For team games and alliances, here are some things to consider when choosing your ally. Thanks to my good allies Faqudi and Imzadi for input.
Considerations by Faqudi:
What I would consider important in a team are the following qualities (in no particular order):
– big carriers
– counters to big carriers
– free fighters
– cloakers
– mobility
– minefield control
– good defense
– money advantages
– mineral advantages
Big carriers and free fighters are self-evident, though EE free fighters doesn’t compare in any way to the rest.
Counters to big carriers: other big carriers; Fascist double beams and GD ships; Fed crew bonus; Lizard 150%
Cloakers: Birds have the best; Privs the fastest but most likely to break; Lizards and Fascists have usable cloakers
Mobility: Privs have GA ships; Borg has Fireclouds; Colonies have Cobols which allow big fleet movements
Minefield control: Robots have cheap large minefields; Colonies can sweep mines with fighters; Fascists have lots of beams
Good defense: Crystal is the chosen one
Money advantages: Feds tax double; Lizards Hisss; Fascists Pillage
Mineral advantages: Lizards; Rebels and Colonies have relatively cheap big carriers
Imzadi says:
Without thinking too long about it, my short-list of most useful advantages would look something like
1. Good economy
2. Mobility
3. Cloakers
4. Big carriers
5. Intelligence
6. Free fighters in space
7. Refit
8. Minefield control
Best Race Combinations:
It’s unfortunate that some races make better allies than others, but given the priorities listed above, there are a great many “good” race combinations.
Two Races:
- Lizards + Borg
- Feds + any large carrier race (Empire, Robots, Rebels, Colonies)
- Fascists + Rebels
- Birds + Robots / Crystals (very good cloaking mine-layers are highly annoying)
Three Races:
A three-race combination is actually easier to put together than a two-race combo, simply because there are more ways to cover each race’s weaknesses.
- Lizards, Privateers, Cyborg:
- Economy, mobility and lategame. With a large area to cover, Fireclouds are amazing. Lizards and Privateers attempt to slow down aggression until the Cyborg can produce mass numbers of Cubes, and a Firecloud network.
- Lizards, Crystals, Cyborg:
- Similar to above, but more defensive in nature. Both the Crystals and Borg can be overwhelmed early without support.
- Feds, Fascists, Rebels/Colonies:
- These races are all well-balanced, and a combination of them gives very high utility. Even if one race is hit early, it is likely to be able to stall long enough to get help.