Worthwhile and worthless techs?

As TEC, I always try to get the Terran population upgrade, Modular Architecture, and Metal Mining upgrades first, in that order. Military-wise, getting HP and Armour research are essential, and the Missile and Autocannon researches are also worth getting. I usually don't bother with most of the Civilian or Defense trees, and on the Military Branch, the laser and beam upgrades aren't exactly stellar.

With Vasari, getting Phase Missile upgrades are essential, while Pulse Guns, Pulse Beams, and Waves aren't worth upgrading at all unless you're running a lot of Skirmishers. For their Civilian branch, the Terran upgrade is great, as are Enforced Labor and the resource bonus research.

I think there is only one technology that I have researched in every game I have ever played without fail, regardless of my race, strategy, and start position.  That is the repair bay.  It is the tech to always research.

Aside from that (on the military side of things) you have the usual "vital" technologies regarding unit prototypes.  You need a balanced fleet, and usually that means LRF, carriers, flaks, and probably a support cruiser.  I personally am a huge fan of antimatter upgrades, but keep in mind I'm also love my capital ships, so I put those upgrades to good use.

For useless technologies on the military side, I'd have to say the Vasari technology that increases capital ship bombard range is probably the top candidate.  It's ridiculously expensive for something that has virtually no effect.  Not worth your time or money.  The capital ship beam weapons are another dubious research; at least they do something, however.

Now, the civic side of the tech tree doesn't have very many "must have" technologies.  I think ice and volcanic colonization are probably the most important in the long-run so you can claim those planets both as tactical staging points and for their resources.  As Swordsalmon already mentioned, the population upgrades are a great investment and the low-level extractor upgrades are well worth your time.

Now, I could probably rant all day about weak civic technologies, but let me address an absolutely worthless one: pirate xenophobia.  This ability reduces the strength of a pirate raid against you by about 10 or 20%.  An experienced player probably already knows what I'm about to say, but I'll say it anyways.  This pirate raid is still strong enough that I have to go back and fend it off.  If I go back and fend it off, then this upgrade has effectively given me 10 or 20% less experience for doing so.  In other words, this ugprade is actually a bad thing to have.  It's one thing to be a double-edged technology (TEC insurgency can feed the enemy experience in the long-run, but at least it has positive side effects), but this tech seems to literally be a detriment.

Well, they said they would change the pirates in Diplomacy, so maybe Pirate Xenophobia will be relevent again after the expansion. But for now, ya it is a bad tech.

Almost anything that is level 1 research is worth the resources, as they are cheap and many of them are actually quite good. I usually get everything that gives access to a new structure or unit that requires less than 3 labs in every game, unless the home worlds are next to eachother.

Things I never research, besides pirate xenophobia.

1. Culture upgrades that don't give a boost to you ships (except the advent tech that allows you to see other gravity wells)

2. Vasari scrap upgrades.

3. Extra drone anima for advent hangars.

4. TEC cluster warheads (though they said they fixed them so they may be worth it now).

Those actually are pretty good.  Certainly not early-game technologies (cept the Advent one since it's available with 2-labs) but definitely worthwhile.

Situational but worthwhile if you do put them to use.

Not worthless, persay, but definitely overpriced for what you get.

As a player of vassari I've noticed that I don't need the extractor upgrades.  I'm always credit starved and just fine with metal and crystal.  BTW, while it's a late to get tech I always grab improved fleet communications from the military side.

actually extractor upgrades are the most important econ advancement on the vasari civic tree because they ahve to wait for 4 labs to get trade ports up. you can get 4 upgrades for extractors (both metal and crystal) with only 3 labs. If you run short on credits you can sell the metal or crystal at the black market.

_|~Uber

This is normal for Vasari, but because the black market allows you to turn resource income into credits, the best way for a Vasari to increase credit output is actually to buy these extractor upgrades and then sell the proceeds to the black market.  You can also get enslaved labour if you're really low on credits to reduce the credit cost of your ships.

My quick list of techs that I find less than useful:

TEC:
    Combat:
        Capital turn-rate
        Beam damage
        Missile Range
        Cielo (Without researched ability)
    Defense:
        Gauss RoF/Range
    Civilian:
        Refinery
        Ice Pop
        Trade ship armor
        Cap training level
Advent:
    Combat:
        Beam range
        Cap training level
        Scout Kamikaze
    Defense:
        Hangar strikecraft
    Civilian:
        Multi constructor building
        Antimatter constructor/improvement
        Culture resistance
        Seeker vision upon death
        Resource Focus
        Bounty on enemy for killed tradeships
Vasari:
    Combat:
        Cap training level
        Overseer researched abilities
        Pulse Gun
        Pulse Beam
        Bombing Range
        Wave Cannon
        Armor boost+Mass decrease
    Defense:
        Grav mines
    Civilian:
        Salvage from dead enemy cap
        Refinery
        Nanite Jammer/improvement
        Bounty gained increase
        Pirate raid strength decrease
        Ice pop
        Capital culture suppression

Well, if you are using them, the guass turret RoF upgrade really isn't all that bad...  In fact, it does increase the DPS by a sizeable margin...

