Advice for those just starting out (repost)

[Xhéralt]

I just put this in the Tauri Forum, but I think everybody should see it.

1. Buy up your unit production. The later you start this game, compared to us, the faster you need to build this to catch up.

2. Check in at least once a day to bank, more often as your production grows. If you can spare the time, buy weapons instead of banking.

2a. Make sure you have enough trained personnel to man all your weapons. Buy Supersoldiers as you can afford them, but buy enough regulars to fill out the ranks.

3. Save up attack turns for a week, then go on rampages. Fix your weapons after each attack, buy more weapons with whatever you have left RIGHT AWAY.

4. Recon your prospective victims. Investigate not just their ability to retaliate, but look at Commanders, if any. And always consider Alliances, if any.

4a. If you can't get a good read on a prospective target, but you still think it may be worthwhile, lead with a small attack of 1 to 3 turns to probe the defenses.

5. Most people don't retaliate if you only attack once. Don't go back for seconds unless your target is *really* helpless against you.

6. I personally prefer to keep my attack/defense strengths balanced. There is a certain value, however, to favoring attack -- if you're a serious threat to retaliate, that discourages some attacks. But attack strength has to be in the millions to be considered threatening. If you won't be able to spend a lot of time online, concentrate on defense. That way, when your Naq does pile up faster than you can spend it, you won't lose as much to would-be farmers. It depends on your personal style, in the end.

7. Use your bank mostly as part of buying big-ticket items, like covert levels. Invest your income directly in weapons as much as possible.

8. As soon as you have more than four of any given weapon type, trade up to the next better weapon. Keep a few lesser weapons to insulate your best weapons from sabotage -- or at least force the saboteur to waste more covert resources getting to your top weapons.

9. Use mercenaries for attack and defense early on; keep your untrained units concentrated on production until things really get rolling for you.

[Captain Malcolm Reynolds]

About probing defenses. I find it helpful to spy on them, so I don't have to waste attacks on a stronger than expected foe.

[Sleipnir]

One major help when starting out is to find a good commander. A good income bonus, advice and maybe even a little help pointing out good targets, it can really set you on the right track.