Gestalt Consciousness Machines/Insects (or whatever)

[Goodbye Horses]

I've never played an hive mind race. I wanted to play with robots but I read they've been nerfed recently. So is it better to go machine or bio?
Beginner friendly is better.
Thanks

[Cryten]

Hive minds are by far the easiest. Machines have been slowed down but are still quite decent. But a normal empire ascended to synthetics remains the strongest.

Both gestalts dont have to worry about consumer goods or trade. Hives have the strongest pop growth speed in the early and mid game and have reduced penalties for going over their admin cap. So they tend to be much easier for building alloys and science where you dont have to worry about much but growing.

[♍VoidTraveler]

I play machine gestalt most of the time, the assimilator type.
I'd say it can be a bit rough for a newbie, but maybe you like a little difficulty? xD

Immortal machine leaders, no more dying of old age.
Machine leaders can become level 10, much easier to pull it off too.
Research requires only energy as payment if you have machines researching.
Can colonize ANY planet type.
Can assimilate organics, which means that if early in the game you can find primitives they can be turned into your pops and explosively baloon your economy.
Not to mention instantly opening a number of planetary building slots.

Your primary expenses will be energy and alloys, leaving you to do with your minerals what you wish. Early in the game sell them and get energy/alloy boost, later can be turned into a giant alloy production.

Machines have much easier time building as well, thanks to mineral overflow.

Have fun.~

[Rocket Fish]

I found that machine intelligence with determined exterminator was really easy and allowed me to get a grasp of the game more. As Urthemiel said above me, machines have a huge advantage, being able to colonize any planet, no need to worry about food (which means you can use bioreactors which turn food into energy for free, no workers), etc.
Of course being DE, you cant engage in diplomacy with AIs who arent robots as well, but its AI, they are useless anyways.
I would suggest sacrifice the early game, find a couple of choke points and then build up your economy and armies, then expand when you need space/resources.

[Goodbye Horses]

Thanks a lot.
I tried a hive mind run, not too bad until the Great Khanate born under me and crippled my empire before consolidating.
I'll try machine intelligence now, also because I prefer to play tall than large (but it seems to me this game doesn't help much with that)
Is the premade exterminator race any good? The rogue one

[Cryten]

There isnt really mechanics that benefit going tall, when you can just build more science then penalties give you and have a planet full of bureaucrats expanding your admin cap massively there is no reason not to go wide. And no synergies from staying tall. Because you are limit by pops working jobs and you cant increase pop production much outside of getting new breeding grounds.

Rogue servitors are not an exterminator race. They are a semi peaceful machine type who pamper humans.

[Goodbye Horses]

Yep I meant XT-489 Eliminator

[Cryten]

Personally I would recommend making your own since the builds of the defaults are not that good. The Tebrid Homolog, Catalog Index is probably the best made of the machine empire defaults.

By the way with machines you want to develop some good energy planets as research eats a butt ton of energy.