Also, the Nanite Jammer ought to have uses.  I've personally never seen it as I can never afford to bring it out until I'm pretty much guaranteed a win, but it seems like it would have a dramatic enough effect to be well worth it...

The problem with gauss turret range and RoF isn't their power, but rather that people don't normally use gauss turrets <_<

I don't see your aversion to the Vasari pulse gun.  It benefits the skirmisher and starbase and is cheap to research.  If you're using skirmishers (it does happen, for instance against carrier massers) this is a great one to have.

The problem with Pulse gun research is that is only affects Skirmishers and Starbases. If you need many Skirmishers, then it is a great technology, but otherwise, just seems a bit of a waste of resources.

I do have to take back my comment about Vasari pulse beams not being worth researching. If you're using Kortuls (And why wouldn't a Vasari player now?), tghen the beam research makes Power Surge even more powerful.

Well, of course if you're not using the unit-type the ugprade isn't worth researching.  That has nothing to do with the upgrade being bad or something to avoid.  If you are using skirmishers (and yes, I have done it quite a bit in multiplayer) then this upgrade is a shoe-in due to its low cost.

and your point is?

Do not research techs that you are not going to use.

mine are

TEC
     Advanced Maneuvering
     Heavy Fallout
     Civilian Ship Safety Act

Advent
     Basic Crew Training
     Communal Labor
     Martyrdom
     Karmic Retribution

Vasari
      Mobile Phase Detection
      Jump Degradation
      Pinpoint Bombardment
      Grav mines
      Raider Xenophobia
      Expert Bounty Hunting

everything else I can see being useful in some manner, these either have no effect or is a bit redundant

I usually don't get Refineries. If only Refinery was cheaper to build by half I would get that tech every time.

My point on both counts was that the technologies aren't a problem.  If you're using the unit/structure they improve they're quite worthwhile.  While it's arguable that gauss cannons are never worthwhile in any reasonable amount, this doesn't hold water for skirmishers, which are one of your better counters to carriers.

Refineries are rarely useful, but if you find a great place to put one sometimes you just can't resist.  Advent resource focus needs a buff.  You need a high loyalty (close to 100%) planet with at least 3 (preferably 4) asteriods, all efficiency upgrades, allure of the unity, induced reverence and a moderate-to-short trade (not long) chain to make them competitive with their trade port form.  In that rare case where all those things come together, then resource focus is worthwhile.  It's way way way too niche currently.  Agreed on refinery cost discounts for the other races.

kinda figured but the wording and context seemed to imply that you agreed that the Guass technology was worthless but that pulse gun technology was worthwhile though you gave the same reason for both which seemed contradictory

I get advanced manuevering alot as tec.It actually helps in saving your cap when you need to run away from an egg.

Kitkun,  I almost always watch replays and look to see what people research.  I would say:  there is very little concensus in what to research. 

The only essential techs on the civil tree are: ice & volcano, and maybe trade, and then maybe culture.  Nothing else is game changing early on.  (In fact, I've seen people scuttle their civic labs, after they get ice & volcano, and research nothing else there)!  Often, online players never even build civic labs, and rush to full military!  They just skip over the ice & volcano planets.  It kinda depends on how long the game goes, and where you are located on the map, in relation to your enemies.

On the military tree, only the various units, and repair are essential.  There is wide diversion among the armor, health, shield, and various weapon upgrades.  I think the vast majority err here, by spending too much money for the measly 5% improvements (when just buying one more unit is probably more cost effective).

Later, when I've got more time, I will give my lengthy list of 'worthless', or non essential techs.

The big benefit of those "measly" 5% boosts instead of a new unit is that it doesn't push you into another level of upkeep...

I've also gotten too many capital ships out of danger with around 100 hull points left over.  Every health and armour upgrade counts, big time.

Does any body use the reintegration ability on the skirmisher. to me it seems useless cuz if they need it they are probly in heated battle and will die anyway or the fights over and i rather use overseer or repair bay than wait for these ships to regain function.

In a massive fleet battle where they're getting focus fired it's not particularly useful.  Where reintigration shines is in smaller skirmishes where that kind of focus fire doesn't occur.  Fighting over neutral gravity wells is the perfect scenario for reintigration.

It's also nice (though I mainly only use it on the enforcer) if you win a big battle and your enemy retreats to an unfortified planet. Sense the skirmishers and enforcers can heal themselves, you can use the overseers to heal the rest of your fleet and then give chase to your enemy much faster than any other faction. It's also nice defensively sense late game I only have a defense fleet of low level caps, sentienels, and skirmishers/enforcers that often have to immediately jump from one battle to the next via phase gates. Getting them to full hull points quickly can be the difference between a battle won and a battle lost.

Was playing last night and noticed: this doesn't actually affect capital ships.  All the previous upgrades in the chain affect all caps and siege frigates (and enforcers too? I can't recall), but the last one just affects siege frigates.  Since you like caps, i doubt you build many siege frigates, so I'd guess that's why you haven't noticed it doing anything   And yes - it's a pretty expensive upgrade to allow your seige frigates to bombard from higher altitudes...  Presumably it makes hit-and-runs more viable against hard targets, but like you said in a different thread; siege frigates didn't get un-nerfed *that* much.