Warmonger Playthrough

[Slice]

Hello!

I'm not sure if this idea is feasible, but here's what I'd like to try. Fly around my home territory(s) and blow stuff up. Probably leave an additional faction or two alone, but everyone else is fair game. Money will mostly come from picking up pieces of blown up ships. Will probably stop and go exploring in the wilds as well.

I have a starting ship picked out at $375,000 so I believe "Ships" has to be in slot B. I don't have any unlocks that I know of.

I'm thinking Steel Song because that sort of seems to be their vibe. Also, it seems the crew combat stats tend to be a bit higher.

I don't plan on using the captain for combat. The ship I'm buying has 5 crew. Sorry, can't remember the name of the ship. Guardian something, I think.

For contacts I need someone to sell weapons, armor, combat gear in addition to permits and the like.

Looking for advice on how to build the captain.

Obviously, Experience goes in slot E.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I look forward to any ideas you may have.

Slice

[Trese Brothers]

It sounds like a very fun RPing goal. Participate in and win Solar Wars for more points! It can absolutely be done but the start you've got may make it pretty tough :)

[Gilmoy]

This run is known.
Typical is Commander/Military Officer/Zealot, start as any 1 of the 3.
Deliver Estelle to Calagan solely to reveal Calagan, and buy Edict 1 and some stuff.

Blockade, encounter, ship-fight.
If you're sane, maybe avoid ship-fights in Year 0. (Blocade, encounter, Surrender, smirk)
If you're bold, prep a bit to ship-fight in Year 0, and fight fight fight

Some basic prep:

• Some Dice ASAP. 2 Pilot Assist 1 are dirt-cheap and fast. Also hire +2 Pilots.
  If you template C.Ship but take E.Juror, you can pay for this on turn 1.
  
• Some ship-fighting talents. 6 Pilots barely covers 2 save 2 Safe 2 Evasive.
  
• Seriously ponder your crap starting crew fighters problem.
  The standard long solution is land, dismiss, 1 talent, hire better, repeat.
  
• Get card game talents.
  Crew Dog T5 Hawkish Siege is "only" a reroll, but that's better than 0.
  Gunner T8 Twitchy Trigger needs Gunner L11, which is around Year 4.
  Pirate T1 Corsair's Eye is a replace, and you can template to hire Pirates.
  Zealot T5 Fanatical Siege adds a jackpot card. Your Captain could do this.
  
• Any faction will do. Steel Song seems fine.
  Don't start as Zenrin on v2 Default

You still have the long-term -f.rep problem.
Killing ships of faction X will inevitably turn all quadrants of X into death deserts.
Then you cut the galaxy into tiny pieces, and you're stuck on one island.

I've never used ship hulls as a source of income, so I can't help with that.

[Slice]

Thanks for the information.

[matt]

If you set skills to your highest priority, you can go with 10 command and 10 tactics. This will help a lot in ship combat.

I had a lot of fun doing this in a Palace Interceptor. That's locked behind an achievement, but it's a pretty easy one. You may already have that unlocked without realizing it. The bigger B-class ships will let you have a bigger crew, though.

If you put contacts at priority C, you could take an ex-bounty hunter, ex-mercenary, fixer, and intelligence officer, for example.

The ex-bounty hunter sells weapons. You can also get bounty hunting missions from him if you feel like making some money while engaging in ship combat.

The ex-merc sells armor. You can also hire zealots, and their command skill will help boost your ability to dodge attacks in ship combat. The other two contacts sell fun toys that help you slaughter crews.

Attributes don't matter so much in ship combat, so you can set them low, like priority D. Being a more charismatic leader will help you learn your crew's hidden talents faster, so you might prioritize that.

When choosing a job for your captain, you might consider pirate and smuggler. Pirates get a boost to their ships' accuracy, and smugglers get a boost their ships' defense. Commander, if you've unlocked it, boosts both attack and defense. Zealots and military officers are also fun for aggressive games.

Salvaging enemy ships that you've blown up is a great way to make money. It doesn't require to sell anything in black markets, though you'll have access to a black market through your fixer contact. It also doesn't require permits, like markets do. It's just free cash automatically added to your bank account.

Orchestrated salvage will make you rich. If you keep your engineer officer around, make him a mechanic as his second class, and have him take that talent. His repair skill will be pretty good, and you'll start making decent money immediately.

[Slice]

Very helpful, thanks.