Strongest Faction For Multiplayer

[Sprayber]

Don't know if this has been covered in some other thread and didn't want to put it in the mulitplayer forum but I'll ask anyway. Which of the factions, besides the Upsurpers and Caretakers, is the strongest in multiplay? I usually play the Pirates or Spartans in SP but I wonder about mulitplay. I know a factions strength depends a lot on the player but is there a faction that is feared by the rest?

To hazard a guess, I would say maybe the University or Pirates if you used them right.
[This message has been edited by Sprayber (edited February 08, 2001).]

[Lord Maxwell]

If you play on any level lower than Transcend I recommend you ban UoP. On Transcend they are pretty balanced as long as the other players are smart enough to play a "denial of services" strategy. (Ie, someone else will build the Virtual World etc.) UoP are very sensitive to probe actions that increase drone activity.

I think Yang might well be one of the most feared factions, he can usually finish off Command Nexus early, and with every base he takes getting a command center and perimeter defense the other factions are lost if caught early enough.

On transcend level Peacekeepers are wild. They got a good grip on the drone situation, and a decently early pop boom up to 9 gives them a horribly strong industrial position.

But it depends alot on the map size, and who gets which of the first few wonders. Also blind research and tech stag can penalise some factions.

[DilithiumDad]

For the original SMAC factions, definitely UofP is strongest. When I CMN a game, I usually assign the least experienced or weakest player to the UofP as a way of handicapping (of course, this can backfire if another faction probes away all their tech!).

After UofP, I would say Peacekeepers. They are strong all around, especially on tournament maps where space is limited and big bases are an advantage.

[WhiteElephants]

I don't have any empirical evidence or even experience, but my guess is the Drones.

[senatus]

And the weakest would be (SMAC, then SMACX)? Obviously
it's very dependent on world conditions and difficulty.
Say, who's the last choice on Transcend, everything
else random, default rules?

[stuntman19]

Misotu playing the Peacekeepers...getting 2 techs\turn...it's very impressive to say the least.