Getting my ass handed to me royally by pirates in Universe...

[Spacecadet]

If you're a newer player, I suggest you set up for first "Shadows" type games via the Custom game menu option.

Here you will be able to set the number and relative strength of Pirates.


Game difficulty history :

Distant Worlds - just the base Races, but quite a bit of challenge
Return of the Shakturi - Added Shakturi, and quite a bit more challenge
Legends - Added Legendary Pirates, a bit more challenge
Shadows - Lots of Pirate modifications, different era, and quite challenging
Ancient Galaxy - Initial pre history scenario for all of the above, pretty challenging.


The bad news.

While Pirates are tough, they used to be tougher.
This is the main reason I suggest you have a fair amount of experience with DW before adding them to you repertoire.