Lithoid Driven Assimilators (Yes, really.)

The base thought of this build comes from this math that a bio pop can have 100% habitability on a machine world and the brokeness of resource consolidation.

If you would like this in video form or just want more information and/or content, watch this video I made alongside this guide.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtducZWD65c

The Main idea

Now, at the start it might sound crazy. But I assure you that's not the whole build. The reason why lithoid is important is habitability. Let's walk through it. First Biological pops (unless they have the cybernetic trait) have a fixed 0% habitability on machine worlds. The lithoid trait gives +50% habitability. The cybernetic trait gives 20%, along with the hidden bonus of +30% habitability on your homeworld. Meaning that with all these bonuses, you get 100% even without a preference modifier. So back to the build, resource consolidation. One of the many quirks of this origin is that if you're driven by assimilators, you get the organic slurry planet modifier. along with the super broken consolidated resources planet modifier.
I'm rambling too much. Let's get to the build.

The Build itself

This is the build before starting a new save

- Civics: Driven assimilator maintenance protocols (this gives you plenty of unity for this build without having to use the following. 400 minerals in the early game, 2 pops that can be working other jobs (i say this because you will always need mat drones) and 360 building days, and a building slot)

- Traits: Toasters: Superconductive (since the bios will work science logic engines or efficient processors won't help as much) Emotion emulators, Mass Produced, High bandwidth and 1 more +1 trait point Trait doesn't matter to the build
- Traits: bios Lithoid Cybernetic Intelligent scilanting skin natural engineers unruly and whatever +1 trait point

- Origin Resource consolidation

The Starting Economy Tricks

At the start we want to strip out ships bare and make a science vessel. then we disable our uplink node on our capital. buy 100 minerals and start a generator district. change our policy focus to manufacturing focus, and Isolationist. Then we send our starting science vessel to find out first empire. The science vessel we make will be assisting research on our homeworld for the whole game Now we start the real process. I'm going to break this into 4 sections Tech, Build order, Unity and traditions, and Misc.

Build Order

Build Order I ofc said start with a generator district this is the list of the order

- Generator district
- Industrial district
- Malfunctioning replicator bay
- and 3x research labs, yes, three.

Two of the many short comings of rush builds is Tech and economy switch. Buying alloys instead of making alot of them ensures an easy eco switch. This also gives us plenty of tech in around year 6

Technology

You really only need 1 tech to follow this build, That is improved Corvette Hulls. at the start look at your starting tech choices. for Physics the priority are these techs in order from highest prio (top) to lowest (bottom)

-Global energy management
-Blue lasers
-Quantum theory

Engineering

-Improved corvette hulls
-Nanomechanics
-Standardized corvette patterns

For society it's really anything goes but the best get is hydroponics farming. other than that it's your choice.

Unity and Traditions

The unity part is pretty simple since unity income will be consistent. Start with supremacy in this order

- Supremacy start
- Ship upkeep and naval capacity
- Ship build cost and Ship build speed
- Fleet command limit and admiral level cap
- Ship fire rate and orbital bombardment damage
- starbase damage starbase upgrade cost and defence platform build cost

after this its just expansion into prosperity (from here just choose one of your own volition)
Ascension perks

-Technological ascendancy
-This is really an open one to any choosable perk at this point in the game. I like to go for executive vigor.
-If you tech rush enough you can go for machine worlds but otherwise just go for Synthetic Age
-likewise choose either machine worlds or sythetic age.
-Free pick
-Master builders
-Galatic Wonders
-Free pick

Misc

This a section for small portions of the guide that aren't big enough for a whole section.

The organic slurry gives you +15 food which you want to set up and monthly auto sells to get rid of this gives you + 10.5 energy credits p/m for free, that's like a whole technician.

Once the generator district is done you will need to buy minerals for the next district. After that set an monthly auto buy of 12 alloys 6 EC per

In the year 2205 you want to go to your home station and select the solar network module and replace it with a shipyard.

6 months later when this is done, go to the fleet manager and make a fleet of around 35 corvettes. along with the fleet of corvettes make 6 hunter killer armies on your capital.

once this process of militarizing is done. around year 8, go to your closest bio empire and set your ships on their border (in the system move the fleet right next to the hyperlane) then once they've arrived. declare war and go to the home system, take it over then either use your fleet to capture all the other systems they have or invade their capital and assimilate your first empire.

Once we've taken their capital we want to make a machine assembly plant. The goal of food is to live off of hydroponics farms and organic slurry. on your capital enable that uplink node. Then make an uplink node on their former capital. likewise do this with your second conquered empire.

Once we've won the war, we want to modify all of their stations. 2 solar panel networks, and 1 hydroponics farm. This will be a huge boon to your economy. After this is done make more corvettes until you have about 35 likewise make armies until you have 6.

Then we want to do the same thing with another empire. once the process of assimilation is done. you will have about 300 research, ~110 pops, and around 70 - 90 monthly alloys.

Wraping up

This wraps up the guide. I welcome constructive criticism and or math based arguments. I may or may not make a youtube video about this guide in the near future but if I do I will link it here:
Thanks for reading! Have a fun time Assimilating the galaxy.

[Fast Feary]

It can be very helpful when starting to build machine worlds to also start building habitats. That way organics can live there with hull habitability. Of course in the late late game just throw the cyborgs on a ring world segment.

[X4V0C]

Do you have advice for 'encouraging' pops into the right job? I started having issues where my robots wanted to be researchers, and when I changed priorities or reduced job numbers I couldn't get my cyborgs to occupy the slots. Definitely hurts Driven Assimilators that they can't micro pops..

[Apollo]

Sorry for the late response.

Your fleet power seems way to low, Try some of these and make sure you get them.

No retreat
All 3 lasers for maximum use of focusing crystals
Unyelding admiral

[Bloodzy]

I just tried this strategy against Grand Admiral AI and AI stance set to aggressive in the starting menu. I got my fleet to them (35 corvettes 1.3k fleet power) at 2209 and they had twice as much as me in terms of fleet power in their capital sector that just ran me over. Tried the build twice now with the same results. Any ideas on what is going wrong?

[Apollo]

Well the reason I don't move the organic pops is because the pop growth is so low because of machine empire and hab. then the pops are useless unless i spend more mircomanagement and infuence.

[Radon]

Well, only robot planets have a downside of, you know, only having robots. No organic pop growth = less pops overall. But if you terraform planets into gaias instead of machines - all your organics have 100% habitability and you can put your best organic with "Rapid Breeders" on all of your worlds.

However it makes the whole build just a headstart. Oh well.

[Apollo]

Well usually I would leave all my organics on the capital worlds of those empires, and all of the worlds i colonize will only have robots. But the problem with gaias is that in the mid game. Those 3rd and 4th Aperks are really important. For only three planets It's not the best.

[Radon]

The problem with machine world lithoids is that all other organics that you capture will suffer on machine worlds. I did a big dumb once - I terraformed all my planets into machine worlds and only way later I realised that my assimilated organic pops sit at about 20% habitability.
What's about gaias? These give the same resource output bonus. Yeah, they don't give the freedom of what districts you build but they also don't make your organics useless.

[goawayrayy]

I changed this in a way where I made my robots have Bulky instead of Luxurious because of how free the trait is currently.

[Valse Griffyre]

Awesome idea lol