Xenophile is easier, it offers more tools to level the field if you're behind and gives better returns overall. Xenophobe is funner, it gives you tools to leap forward much more quickly but starts dropping off.
Dichotomy Discussion - Xenophobe v Xenophile
- Thread starter PaulMClem
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Hmmm, think I'll go with phile for first Utopia run, leave phobe for a future game.
I am Phile myself but will try Phobe after seeing the changes to Phile with Utopia/Banks, whichever is the Free one.
I like to choose fanatic xenophobe and play like a xenophile. (federation victory and get as many friends as possible)
My only issue is that game mechanics don't allow migration treaties with fanatic xenophobe, and that's a shame i would really like to export fanatic xenophobes.
I don't really like using either of them. I'd much rather have more ethics points to spend elsewhere. My main empire uses Fanatic Egalitarian/Militarist ethics, and I often use Authoritarian, Materialist, and Spiritualist ethics for other empires I create. (I do have one Fanatic Xenophobe/Pacifist empire, but I mainly use it as an AI opponent since I don't like either of the ethics it uses.)
Xenophile gameplay got hit pretty hard when habitablity moved from the wheel to the sets of three it is now. Used to be pretty easy to have a bunch of cosmopolitan worlds where everyone was happy because of the diversity. Now you only get that pretty deep into the mid-game, unless most of your early neighbors/primitives can live on the same set of planets as you.
Granted, Xenophobe's only saving grace is the Monument of Purity. Extra rivalries is only good if you can take on the federation that inevitably forms from it, and while alien slavery tolerance might mean you can have slaves as a democracy, unless you're primary pops are highly adaptive, you're also going to have a lot of planets that are useless for anything other than minerals because slavery becomes the only way to control xeno pops that aren't collectivist.
Of course, most of the problems with both were at the pop level. Now that 1.5 will make most of bonuses and penalties an empire or faction issue, it stands to be less of a wasted point and more of an interesting possibility.
Granted, Xenophobe's only saving grace is the Monument of Purity. Extra rivalries is only good if you can take on the federation that inevitably forms from it, and while alien slavery tolerance might mean you can have slaves as a democracy, unless you're primary pops are highly adaptive, you're also going to have a lot of planets that are useless for anything other than minerals because slavery becomes the only way to control xeno pops that aren't collectivist.
Of course, most of the problems with both were at the pop level. Now that 1.5 will make most of bonuses and penalties an empire or faction issue, it stands to be less of a wasted point and more of an interesting possibility.
The T'Saab view that all lesser races be enslaved as per its Spiritual mandate. Backward and heathen labeling in Xenophile and Xenophobe are prohibited by pain of death.
I really, really like them both, but the 'phobe is stronger.
Monument of purity is a top tier special building. Border extrusion is surprisingly strong, especially in the early game when having access to space resources is important. Rivalries are a bit secondary as it stands, but it counts for something.
I think the big mistake people make with xenophobes is assuming that you have to purge or enslave everyone to take advantage of being xenophobe. You don't. You can turn those policies off and just use happiness bonuses to keep your alien pops content. Slavery and purging are interesting options to have from an RP standpoint, but as of now I'm not convinced that either is actually worthwhile most of the time. We'll have to see what 1.5 does for that though.
Monument of purity is a top tier special building. Border extrusion is surprisingly strong, especially in the early game when having access to space resources is important. Rivalries are a bit secondary as it stands, but it counts for something.
I think the big mistake people make with xenophobes is assuming that you have to purge or enslave everyone to take advantage of being xenophobe. You don't. You can turn those policies off and just use happiness bonuses to keep your alien pops content. Slavery and purging are interesting options to have from an RP standpoint, but as of now I'm not convinced that either is actually worthwhile most of the time. We'll have to see what 1.5 does for that though.
Xenophobe, I want to make societies with complex rules on who is high up on society and roleplay those with the purge and slavery mechanics.
Someone forgetting that the Blorg way is also available to xenophile. Who can say no to friend ships ?
Personally I always preferred xenophile, but with the nerf to migration and the visitor center no longer been linked to the ethic, I admit, not sure I will chose the ethic as often.
What are you talking about, the Borg is always looking for new friends to add to the collective. The question is more, would even the Borg reject the willingness of the Blorg to join the collective ?
Neither, really. Xenophile's bonus is too irrelevant to take, and Xenophobe's bonus is nice, but brings too many disadvantages to the table.
From a RP perspective? Eh, probably going to roll with Xenophobe in 1.5. Giving everyone the same rights is nice, but it's what we already have in 1.4. Eating xenos is new. Thus I got to try that out at least once.
From a RP perspective? Eh, probably going to roll with Xenophobe in 1.5. Giving everyone the same rights is nice, but it's what we already have in 1.4. Eating xenos is new. Thus I got to try that out at least once.
Xenophobe, because 'teamwork is a coward's strategy' - Cornelius Hawthorne.
Seriously though in my experience federations are useless and annoying. In my one fanatic xenophile game I ended up annexing all of my former allies for the sake of expediency. Then I had to deal with the fact that those bloody xenophobic pacifists in my empire would never shut up. As a xenophobe you just substitute their population with your own and you're fine. Towards the endgame the rest of the galaxy was united in a federation against me anyway despite my bonuses from xenophile diplomacy and charismatic, since the threat metre was like -344.
Seriously though in my experience federations are useless and annoying. In my one fanatic xenophile game I ended up annexing all of my former allies for the sake of expediency. Then I had to deal with the fact that those bloody xenophobic pacifists in my empire would never shut up. As a xenophobe you just substitute their population with your own and you're fine. Towards the endgame the rest of the galaxy was united in a federation against me anyway despite my bonuses from xenophile diplomacy and charismatic, since the threat metre was like -344.
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I like Xenophobe for the same reason why I like disabling migration on non-xenophobe playthroughs, because I like making my species the most powerful one in the galaxy. Xenophile is good for diplomacy, but I don't think it would be a good choice for me if my plan was to crush all of the alien scum in the galaxy under my boot, as it usually is.
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Xenophobe is by far the best. You get border extrusion which is nice early on and great once you have terraforming, and all you're trading for it is a bit of diplomatic ability, in a game where the diplomacy isn't very good in the first place. If you're playing some MLGpro multiplayer tournament maybe you care about keeping people off your back, but then xenophile doesn't work anyway so that's a wash.
Xenophile, hands down. Colonize broadly by grabbing primitives of different planet types early to seed the galaxy, fill them with migration treaties. Get specialist pops to offset your disadvantages. If you're individualist you can mostly ignore differing ethics (pre-Banks faction system). Until Banks you could also find a very strong species and use them for armies everywhere (I often make my xenophile/pacifist/materialist folks weak). Use xenophile relationship bonus to lasso a useful federation together and pacify those advance starts, crises, FE with some friends to absorb some of the blows.
Xenophobe just closes so many doors (outside of a big MP game). I also didn't care for the time it took to purge, terraform, re-colonize in the purging process (and that it made me feel all bad inside).
Xenophobe just closes so many doors (outside of a big MP game). I also didn't care for the time it took to purge, terraform, re-colonize in the purging process (and that it made me feel all bad inside).