Ascension Perk Elimination

[GloatingSwine]

Executive Vigor 13
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 17
Voidborne: 18
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 9
Galactic Wonders: 21
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 18
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 24

Habitats are a waste of influence and minerals which give a higher return if you conquer someone else's stuff.

Psi ascension is cheap, immediate, your ruler gives influence, you get the best ships, the most minerals and energy, and the most unity.

 

[Iron Spirit]

Executive Vigor 11 (-2)
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18 (+1)
Voidborne: 18
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 9
Galactic Wonders: 21
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 18
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 24

+1 for Technological Ascendancy because it's the best first pick for total war and very tall builds
-2 for Executive Vigor not because it's bad, just because I think it's the least powerful pick of what's left in this list.

 

[Vladisi]

Executive Vigor 11
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 18
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 9
Galactic Wonders: 21
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 19 (+1)
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 22 (-2)

I cannot in good faith allow anyone to claim that psionic pops are somehow the best in everything meaningful when they don't get any bonuses to minerals without the Covenant with the Instruments of Desire, something that is unlikely to happen without save-scumming religiously. Any combination of base organic traits loses to Synthetic+Power Drills+Happiness from Materialist faction+Synthetic Governor and Ruler. The only production bonus to minerals psionic pops have is +5% happiness and, at most, +25% from Very Strong and Industrious. And psionic pops still need to eat, so no covering every single food tile in mines.

The Shroud is a waste of energy and leaders that die to failed events.

 

[bunkerman]

@Maverikfreak i am pretty sure i do keep the rule of 1 score change per day i did post additional score board messages at times due to people accidentally removing executive vigor from the list but if you check i didnt make any personal changes to the scores there just corrections so the list doesnt get totally derailed but if you see 2 real changes from me in the same day somewhere do let me know and ill give up my tomorrows update for it (or however many you find)

 

[Vonuggbin]

Executive Vigor 11
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 18
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 7 (-2)
Galactic Wonders: 21
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 19
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 23 (+1)

 

[Jmes Snowscoran]

Any combination of base organic traits loses to Synthetic+Power Drills+Happiness from Materialist faction+Synthetic Governor and Ruler. The only production bonus to minerals psionic pops have is +5% happiness and, at most, +25% from Very Strong and Industrious.

The synth bonus to minerals only makes up for their handicap of not being able to use slave labour for mineral extraction.

And psionic pops still need to eat, so no covering every single food tile in mines.

Food is really easy. Hydroponic starbase modules, slave processing facilities and paradise domes alone tend to produce enough food for my bio empires, so skipping farms and spamming mines is totally possible.

The Shroud is a waste of energy and leaders that die to failed events.

That's patently ridiculous. The Shroud has excellent bonuses and the only shroud event with a chance to kill leaders that I know of is the Chosen One selection.

 

[Doctor Bones]

Executive Vigor 9 (-2)
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19 (+1)
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 7
Galactic Wonders: 21
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 19
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 23

Do believe the reasons for my picks have already been stated multiple times so far...

 

[Zohtun]

4th
Executive Vigor 7 (-2)
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 7
Galactic Wonders: 22 (+1)
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 19
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 23

I don't think I can add anything for these picks which haven't been said already. Vigor is gameplay-situational and Wonders is the only way you're going to field a dyson sphere (which basically replaces your power plants)

 

[Hertzila]

It's getting difficult to choose what should be downvoted.

Executive Vigor 7
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 5 (-2)
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 20 (+1)
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 23

Synthetic Ascension+: While I have a soft spot for the Bio Asc, I think Synthetic is all-around best one. There's no RNG like with Psionic and there's way less micro compared to Biological, yet it's roughly on the same level as them IMO.

World Shaper-: Something had to be picked and I still don't like terraforming. I don't think it's bad but it does mean having high energy surplus to take use of it, rather than going all-in with minerals and keeping energy at only moderate surplus. That mineral input also means plenty of resources to take advantage of megastructures when not constructing fleets.

