Guide to Star Trek: Conquest for Nintendo Wii Written by Sjoerd Jan Henstra shenstra (at) gmail (dot) com Version 1.0 (12 May 2009) Copyright 2009 Sjoerd Jan Henstra ============================================================================== 0) Table of Contents ============================================================================== 0) Table of Contents 1) Legal Information 2) Introduction 3) Map 4) Admirals 5) Special Weapons 6) Races 7) Comparison Tables 8) Credits To jump to a section, search for the title as listed here including brackets. ============================================================================== 1) Legal Information ============================================================================== This document may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. ============================================================================== 2) Introduction ============================================================================== Star Trek: Conquest is a strategy game developed by 4J Studios and published for PlayStation 2 and Wii by Bethesda Softworks. The game consists of two parts, a turn-based strategy game and a real-time two dimensional space combat simulation. The space combat part is optional, but can make the strategy part much easier if you play it well. The aim of this guide is not to provide you with a step by step walkthrough. There are too many variables for that to work. Instead I provide all information I have on all aspects of the game and some general tips on how to make the most of each race's abilities. I wrote this guide for the Wii version, but it seems the PlayStation 2 version is identical. I don't have the PlayStation 2 version, so I can't verify this. A word of advice: SAVE AT THE START OF EVERY SINGLE TURN. I don't know how this game got the Nintendo Seal of Quality, because it crashes often and hard. Every couple of arcade battles, your Wii will freeze. When this happens, hold down the power button on your Wii (the power button on the Wiimote won't work) until your Wii turns off. Alternatively you can unplug your Wii. This freeze seems to be more likely to occur in large battles. This game doesn't come close to what the Wii can handle, so I put it down to bad programming. ============================================================================== 3) Map ============================================================================== Refer to the table below the map for full system names, ratings and special system features. A system's rating determines how much income it generates and how well protected it is before being conquered by one of the factions. OMA---CAL NIM---ROM---CHA \ / | | IDR LAP---BRE---POR---BOL | | | | | | BAJ---FER---DOZ---ALT---CET---DET---CAR | | | TOR---------VEG---SOL---AND---ALP---UFA | | | | CHI---KEL---UNE | NAR \ / | | | PRI MIR---ARG---ERI---REG---KHI | | ARN---KRO +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Code | Full name | Rating | Income | Special | +------+------------------+--------+--------+-----------------------+ | ALP | Alpha Omicron | ** | 11M | | | ALT | Altair System | ** | 11M | | | AND | Andorian Empire | * | 7M | | | ARG | Argus Array | **** | 19M | Owner sees full map | | ARN | Archanis System | ** | 11M | | | BAJ | Bajor System | **** | 19M | DS9: free starbase | | BOL | Bolarus System | ** | 11M | | | BRE | Breen | **** | 22M | Breen home world | | CAL | Callinon System | * | 7M | | | CAR | Carraya System | ** | 11M | | | CET | Ceti Alpha | * | 7M | | | CHA | Chaltok System | * | 7M | | | CHI | Chintoka System | * | 7M | | | DET | Detria System | *** | 15M | | | DOZ | Dozaria System | *** | 15M | | | ERI | 40 Eridani | ** | 11M | | | FER | Ferengi Alliance | ** | 11M | | | IDR | Idran System | ** | 11M | | | KEL | Kelvas System | ** | 11M | | | KHI | Khitomer System | * | 7M | | | KRO | Kronos System | **** | 22M | Klingon home world | | LAP | Lappa System | * | 7M | | | MIR | Mira System | * | 7M | | | NAR | Narendra System | ** | 11M | | | NIM | Nimbus System | * | 7M | | | OMA | Omarion Nebula | **** | 22M | Dominion home world | | POR | Portas System | * | 7M | | | PRI | Cardassia Prime | **** | 22M | Cardassian home world | | REG | Regulan System | *** | 15M | | | ROM | Romulus | **** | 22M | Romulan home world | | SOL | Sol | **** | 22M | Federation home world | | TOR | Torros System | *** | 15M | | | UFA | Ufandi System | *** | 15M | | | UNE | Unefra System | ** | 11M | | | VEG | Vega System | * | 7M | | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ Some parts of the map don't appear in some games. The number of players and the races used affect which systems are part of the map used in the game. The following table shows which systems only when a given race is present. +-------------------------------------------+ | Race | Systems | +------------+------------------------------+ | Federation | - | | Klingon | KRO, ARN, REG, KHI, NAR, UFA | | Romulan | NIM, ROM, CHA, CAR | | Breen | LAP, BRE, POR | | Cardassian | PRI, CHI, KEL | | Dominion | OMA, CAL, IDR | +-------------------------------------------+ Further systems may be left out if multiple races are absent. For example, if both the Dominion and the Breen are absent, Bajor will not be there and the Deep Space 9 station does not appear. The exact rules that determine which systems disappear are quite complex, but generally speaking systems are more likely to be removed if there are no home worlds nearby. ============================================================================== 4) Admirals ============================================================================== There are three types of admirals. While each race has three admirals, only the Federation has one of each type. The other races each have two admirals of one type and one of another. The three types of admiral are: - Attack - Defense - Movement Attack admirals get a boost to their attacks, defense admirals get a boost to their defense and movement admirals get to move multiple times per turn. As admirals defeat enemies they gain experience. Upon reaching a certain amount of experience they gain a level which improves their abilities. When an admiral is defeated in combat he can be recruited again, but without any experience. The amount of experience required for each level is as follows. +------------+ |Level | Exp.| |------+-----| | 1 | 0 | | 2 | 100 | | 3 | 400 | | 4 | 750 | | 5 | 999 | +------------+ The ability improvement gained from levels depends on the admiral type. The following tables list the abilities of each type of admiral at any level. Attack Admiral: +-------------------------------------------------------+ |Level | Bonus | +------+------------------------------------------------+ | 1 | +10% attacking | | 2 | +30% attacking | | 3 | +60% attacking, 2 moves per turn | | 4 | +80% attacking, 2 moves per turn | | 5 | +100% attacking, 3 moves per turn | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Defense Admiral: +-------------------------------------------------------+ |Level | Bonus | +------+------------------------------------------------+ | 1 | +10% defense | | 2 | +20% defense | | 3 | +60% defense, 2 moves per turn | | 4 | +80% defense, 2 moves per turn | | 5 | +100% defense, 3 moves per turn | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Movement Admiral: +-------------------------------------------------------+ |Level | Bonus | +------+------------------------------------------------+ | 1 | 2 moves per turn | | 2 | 3 moves per turn | | 3 | 4 moves per turn, +30% attacking, +30% defense | | 4 | 5 moves per turn, +30% attacking, +30% defense | | 5 | 6 moves per turn, +60% attacking, +60% defense | +-------------------------------------------------------+ As you can see, after at a certain point admirals gain abilities from other types. For example, even if your race has no movement admirals, you'll gain the ability to move several times per turn as you gain levels. You'll have to make the best of the admirals you can get, but when given a choice you should usually pick movement over attack and only pick defense admirals when no others are available. The initial bonuses from attack and defense admirals are very small, while the movement admiral gets to double his effectiveness right from the start. Being able to move several times per turn allows you to strike enemies quickly, conquer multiple systems per turn and rush back to defend your home planet when necessary. Movement admirals also gain the equivalent of the level 3 bonus of both other admirals (+60% attacking and +60% defense), while those admirals only gain the equivalent of the level 2 bonus of the movement admiral (+3 moves per turn). A hidden advantage of movement admirals is that they level more quickly. Since they move twice as fast at the start, they also get to fight twice as much and gain twice as much experience as other admirals. When they gain a level (and an extra movement point) they could start gaining triple experience (if their fleet is strong enough). It's not uncommon for movement admirals to reach the maximum level before their opponents reach level 3. This puts them at a huge advantage. I recommend attack admirals over defense admirals for one reason. The two appear roughly equal on paper, but in arcade combat (which is the preferred method of combat) the most effective strategy is to focus fire on strong targets to take them out as quickly as possible. With a high attack bonus you can often take out a target's shield and destroy it in a single pass. It would also seem the level 2 bonus for attack admirals is slightly stronger than the one defense admirals get, but at that level the bonuses are minimal anyway. ============================================================================== 5) Special Weapons ============================================================================== The primary function of science facilities is researching race-specific improvements. However, they also work on special weapons. The more science facilities you have, the faster special weapons are