Reason to ally?

[Zer0 X]

Is there any benefit to allying with npc factions aside from not needing to fight them? Im asking because I've always played with fixed teams which prevents allying with them.

[Miko]

You mean peace? Allies let you get a multi-person victory, peace lets you diplomacy, which is somewhat useful for trading maps and buying the NPC units.

[Zer0 X]

Originally posted by Miko:

buying the NPC units.

...well thats all I needed to hear lol. Thanks

[Apollysis]

Some NPC units are so good. Zephon hammerheads can clear bleed, Tge Chieftess has a unit that can found cities, letting you expand muche earlier. And the achrin remnants can heal and spread bleed which is great for Voice.

[Goontrooper]

I've been greatly enjoying the Honorable Aristocrat. He gets major bonuses for trade, especially with Allies. I only wish there were more diplomacy / espionage options to help me manage relationships. In my current game, I've been allied off and on with almost every other faction, but getting them into a cohesive block seems impossible. I'll be interested to see which factions stick with me in the end game...

[KonigTiger]

If you do fix faction mode, does it not let you ally with NPC factions vs the other player factions?

[LurkingUrGrue]

Your allies will actually help you and use abilities to benefit you directly. I have had NPC allies use their medics and engineers to help my damaged forces when they encounter them.

[KonigTiger]

even if you do locked teams mode?

[Zer0 X]

Originally posted by KonigTiger:

If you do fix faction mode, does it not let you ally with NPC factions vs the other player factions?

NPC factions are permanently at war with everyone if fixed factions is on, their relation status means nothing.

[XenoxXx]

you can be no ally and not join any alliance and just let them two killing each other then slowly kill those giant walker.

[ScumWatcher]

A thing you can try to do if your bored is play as the Honorable Aristocrat and Start on a map with either a bazaar or tower that you build your first base near( it's not necessary but advised) and Only purchase units from the natives (Zephon/raider humans/aliens) At least till mid game, and make friends with everyone. After having a trade agreement with literally everyone (no alliance) and see which factions splinter off and go against you.

And really everything else has been said so this is what I got to say about it.

[KonigTiger]

Do you miss out on any story plots if you can't ally with NPC factions? Like as the rogue cyber leader, you can become friendly with Zephon thematically, but with locked factions we are always at war.

[Umbral Reaver]

Managing alliances is a great way to position yourself for advantage in the last days of earth.

[Overread]

Making alliances is important
1) It means you don't have to fight them. Actually more it now means that they will also now focus their armies on other factions too. So you've gained defence on the part of the map they are in and you don't have to do anything much to keep that defence.

2) Share map - esp in the early game this can help you get a better feel for the shape of the map without having to risk sending your own units off into the dark on their own. This means you know the terrain; resource points; other faction locations and more.

3) Trade - more income is good and setting up trade with an ally means more income for you and no work to gain it.


Now of course there are downsides; AI allies can
1) Get their units in the way of your units on the map. As each hex can only hold one unit at a time the AI might flood a region you want to work in with their own units. This might slow your advance; complicate your own movement and even see your army get fragmented.

2) They hold resource points you want. Not much to expand on, but if your allied to another faction then what they take is theirs. So you might end up with one side of the map having resources you can't access. OF course trade helps balance this out.

3) They might get involved in wars and bring you in with them so suddenly you've got another aggressive player that you weren't ready for at the time.


Overall allies are a powerful tool to have in the game if you're not playing with fixed-teams. Sometimes you'll want to maintain an ally long into the late game, even if its just to have a buffer whilst the end-game monsters are tearing through everything and thus giving you time to prepare; tech up and build up.
Other times you might only want to ally in the short term to position your own army in just the right spot to them hit them hard when you end the alliance and take them out in a brutal betrayal.