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The Renderer has AI War 2

Apr 28, 2022 @ 11:25am

Where to start?

I've had this game since release but never really played it (same with AI War 1, btw). Main reason being that it seems sooo complex and different and unapproachable.

Unfortunately that has gotten even worse with the time due to the new updates with loads of additional options for game setup etc.

So. I'd like to try to get into it. Where/how do I start?
I'm not talking about strategies or hints on gameplay (unless it's impossible to understand on my own) but more along the lines of the kinds of games, the difficulty levels, and so on. Basically how to properly learn the game over time. And how to get into it without being completely overwhelmed right from the start.

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Showing 1-9 of 9 comments

themouthofsauron has AI War 2

Apr 28, 2022 @ 11:42am

I'd recommend doing the tutorials and then working through the easy quickstarts (like the Helping Hands quickstart). Even if you are a skilled RTS player, starting with a difficulty 4 or 5 AI to learn the ropes, along with an allied faction to help you out, will give you a safe way to learn how things work (if it feels really easy, just restart on a harder difficulty, or use a beacon to add more enemies).

In general, you should avoid hostile-to-player factions, hard AI types and AI difficulty >= 6 until you know the mechanics and feel comfortable.

I'd also recommend just avoiding the game lobby until you've played a few quickstarts.

Final tips: Read the tooltips and the "How to Play" section, and the discord has a lot of people happy to give advice.

Pikatchu

Apr 28, 2022 @ 12:00pm

Second it. Exactly how I started and it worked :) lost and reload few times and learned from my mistakes and some mechanics of the game.

The Renderer has AI War 2

Apr 28, 2022 @ 12:07pm

Thank you, that immediately helps to feel less lost. I already noticed that the game has a lot of info in all kinds of places, so it's good to know where to go first. Maybe I can tackle the Beast this time. ;)

Strategic Sage has AI War 2

Apr 28, 2022 @ 12:13pm

Just to add onto that, I suggest your *only* goal for your first game be to learn the mechanics. You are right about it being different from ... pretty much any other game you'll find. Ask on discord as mentioned when you don't understand why something is happening (there's a #new_player_advice channel expressly for that). Even if it feels too easy, the point is to learn how the game works. Then crank up the knob as it were.

smidlee

Apr 28, 2022 @ 2:28pm

Don't try to figure out all the details what each ship does. That is not important at lower difficulty. The ship AI automatically tries to shoot at the target which it does the most damage. You may want to learn first what each Golem do then learn cruisers and destroyers: special powerful ships.
Just know in most cases a group of mark 4 ships no matter the type will do more damage than a level 1 or 2 groups of ships. After mark 4, the higher marks are more costly in science while provide less benefit for the cost.

ZeroTheHero has AI War 2

Apr 29, 2022 @ 7:39am

Originally posted by The Renderer:
Thank you, that immediately helps to feel less lost. I already noticed that the game has a lot of info in all kinds of places, so it's good to know where to go first. Maybe I can tackle the Beast this time. ;)

It is a lot more intuitive than AI War 1. I had many, many hours in the first and never came close to winning. This was a lot easier to pick up. Persevere it is one of my Top games of all time now.