constructed. You can only work on or own one special weapon at a time. Once the work is complete you can select one of three special weapons available to your race. Once the weapon is used, work on another will begin. During the late game you can quite easily construct a special weapon every turn which can have a large impact on the outcome of battles. Sub-Space Disruptor Disconnect one of your systems from all hostile and neutral systems. Used to keep a hostile force out of your territory for a short time while you deal with enemies on another front. Somewhat useful if you can produce one every turn, not very useful otherwise. Genesis Device Deal major damage to all enemy ships and structure in a system of your choice. Probably the easiest special weapon to use. Throw it at a hostile system before you invade, or at a hostile force that threatens to invade your territory. Very useful. Pulse Device Freeze a system of your choice and everything in it. Ships can't move, nothing can be constructed. The most potent defensive special 'weapon'. Can be used to slow down or stop an invasion or to slow down an enemy's development. Wormhole Generator Generate a wormhole from your home planet to a system of your choice. Can be used to sneak behind enemy lines. Has very limited use if you know how to spread your fleets. Virus Emitter Admirals' levels in target system are temporarily reduced. Negates admiral bonuses which can tilt combat in your favor. Has limited use, especially against low level opponents. If available, use a Genesis Device instead. Healing Device Repairs all ships and structures in target system to full health. Can be useful to quickly recover from a hostile attack, or to prepare for an attempt to invade an enemy system. However, ships can easily be replaced when you have a decent income. In short, none of the special weapons are game breakers. The Genesis Device is the most powerful one and can be very useful in tough fights. The Pulse Device and Sub-Space Disruptor have a more subtle use, but can be just as useful under the right circumstances. It's easy to get access to special weapons early and often and constant use can help very much, but they are not a requirement to win. ============================================================================== 6) Races ============================================================================== All numbers were taken from the game itself. Race ratings are on a scale from one to five, while ship ratings are on a scale from one to ten. In both cases, higher is better. ============== == Federation == ============== Start in the Sol system with a science facility. +----------------------------------+ | Statistic | Rating | +-----------------------+----------+ | Industry | 3 | | Facilities | 1 | | Maneuvering | 1 | | Weapons | 1 | | Shields | 3 | | Cost | 2.5 | | Mining Efficiency | 150% | | Research Efficiency | 130% | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Admiral | Type | +-----------------------+----------+ | Bullock | Attack | | Savar | Defense | | Aaron | Movement | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Ship | Cost | Hull | Handling | Weapons | Shields | +-----------------------+----------+------+----------+---------+---------+ | Defiant Class | 8M | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | | Intrepid Class | 16M | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | | Galaxy Class | 40M | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Building / Action | Cost | +-----------------------+----------+ | Starbase | 50M | | Advanced Starbase | 100M | | Mining Colony | 20M | | Science Facility | 20M | | Fortify | 20M | | Create Fleet | 25.6M | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Special Weapons | +----------------------------------+ | Sub-Space Disruptor | | Genesis Device | | Healing Device | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Research Options | +----------------------------------+ | Mining Efficiency | | Research Efficiency | | Admiral Cost | | Ship Speed | | Ship Turn Rate | | Ship Handling | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Facility Type | Repair Rate | +--------------------+-------------+ | Outpost | 20 | | Starbase | 40 | | Advanced Starbase | 60 | +----------------------------------+ The Federation can get a lot of money quite easily. They have the highest mining efficiency along with the Breen and can further improve it through research. You might want to replace the science facility on your home world with a mine on your first turn. If you want to make the most of your mining efficiency, you should only build science facilities in one or two star systems. Building costs are quite high, but this is offset by the high income. As for ships, they're average. The Defiant Class is a mediocre scout and is best avoided. The Intrepid Class is a fairly decent cruiser and will form the basis of your early army. Once the cash starts rolling in you can replace all of them with Galaxy Class ships. These dreadnoughts are quite nice if