How to get the most out of each civ

[Admiral Vostok]

It's been a long time since we had any sort of tactics or strategy discussion here, and what with the forums having been a bit dead over the past few days, I thought why not.

 

So, the civs in SWGB don't differ greatly, but they do differ enough that different tactics can be used from civ to civ.

 

Let's go through and highlight the best parts of each civ, and how certain bonuses or unique techs they get can be used to their full potential.

 

I'll start off by doing Naboo, which I know the most about.

 

Royal Naboo

The strength of Naboo is definitely in the air. My air-whoring is famous, but I don't really air-whore with any other civ. The reason air whoring is so good with Naboo comes from several unique bonuses the Naboo get. First of all, their Nova mining bonus allows you to quickly get the Nova you need. As everyone knows, I always go for Holocrons, because Naboo also get a bonus to Holocron Nova generation. The next element that contributes to successful air-whoring is Taxation, the unique Naboo tech that makes all military units cheaper. Cheaper air means more air for the same price. Finally, and this is the main strength of Naboo air, the Advanced Engines unique tech might only add 10% speed, but I think it is priceless. Compared to the Naboo, other civ's fully upgraded bombers just move too slowly, and you lose too many on the way in, but Naboo Bombers with that tiny bit of extra speed gives them an amazing edge.

 

Another interesting bonus for the Naboo is their Cannons. Thanks to the Taxation and the Battle Armour unique techs, Naboo have the cheapest and toughest Cannons out of the rest of the civs. Protected by Fighters, Naboo Cannons really have an edge.

 

Jedi are the other strength of the Naboo, although I rarely use them. With Taxation they are quite affordable, second only to Republic.

 

Naboo naval units are also great. Fully upgraded, they are amongst the best in the game, and as pbguy can attest, an unexpected attack from the water can be devastating.

 

The biggest drawback for Naboo is that while their air and sea units are great, the rest of them are not so much. Their Troopers and Mechs are amongst the worst in the game. However (and this is something I need to work on doing a bit more) some of these units should be used in support of the stronger elements. Of particular note are Royal Crusaders; fully upgraded they can be very useful, however they are expensive and take forever to build. The Naboo's Strike Mechs and Grenadiers can also be fairly decent, as they have access to most of the decent upgrades.

 

***

 

So let's keep it going! In particular I'd like to hear pbguy's views on Rebels, saberhagen's views on Wookiees and Viceroy's views on the Confederacy.

[swphreak]

Well, I'm usually my predictable Trade Federation self.

 

A plus about them is the no prefabs deal. I like it because I'm lazy and don't really like having to deal with them. That usually means that I can get some workers out faster...

 

Let's see, I don't build really build much in the way of troops. I think they look flimsy and stuff. I'm sure their mechs are good, but I never build them either cuz I'm usually spending my resources on Destroyer Droids. They're excellent against troop units, and if you have enough in a group, they can hold their own against Mech units.

 

Air isn't really that good, so I just stick AA Mobiles and Turrents. I haven't done much naval, so I don't know how they compare.

 

My tactics basically involve getitng to T3 as fast as possible and build Destroyer Droids.

[DK_Viceroy]

A Pleasure to enlighten people on the wonders of the confederacy

 

The Confederacy Of Independant Systems

 

The Strenght Of The Confederacy lies in it's Flexibility it's ability to change from using One strategy to another with remarkable speed due to it's ability for the late game boom, The Confederacy Becomes A formidable advesery in Tech Level 4 where it gets access to all of mit's unique upgrades and this is helped by removing the slight teching delay other civs must endure when they choose to reserach Basic training which the confederacy gets for free.

 

The confederacy is best with combined arms strategies where it can fully utilise it's economy to produce A constant stream of units that can steam roll any oponent into a sodden mass. The Geonosian warrior is an excellent Unique unit however the upgrade to Elite Geonosian Warrior is about as much use as a rubber haddock, The confederacy Can utilise Troopers and Heavy weapons with little problems as their Heavy weapons can now keep up with the troopers and once both fully upgraded are a dominating force on the battle filed.

 

I usually use Mass Troopers with Mechs mixed in supported heavily with heavy weapons usually on a ratio of 5 troopers to one mech to 2 Heavy weapons. I rarely use air since The Confederacy's anti air mobiles also benefit from geonosian engineers which can allow Anti Air mobiles when massed to simply swat Air out of the sky. If ever troopers necome useless I can easily discard them as a main force and employ the Confederacy's mechs and mix it up with troopers. If the Situation drags on and carbon becomes scarce Animals can be built relativeley cheapely and quickly and always shore up any force.

 

The confederacy is Primarily a Tech 4 Civ as it gets all but one of it's advantages then and Can boom considerably easier comapred to every other civ in the game.

