Tips vs Unfair AI?

[Skala]

I'm moving from hard to Unfair. What are your tips? I noticed off the bat unfair is much harder due to having 2-3x the fleet size of mine, around the time i'm able to get Long distance jumping.

[This PC]

They have a slight eco advantage and are no longer limited on the number of commands they can input. To offset the eco advantage, you need to get more value out of your units. If you start specializing, you can achieve that ie: having a lot of javelis and working around supporting them. My own strategy is carriers.

By that I mean like, killing more than you lose units ? sounds obvious lol.

Another thing that will help is micromanaging, things like focusing all your bombers on a target they're strong against, like a starbase or a capital ship, or putting your ankylon titan between the enemy and your squishy carriers to intercept projectiles.

If they have a noticeably better fleet like, to the point where you can't defend against it at all, there may some things you can balance better between economy and military, or maybe you can execute start better to end up with more colonies and a better eco. Really important to push as fast as you can at the beginning of a game. Choosing the right capital ship for that is important, and it's not always obvious, like, the obvious choice for tec would be akkan, but you're much better off with a sova or a kol. Halcyon for advent is the fastest of all, it's really, really speedy lol.

[Vandom]

If the unfair AI has 2-3x your fleet then you are not building a fleet. Don't waste resources on stuff you wont need yet, and instead produce more ships to keep up. You should be able to keep up with the ai by just using your resources properly. Even if they get a bit more, they are dumb so just be smarter.

It isn't until nightmare that the AI has such an eco advantage that you need to win fights double your fleet supply.

[Space of AIDS]

Play a 2v2 game while paying attention to how your unfair AI companion expands and builds. You might not be able to match it at first, but it'll set up a benchmark on the early game build up, eventually you'll figure it out.
On maps with a choke point it'll also serve as a meat shield for you.

AI, even unfair, is quite exploitable, but exploiting it's stupidity still requires strong economy, steady production and ability to replenish any losses as fast or faster than AI, so focus on that first and foremost.

Originally posted by This PC:

Halcyon for advent is the fastest of all, it's really, really speedy lol.

And also the only way to have any meaningful PD until T3. Allows to clear neutrals without losing anything to LRMs.