Defensive and strategic placement of shipyards, megastructures and gateways

[4xForEver]

Following is my opinion, you feel free to correct me and add your ideas and reasons:

Gateways:
1. Must not be built in system with colony because it makes your colonies easy target for surprise attack or invasion.
also ex. star eater or planet destroyer may wipe out your system or colony before you are able to respond in timely manner.

2. Must not be built in system where star base is dedicated to shipyard, by doing so your fleets are nothing else but a sitting duck waiting to be destroyed by surprise attack.

3. Should be built 1-2 systems away from shipyard so that fleet reinforcements and fleet manuvering is fastest possible.

Shipyards:
1. Must not be built in system with gateway, wormhole or L-gate, for same reasons mentioned in point 2 above.

2. Must not be build close to neighboring borders so that in case of defensive war you don't lose it right away.

3. Multiple shipyards should be built across empire widespread so that every "corner" of your empire has a shipyard so that in no circumstance you find yourself too far from shipyard.

Megastructures:
1. Point 1 and 2 which applies to shipyards also applies to megastructures.

2. Megastructures should be as well placed across empire widespread so that in no event of war you lose multiple megastructures.

Question:
I'm not sure whether megastructures could be destroyed completely or just ruined?

 

[Arithmetician]

Gateways

1. Actually, the enemy can’t use Gateways that you still control. So while they have an express route to your empire if they take one of the Gateways already in your space and have an activated Gateway of their own elsewhere, it is otherwise perfectly safe to build gateways by your colonies. It’s the L-Gates you have to worry about, but you can’t control where those are anyway.

2. Build Gateways in any major/important systems so that you can reinforce them quickly, provided that they are not excessively close to a system that already has a Gateway. Your capital system should have be your first new Gateway, unless you have a strong reason to build it elsewhere.

3. Build gateways to your distant trade collection starbases, bringing their trade value directly to your capital.

4. Be sure to build a Gateway in your Mega-Shipyard system, so that your new fleets can quickly reach any important systems in your empire.

5. Build a Gateway in Terminal Egress, to link your Gateway Network to the L-Gate Network.


Shipyards

1. Should have a major shipyard in your Core Sector.

2. Home systems and event systems (like Precursors or Rubricator) will never have the Contingency spawn there with hidden Sterilization Hubs, so these are good places to build your Mega-Shipyards, without risking losing them as soon as the Crisis appears.

3. While you should have a number of secondary outlying shipyards, with your Mega Shipyard tied to your Gateway network, you can largely centralize production from a single shipyard (or a few shipyards, if you capture other Mega Shipyards), provided that you can defend them adequately.

Megastructures

1. As noted, build these in your most defensible Core Systems, or in event systems, where the Contingency won’t spawn. Also avoid building these along the Outer Rim if possible, if the Prethoryn can spawn.

 

[4xForEver]

1. Actually, the enemy can’t use Gateways that you still control. So while they have an express route to your empire if they take one of the Gateways already in your space and have an activated Gateway of their own elsewhere, it is otherwise perfectly safe to build gateways by your colonies. It’s the L-Gates you have to worry about, but you can’t control where those are anyway.

Ah, excuse me, I didn't play stellaris for some time and forgot how gateways work! now you reminded me.

5. Build a Gateway in Terminal Egress, to link your Gateway Network to the L-Gate Network.

Now if you (or anyone else) could also remind me of what is "Terminal egress"? I suppose that's the L-Gate "home system" if I recall?

1. Should have a major shipyard in your Core Sector.

4. Be sure to build a Gateway in your Mega-Shipyard system, so that your new fleets can quickly reach any important systems in your empire.

3. Build gateways to your distant trade collection starbases, bringing their trade value directly to your capital.

This beautifully combines into following:

Capital system must have a gateway and mega shipyard structure! awesome isn't? we kill 3 flees with one shot:

1. Fast reinforcements
2. Strong trade
3. Strong capital protection because capital starbase can be dedicated to trade protection and defense instead of shipyard.

