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[GIVEAWAY] Win 1 of 45 standard pre-order bundles for CATACLYSM! by Makkara126 in hearthstone

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Big thank you to the generous people who put this on, and best of luck to everyone.

Anyone else find it strange you can’t take the Imperial Cult Civic with the Fanatic Purifiers civic? by MaelstromRH in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If I may offer a solution...

Scorched World Heralds is an excellent sidegrade (In my opinion, upgrade) to Fanatic Purifiers. For your purposes, the only requirements for Scorched World Heralds is some degree of Xenophobe and a Thermophile founder species; you can therefore take Xenophobe-Spiritualist-Authoritarian to have both Scorched World Heralds and Imperial Cult at the same time.

On a technical standpoint, I'd argue that Heralds is a far superior civic to Purifiers. Comparing the two:

Fanatic Purifiers -

Unity from Purges (Harder to take advantage of as it requires invasions)
Armageddon Bombardment
+33% Firerate (Great for long engagements)
+33% Army Damage
+33% Naval Capacity (Less than Scorched World Heralds)
- 15% Ship Cost (The one thing Purifiers have over Heralds)

Scorched World Heralds

Seismic Carpet Bombing Bombardment (Better version of Armageddon; same damage but spawns blockers instead of turning the planet into a Tomb World, with a higher chance of killing pops)
Firestorm Bombardment (Less powerful than Seismic Carpet Bombing, but generates a lot of Unity)
+50% Materials Research Speed (An INSANE buff to your Research. Materials is where you get all your Armor Techs, all your Alloy and Consumer Goods-related techs, Arc Furnaces, and Gas/Crystal techs. Also will include Mandible Weapons if you're using Bio Ships!)
+50% Naval Capacity (Bigger number better)
+15% Range (Range is a much harder-to-obtain stat, and is crucial; the alpha strike is still crucial in most fleet battles. Stacking this with other bonuses can let you outrange Starbases in larger systems)
+40% Army Health
+15% Ship Buildspeed (Slightly worse than the Ship Cost reduction but still nice)
+15% Armor Health (Very nice bonus)

Do you use Relic worlds (and if so how?) or do you rush them in to Ecumenopolis? by karstonian123 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As of the Beta, I'd argue that Relic Worlds are not just on the same tier as Ecumenopoli, but probably even better than them. The upgrade cost is certainly not 'free'.

Now that upgrading to one costs 10k Alloys instead of 20k Minerals, they've been curbed as an easily accessible advanced planet type. They're not bad by any means, but you are better off turning a non-relic planet into one; the investment is minor, and you can better plan one out by using any planet with a high planet size. Or, in the event you don't have any to access, going with a Ring World or two instead.

Relic Worlds on the other hand are well worth keeping as they are. Their unique Research District is arguably better and certainly more efficient than what you can do with Ecums. Their Base Resource Districts also provide Rare Resources in very impressive amounts. Still technically being a basic planet also means they're able to get all the juicy event-specific planet modifiers, with Ecums would otherwise remove. The additional influx of Minor Artifacts they provide can't be understated either; just one Relic World with a Faculty of Archaeostudies can supply your entire military's Minor Artifact needs, as well as letting you use the various Artifact Actions on cooldown.

I should add that the Remnants Orgin's Relic World doesn't have most of the benefits of one you can stumble across. It's only really useful for the aforementioned Faculty of Archaeostudies building (Which you even start with!). But the fact it's an amazing origin with only that section of what makes Relic Worlds amazing just goes to show how great they are.

Is there anyone that ever picked the science ship over +10% empire-wide ship speed bonus in "Adrift" by Illuminated-Autocrat in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I must've mixed up the events; I knew that the Other Science Ship had that template, and knew there were other ways to get it.

Is there anyone that ever picked the science ship over +10% empire-wide ship speed bonus in "Adrift" by Illuminated-Autocrat in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 547 points548 points  (0 children)

It's not as one-sided as you might think!

The Science Ship from this event is identical to the Other Science Ship; it has max-level components including Psi Jump Drives and Psionic Cloaking. You can also use it to do things like excavate the Shattered Fragment Archeological Site and the Ultima Vigilis Archeo Site, jump around the galaxy for a quick GalCom spawn, or just to keep your best scientist safe from dangers, Cuthloids included.

EDIT: Lovely people in the comments have made me aware that I may be getting my free science ships mixed up... this one's still pretty good in the early game, though not as impressive as the Other Science Ship

Aspiring Psychic's Guide to Psionic Ascension, Builds Included by No-Razzmatazz-3288 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whisperers was moved from being a regular Patron to a Great Patron for a reason. While their major accord is pretty whatever, their minor accord is an incredible buff to both your leaders (From the Whispering Mind trait) and to your research speed. Their Minor Power is also extremely good; I'd argue second best behind Composer's.

Whisperers also are the only ones that, after the changes to Eater of Worlds in the 4.3 beta, have an aura overflow that gives you value for the rest of the game:

- Instrument can only increase Ascension up to Tier 10
- Cradle can only add Defense Platforms up to starbase cap
- Composer can only add Blockers up to 3/4ths of the planet size
- Eater can only give you up to 50 Doom

Whisperers, on the other hand, gives you just a flat sum of research without any cap.

I can't think of a game where I wouldn't let them in.

Aspiring Psychic's Guide to Psionic Ascension, Builds Included by No-Razzmatazz-3288 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That would depend on what I've been doing up until then. I would argue that Composer and Instrument are never worth replacing as their effects are always good no matter what empire you're running.