 

[Atreides]

Day 7

Executive Vigor 7
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 5
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 18 (-2)
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 24 (+1)

Getting a bit of a jump on the end game of this particular exercise. I distinctly prefer Psionics over the Synthetics, so we will vote accordingly.

 

[Halatung]

Executive Vigor 5 (-2)
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 5
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 19 (+1)
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 24

 

[Retry]

The synth bonus to minerals only makes up for their handicap of not being able to use slave labour for mineral extraction.

Of course, free Synth production is affected by happiness while slaves are not, which is a maximum of +20% resource bonus in itself. Since Synths tend to go Materialist and the Materialist faction is really trivial to please, it's pretty simple to get that required 100% or nearly 100% happiness around the mid-late game. And the happiness bonus is G2, or multiplicative like Gaia World is, so that bonus is more powerful than an equivalent +20% additive bonuses you generally find elsewhere. That and you can throw a Synth anywhere you want without losing production due to low habitability. (up to -20% additive penalty)

Even with super weak Robomodding only getting Synths from +20% to +30% minerals additive, that + the other odds and ends enhancing your mineral production that you've accumulated multiply with whatever happiness bonus you happen to have (and other multiplicative bonuses like Gaia World), so free Synths with a good build are much closer to Slaves than you realize.

The best Bio slaves are, hands down, in the Bio ascension path, and that bit the bullet a while ago...

Executive Vigor 5
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 5
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 20 (+1)
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 22 (-2)

 

[General Guderian]

Executive Vigor 5
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 18
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 5
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 21 (+1)
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 20 (-2)

 

[SuiciSpai]

Executive Vigor 5
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 19 (+1)
Voidborne: 19
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 3 (-2)
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 21
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 20

 

[RedPearlA]

Executive Vigor 5
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 19
Voidborne: 20 (+1)
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 1 (-2)
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 21
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 20

Note: From official victory conditions building fast big fleet and conquering enemies is good.

The main non-federation victory condition is to colonize 40% of all habitable planets.
Each habitat counts as a habitable planet.

Habitats cost minerals and influence, one of which is needed for everything, the other which is in short supply. World Shaper costs Energy which doesn't do much aside from go into the Curator and Artist's pockets. Sure you can argue 'But then change your power plants to mineral stations' but fleets do still have an energy upkeep. The bonuses of perfect habitability, more happiness, AND more production, all seem small individually but despite this I always find myself getting much stronger after I go full Gaia.

If I had 40 size 25 planets and I turned them all into Gaia planets that would increase my production less then building 20 habitats.
20 habitats would increase my population which would increase my starbase capacity which would increase my naval capacity.
World Shaper allows me to upgrade existing planets. Voidborne allows me to build new artificial planets.

 

[Bobylein]

Executive Vigor 6 (+1)
Interstellar Dominion: 25
Technological Ascendancy: 17 (-2)
Voidborne: 20
Master Builders: 16
World Shaper: 1
Galactic Wonders: 22
Synthetic Ascension (The Flesh is Weak + Synthetic Evolution): 21
Psionic Ascension (Mind over Matter + Transcendence): 20

 

[Methone]

If I had 40 size 25 planets and I turned them all into Gaia planets that would increase my production less then building 20 habitats.

It would also cost vastly, vastly less than building 20 habitats.

 

[Jmes Snowscoran]

free Synths with a good build are much closer to Slaves than you realize.

No, I get that. I'm disputing a poster above who claims that when it comes to minerals "Any combination of base organic traits loses to [synth build]". Truth is that it can be matched more or less by unascended slavers.

It's just odd to me when people emphasize mineral production as an advantage of synth ascension. The important advantages of SA imo is good habitability and fast pop growth, which you can leverage for example with a mechanist rapid expansion strategy to snowball into the midgame.

 

[Secret Master]

And we all know that ongoing terraforming decreases happiness on the planet.

For my hive mind brothers and sisters and fungi:

For my more authoritarian brothers and sisters and fungi, there's this:

 

[ciurra]

For my hive mind brothers and sisters and fungi:

For my more authoritarian brothers and sisters and fungi, there's this:

This should also go to the meme thread