Definitely, Orky jumping belongs with VL lore-wise. Nerfs should be sprinkled liberally as needed, but it definitely should be moved there.
Do VR get the best diplomatic bonuses in their tech tree? I haven't played them yet. But this is one thing which they should have for sure according to what I have understood of the lore. As said, it's situational and in some games will not be useable at all, but it should still be there.
I am not particularly excited about the following ideas, but still, some food for thought:
Culture-related bonuses are usually the realm of Advent, but when fighting in their own culture. What about fighting better under non-native culture, or negating enemy cultural combat bonuses? Since the VR are supposedly more open to other cultures, they may also get to understand them better and thus use propaganda to lower the enemy morale.
Another thing which is usually Advent are synergistic abilities. Again, it's always between their own kind. VR could have it go the other way, with combat bonuses for heterogeneous fleets race-wise.
To complement this, and make it less situational, there should be a way to spawn and/or take over ships from other races. Perhaps their defining thing would be the ability of converting frigate factories (even capital ship factories?) into one from the other races, but spawning ships under their control? Or having a dark-armada-like thing to get periodic free reinforcements of ships from other races.
They could also/instead have some crazier stuff like better phase lane technology, which I find a little bit more interesting as it relates well to Vasari. Basically the idea is to unlock semi-ultimate-weapon skills on these structures, which can shoot on adjacent gravity wells, and of course would not be as destructive as an ultimate, but tips the odds to Vasari's favor especially on close-to-home attrition battles.
Give the Weapon Jammers an active ability to shoot their effect on an adjacent gravity well. Would also shoot through enemy and friendly phase lane stabilizer-produced phase lanes. Increase the range of the original ability.
Also give the weapon Jammer a weapon booster effect. Perhaps make it a toggle either/or ability like the Advent tradeport/refinery thing. Should also have the 'shoot-to-adjacent-gravity-well' thing.
Improved Jamming (jump time, AM damage) for Phase Lane Inhibitors to give a stronger handicap for invading armies. Increase the range of the original ability.
Give Phase Lane Inhibitors an active ability to reduce jump AM cost+reduce or negate enemy inhibitors and starbase AM damage effects. Would target an adjacent gravity well.
Give Phase Lane Inhibitors one/two passive abilities which enables the target of a phase lane stabilizer to use the same lane to jump at the enemy, and/or to make the gravity well immune to it.
Give Repair platforms a separate healing ability which would shoot at a friendly ship on an adjacent gravity well at a much higher AM cost. Increase the range of the original ability.
