Sins Of A Solar Empire 2extends and improves thestrategy gameplayof the original game. It also adds new gameplay features, such as real-time orbital mechanics that forces the playing map to evolve as the game progresses. Overall, it is a strategy title that aficionados of the genre will find much to their liking.
There are 6 playable factions available in this4X strategy game. Each has its own particular strengths and weaknesses. The game does a great job of ensuring that there is little overlap in the abilities of factions, and each of them promotes a subtly different style of gameplay. Few games manage to implement factions that are so different from each other, that player faction choice has such a direct impact on the way the game plays out.
6TEC Enclave
Focuses On Economic Power
The TEC Enclace is the default player faction inSins Of A Solar Empire 2. And as such, is arguably thebest of all the factionsto play for new players. It is especially good for beginners, as it produces plenty of resources that cover any mistakes the player makes in construction priority.
Playing as the TEC Enclave will generally mean playing a defensive game, as the faction has bonuses to the construction cost of defensive infrastructure such as starbases. It also offers more planetary defense slots than other factions. Overall, this is the best faction for beginners to play, as it is easy to make the best use of its bonuses from very early on in a game.
5TEC Primacy
Focuses On Military Might
Players ofSins Of A Solar Empire 2can think of the TEC Primacy as being a much more militant version of the TEC Enclave. This faction is still strong economically, but it is much more concentrated on using this economic strength aggressively.
This is where the two TEC factions differ. The TEC Enclave promotes defensive gameplay, while the TEC Primacy is aimed squarely at players who want to turn economic growth into guns, before going on a rampage across the game map. The TEC Primacy takes a while to come into its power, it isn’t suitable for a rush game, but once it begins producing war fleets it quickly becomes unstable if not checked in some way.
4Advent Reborn
Focused On Population Enhancement
The Advent Reborn is a playable faction inSins Of A Solar Empire 2, that focuses on unity and population enhancement through spiritual study andapplied cybernetics. It is what would be termed on Earth, as a post-human experience.
The spiritually driven technology of the Advent Reborn faction, gives them some truly unique abilities, such as reviving ships that have been destroyed. This is quite a hard faction to play, as it focuses much more on tacticalreal-time strategygameplay than either of the two TEC factions. New players may want to avoid playing this faction until they have learned the game.
3Advent Wrath
Aggressive Dominance And Mind Control
Where the Advent Reborn faction uses unity and spirituality in a defensive manner, the Advent Wrath faction is the polar opposite. It wields spiritual understanding and the power of unity to aggressively control its enemies.
This is a tough faction to play inSins Of A Solar Empire 2, as it requires the player to firstly, unlock the right technologies at the right time, and then secondly, to find points of weakness within its enemies to use these technologies. However, having the power to mind control enemy ships is a major boon, even though it can be tricky to bring into combat.
2Vasari Exodus
Defensive Locust Style Economy
In many ways, the Vasari Exodus faction inSins Of A Solar Empire 2, seems less well fleshed out than the other factions. At face value, it doesn’t offer any great benefits or bonuses. However, when playing this faction, the player will find that they have far greater resource reserves available.
The Vasari Exodus can consume entire planets to turn them into resources if needed. They can also reclaim and recycle many types of debris. This means that even though they don’t have either military or economic bonuses, they can still go head-to-head with the other factions on the same terms resource-wise.
1Vasari Alliance
The Galaxy’s Diplomats
No grand strategy game is complete without a backdrop of diplomatic wrangling, andSins Of A Solar Empire 2is no exception. For players who prefer to make deals with their neighbors and advance peacefully, the Vasari Alliance would be the best playable faction to choose in thissci-fi game.
In many ways, this is the most difficult of all factions to play, due to the fact that it has no economic or military bonuses at all. However, for experienced players, achieving a win as the Vasati Alliance offers a considerable challenge.