you can deal with the bad handling. The most important thing to note about the Federation is their position on the map. In full games they start out right in the middle of the map. This makes them vulnerable to attack from all sides, but also allows them to strike anywhere very quickly. One way to exploit their starting position takes two admirals. Start of with the movement admiral, give him a bunch of cruisers and send him off to capture Bajor. Once he's captured Bajor he has his very own advanced space station (Deep Space 9) to keep him repaired and to replace lost ships. As soon as you have the money, recruit another admiral and give him some cruisers too. His mission will be to capture systems near Sol. By capturing neutral systems he can increase your income without taking too much damage. If an opponent closes in on your territory this admiral is responsible for defending your systems. The movement admiral should level up nicely and be able to take out the Dominion and Cardassians or Breen without too much trouble. After building some mining colonies you should have enough income to upgrade all your ships to dreadnoughts and simply force your way through the remaining enemies. =========== == Klingon == =========== Start in the Kronos system with a mining colony. +----------------------------------+ | Statistic | Rating | +-----------------------+----------+ | Industry | 1 | | Facilities | 1 | | Maneuvering | 3 | | Weapons | 3 | | Shields | 1.5 | | Cost | 1 | | Mining Efficiency | 120% | | Research Efficiency | 100% | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Admiral | Type | +-----------------------+----------+ | Martok | Attack | | K'Temoc | Attack | | Nu'Daq | Defense | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Ship | Cost | Hull | Handling | Weapons | Shields | +-----------------------+----------+------+----------+---------+---------+ | Bird of Prey Class | 5M | 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | | Ravenous Class | 20M | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | | Negh'Var Class | 50M | 6 | 5 | 7 | 5 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Building / Action | Cost | +-----------------------+----------+ | Starbase | 50M | | Advanced Starbase | 100M | | Mining Colony | 20M | | Science Facility | 20M | | Fortify | 20M | | Create Fleet | 32M | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Special Weapons | +----------------------------------+ | Genesis Device | | Virus Emitter | | Wormhole Generator | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Research Options | +----------------------------------+ | Ship Speed | | Ship Turn Rate | | Ship Handling | | Build Cost | | Hull Strength | | Shield Strength | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Facility Type | Repair Rate | +--------------------+-------------+ | Outpost | 20 | | Starbase | 40 | | Advanced Starbase | 60 | +----------------------------------+ The Klingons have a rather low mining efficiency. You'll be best off ignoring mines altogether, except perhaps in five star systems. Despite the low research efficiency, science facilities pay off quite nicely. The Klingons have good research options, improving ships and making them cheaper. And a Genesis Device every turn or two can also help out a lot. Klingon ships rely completely on offense. Their Bird of Prey Class scouts are fragile, but have decent weapons, great handling and most importantly: they cost almost nothing. These ships probably offer the best value for money in the entire game. If you're good at the combat part of the game, you could conquer the whole map with nothing but scouts. The Ravenous Class is a mediocre cruiser which costs too much. It barely improves on the Bird of Prey, but costs FOUR times as much! The Negh'Var Class is a nice dreadnought. It has strong weapons and decent handling, but it's rather fragile and costs far too much. If you have the money, buy them. But I prefer to just use Birds of Prey and replace them with new ones when they take too much damage. A single Negh'Var will buy you TEN Birds of Prey! The Klingons start off rather isolated and they don't have any movement admirals. This means they get off to a slow start no matter what you do. The best way to catch up with other, quicker races is to build a second fleet on your first turn. I'd use two attack admirals with Birds of Prey. Quickly grab a few neutral systems to get some income. Then go after other races. Fighting other races is the best way to gain experience and your first priority is to get both your admirals to level three so they can move around a bit quicker. One of the keys to the late game for Klingons is building (advanced) starbases near the front line. Because their ships are so fragile they need to be replaced very often. And be prepared to flee if a fight turns sour. If you lose an admiral you also lose the movement bonus. =========== == Romulan == =========== Start in the Romulus system with a mining colony. +----------------------------------+ | Statistic | Rating | +-----------------------+----------+ | Industry | 1 | | Facilities | 1 | | Maneuvering | 3 | | Weapons | 3 | | Shields | 1 | | Cost | 1.5 | | Mining Efficiency | 110% | | Research Efficiency | 115% | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Admiral | Type | +-----------------------+----------+ | Jarok | Attack | | K'Toreth | Defense | | Nu'Tomalak | Defense | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Ship | Cost | Hull | Handling | Weapons | Shields | +-----------------------+----------+------+----------+---------+---------+ | Defender Class | 9M | 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | | Raptor Class | 18M | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | | Warbird Class | 31.5M | 5 | 5 | 7 | 5 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Building / Action | Cost | +-----------------------+----------+ | Starbase | 45M | | Advanced Starbase | 90M | | Mining Colony | 18M | | Science Facility | 18M | | Fortify | 18M | | Create Fleet | 32M | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Special Weapons | +----------------------------------+ | Virus Emitter | | Healing Devce | | Sub-Space Disruptor | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Research Options | +----------------------------------+ | Primary Weapon | | Secondary Weapon | | Recharge Rate | | Mining Efficiency | | Research Efficiency | | Admiral Cost | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Facility Type | Repair Rate | +--------------------+-------------+ | Outpost | 20 | | Starbase | 40 | | Advanced Starbase | 60 | +----------------------------------+ The Romulans are a lot like the Klingons, only weaker. Their saving grace is the Warbird, but more on that later. The Romulans are even worse at mining than the Klingons. They can improve their mining through research, but this takes a lot of time. You'll have to build a bunch of research facilities first and there are more interesting things to research here. You could give it a try though. The Defender Class is a fragile, but quick and powerful scout, much like the Klingon Bird of Prey. The biggest difference between the two is the price, and the Defender has an even weaker hull. It's not a great ship, but usable. The Raptor Class is a mediocre cruiser, exactly the same as the Klingon Ravenous Class, except that the Raptor is a bit cheaper. Unlike it's Klingon counterpart, this ship isn't completely overshadowed by it's scout brother. So the Romulans have terrible ships, right? Well, this is where that saving grace I mentioned earlier comes into play. The Warbird is a good dreadnought with strong weapons and decent handling, though it's somewhat fragile. The exciting part is the price though. They're cheap enough to be replaced easily. What the Klingons can do with scouts, the Romulans can do with dreadnoughts. Though it takes a bit more time to get this plan up and running, it's easier to finish the game with. The Romulans' starting position is also very similar to the Klingons. They start out isolated and don't have any movement admirals. Since the Romulans don't have overpowered scouts like the Klingons do, they have more trouble running two fleets right from the start. I'd advise starting with the attack admiral with a few dreadnoughts. Start conquering neutral systems and save up money for a second fleet. Once you have two fleets, start attacking other races like the Breen and the Klingons. As with the Klingons I'd recommend just using brute force. Build starbases near the front line to replace Warbirds as needed. If things don't turn out as planned, just start over. Keep in mind that they are considered to be the most useless race in this game and if it weren't for their cheap dreadnoughts they'd be worthless. Even with Warbirds, you'll probably need to pull off some decent piloting to win. ========= == Breen == ========= Start in the Breen system with a science facility. +----------------------------------+ | Statistic | Rating | +-----------------------+----------+ | Industry | 3 | | Facilities | 1 | | Maneuvering | 1 | | Weapons | 3 | | Shields | 1 | | Cost | 1.5 | | Mining Efficiency | 150% | | Research Efficiency | 130% | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Admiral | Type | +-----------------------+----------+ | Gor | Defense | | Pran | Defense | | Rong | Movement | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Ship | Cost | Hull | Handling | Weapons | Shields | +-----------------------+----------+------+----------+---------+---------+ | Breen Scout | 9M | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | | Breen Cruiser | 13.5M | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | | Breen Dreadnought | 45M | 5 | 3 | 7 | 5 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Building / Action | Cost | +-----------------------+----------+ | Starbase | 50M | | Advanced Starbase | 100M | | Mining Colony | 20M | | Science Facility | 20M | | Fortify | 12M | | Create Fleet | 25.6M | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Special Weapons | +----------------------------------+ | Pulse Device | | Virus Emitter | | Sub-Space Disruptor | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Research Options | +----------------------------------+ | Primary Weapon | | Secondary Weapon | | Recharge Rate | | Structure Cost | | Defense Strength | | Repair Rate | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Facility Type | Repair Rate | +--------------------+-------------+ | Outpost | 20 | | Starbase | 40 | | Advanced Starbase | 60 | +----------------------------------+ The Breen have the highest mining efficiency along with the Federation, though unlike the Federation they cannot improve it through research. Most of their research improves their combat prowess, either by improving ships or improving the war infrastructure. As with the Federation, you should build mines in high rated systems and a few science facilities in low rated systems. Breen special weapons also deserve some attention. They don't have the 'fire and forget' Genesis Device, but the Pulse Device and Sub-Space Disruptor can both be very useful if used properly. The Breen Scout is best forgotten. It's weaker than the Romulan Defender for the same high price. Luckily you needn't ever bother with this junk because of the Breen Cruiser. The Breen Cruiser is a very decent ship. It has a rather weak hull and shields, but fairly strong weapons and good handling. And it's cheap, CHEAP! For the price of one and a half Breen Scout you get stronger weapons and almost double the durability. The Breen Cruiser is definitely the ship to use in most situations. The Breen Dreadnought is a bit more durable and has stronger weapons, but comes at a much higher cost. It's only worth the money if you have nothing else to spend money on. The Breen start fairly close to the Dominion, the Federation and the Romulans. You needn't worry too much about being attacked though. The Federation has a whole bunch of options and seems to rarely head for Breen. Even if they do, you shouldn't have trouble dealing with them. The Romulans like to take their time in their safe little corner. If they do show up they won't cause much trouble as they need quite some time to build a decent fleet of dreadnoughts. The Dominion does sometimes head for Breen, once they conquer Bajor obviously. It shouldn't be hard to guess what your primary goal is: Bajor. Beat the Dominion and the Cardassians to Bajor and you have a good base from which to defeat them. You can do this quite easily with a movement admiral. It's a good idea to hire a defense admiral after a couple of turns to fend off any enemies that might knock at your door (potentially: the Federation, Romulans and Cardassians) while your movement admiral deals with the Dominion. Once that's done take on the Cardassians and Federation, either in that order or simultaneously. The Klingons and Romulans may prove more challenging after a while, with decent fleets and some money to rebuild. But it's better to let them build up a decent force than to let any of the other races build up a strong and fast moving fleet. ============== == Cardassian == ============== Start on Cardassia Prime with a mining colony. +----------------------------------+ | Statistic | Rating | +-----------------------+----------+ | Industry | 1 | | Facilities | 3 | | Maneuvering | 1 | | Weapons | 1 | | Shields | 3 | | Cost | 2.5 | | Mining Efficiency | 110% | | Research Efficiency | 100% | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Admiral | Type | +-----------------------+----------+ | Damar | Attack | | Dukar | Movement | | Turrel | Movement | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Ship | Cost | Hull | Handling | Weapons | Shields | +-----------------------+----------+------+----------+---------+---------+ | Hideki Class | 8M | 4 | 6 | 2 | 4 | | Cruiser Class | 16M | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | | Warbird Class | 40M | 7 | 3 | 6 | 7 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Building / Action | Cost | +-----------------------+----------+ | Starbase | 28M | | Advanced Starbase | 56M | | Mining Colony | 14M | | Science Facility | 14M | | Fortify | 14M | | Create Fleet | 28.8M | +-----------------------+----------+ +----------------------------------+ | Special Weapons | +----------------------------------+ | Genesis Device | | Virus Emitter | | Pulse Device | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Research Options | +----------------------------------+ | Build Cost | | Hull Strength | | Shield Strength | | Primary Weapon | | Secondary Weapon | | Recharge Rate | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Facility Type | Repair Rate | +--------------------+-------------+ | Outpost | 30 | | Starbase | 45 | | Advanced Starbase | 70 | +----------------------------------+ The Cardassians have a very low mining efficiency, so forget about mines. It's a good idea to build a couple of science facilities though, as the Cardassians get some great research options. All research improves on their ships