Pirates are far to strong

[Chris21wen]

I'm playing classic under normal difficulty and I'm really struggling with Pirates in shadow. Almost from the outset I've been continually attacked by them and have tried three times to either take the base or destroy it and each time I've been annihilated. In my last attempt I had 25 ships, 5 troop 2 CR the rest DD and tried to capture it. In the process the pirates seem to have hundreds of ships that just kept turning up. An impossible situation. I now notice that you have brought out a new patch THAT strengthen the pirates, last thing I would have said needs to be done, at least in classic.

If anyone got any sensible suggestions I'm willing to hear them.

[bvoid]

Just pay them off until you can build up enough to hold your own.

[Mad Igor]

don't pay them !or they will get 2 stronk fast.
what u need is research Star fighters,then stuff your bases with them = problem solved.

[BigWolfChris]

Yea, paying them lets them build more and more ships
Unless you're in a position to outpace their construction you're making it worse since they will often be ahead of you in technology as well

[Bingeling]

Their tech advantage should become a disadvantage over time. I prefer not to pay them.

If the game is too hard, make it easier, then learn from it. You can turn pirates pretty much off (if not off entirely).

[DasTactic]

I'm making a 'Let's Play' series at the moment that covers how to survive and thrive in a pirate-strong universe. The really basic considerations are:

1. Pay pirates off until you can reliably defend your home planet (large spaceport and defence bases)
2. Research like crazy (build one of each research base at your home-world).
3. Don't create too many targets (mining bases etc) where pirates can siphon off your resources and funds via raids unless you can protect them from pirates.
4. Only colonise or conquer planets if you can protect them until you can build defences.
5. Then build-up strong enough forces to wipe the pirates out (about 10 game years after starting). Some pirates will be strong - others will be weak.
6. Look at designing ships with longer ranged weapons to attack the bases so the pirates can't use their tractor beams.

[CyclopsSlayer]

If the Pirates weren't telepathic or something not pay will work, but... [:D]

Just had a game with Pirates set normal distance and one sent in 2 Frigate that trashed the MSP and small fleet like it wasn't even there. Then constant Raids and 4 more destroyed Space Ports, ALL, just as they were getting close to working. For almost 50 years I had ZERO ships, zero troops. Finally managed to buy them long enough to get a MSP up and by then it had shields and armor and fought off the pirate waves. Tried buying them off earlier, but just as I was getting close to the base they would break the protection treaty.

So 50 years later start...

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: Mad Igor

don't pay them !or they will get 2 stronk fast.
what u need is research Star fighters,then stuff your bases with them = problem solved.

That does not solve the problem of removing tham from the game.

[Chris21wen]

ORIGINAL: CyclopsSlayer

If the Pirates weren't telepathic or something not pay will work, but... [:D]

Just had a game with Pirates set normal distance and one sent in 2 Frigate that trashed the MSP and small fleet like it wasn't even there. Then constant Raids and 4 more destroyed Space Ports, ALL, just as they were getting close to working. For almost 50 years I had ZERO ships, zero troops. Finally managed to buy them long enough to get a MSP up and by then it had shields and armor and fought off the pirate waves. Tried buying them off earlier, but just as I was getting close to the base they would break the protection treaty.

So 50 years later start...

That's more or less what has happen to me.

[Bingeling]

ORIGINAL: Chris H

ORIGINAL: Mad Igor

don't pay them !or they will get 2 stronk fast.
what u need is research Star fighters,then stuff your bases with them = problem solved.

That does not solve the problem of removing tham from the game.

When starting a new game, first galaxy choice screen.

Lower right - Pirates -> None.

Problem solved.

Only do this for the classical age, though

[Buio]

I gave up on a game when a pirate faction started attacking me with a Capital Ship they probably had found. My fleet vanished in seconds against it (it was parked there when it attacked).

[Avarice0107]

I'll trade you, thought something was fishy when a pirate faction I met had more firepower than the Guardians. I just met the reason:

[Shark7]

Now that pirate group has the legitimate firepower to enforce their protection racket...

You need to capture that thing. [;)]

[MartialDoctor]

ORIGINAL: Bingeling

Their tech advantage should become a disadvantage over time. I prefer not to pay them.

If the game is too hard, make it easier, then learn from it. You can turn pirates pretty much off (if not off entirely).

What Bing says. If they are too hard, you can make them easier.

Pirates are good the way they are, I feel. No need to make them weaker as you are implying.

[Buio]

ORIGINAL: MartialDoctor
That Bing says. If they are too hard, you can make them easier.

No, you can't turn off derelict/abandoned ships as far as I know. When they come at you with a capital ship and you have destroyers you don't stand a chance. Of course it is random and not really pirate related, but they have control over a lot more space in the beginning so they have a much lower odds of getting one.

[Antiscamp]

ORIGINAL: Avarice0107

I'll trade you, thought something was fishy when a pirate faction I met had more firepower than the Guardians. I just met the reason:

OK. You sir, win the offical fearsome pirates award of the year. I'm glad someone is having even more trouble with pirates than I am, because that just made the pirates in my game seem like annoying little flies in comparison.

[Dotdotdot]

Just keep playing. In my current game, most of the pirate factions in the surrounding sectors had a capital ship by the time I was Warp Capable. When I finally began pushing them out of my territory it felt really good.

Can't comment on the world destroyer though...

[Anonymous]

[Deleted by Admins]

[MartialDoctor]

ORIGINAL: Buio

ORIGINAL: MartialDoctor
That Bing says. If they are too hard, you can make them easier.

No, you can't turn off derelict/abandoned ships as far as I know. When they come at you with a capital ship and you have destroyers you don't stand a chance. Of course it is random and not really pirate related, but they have control over a lot more space in the beginning so they have a much lower odds of getting one.

Well, you can tone down how many pirates there are; thus making them easier. As you pointed out, you're talking about a random event that gives them an extremely powerful capital ship. That doesn't happen often from what I've seen.

Also, your pointed out scenario simply means that the random ships found just need to be toned down (in terms of how powerful they are), not that there's a problem with pirates.

[Jim D Burns]

ORIGINAL: MartialDoctor

Well, you can tone down how many pirates there are; thus making them easier.

Actually I find the more pirates there are the easier they are to deal with. They fight each other for every scrap out there and thus do not build up to huge sized factions. The fewer of them there are the stronger they will be when you try and venture out of your home system as they'll have made many strongholds and fortresses by then.

So if you want things to be easier crank up their numbers to max and make sure they respawn. They'll fight each other to a standstill and allow you to eventually outgrow them.

Jim