In light of, shall we say, new information, I feel no problem sharing opinions on this matter...
Myth 1 -- For "big enough fleets" I agree...smaller fleets, of course you'd want to FF...I don't know what the threshold is though where you no longer want to FF...
Actually, focus firing is inefficient in almost all frigate-to-frigate battles. Even for <20 LF battles, you will lose against an auto-attack player. Test it if you don't believe me. The delay between switching targets with auto-attack is near instantaneous in the early game, so focus firing just adds needless micro and vulnerability to dodging. Even though the delay in auto-attack gets larger as the game goes on, the potential for overkill gets even larger. In fact, focus firing is only useful in target caps/titans and killing heavy cruiser/carriers (because of high health).
Myth 2 -- If you take into account the bonus from trade length, refineries are at an even greater disadvantage...you probably want more like 8 or 9 nearby extractors early game and 11 or 12 late game, don't remember the exact number and don't feel like doing the math again...early game, you have to consider that the cost of the refinery tech is pretty relevant to the payoff time, so that alone may not make it worth going for...as the game progresses, the trade length bonus becomes stronger and stronger, putting refineries at more and more of a disadvantage......
I think you forgot that refineries are affected by resource upgrades, which allows it to keep up with the trade length bonuses. Also, having a credit-heavy income dramatically increases use of the black market, meaning a substantial portion of your money is thrown down the drain.
Also, for Vasari your trade techs only improve trade so that's another reason to stick with trade...for TEC, the "trade" techs also affect refineries and IIRC the refinery tech is needed to eventually get pervasive, so in some situations refineries aren't so bad as TEC....
Myth 3 -- If you are already building the SB for some reason, the payoff time is not nearly as long...that's rare though, and I don't think trade SBs are generally used unless a team is doing really well and the eco player wants to have some fun...I don't find too many people thinking TEC eco is best because of trade SBs, it usually because of pervasive and development mandate....
No, alot of people are under the false impression the double SBs makes the Loyalists better than the Rebels at eco as well as the other races.
Myth 4 -- TEC metal, Vasari resource, and TEC/Vasari terran I'd say aren't so bad, but definitely not something to get super early game...only civ tech worth getting I think at that point is modular architecture, others are a little risky...
The TEC metal upgrades have one of the best ROI in the entire game, paying themselves off waaaaay faster than a trade port, barring a dead asteroid or ice planet start.
MModulararcchitecture iis another tthing to nnever build iin a game . That upgrade is crap for anyone that is not eco. If you do the math it will likely never pay itself off, even over the length of the entire game.
Myth 5 -- Disciples also have a slight edge with being less metal heavy (which I find to be advantageous early game), but I agree it's basically a wash...if I had to pick one, I'd say disciples have the advantage, but it's at the point where cap choice, ability usage, and starting position will be far more relevant...
I frequently find myself keeping up or even surpassing disciple spammers with my cobalts (number of ships, NOT total supply). Plus TEC gets super early repair platform so I would actually give them the advantage for the first 20 minutes.
Myth 6 -- LOL
You mind explaining? A "lol" isn't that constructive...
Myth 7 -- I agree...even though bombers can probably win if you focus on the carriers, corvettes really force you to spam fighters late game, especially if you are Vasari (since you have no AoE to counter corvettes with)...
Yes
Myth 8 -- While I agree kanraks are worst LRF for fleet battles, they do have an advantage when FFing on high level caps and titans...problem is, that's only true when you have fully upgraded weapons, which you wouldn't at the time you'd even be building LRFs....I don't think many people find them to be the best LRF though since rebellion, probably a myth more relevant in diplomacy...they do however have a superior construction time to LRMs...
As far as best LRF, I wouldn't give that title to LRMs so readily...in part it comes down to how you micro the ships, illuminators can force the LRMs to spend a lot of time turning around while the lum side beams are still doing damage...they (like kanraks) also have a big advantage over LRMs in terms of construction time...LRMs really only shine when it comes to focus firing, I think in all other circumstances illuminators are at an advantage over them...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't missile weapons omni-directional (meaning it doesn't have to to be facing targets to fire). Also, the last time I played the game lums didn't have back beams. They also have such a high crystal cost its unlikely you can get 20+ of them without a feeder.
Myth 9 -- You can, but most people (even skilled) don't bother...problem is often time, the time it sometimes takes for someone to buy the resources can sometimes nullify the advantage or at least relegate it to a long term rather than short term advantage...it just depends on the game and what factions are involved...
ALOT of frontliners buy metal from BM throughout the game, so if you are eco and carefully manage your metal supply it can pay dividends. The same thing applies to crystal in the early game because you're spending alot of it on planet development and tier 1 upgrades.
Myth 10 -- And may the minidumps be ever in your favor
I heard Unity Mass is effective in countering it.
Myth 11 -- I agree they are worth getting as well, and I'd prioritize weapons and armor over hull and shields since existing ships will have to rely on passive regen to get up to the new max shield/hull values....
No, Health is better than Armor in every single way. All tests confirm it. Weapon upgrades should be last because its not really beneficial to caps, buildings or ships not using that damage type.
Myth 12 -- LOL that is funny...I have never seen a human do that, ever....I feel like the scout abilities tec and advent have would better....
Diplomat ships make your opponent's ships waste time in chasing it down, only to have it turn invulnerable at the last second. Then you can jump your fleet in and kill the repair platforms/frigate factories because the enemy is out of position. Plus it might fool the opponent into thinking you are want better relations with them so there might be a chance for a truce.
