When to build your first Warship.

[Hawkeye]

I find the Robots to be one of the most balanced races in the game when it comes to minerals. Sure they need about 500+ KT of duranium for the Golems, but the Automa and Instrumentalities are far less in their requirements

Generally right, but at game start, duranium is a real problem ..
Any tw LDSF needs 117kt, the pure hull of a: Pawn BS 350kt, Merlin 630kt, Automa 250kt, Instr. 240kt.

Unless the game has an add-on that makes use of the Pawn, I wont build these at all, and Merlins aren't a regular ship I'd build, maybe one per game, if any, and certainly not at game-start unless its a mineral-poor universe. Considering the firepower, the Automa is actually a nice ship to have in the fleet - I just had one take out a fully loaded SB with 79 fighters in it. Not bad for 250kt of Duranium.

In terms of Duranium and the Robots, I look at it more like they have the ability to utilise a mineral that would otherwise become stockpiled in vast quantities

considering that each fighter requires 2 Mol and 3 Tri, a loaded Golem with 150 fighters will need 300 mol and 450 Tri which tends to balance out the large duranium investment in the hull.

right, but the most fighters gets (can be) build after the ship limit hit.

True, but they still cost the same in minerals after the ship limit...

H.

[Hawkeye]

ran into a cylon player, same game, that should me why I prefer the Cylons(bad Hawkeye).

Hee hee hee

[B A N E]

Robotic Pawn...
It's a situational ship.
In combat, it is junk BUT, it can be the difference between a huge
bot econ or not.

It's a gamble and it is duranium expensive but building the Pawn on
T1 and setting it to bioscan will give you 100% accurate information
for all planets within scan range. Whatever planet within range that
does not show up is an enemy homeworld or large colony.

The more planets within scan range, the more valuable.

To recoup most of the duranium loss, colonize the pawn after scan.

[PsychoHawk]

Jimminy Cricket! I never noticed before that the Pawn took 342 Duranium. I always thought it was a lot less than that.. like 120-150 or so...

Well that explains why I've never seen a Pawn built normally, with Duranium at a premium during the early turns coupled with the Bots high duranium cost for all their ships, something has to give.

[Cardno]

Robotic Pawn...


To recoup most of the duranium loss, colonize the pawn after scan.

What he said.......

[Shardin5]

Robotic Pawn...
It's a situational ship.
In combat, it is junk BUT, it can be the difference between a huge
bot econ or not.

It's a gamble and it is duranium expensive but building the Pawn on
T1 and setting it to bioscan will give you 100% accurate information
for all planets within scan range. Whatever planet within range that
does not show up is an enemy homeworld or large colony.

The more planets within scan range, the more valuable.

To recoup most of the duranium loss, colonize the pawn after scan.

After seeing a Pawn used against me once, I have actually started building 1 Pawn early on. The Economy Jumpstart it gives is amazing.
Takes awhile to recoup the D for later builds, but Cat's are cheap, in the meantime, and you have hit all the right planets early.

Its also useful in scouting out your border frontier early as well. Knowing what planets would be more likely to be taken over with large numbers of clans, or what planets maybe useful to your neighboring enemy before he gets there, helps plan your own invasion ahead of time. If the invasion is early enough, you can capture those key planets, if its later an you know the enemy is there, you know what planets he will have less natives on and hit those and wipeout the support worlds for a SB that could be over one of those key planets. Lots of useful intel comes from the Pawn early and late.