somehow. Buildings cost very little, so that compensates for low income a bit. Cardassian repair rates are the highest in the game, which is a nice little bonus. Cardassian ships are very sturdy. The Hideki Class is the most durable scout in the game, more so than some of the cruisers in this game. Weapons are weak, so using these ships takes a slightly different approach. If handled properly in combat, these ships can last a long time. The Cruiser Class is similar to the Hideki class, but better and more expensive. Once again, if used properly these are very good ships. The Warbird Class dreadnought is exactly the same as the Federation's Galaxy Class. A decent ship at a decent price. The Cardassians start in a corner like the Romulans and Klingons, but tend to encounter enemies more quickly. The Federation often comes to your side of the map and if the Dominion take Bajor they could form a decent challenge. Luckily the Cardassians have great admirals. With access to two movement admirals you can start by sending one to take Bajor and defeat the Dominion. Then send a second movement admiral east to take on the Federation. You can then sweep the map clean from left to right with two quick moving fleets. All three ships are decent enough. Use whatever you can afford. Be sure to make use of the cheap starbases. You can build a few near the front line and retreat when you take too much damage. The combination of durable ships and high repair rates means you'll hardly ever lose ships, so dreadnoughts may be worth the high cost. ============ == Dominion == ============ Start in the Omarion system with a science facility. +----------------------------------+ | Statistic | Rating | +-----------------------+----------+ | Industry | 3 | | Facilities | 1 | | Maneuvering | 2 | | Weapons | 1 | | Shields | 2.5 | | Cost | 3.5 | | Mining Efficiency | 130% | | Research Efficiency | 130% | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Admiral | Type | +-----------------------+----------+ | Gelnon | Attack | | Yelgrun | Attack | | Weyoun | Movement | +----------------------------------+ +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Ship | Cost | Hull | Handling | Weapons | Shields | +-----------------------+----------+------+----------+---------+---------+ | Jem'Hadar Scout | 7M | 3 | 6 | 2 | 4 | | Jem'Hadar Cruiser | 14M | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | | Jem'Hadar Dreadnought | 35M | 7 | 4 | 6 | 7 | +------------------------------------------------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Building / Action | Cost | +-----------------------+----------+ | Starbase | 70M | | Advanced Starbase | 120M | | Mining Colony | 20M | | Science Facility | 20M | | Fortify | 20M | | Create Fleet | 22.4M | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Special Weapons | +----------------------------------+ | Wormhole Generator | | Healing Device | | Genesis Device | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Research Options | +----------------------------------+ | Build Cost | | Hull Strength | | Shield Strength | | Structure Cost | | Defense Strength | | Repair Rate | +----------------------------------+ +----------------------------------+ | Facility Type | Repair Rate | +--------------------+-------------+ | Outpost | 25 | | Starbase | 45 | | Advanced Starbase | 65 | +----------------------------------+ The Dominion have a decent mining efficiency, so mining can pay off. However, their research can decrease the cost of ships and structures which is about as useful, with the extra advantage of more special weapons and additional research opportunities. Reducing the cost of building can be especially useful given the high cost of starbases. The Dominion have fairly balanced ships, similar to the Federation's ships, but cheaper and with better handling. The Jem'Hadar Scout is an exact copy of the Federation's mediocre scout, but at a lower price. The Jem'Hader Cruiser is an all-round average Cruiser which is almost as cheap as the Breen Cruiser. The Jem'Hadar Dreadnought is a very nice, sturdy ship which doesn't cost much at all. You should try to buy Dreadnoughts when possible and only use Scouts when you can't afford better. The Dominion's starting position is unique in that there's only one route to and from their homeworld, though Bajor. This represents the Dominion's location in the TV shows, since the Dominion exists in the Gamma Quadrant which is linked to the Alpha Quadrant through the Bajoran wormhole. The Dominion is the only faction which can capture Bajor (and Deep Space 9) on their first turn with a movement admiral. Beware that Bajor is the most difficult neutral system to capture, since there's a starbase present. When you capture Bajor, you can use Deep Space 9 to repair, rebuild and expand your fleet so you can quickly strike the Cardassians, the Breen or the Federation. You may want to focus entirely on your movement admiral at first. Once you've conquered a few homeworlds you should have enough income to build an entire fleet at once. You