At start, this game can be very unforgiving. Since you can only apply 1 move per turn - be smart. Some golden rules:
-Capture the near vincinity and build a fleet.
-Around turn 30-50 EXPAND and protect your borders
-Once you have 2-3 stronger fleets expand and destroy enemy fleets
-Keep in mind to protect your borders!!
-Build cheap Frigate to Explore as a scout..
-Now, try build some ships in reserve.. to deploy when/where needed!!!
-Try to find Enrichment stations to get your fleet-size up.. once you have 5-6 ships/fleet things get easier


"Propaganda"
high chance for a second move (every few turns) to explore and overtake neutral Outposts/ResourceNodes
-> (though chance drops to very low IF well defended or Imperial)

• Basics:
  - be smart, focus fire to prevent enemies from recovering shield/repair !!
  - use all your buffs/abilities
  
  Kill Priority: 1. take out Dreadnaught/Battleship 2. Battlecruisers/Cruisers 3. Carriers 4. Smallfry (Frigates/Corvettes)
  
  
• KEY Abilities
  - Boost shield (good HEAL)
  - Harden Shield (esp. to protect Flagship)
  - Hardening Armor (only Endgame, when Empire has Mark5-7 ships)
  - Micro-jump (Mobility is KING, especially if you play Torpedo-Cruiser fleets)
  - Thermal missiles (360° range 2-3 vs armor)
  - EMP barrrage (AoE vs Shields)
  - Thermal barrage (AoE vs Armor once shield is down)
  - Torpedo (Plasma, Antimatter)
  
  
• UPGRADES
  some basic rules for smart upgrading:
  1. new Extra skill > improving old one
  2. reducing reload time > improving dmg
  
  
• BEST Weapons
  Early/Midgame plasma gun (Battleship) and plasma torpedo (Cruiser) is best allround.
  Later on, Antimatter becomes a thing, but only cruiser can get it X3 and 2turn reload.
  Unless you play high mobility sharks fleet, Antimatter is weak.. but if upgraded.. a Mark7/8 Cruiser is a beast and can kill enemy Cruisers / Battlecruisers in 1 turn 80% of the time ;D
  
  
• BEST Ships
  Tough call..
  - Dreadnaught: extreme dmg, but lacks ShieldBreaker skills
  - Battleship: Plasma is King midgame.. Kinetic Cannon is pricy and still outclassed by M5 Dreadnaught
  - butterknife: fully upgraded Mark8 CRUISER..
  
  
• BEST FLEET
  Mark3+ Dreadnaught > Mark5+ Cruiser > Mark3+ Battleship > ..all others
  
  Ideal economic fleet for EXPERT and higher is this: 1-2 Battleship/Dreadnaught (To finish weakened ships - Thermal barrage) 1-2 BattleCruisers (as shield breaker + EMP barrage , later ShieldBoost + ShieldHardening) 4-6 Cruisers (plasma + antimatter torpedo, then X3 , later Hardening)
  Even if you experience a loss due to enemy using nuclear Warhead.. rebuild in 10-15 turns ;D
  For Expert/Master/GrandMaster fast recovery after a loss is absolutely crucial.. !!
  
  
• AI Enemies
  AI "Carriers" pump out Corvettes every few turns, so kill those fast.
  Dangerous unless you have strong dmg per turn (Cruisers, Battlecruisers, Battleships/ Dreadnaughts)
  But Carriers have ♥♥♥♥♥♥ offense, just beware their EMP rain.. encircle or stay within 1 field
  - they can´t do much^^
  
  Cleaning "Corvettes": -during first 50 turns: 2-4 Carriers are a pain, but doable - just use 3-4 Torpedo Cruisers^^ -mid/endgame: Battleship/Battlecruiser EMP Barrage + Dreadnaught Thermal Barrage they eat all small ship fleets this game offers ^^ -> all this is especially important once you play Expert difficulty ;D

Novice / Capable / Proficient / Expert / Master / GrandMaster

First two options: EASY ..for Casual Players (better ignore it, not helpful for higher difficulty^^)
-> "Proficient" is where you want to start and learn the ropes!!

Actually, Expert+ difficulty is great, because exploring fast doesn´t reward you a free ship anymore!! This makes the game more fair and competitive. Sadly, the AI has many other advantages, which keeps it a tough call.. ;-)

For Master/Grandmaster starting environment is vital !!
If the spot is not good regarding available resources/enrichment/ships , after 10-12turns.. start new or the disadvantage will grow.
Master/GM mode rely on you taking out easier garrisons in first 10 turns with just 2 ships.. use Destroyers and upgrade Mark2 (jump drive) after first fights - good luck ;)
-> be warned that Master/GM turn 40+ is extremely hard!!

Patch 1.3 introduced Multiplayer (classic Hotseat or via STEAM RemotePlayTogether)

FINAL THEORY - classic
QUICK BATTLE - Multiplayer/AI automatically generated map
CUSTOM BATTLE - Multiplayer/AI adjustable starting conditions and ships

Royal Navy (Dec 2020)
...coming soon


After playing it during Xmas holidays, I´ll admit the game did not address issues and the new DLC is not worth it unless you want to support such developers..



Syndicate Navy (Dec 2021)









also more DLCs planned (Colonial Navy + Federal Navy)


https://steamproxy.com/steamstore/news/app/894630/view/3147448646491505569
-> despite chewing out more DLC skins, the core systems have NOT been improved one bit ;((

Frigate is not worth it.
Destroyer is just a temporary fix to enlarge your Fleet
Carrier is not worth it. Unless it has a better support ability ;(
Once Dreadnaught is available, Battleship is quite costly compared to effectiveness


Regarding this GUIDE: I wrote most of this one year ago and added it to my REVIEW. With the new DLC and new players joining I publish it now, since this game has a real lack of GUIDES :((

As someone who finished up to EXPERT and survived Master/GM (already turn 60-80 without dying), I have to say that the difficulty setting is misleading. The Empire AI used 2 moves/turn, Mid/Endgame even spawns in remote outposts.. total ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.
Also this game doesn´t take into account, that a weakened Empire, which is forced back, cannot generate multiple super strong fleets and waste it on remote regions. And Empire resources are endless - Fail !! ;((
Btw, the harder this game gets, the easier time you have against the other 3 factions, real prob is just ganks by 1-2 players plus empire within a few turns. Expert and higher, the 4. (main) enemy is yellow Empire^^

Should be noted that the game got a bit easier compared to 2019, though overall Game-Stats didn´t improve much:
- Proficient: ~6.1%
- Expert: 1,9%