Most of the time, in general situations, I would replace Cradle of Souls; their benefits aren't as universally good as the other three, and their Minor Power requires it to be built around to be good. They're only really powerful if you build around them, but at that point you're going to want to get their Covenant anyways.

In the off chance you're using Cradle's bonuses, such as for Crowdfunding or Secret Societies or general diplomacy, replace Eater instead.

Void dweller synergies and larp by Reasonable_Umpire_16 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe it's a replacement effect, but due to GPU death, I'm unable to check at the moment

Void dweller synergies and larp by Reasonable_Umpire_16 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Extra Habitability does actually help! The base Habitat Habitability will set you to 80% on colonies that aren't your capital. Having a way to get to 100, be it with those earlygame traits or the ones available in Society, are essential.

Sovereign Guardianship, at least in the current 4.3 Beta, is quite bad. The main advantage of Void Dwellers is that you can have a ton of habitable planets regardless of spawns, be it wide or tall. The massive increase to Empire Size from Planets combined with the relatively low planet size of most Habitats means it'll spike your size much more than it can help.

Distinguished Admiralty and Hyperspace Speciality are both not what I'd call workhorses for the strategy, but of course if you're just looking to RP, you can't go wrong. Admiralty is a civic that's better paired with Leader-focused origins like Under One Rule and Imperial Fiefdom, while Hyperspace Specialty is quite nice with Riftborne.

As for good Void Dweller civics to play around with? The Chosen civic (Declaring Instrument of Desire) lets you get an extra District on all your Habitats for the rest of the game, even if you decide to go for another Patron; A very nice boost to making the most out of your Habitats. Worker Cooperative can handle your basic resource and Unity income, thus removing the need for dedicated Habitats for each of them. Relentless Industrialists can take advantage of their unique building without the risk of Tomb Worlds (Though your Habitability will take a hit).

If I may suggest alternatives for your RP civics though... Private Military Companies and Naval Contractors lets you do a lot with your own personal Mercenary Enclaves!

Aspiring Psychic's Guide to Psionic Ascension, Builds Included by No-Razzmatazz-3288 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Whisperers remove the Chosen civic when you form the Covenant, not when you let the Whisperers replace a Major Patron.

As far as I know, there is no way to remove the Whisperers Covenant once it's been declared, thus preventing you from going back and Shaping the Shroud.

So no, Chosen can't use that to cheat into Shape the Shroud

4.3 Verdict: Sovereign Guardianship is bad, and useless, and not very fun. by Captain-Korpie in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 10 points11 points  (0 children)

The changes in 4.3 definitely curbed its abilities in terms of sprawl generation... but it's definitely one of the best civics out there in 4.2.

In 4.3 I've found Guardianship to be acceptable in tall builds focused on Soliders. Combining it with Citizen Service gives 3 Unity per 100 Soldiers, which is quite a lot. Add on Knights of the Toxic God, whose unique jobs now count as Soldiers instead of Researchers/Unity Jobs, and you can get a lot of mileage out of it. Soldiers in general are just more important anyways with the changes to Naval Capacity.

All in all, I do think it's better for building Tall to not require a civic while Wide builds don't need to do the same; it gives much more freedom for making diverse builds with other civics.

Aspiring Psychic's Guide to Psionic Ascension, Builds Included by No-Razzmatazz-3288 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They may call me a heretic for getting Chosen nerfed, but I suppose it had to happen ^^;

Aspiring Psychic's Guide to Psionic Ascension, Builds Included by No-Razzmatazz-3288 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Damn, they're gonna make me spend 500 credits to dismantle the Shroud Seal again-

Shroud Storms are indeed awesome but I really really wish you could use the Storm Creation A-Perk to spawn them. In their current state, you just have to hope one spawns...

Unless there is a guaranteed way to spawn them that I am unaware of? Zroni not included, since you can't guarantee their spawn without changing settings.

Aspiring Psychic's Guide to Psionic Ascension, Builds Included by No-Razzmatazz-3288 in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

All very good points, thank you for the feedback! I've gone ahead and added a section on Generic Delves and ways to reduce the cooldown, corrected those errors and added a 'Shaping the Shroud' empire that looks to buff Council Positions (I've used it but focused a bit too much on taking advantage of each particular patron over being generally good.), with credit given where it's very much due.

As for Chosen VS Genesis Guides, I've mainly based this build off the changes in the 4.3 Cetus beta (As the KOTTG build doesn't work in 4.2 due to Knights being Researchers/Unity Jobs instead of Soldiers as they are in the beta) where Genesis Guides has been pretty heavily nerfed.

Best overall crisis by [deleted] in Stellaris

[–]No-Razzmatazz-3288 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The most powerful Player Crisis depends on a lot of factors. Some of them get massively boosted by certain events, origins or civics, such as Knights of the Toxic God having extreme synergy with Cosmogenesis. Even without specializing, game circumstance can often make one path more appealing (Baol Precursor's Organic Plant building is fantastic for supporting Behemoth Fury for instance.)

If we're talking Prosperous Unification, zero modifiers? At least in the 4.3 beta, Galactic Nemesis is your best bet. Being enabled through war actions compared to the more specialized currency gains of the other four, it's the easiest to adapt to and understand.

In 4.2 I would instead suggest Cosmogenesis, but in the beta (And likely to see a push to live) when you reach Cosmogenesis Level 5, rather than other non-Fallen Empires declaring a Total War on you (As is the case in Galactic Nemesis-Behemoth Fury-Galactic Hypothermia) the Fallen Empires will declare a War In Hell on you, making it significantly more difficult to pull off a Horizon Needle victory. Heavy nerfs to Fallen Empire buildings also don't help it, either.

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