Beginner's Who Need Help From Experienced Players

n00bs post common mishaps and the 1337 offer advice

from Sins Forums

Hi all!  Here is a copy of a reply I posted in another thread, but I really thought it would be helpful to myself and all of the other new players if it had it's own thread. The idea is that new players who are struggling can use this thread as an effective learning tool.  I've played through all the tutorials, and I've Googled "Sins of a Solar Empire strategy" and read up on everything I can find, but it all seems a bit advanced.  I'm still on baby steps and I'm hoping that some kind and experienced players can help solidify the most basic elements of my gameplay.  I'm a very new Sins player (I've played through maybe 5-6 single player games in total) and I haven't played an RTS since-thinks-WarCraft 2. My general experience so far is that I *think* I am developing an effective empire and fleets, but as soon as I organize and try to take over my first real planet I get countered and absolutely overrun by cap ships and massive fleets.

It's frustrating, but I'm an experienced enough gamer to know that I'm definitely doing something wrong. My first problem was I was allocating all of my strength into one big fleet which ends up leaving me wide open once I move them away from my planet(s). The most frustrating part of the game is simply that it takes HOURS of gameplay before you fully realize that you haven't kept up with the computer at all and are completed defeated already. My "sure thing" massive fleet that I spend time upgrading and putting together travels to a planet to find an AI fleet about 3 times as big and I instantly know my game is finished.

I'm not complaining (although it may sound like it), I'm asking any experienced Sins players to maybe offer up some step-by-step advice to get me off the ground. Here is a rough guideline of where I'm at:

1. I generally play TEC simply because I have learned all their ships names, upgrades, and what they do.

2. I struggle with efficiently organizing my fleets. I don't understand what the "pin" option does or how to use it. My fleets generally end up messy and jumbled and it really takes me a long time to organize them the way I feel they're most effective.

3. I understand that making a fleet of mixed ships that work well together with a cap ship at the front is essential to success, I'm just not very good at it.

4. I've considered that I'm trying to create a too well-rounded empire...is it necessary to focus on just one aspect of expansion?

5. What should my first effective fleet consist of, in general?

6. What upgrades are most essential and should be gotten right away?

7. I can never seem to keep up with the computer...at what rate, in general should I be producing ships?

8. Here's a major problem for me... How much time should I spend fortifying a planet before I move on to take over the next planet? I seem to either over-defend my planets, or I'm too aggressive in taking new planets and end up getting attacked at another planet while on the move and everything falls apart.

9. My computer loads the maps almost instantly so I never get read the "Tips" that pop up as the game is loading, but they seem to be extremely helpful the times I've been lucky enough to catch a few words.  Is there anyway to look up and read all the tips in one place somewhere?


I would greatly appreciate an experienced player addressing a few of these n00b issues that I'm having with the game. I'd really like to get online and start playing against human opponents, but I'm afraid if I can't hold my own against the computer that a live game won't be much fun for either party.

Thanks for all the help.

5,603 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Sins Forums Top
2. 'Pin' puts the selected thing onto the empire tree, or takes it off it it's already there. Default settings pin pretty much everything, though.

4. It can help. As TEC, there are two technologies that are absolutely essential: trade ports and Javelis LRM frigates. Trade ports because the TEC endgame is a combination of a wonderful superweapon and outproduction of enemies, and LRM frigates because those will end up being the backbone of your fleet.

5. For your initial expansion, build a handful of light frigates. After that, you should be using LRMs as the backbone of your fleet and Hoshiko cruisers to keep your frigates alive.

6. LRM frigates. The shield, hull, and damage upgrades tend /not/ to be worth it until you have a certain number of LRMs--otherwise it's just cheaper to build another frigate. There's a post on that in the strategy section, I think.

7. I'm not going to answer this, because it's something I don't have entirely down yet. It's really a feel thing--if you feel like you're behind in fleet size, it's probably already too late. >.>

8. Fortify only where you need to and when you need to. Against computers cheesy things like gauss platforms on the close side of the planet are doable, but it's a good habit to get into to use hangar defenses if you ever plan on playing online. Remember that a good defensive setup counts for a lot, but that it won't stop a determined attacker all on its own.

As for how long to spend--before you get to the middle or late game, the only thing a defense should do is keep the planet alive until your fleet gets back to engage the attackers.