 

The confederacy has weak Sea units Air Units and Sith. But since Fully Upgradded Repeater Troopers of the Confederacy can easily wipe out jedi that is rarel;y a problem and the resilience of the confederacy economky can easily allow a player to produce an overwhelming force of naval units to outwiegh any disadvantages and the effcectiveness of Conefederacy AA makes Air a slight irritant nwhen the player knows what to expect. The confederacy Is easily the most adaptable civ in the game and with an ally usually one of the best.

 

Here's a tech list for any who don't know what confederacy techs can do.

 

Geonosian Dilligence

 

Workers work +10% faster, and now have a +2 attack against troopers and buildings, and a +4 attack against Turrets

 

Confederacy Alliance

 

Increases the hit points of the spaceport +500 and +25 for the Hover Cargo. The Hover Cargos speed is also increased by +10%.

 

Droid Upgrades

 

All troopers have +25 HP and attack is increased by +3

 

Geonosian Engineers.

 

Heavy Weapon Factory units gain +10% speed; lowers the reload time (except for Pummels) by ¼ second per shot

[Kryllith]

While I like to play all the civs, I prefer playing moderate turtling/booming rather than the full on booming that others do. While the grab for resources is important, getting the most out of them, to me, is moreso. Thus, we have the gungans.

 

The primary strength of the gungans is their staying power, both in the bulk of their units and in their buildings. Gungan buildings heal over time (in CC anyway) so damage suffered through beaten down rushes are cheaper to fix. You can simply let them heal themselves, or use worker to speed up the process. Either way, the self-healing ability of the building will decrease the reparations cost in both resources and time.

 

Unit wise, Gungans have the best healing in the game. While their healers may not get the special upgrades of a couple of other civs (such as the Republic), they have the advantage of being able to heal every unit except mechs and heavies. Thus they can heal air (including air cruisers--that alone can save you a bundle), ships, and Fambaas in addition to their workers/soldiers/jedi/medics. Since Gungan healers can heal air/ships, workers don't need to be pulled away from resource gathering to repair them, nor are resources used to heal them, thus you can keep a healthy air force/navy with your cost being only a few medics.

 

The Fambaa shield-generators more than double (taking shield healing into account) the hps of gungan ground units/buildings which further contribute to the Gungan staying power. Combined with medics to keep them (and the rest of the army) healthy, Fambaa can prolong the life of friendly units, allowing extra time for reinforcements to arrive or unit juggling to allow more time for healing.

 

Another Gungan strength is their ships. Gungans have the strongest ships, with access to virtually all of the naval upgrades and, I believe, one or two unique upgrades. Gungans also have stealth frigates which make excellent scouts. While they lack the mobility range of the Jedi Starfighter, they typically come cheaper and work very well at widdling down armies en masse. Combined with a transport and some healers, the Gungan navy offers incredible power.

 

Noticeable weaknesses...

 

Jedi: Gungans only have access to Padawan, meaning they don't have access to higher level powers. The Gungans inability to convert can prove disasterous when one of their Fambaa's is converted away from them. Having a bounty or two along to protect the fambaa may be wise.

 

Map Dependency: While Gungans can perform decently on waterless maps, the lack of water does cut out one of their primary strengths.

 

Air Force: Gungans have weak air come Tech 4, lacking both armour and shields. However, because Gungan air is healable, their fighters make decent scouts and/or hit-and-run fighters. Also, the ability to heal Gungan air makes them potentially the best Air Force in Tech III, before other civs gain Tech IV improvements.

 

Kryllith

[FroZticles]

Confederacy economy is no better than anyone elses. You should have finished booming late t3 or early t4. Plus it needs 400 nova crystals i'd rather spend that on artillary, research or mechs.

[DK_Viceroy]

I usually research Geonosian Dilligence trhe second i hit tech 4 so it's very useful. I think the general point of a boom is that you keep booming. With that tech the confederacies econ becomes better than any other civ's. you'll notice they get no economical disadvantages and this tech makes all their workers better opposed to civs like the TF where it makes wokrers ORE mining rates better. Coupled with it's 25% trade bonus that makes it economically the best civ.

[Admiral Vostok]

Some good stuff here. I'm particularly interested in Kryllith's take on the Gungans since I'll be using them next forum game

 

In terms of resource gathering and trading, the Confederacy would appear to be the best economically. However, the Trade Federation's techs that give them cheaper buildings and cheaper research shouldn't be overlooked in this regard. The Confederacy can get more stuff, but the Trade Federation spends less of their stuff.

[FroZticles]

Well i guess I can't compare since I cap my workers at 150-170. I really can't keep booming after that. Geonosian Dilligence is not good just because you research it as soon as you hit t4

[swphreak]

Originally posted by Admiral Vostok

However, the Trade Federation's techs that give them cheaper buildings and cheaper research shouldn't be overlooked in this regard. The Confederacy can get more stuff, but the Trade Federation spends less of their stuff.

