Extermination / Xeno conquest questions

[g]

I finished the tutorial and started a new map. The game doesn't explicitly state this, but I suppose - complete xeno extermination is the ultimate end-goal of each map? Or are there any other conditions (turn limit?)? I can only relate to the old Master of Orion, when the conditions were to capture Orion, kill everyone (before time limit) or have a majority at a certain point. What's in this game? What am I supposed to do?

Given that the ultimate goal is complete extermination (I suppose), I have some questions. So far I encountered only Xebolits.

It seems that annihilation is an extremely long and tedious process. I had one xeno planet (pop. 20, quality 8, def 24, radiation 20). Surrounded with six bombers (custom made with level 3, bombing pods, heavy troops). My fleet obliterated enemy ships but planets... best I did was -5 population (once), which grew back almost immediately. - 1 defense, -  1 quality. Population just kept regenerating. It took A LONG real time and ultimately I gave up. This much effort with 1 world and 9 to go... perhaps I was doing something wrong? I can only remember bombardments in MoO, where planets came down in flames in 1-2 turns.

[fallen]

Yep, that is the goal

[brentaur]

Xeno population regenerates by 1 each turn, so as long as you are taking out at least 2 every turn you will take the planet eventually. Invasion fleets should include a minimum of 8 invasion ships for maximum efficiency per turn. More than 8 allows you to rotate more heavily damaged ships out and fresh ones in. Make sure you can refuel them as well to keep the pressure on the target worlds.

Total extermination is exceedingly tedious. The vast majority of games I end up giving up once ultimate victory becomes a foregone conclusion.

[g]

I finally managed to conquer 2 alien worlds. I found later, that Xenoblots (tutorial alien) power IS being hyper resistant to invasion / bombing, so this explains partially my struggles. I found out that:

- Over time my invaders started doing MUCH bigger damage. EXP has a much larger role I suppose in everything.
- It still took a lot of effort, but I succeded.

I'm on a 32x32 map and will try to eradicate them. It's hard to imagine how hard can this be on a 100xsomething map though.

Also - I think I clicked on all tech tree and don't see other "Repair" options than "Repair fighters". My Invaders are not being repaired while in green orbit (Wolf ships are). My other ships can't fix them. Is this tech anywhere to be found? (To repair other types of ships)

[pendell]

Aug 6, 2020 2:48:51 GMT -5 g said:

I finally managed to conquer 2 alien worlds. I found later, that Xenoblots (tutorial alien) power IS being hyper resistant to invasion / bombing, so this explains partially my struggles. I found out that:

- Over time my invaders started doing MUCH bigger damage. EXP has a much larger role I suppose in everything.
- It still took a lot of effort, but I succeded.

I'm on a 32x32 map and will try to eradicate them. It's hard to imagine how hard can this be on a 100xsomething map though.

Also - I think I clicked on all tech tree and don't see other "Repair" options than "Repair fighters". My Invaders are not being repaired while in green orbit (Wolf ships are). My other ships can't fix them. Is this tech anywhere to be found? (To repair other types of ships)

I'm sorry, Curator, but I believe you are mistaken;  ALL ships are repaired in green space, but slowly.  If your repair skill is not high, those repairs are extremely slow and incremental.  I've played many, many games and I've never seen a ship of any class not being repaired in green space.  

Regrettably, it is only possible to repair fighters -- that is, spacecraft mounting a Fast Reactor type of propulsion plant -- with the talents Repair Fighter 1, 2, Multi-Repair Fighter 1, and Multi-Repair Fighter 2. There are no options or talents to repair or refuel cruisers, transports, or other capital ships in any way save by parking them in orange squares (refuel only) or green (refuel and repair).  There are add-ons and upgrades which will increase the speed of repair in green space, but, again, there is no way to repair anything but a fighter save by parking them in green for several turns. 

This is one reason why I rely heavily on fighters backed by carriers; I prefer the tactical flexibility granted by the ability to repair and refuel them quickly, even though they are individually weak compared to other ships.  


This means that your games are going to have very long durations; even when you have an overwhelming advantage, it still takes many turns to conquer an alien planet, then either refuel/repair your ships in place or demolish the just-used invasion ships and replace them with new ones. Some players do that: They will have a constant stream of invasion ships pouring in from their core worlds; the replacement ships arrive just as the previous invasion is completed. The old ships are demolished, the new ones take orbit, refuel, and press on to the next target.  This requires an extremely large and wealthy empire, of course. 

Respectfully,
 
Brian P. 

[brentaur]

Just my opinion, but I strongly prefer to repair my invasion ships and allow them to gain advatage from their increasing experience. Invasion ships aren't cheap to maintain (at least the way I build them), but I like to have at least 2 full squads (16 ships total) so that basically one squad can repair while the other moves on to the next xeno world. More ships is even better, if you can afford them and keep them safe. Higher repair on invasion ships obviously speeds things up a ton.