master of orion ii

sometime in the past, this page aspired to be a general reference for all things strategic and related to MoO2. However, since I had a nasty habit of leaving the page alone in an incomplete state for months at a time, this page never fulfilled that dream.

now, I will no longer cover MoO2 strategy as a whole, but will instead just discuss whatever the bleep I want to. Bwahahahaha!

(if something you want to know isn't on this page, maybe you could try Scott's MoO2 page.)

custom races: I've found that in most situations, there are only three classes of competitive races. You can of course play other races for fun, since after all the purpose of playing MoO2 should be to have fun. But be aware that your other race is probably almost strictly inferior to one of the three races described below.

• Unitol. Maximal production. Quite possibly the strongest race, because production can be fairly easily transformed into almost anything else you want, in particular more people via housing colonies. If given enough time to itself (probably 80-90 turns in a prewarp game), it should be able to generate a huge population base, use it to rapidly catch up on research (since initial research is not so hot with this race), and thus establish an unassailable position. My exact race picks are usually Unification (6) + Tolerant (10) + Large HW (1) + Rich HW (2) + combat/spy negatives (-9); some people replace Rich HW with +1 production, but I think HW production is too important (and I'd rather avoid taking a 10th negative pick).
• Sublith. Nearly maximal research combined with sufficient production. Unitol can perform spectacularly if left alone, but due to its poor early technology, it is very poor at fending off an early blitz. Sublith is a more consistent race, probably giving you a chance to win every game. You get fighter garrisons reasonably early in your default research path, so you don't have to deviate from your game plan very much to fend off a blitz. On the other hand, if you know your primary opponent is playing Unitol, and thus will crush you with superior numbers if you don't attack early, you are quite capable of executing a beam blitz yourself, having twice to three times as much research output to get those AF Mass Drivers, and enough production to build a fleet Unitol will be hard-pressed to deal with in time. This is provided that your homeworlds are reasonably close, of course; long distances make things very difficult if not impossible for the Sublith player versus Unitol. My exact race picks are usually Dictatorship (0) + Subterranean (6) + Lithovore (10) + Large HW (1) + Artifacts HW (3) + Repulsive (-6) + -Defense (-2) + -Ground (-2); I don't take the attack negative because I want to be able to attack with beams if necessary. The positive picks for this race are generally agreed on.
• Unitel. Not appropriate for duels, but this race really shines in large multiplayer games where it's very unlikely you won't have at least one opponent to assimilate. With this race, you "colonize by attacking". To colonize as early as possible, you usually want to build Hv AF laser cruisers and/or battleships as early as possible, and then speed them off to weak and tasty targets. (You could try to use missiles, but they are much easier to counter.) Unitol players are particularly weak and tasty targets if you're fast enough; mind controlling a Unitol homeworld probably nets you the game. My exact race picks are usually Unification (6) + Telepathic (6) + Omniscient (3) + Rich HW (2) + Artifacts HW (3) + Low-G HW (-5) + -Ground (-2) + -Spy (-3); this entire set of picks is generally agreed upon.

even better custom race: so you don't think the three races listed above are strong enough? Then, you just have to check the following race out in prewarp: Cybernetic (4) + Poor HW (-1) + -Food (-3) + -Prod (-3) + -Research (-3). Play this to victory and collect that 300% score multiplier!

almost as good:

• Research of the Gods. Feudal (-4) + -Food (-3) + -Research (-3). It's too bad this race actually has enough production to accomplish something. I once played a one-on-one game with Scott where Scott played this race and I played the race listed before this one, and Scott kicked my butt with a ruthless attack on my homeworld around turn 115 (two missile frigates, followed the next turn by a bomb-laden destroyer) which I didn't have the production to fend off.
• Where's My Research Lab? Cybernetic (4) + Feudal (-4) + Poor HW (-1) + Uncreative (-4).

that's all I'm writing for now. Maybe I'll write more later, but don't get your hopes up.

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