can use a Wormhole Generator to quickly move your new fleet to where the action is. Ships can be replaced cheaply, but you need an expensive starbase to do so. Placing starbases in the right systems is key to successfully playing the Dominion. ============================================================================== 7) Comparison Tables ============================================================================== These tables summarize information from other sections of this FAQ. The only purpose of this section is to allow you to quickly compare races and ships. The average of each attribute is given with three decimal precision. So 0.12345 is rounded to 0.123, 123.45678 is rounded to 123.457 and 2.5 is written as 2.500. The precise values aren't that interesting, but the averages do give a quick insight into what could be considered a high or low score for a given attribute. ========================= == Race Comparison Table == ========================= +---------------------------------------------+ | FED | KLI | ROM | BRE | CAR | DOM | Average | +-----------------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+ | RACE SCORES | | | | | | | | | Industry | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2.000 | | Facilities | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.333 | | Maneuvering | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1.833 | | Weapons | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2.000 | | Shields | 3 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2.5 | 2.000 | | Cost | 2.5 | 1 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 3.5 | 2.083 | | Mining Efficiency % | 150 | 120 | 110 | 150 | 110 | 130 | 128.333 | | Research Efficiency % | 130 | 100 | 115 | 130 | 100 | 130 | 117.500 | | | | | | | | | | | NUMBER OF ADMIRALS | | | | | | | | | Attack Admirals | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1.167 | | Defense Admirals | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | | Movement Admirals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.833 | | | | | | | | | | | BUILDING COSTS | | | | | | | | | Starbase | 50M | 50M | 45M | 50M | 28M | 70M | 48.833M | | Advanced Starbase |100M |100M | 90M |100M | 56M |120M | 94.333M | | Mining Colony | 20M | 20M | 18M | 20M | 14M | 20M | 18.667M | | Science Facility | 20M | 20M | 18M | 20M | 14M | 20M | 18.667M | | Fortify | 20M | 20M | 18M | 12M | 14M | 20M | 17.333M | | Create Fleet |25.6M| 32M | 32M |25.6M|28.8M|22.4M| 27.733M | | | | | | | | | | | REPAIR RATES | | | | | | | | | Outpost | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 30 | 25 | 22.500 | | Starbase | 40 | 40 | 40 | 40 | 45 | 45 | 41.667 | | Advanced Starbase | 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | 70 | 65 | 62.500 | +---------------------------------------------------------------------+ ========================= == Ship Comparison Table == ========================= Points per M is the total number of attribute points a ship has divided by the price of the ship. Though not a precise measure of the worth of a ship, it does give an indication of the value you get for your money. +---------------------------------------------+ | FED | KLI | ROM | BRE | CAR | DOM | Average | +--------------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+---------+ | SCOUT | | | | | | | | | Cost | 8M | 5M | 9M | 9M | 8M | 7M | 7.667M | | Hull | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2.833 | | Handling | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6.333 | | Weapons | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3.000 | | Shields | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 3.000 | | Points per M |1.875|3.200|1.667|1.556|2.000|2.143| 1.978 | | | | | | | | | | | CRUISER | | | | | | | | | Cost | 16M | 20M | 18M |13.5M| 16M | 14M | 16.250M | | Hull | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4.667 | | Handling | 4 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4.833 | | Weapons | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4.500 | | Shields | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 4.000 | | Points per M |1.125|0.900|1.000|1.185|1.188|1.357| 1.108 | | | | | | | | | | | DREADNOUGHT | | | | | | | | | Cost | 40M | 50M |31.5M| 45M | 40M | 35M | 40.250M | | Hull | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6.167 | | Handling | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3.833 | | Weapons | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6.500 | | Shields | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6.000 | | Points per M |0.575|0.460|0.698|0.444|0.575|0.686| 0.559 | +------------------------------------------------------------+ ============================================================================== 8) Credits ============================================================================== All information in this guide was gathered by me. Thanks to the people of the Poll of the Day board on GameFAQs for their comments on the layout of this guide. Copyright 2009 Sjoerd Jan Henstra