I make no guarantees as to the truth or effectiveness of the above post. >.>
Reply #2 from Sins Forums Top
THANK YOU! That was an exceptionally helpful reply for a n00b such as myself and I think it will help me get my footing early on. Especially the understanding of what "pin" does. I thought I was missing some crucial aspect of the game, but now I see that it's always on by default. When the empire tree gets too crowded I can see where it might be useful to un-pin the idle structures so that I can easier select ships for my fleet.
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Reply #3 from Sins Forums Top
2. I struggle with efficiently organizing my fleets. I don't understand what the "pin" option does or how to use it. My fleets generally end up messy and jumbled and it really takes me a long time to organize them the way I feel they're most effective.

Don't forgot control groups and hotkeys. I usually like to keep each individual capital ship in its own control group (honestly I usually only have 1 for most the game, the Akkan); I also put specialty groups, like siege frigates, into their own control groups as well.
I also like having ship-producing planets set to their own control group (usually 0 or 9) ... so, if I　notice that I have the credits for an LRM, making the ship is as easy as hitting 0 (select planet), A (enter frigate menu), E (queue up one LRM), which takes me less than a second. Compare that with zooming out, searching for the planet you want, clicking it, then selecting the menu and ship. Seems minor, but it's a huge time saver in the long run to develop this kind of habit. This also helps you continue building ships while focusing on other things, like battles.

Also, remember that Alt-clicking a unit in a gravity well will select every unit of that type.

Also also, you don't have to click on enemies on the screen to have your units target them - you can also issue an attack order to enemy units displayed in your empire tree on the left. This makes it much easier to target specific units (like, for example, if someone has a swarm of illuminators and a few subjugators, you can use the empire tree to easily target the subjugators). This helps to avoid the 'needle in a haystack' problem when fleets become very large.

6. What upgrades are most essential and should be gotten right away?

In my opinion, I think TEC should initially focus on Civic-tree upgrades. The first two upgrades I get are the ones that make producing structures cheaper. In total, you'll spend 900 credits, 75 crystal getting these two upgrades. However, metal/crystal extractors go down in price from 250 to 150, and you'll have these upgrades done before you leave your first asteroid. If you conquer, say, 4 more planets (for a total of 6), each with 3 extractors each (just an average), you save 1,200 credits. Additionally, you save money on producing frigate factories. (450 down to 350). Afterwards, I usually focus on the mining upgrades (crystal and metal) and then the colonizing research, if and when I need it as it comes up.

When you capture planets, make sure to upgrade their civilian infrastructure to maximum as soon as possible. This is easiest for asteroids, which have just 1 upgrade, volcanics have 2, arctics 3, deserts 3 and terrans 4. If you do not upgrade, you will actually lose a lot of tax income (the amount is staggering ... I used to neglect these upgrades, then was horrified to see that I'd lost around 80,000 credits to underdevelopment by the time a 2-hour game was over)

8. Here's a major problem for me... How much time should I spend fortifying a planet before I move on to take over the next planet? I seem to either over-defend my planets, or I'm too aggressive in taking new planets and end up getting attacked at another planet while on the move and everything falls apart.

To quote General Patton, 'a fortress is a testament to the stupidity of man.' In general, it is better to take the resources that you would spend on turrets and instead just make more ships, because these are mobile, while turrets are stationary.

This doesn't mean that turrets and other structures don't play their part, though. All too often, players will leave a planet completely undefended - a good player will take advantage of this, and fly in a couple of siege frigates to eliminate a planet's population (and thus bring its tax income down to 0) without opposition. Only takes 2 frigates to do it, and many times you can retreat the frigates before help arrives. So, in such cases, having 1 or 2 gauss turrets around the perimeter as a safety precaution may be worth it.

However, your best defense is proper intel. Know where your enemy is, know what he's doing, and you'll be able to predict his actions more accurately. Having scouts drop remote sensors on planets (civic tree upgrade) is invaluable, because you will be able to see what planets he's fortifying, what planets he's not fortifying, and where his fleet is. If you can't drop a sensor (say, on magnetic clouds, for example), just leave a scout frigate there.

Anyway, TEC units are relatively weaker when compared to the other races, so I think TEC's best strength is to build a stronger economy and out-produce the enemy.
Reply #4 from Sins Forums Top
I think it is important to focus on one thing at a time, especially at first. Due to the nature of this game, you have to split your attention to multiple areas at once. But when your first starting out, I would suggest trying to do things on at a time. This will get you killed in multiplayer, so practice on solo. I'm sorry I cant give a more detailed response right now, but feel free to contact me on xfire of yahoo. My xfire is squigglethecow and my yahoo is squigglethegamer. you can also email the yahoo.