr some rep hit
all of the races fear them