Advent strategy?

from Sins Forums

I find it very difficult to start off with Advent compared to the other factions. No money income and no viable military forces initially. There is culture..but that doesn't do anything that I consider to be a threat. While the advent become pretty good later, as in after you nearly max out the research trees. However later means nothing if a TEC player rushes you with a fleet of LRM and using their income advantage to keep pirates on you.

It seems like to a degree the advent was a after thought due to the way their research trees are designed. The skill selection starts out very ackward and puts you in a position in which you excel at nothing. And that you are required to spend a lot of resources that beefs up your fleet and planets in order to be initially effective. Which in turn sets you back more than the TEC and Vasari. The advent cap ships are nice when leveled up, but the fleet leaves a lot to be desired. Like the disciple ship, it sucks and dies rather fast. So fast in fact that its probably best to invest in a fleet of scouts earlier on. With steal anti matter, disciples become decent but you will need to invest a lot resources just to make the ship decent. Which is sad, it should start out decent become much better with upgrades. Disciple however starts out awful and becomes decent with upgrades.

What is everyones thoughts about the advent? Do they need a boost or do you think they are fine the way they are? It seems like for online play due to the way most games play out, its best to stick to TEC or Vasari due to them actually being quite good in areas which can be used as a advantage. Advent seems to lack that, unless you count culture as a advantage...lol.

 

 

 

 

strategy
4,546 views 3 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
I dunno.

The way I see Advent, they can (err.."should be able to") expand extremely quickly to unoccupied planets with Shield Regen on the mothership taking out tons of local militia then lock down what they have by turtling and spreading culture. The Vasari can go ahead and make attacks on other player's planets quite quickly with their Assailant at Lv1, and the TEC can survive either way with their economic advantage.

The problem is that in a small map situation you'll end up getting Embargoed/LRM rushed so quickly that if you build those two civ stations to cap a bunch of planets you will get destroyed by a military-focused player. You're then forced to play to your disadvantages: Advent suffer from pretty weak military at the beginning of the game. In a large map, it really doesn't matter how you expand.

The problem, as I see it, is twofold:

1. The early game strongly penalizes a "boom" player. With credits being so advantageous and LRMs being so far down the tech tree, the TEC can afford to boom, but other players are pretty much screwed. Vasari is pushed into rushing, and Advent are pushed into turtling: while the Vas can easily rush, if the Advent player doesn't get lucky and have a lot of resources before they get in fleet conflicts, there is no way for them to defend what they have. You have the choice of two tactical or two civilian research stations at your home planet before you have to pay for logistics. That's fine - but it's slanted heavily toward tactical before the game even begins.

2. Culture is too easy to mitigate. Only a couple times have I had to put real effort into stopping an enemy from dropping a planet via culture, most of the time it can be stopped by simply adding a culture station close. "Stacking" culture stations tends to be less advantageous for the stacker as the defender: the defender, of course, can always warp in and take out those stations instead of defending with their own culture. Advent is clearly pushed to use culture, but unfortunately the tree seems relatively useless.

The solution to #1 is to either slow down the game or make rushes more expensive while penalizing early-game mass fleets. A reduction in supply, a increase in upkeep, an increase in LRM prices would all help. The Vasari should be the ones that can rush effectively and focus on taking other people's planets rather than unoccupied ones - right now, the TEC can do it much too effectively as well.

The solution to #2 is to simply buff culture in general, or at least give much more of an advantage to the Advent's culture research tree. Someone with the tree maxed out should be dangerous with only one or two stations, not so easily countered.

In short, the Advent are screwed on defense, they're screwed on culture, and they're screwed on offense. It's still doable (I tend to play Advent anyway), but it seems to be inherently starting you farther behind the other players. Which is a shame - they're my favorite race!
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
The Advent are at a big disadvantage early... if I think a lot of LRM's may be comming I will go military and get defenders then grab the shield upgrades. IT doesn't work against really good players but the disciples are awful and I refuse to get them if I have any choice about it. It is like sending a fleet of rubber ducks at the enemy.

It means you start a bit behind though... there is not much to be done about it. Later game you can do very well though.

Probably the biggest advantage is their mother ship since the reduction in price of colony upgrades is a huge advantage while expanding and the shield regen is great. With other races I sometimes build a an alternate first capital ship in place of mothership but I pretty much never do that with Advent.
Multiplicity - Control multiple PCs using one keyboard and mouse
Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
In short, the Advent are screwed on defense, they're screwed on culture, and they're screwed on offense. It's still doable (I tend to play Advent anyway), but it seems to be inherently starting you farther behind the other players. Which is a shame - they're my favorite race!
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Agreed wholeheartedly. And there has to be a re balancing that will get the Advent back into the game. Since the Illuminator already has a strange damage curve, maybe it should be given an armor type that would make it resistant to LRMs? That might balanace pretty well.