Blooy pirates!

Alright, so I just beat my first game, good for me.

Well, actually it was my second victory for my first game map. My father wanted to build a really big starship of his own, after seeing mine, and wanted to test it out. So I did, on the Yor, which had been squeezed into a tight spot after the Drath beat the pulp out of their stupid robotic bodies. After that I decided, what the heck, i'll conquer the galaxy this time (first time was technological victory). So I declare war on the Drath and their minor race ally, and all goes well. That is, until I get a report from my trade advisor, stating that "An increase in pirate activity has led to the shutdown of four trade routes, I suggest that you increase in defensive spending. WHAT?! I got the largest total fleet in the game and it says to INCREASE MY MILITARY SPENDING?! Well after that I get pissed, but thats just the beginning.

A HUGE Pirate fleet comes out of nowhere and starts raiding, no, demolishing, my trade routes with the Altarian Republic, as well as three patrol fleets (My older ship designs, I didn't want to spend the hassle upgrading or deleting them) as well as a starbase. Alright, after that little squall, I REALLY get angry. Then, as I rewind the last battle, I notice that they had gotten wise and had missile pods with an insanely high beam defense. and, of course, about 90% of my ships had little to no point defense, and mostly beam weapons. Crap. So I gather my newly built and upgraded forces at my home planet, Earth. And after all the logistics, fleet building and such, amounted to about eight fleets of various sizes. THE DAMN PIRATES BLEW THREW THEM ALL! I had dreadnaughts, battleships, frigates, cruisers, battlecruisers, fighters, all demolished in three weeks. and, to add insult to injury, I notice that I destroyed all of three ships. ARRRRRGH!!!!!!!!! all that work down the drain. Then, as my war with the Korx and Drath comes to a climax in the southern sector, they both surrender to my ally, the Altarian Republic. So I get a alliance victory. woop de doo. What really bugs me is that I threw EVERYTHING I had at these pirates, and got smashed. Beaten. Wreaked. Destroyed. Add Any other kind of describitives if you wish.

So, in conclusion, has anyone else had this kind of pirate problem before. and, how the heck can I prevent this from happening again?? (I can only thank god that they didn't have transports)
6,186 views 10 replies
Reply #1 Top
It's just the games way of saying:

You're not God in this galaxy anymore.
Reply #2 Top
Yeah, but let's be honest, the pirates are more like Dreadlords.
Reply #3 Top
That's not true quitch. I can kick the DL no problem, but the pirates are a bitch to remove. Good races do better because they can survive with the defences early on, and the Drath are great against them. Whereas Terrans can't do anything.

You think they're hard now, wait til attackers and defenders attack at the same time in 1.2
Reply #4 Top
I never have seen pirates. I got popup saying that there are pirates but thats it.
Reply #5 Top
I know how you feel I was preparing to attack earth once when a massive fleet attacked and splintered my assault. The odd thing was is that the pirates broke up into groups. Luckily for me i had just finished researching psionic cannon
Reply #6 Top
I guess their power varies quite a bit, or maybe they are just weak later in the game. I've only had pirates once... I got the warning, was excited to finally see them and looked around the huge galaxy... and looked and looked. Then finally I saw a single fleet way down deep in Iconian Territory. It was a decent fleet, but really no chance at all against a full fleet of mine. I sent a small detail of my longer range ships and when I got there, they were sitting in the same spot... hadn't attacked a thing. I was pretty disappointed. I think that was in beta 4, but I'm not sure.
Reply #7 Top
Huh, I've had Pirates before too.

Nowhere near as strong as yours though, AdmiralWinter.

Mine were just 6 heavy fighters, and I blew them away with three of my older Large ships.
Reply #9 Top
got the pirate messages, saw 1 group of pirates appear next to my planet and they proceed to take out the defensless cargo hauler. Out comes my shredder ship and takes out the pirate fleet no big deal.. and 2nd cargo hauler made and sent to bring back the trade route..

Starlost...
Reply #10 Top
I had practically the same experience when I first discovered the pirates. Threw away several fleets of dreadnoughts because I didn't understand how the game worked very well.

When they spawn, they are YOUR enemy, although everyone considers them to be an enemy. They spawn with the latest engine, weapons and defenses that you have researched (usually). Their ships will be perfectly optimized against your existing ships, so if you have dreadnoughts armed with disruptors and armor, they'll have missiles and shields and there'll be a whole lot of them.