Mortalen underperformance since the racial overhaul

[spinocus]

Does anyone else feel the Mortalen overhaul didn't help that faction much? After 700+ hours of gameplay (at least 2/3rds of which have been since the racial overhaul) I have yet to see an AI controlled Mortalen empire not get conquered, vassalized or marginalized by the mid-late game. FYI before starting a game I generally assign governments to each race that are the most conducive to their success (and aligns with the 'spirit' of their race). I've found Mortalen do reasonably average with the bonuses provided by Monarchy (Democracy and Republic seem way out of character), consistently under-perform with Military Dictatorship and are awful with Feudalism (their in-game bias) which heavily handicaps them vs other empires. Is a Republic the best means for an AI Mortalen empire to be competitive?!?

When the overhaul patch was released I assumed the Mortalen would receive considerable boosts to their perceived strengths, so why do the bug races' ground units rival the Mortalen in terms of strength & efficacy? The purest 'warrior' race in DW2 should have the strongest ground units with the best base attack/defense bonuses in the game. I think their troop transports should also sport extra slots for additional weapons and shield/armor. On top of that, the Mortalen ought to have the best ship boarding bonuses along with a race-specific assault pod tech tree superior to the default one (or the Ikkuro Splinter pods). A Mortalen invasion fleet should be a genuine cause for concern and not elicit a 'more of the same' reaction from the player.

Again, I am speaking only to the AI's handling of the Mortalen and not how they perform when I control them. I'm interested to hear what the community has to say about the performance of AI controlled Mortalen empires.

[Buio]

Mortalen never, or at least very seldom perform well as an AI empire. As you said, playing Mortalen with military dictatorship or feudalism is generally a bad experience. I've run them as republic, and then they perform better, but as you said is a bit out of character.