 

How silly of me, those techs are very helpful for me. I'm able to build a few more defenses and research a bit faster (it's faster for me anyways) since it's a bit cheaper.

[saberhagen]

Wooks: best art/repeater combo. Good air, but it's expensive. MDs are passable, strikes terrible. Jedi no good, but I don't use jedi. I'm not really that much of a wook player anyway.

 

When I played a lot on the zone I'd mostly play confeds. They're a very good rush civ. The free basic training gives you an important edge early game. You can make 2 extra mounties before you start mining nova, which is a huge advantage in T1 and T2 rushes. I like to have 4 mounties to follow up my T2 trooper rushes as even with no upgrades 4 mounties will take down a power core in 14 seconds.

 

Reeks can be useful supporting T3 strike rushes under the right circumstances. Their bonus against turrets makes them as good as pummels, but for only 125 food. If you find unhoused turrets protecting the enemy carbon patch, 4 reeks will take them down in just under 30 seconds. You'd need 8 mounties to achieve the same effect, which is a lot of nova at that stage in the game, which might be better spent getting war centre upgrades for strikes. Nexus are not much good for anything and by the time you can get acklays they'll be sluahgtered by repeaters so they're not worth it.

 

Geos are excellent for raiding as they kil workers very quickly. Pure geo rushes are hard to pull of because it takes a lot of ore to build the fort, but you can use them later in T3 to distract the enemy and damage their econ. Geos are also good for supporting ground troops because they kill even FU repeaters in one shot and can take out unprotected air cruisers.

 

Art/repeater is their main strength in T4. MDs are not outstanding but OK and you'll inevitably need some.

 

AFAIK the geo diligence doesn't have as much effect as it claims to, but I've never tested it in detail myself. Best leave that sort of thing to "this Pompei person".

[DK_Viceroy]

Maybe the TF yeah but it's a case of looking at their carbon disavantage propably balances it out, The TF doesn't need shelters but the slower carbon harvesting is usually a bit of a disadvantage early game while the confederacy doesn't have such problems and they also do get their trade bonus which propably matches their cheaper buildings since i think the price reduction isn't a huge amount the same for the cheaper tech.

[Admiral Vostok]

Just thought I'd add after that last game that I now believe the key to success with the Royal Naboo is Strike Mechs. With Taxation they're cheap to mass, and the help counter the anti-air ground units that Fighters and Bombers might have trouble with.

[DK_Viceroy]

Do not crow on about that tactic for too long pretty soon people on the receiving end will learn how to break it even I have a few ideas already and i'm usually your ally.

[Admiral Vostok]

Well I considered not crowing on about it, but then I decided people are going to figure it out whether I crow on about it or not. So I will crow on about it.

[DK_Viceroy]

all i was advising is not to make your strategy too well known i'm sure the strategy center would love picking it apart i might even flag their attention to that.

[Admiral Vostok]

But if I use my strategy, it's effectively making it well known, so why keep it a secret? The "strategy center", whatever it is, can pick it apart all they want, it seems to work for me.

[DK_Viceroy]

The bStrategy center is elsewhere on the forum. But if it was picked apart and was easily countered we'd be back to you oscilating between civs again

[Admiral Vostok]

Maybe so. Personally I don't think it's such a complicated tactic that it warrants picking apart. I was having trouble with AA Troopers, Naboo has decent Strike Mechs, so I came to the logical conclusion. That's all there is to it.

[DK_Viceroy]

Certainly will be interesting next game then.

[FroZticles]

The Naboo strike mech strat has been done for years, its very effective for hit and runs when you research speed. As long as you avoid masses a Mech destroyers they will dominate and rip apart economies.

[Admiral Vostok]

Well I didn't think I would have been the first one to realise their potential.

[DK_Viceroy]

Anyway enough of that, Is anyopne else hoping this game round we get another epic battle like we did a few weeks ago, that was cool how it lasted something like 3 hours and we used every piece of carbon on the map, I wouldn't mind a match like that at all who else is with me on that?

[Admiral Vostok]

Yeah that was great. Perhaps it was the most balanced teams we've ever had, combined with the map and the starting locations that made it such an epic game.

 

If I remember correctly it was saberhagen/Nitro/me vs pbguy/Viceroy/Phreak.

[DK_Viceroy]

Perhpas we could play with the same map again but how about we make it Giant this time so it'll take a little bit longer to run out. The map BTW was Ice Lake, we could do other things towars the end of re-enacting it even the the extent of digging up the save game and restoring that heh

[Majin Boba Fett]

Can someone give me the run-down on the Empire. I use them all the time, but I don't think I use them to thier full advantage.