Love letter for the Space Cats

[Nightskies]

Spoilers. Not for new players. (kingly quest giving tone) Go now, return only when you have the artifacts!

Having played a few runs with various races, I can confidently say that each race has different optimal approaches to different problems. Most notably, in warfare. Y'all ought to know the Teekans have great fighter capability and favor retrograde advances, and that the Boskarans are incredibly in-your-face types (wow such blaster, so pewpew).

What about the others?

Mortalins are serious about war. They love it, and are in it to win it. Aggressive, but not Boskaran-level stupid aggressive. Their torpedoes are very deadly.

Hakoonish are actually a bit timid at warfare. Their weapon and ship designs practically scream 'stay away from me'. That doesn't mean they're bad at fighting.

Arcadians? They're not gimped, but they don't have much going for them. Surprisingly aggressive, but they lack special weapons. The engines and ship discount doesn't quite make up for it, but they make up for it in other, more subtler ways. Play them if you haven't. Their ships look cool though.

Humans, having been constantly at war since their society began and without a world ruler before the space empire era, are masters of warfare. With the right ships and designs, they can do anything as well as any other race, except for kamikaze tactics. Their racial weapons are exceptional for support. To top it off, they also have subtle ways that make them good. I consider them the best at fighting overall, but...

The Zenox.

Okay, back up a moment. Let me talk about the Zenox themselves. They are concerned about the truth of the past. They don't treat anyone as "the bad guys"- they know everyone have gotten their hands dirty because of the Shakturi. Everyone is justified for doing what they could to survive. For that reason, they have superior shields - the best defense in the game - to survive against whatever decision the other foolish races engage in. And the Zenox know they will make foolish choices again. The Zenox are prepared for it. Their ships are the most survivable, barring more technologically advanced foes, because of it. Their significant boost to Shield tech research, along with a single shield tech line, assures this.

Like the humans, they also have sharp claws. Their ships can also be designed to fulfill any role as well as any other race- again except for kamikaze attacks. The Zenox's Light Cruiser - the most important ship class in the game imo - is a very good design that truly shines as a multi-role capable ship. It can heavily load for all out frontal engagements almost as well as a Boskaran cruiser, can engage in long range fusillades, and most importantly, adheres to the Zenox design ethos.

The design ethos is centered on the subtle jewel of the Zenox. Their biggest advantage over the humans. Their weaponized ray of truth... The Star Beam.

On paper, this weapon doesn't seem impressive. With small equal footing battles, the Star Beam doesn't cut it. Where it shines though, is in fleet engagements. First, their range is good- and range is king in fleet battles that matter. Second, their attacks instantly deliver their damage, where focused fire cuts down ships with laser precision. And speaking of precision, they're very accurate. Then, neither shields nor armor do much to mitigate their damage, so they're effective against all ships and require no support weaponry, allowing an entire fleet with Star Beams to engage at whatever range they desire. They're not afraid of close battles unlike missile and carrier fleets, and while they're no Titan Blasters, they're significantly more dangerous at knife range. The Zenox can get it early (I'm talking right after warp and shield tech), and it remains a good weapon in the endgame thanks to its relatively low cost and resource needs compared to endgame weapons.

In short, the Star Beam is a very good primary fleet weapon, arguably the best.

Zenox ships are optimally designed to use the Star Beam en masse.

Sadly, the AI designer and fleet creator fails to take advantage of it, but automated fleets with intentional design for it can effectively utilize it with the right settings. Use Ship tactics, Neutral vs weaker, Evade vs stronger, Shields below 20%/Armor 50% (or 20% components damaged if enemy uses piercing weapons), keep top speed around 80. Crank Overmatch factor to 3 in military automation. Use Very Tight formation. Use picket ships decked for countermeasures and PD. Employ escort ships equipped with blasters/rail guns depending on your tech level to serve as cannon fodder and deliver oppressive DPS in combination with the core fleet at knife range.

Package that design with exceptional shields with a free bonus to regeneration, to make the Zenox fleet the ultimate in epic battles.

Admittedly, I was skeptical of the Zenox before trying them. And while fleets of all races can wipe the floor with AI debris, the Zenox fleets adhering to the Zenox Design Ethos absolutely dominate.

Okay, and they're cat people. Once again, cats have won me over.

Have any of the races won your hegemonic empire heart?