1. As noted, build these in your most defensible Core Systems, or in event systems, where the Contingency won’t spawn. Also avoid building these along the Outer Rim if possible, if the Prethoryn can spawn.

Please also remind me (or anyone else), what are "event systems"?
By "Outer Rim" do you refer to neighboring borders only or also to void beyond galaxy? and why?

 

[Ryika]

You probably don't want to spread your shipyards if you're using auto reinforce, because then the game will often use the local one to queue all of the the 29371 battleships that you've just ordered, while leaving your megashipyard and the rest of the shipyards idle, even if they have a connection via gateways.

Usually I don't even have any shipyards other than the megashipyard with an extra starbase shipyard right at the center of my empire, with a gateway in the same system. This forces the game to make full use of both of them, which I find to be more than enough for construction and reinforcement, even against a x25 crisis.

 

[Arithmetician]

Now if you (or anyone else) could also remind me of what is "Terminal egress"? I suppose that's the L-Gate "home system" if I recall?

That is correct; it is the system that is the entrance to the L-Cluster, all L-Gates connect through this system.

Because of the L-Cluster’s importance to rapid travel across the galaxy, and because enemies can freely move through L-Gates, Terminal Egress should usually be the most heavily-fortified star system in the galaxy, even more so than your capital (if you capital is unlikely to come under direct attack). Ion Cannons should be built on the Terminal Egress starbase to engage any enemy fleets that enter the system, and it is good to station multiple fleets, if you can afford it, near the Terminal Egress L-Gate. This both allows for rapid deployment as needed, and lets you ambush any enemy fleets that enter the system.

Capital system must have a gateway and mega shipyard structure! awesome isn't? we kill 3 flees with one shot:

Well, it’s not that it MUST have a mega shipyard... but it IS an extremely good place for one.

Please also remind me (or anyone else), what are "event systems"?
By "Outer Rim" do you refer to neighboring borders only or also to void beyond galaxy? and why?

Event systems are systems that do not originally appear on the Galactic Map, but are later spawned by events. Examples include Precursor Homeworlds (e.g. Cybrex Alpha, Fen Habbanis, Yuhthan Majoris, Irassia, Vultaumar Prime, Zron Prime, and Grunur), the Rubricator system, Paradaiya, and the L-Cluster itself.

How the Contingency works it that, at game-start, it selects four uninhabitable planets at the galaxy to be secretly Contingency Sterilization Hubs, which will go online if the Contingency becomes the end-game crisis. Short of using console commands, these are impossible to distinguish from ordinary uninhabitable planets until it is too late. The Contingency will spawn massive fleets and a powerful Starbase in any system that has an active Sterilization Hub, and while your home system cannot be a Sterilization Hub system, it is completely possible for a planet in your Core Sector (or almost anywhere else in the galaxy) to secretly host one. HOWEVER, since the Sterilization Hub locations are decided at game start, they CANNOT spawn in systems added after the fact by events (such as those listed above).

By “Outer Rim”, I mean bordering the void on the edge of the galaxy, and systems in that general vicinity. If you get the Prethoryn Scourge Crisis, they will ALWAYS begin by invading multiple Outer Rim Systems. You’ll have a few years of warning as to which systems it will be, but that’s it.

The Unbidden’s portal can potentially show up in most systems, to the best of my knowledge. But by building the most important megastructures in event Systems, or away from the Outer Rim, you reduce that chance that 2 of the 3 possible crises might take out one of your key megastructures early on.

 

[4xForEver]

You probably don't want to spread your shipyards if you're using auto reinforce, because then the game will often use the local one to queue all of the the 29371 battleships that you've just ordered, while leaving your megashipyard and the rest of the shipyards idle, even if they have a connection via gateways.

Ah that moment when game mechanics ruin player experience and expected behavior!

Usually I don't even have any shipyards other than the megashipyard with an extra starbase shipyard right at the center of my empire, with a gateway in the same system.

This may be true for end game, but until you get megastructures and gateways, widespread shipyards is the way to go don't you agree?

EDIT:
Also because until then multiple fleets can be upgraded simultaneously, each fleet at it's own shipyard.

 

[4xForEver]

Somebody help me:
How can megastructures be completely destroyed or only ruined exactly?

Which weapons\enemies can do what exactly to megastructures?

 

[Arithmetician]

Colossi can destroy Ring World sections, leaving them irreparable, and they can also obliterate habitats.

Crisis factions can destroy megastructures, leaving them in a ruined but likewise irreparable state.

Destroying a Star System with a Star Eater (obtained by an Empire selecting the “Become the Crisis” ascension perk and accumulating sufficient Menace) also permanently ruins/destroys any megastructures in the system.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Gateways

1. Actually, the enemy can’t use Gateways that you still control. So while they have an express route to your empire if they take one of the Gateways already in your space and have an activated Gateway of their own elsewhere, it is otherwise perfectly safe to build gateways by your colonies. It’s the L-Gates you have to worry about, but you can’t control where those are anyway.

It's more than that IIRC, unless you're fighting a Total War control of the gateway doesn't switch until war resolution, so even if they occupy the system they can't use the gateway from theirs during that war.

 

[GloatingSwine]

Crisis factions can destroy megastructures, leaving them in a ruined but likewise irreparable state.

I think they only do this to the habitable ones, otherwise they just ignore them.

 

[4xForEver]

I think they only do this to the habitable ones, otherwise they just ignore them.

Therefore only star eater may destroy non habitable megastructures?
And star eater may be built only by regular AI or player?

 

[4xForEver]

Colossi can destroy Ring World sections, leaving them irreparable, and they can also obliterate habitats.

Crisis factions can destroy megastructures, leaving them in a ruined but likewise irreparable state.

Destroying a Star System with a Star Eater (obtained by an Empire selecting the “Become the Crisis” ascension perk and accumulating sufficient Menace) also permanently ruins/destroys any megastructures in the system.

I think they only do this to the habitable ones, otherwise they just ignore them.

Therefore only star eater may destroy non habitable megastructures?
And star eater may be built only by regular AI or player? (but not by crisis or aweaken or fallen empire)

 

[Arithmetician]

Star Eaters can only be built by players or AIs who have picked the “Become the Crisis” ascension perk. Default Crisis Empires (Unbidden, Prethoryn, Contingency) cannot use Star Eaters, and while the new update is adding Traditions to Awakened Fallen Empires, I don’t think they can take ascension perks.

 

[HugsAndSnuggles]

3. Build gateways to your distant trade collection starbases, bringing their trade value directly to your capital.

Actually, if you're at the point of mass-building gateways, might as well scrap all collection starbases other than your capital.

 

[4xForEver]

Star Eaters can only be built by players or AIs who have picked the “Become the Crisis” ascension perk. Default Crisis Empires (Unbidden, Prethoryn, Contingency) cannot use Star Eaters, and while the new update is adding Traditions to Awakened Fallen Empires, I don’t think they can take ascension perks.

Thank you!

Is it possible for us to see determine if a fleet or single ship contains star eater or planet killer ship?
So that we can draw our attention to such ship\fleet before it's too late.

 

[Arithmetician]

Actually, if you're at the point of mass-building gateways, might as well scrap all collection starbases other than your capital.

True, as long as you have spare Starbase Capacity, or if extra starbases will let you claim more additional trade value than the increased upkeep costs of going over that limit. But either way, it drastically reduces the number of collection Starbases that you need.

 

[Arithmetician]

Thank you!

Is it possible for us to see determine if a fleet or single ship contains star eater or planet killer ship?
So that we can draw our attention to such ship\fleet before it's too late.

Yes. It will appear as a red skull on the galaxy map, next to the enemy fleet icons.

They can also only appear if you have the Nemesis DLC.

 

[TranscendentalDragon]

Actually, if you're at the point of mass-building gateways, might as well scrap all collection starbases other than your capital.

What I usually do is have a seperate starbase in a gateway system that is entirely trade hubs.