Introduction

Fellow Vasari, this guide will introduce you to one of the most majestic ships available to our most elite forces. Ages of exodus have not withered the strength of this magnificent vessel, however due to our limited resources, we can put it exclusively into capable hands. This guide will help you to understand all the ins and outs of the Vorastra Titan, to destroy all the foes in our path!

[UPD Pic VL titan dev journal?]

Short Lore

Vasari are an ancient empire predating TEC by at least 10,000 years. Their empire was built on exploitation of other species, so it's not surprising that they were capable of building many "behemoths" like the Vorastra titan and ships alike. From some hints we can assume that Vasari empire was once fleeting many different variations of such gigantic vessels, but by the time of their arrival in the TEC space only Vorastra and Kultorask have been preserved.

Like other Vasari ships, the Vorastra was modified to accommodate the Vasari population, making its "crew" more than ten times larger than the titan counterparts from TEC or Advent, totaling 135,000.. This makes protection of your titan only more crucial as we cannot afford losing this many citizens of our empire!

Basics

The Vorastra doubles down on the Vasari unique capabilities and focuses on mobility accompanied by devastating firepower. Vorastra's raw firepower is only second to that of the Ragnarov titan, and at the same time it has good health to dive into enemy lines - but it's true strategic potential is unlocked by the abilities.

Abilities

Micro Phase Jump is the first ability on the list. It allows you to jump to almost to any space within the gravity well and also deals a small AOE damage in the space were your titan appears. This ability can be used both ways offensively and defensively, as your titan could jump into the midst of enemy ships, deal the small AOE damage, continue destroying enemy ships with it's immense firepower and then retreat with the same micro phase jump to a safe space.

This ability alone makes it so hard to kill Vorastra titan in skilled hands, as you can consistently create distance between you and chasing enemies. Not to forget that this ability synergizes a lot with the phase resonance mechanic Vasari have access to, as normal ships lose some of the phase resonance buff timer, while they fly towards their enemy.

Vorastra can minimize that time down to minimum by jumping into the enemies directly and therefore getting the full value out of the phase resonance buffs. And even on retreat, the micro phase jump ability allows you to quickly access phase entry point, and reset your phase resonance buffs by jumping out of the gravity well and back into it.

Overall this is one of the best abilities in the game, as even though it does not deal any significant damage, the tactical mobility you get with it is an absolute game changer. And with the enhance module which also debuffs enemy ships, this ability turns into a fleet wide support one.

Those of you who have played Sins:Rebellion will be pleasantly surprised that Maw is no longer an ultimate ability, but a regular one. This may make it sound crazy strong, however this change has been taken into account and maw has now a limit on targets it can consume, while the resource gain has been drastically cut as well.

However the full potential of the maw ability is unlocked with an end game module, which adds an attack buff for your titan for every ship consumed.

As you can imagine, this ability synergizes pretty great with the Micro Phase Jump, as you can jump into your enemies lines, and directly annihilate a portion of their fleet by consuming them.

Last regular ability is Desperation. This ability increases your dps based on how much health you are missing, but most importantly it provides AOE damage to every shot. This makes Vorastra titan perfect against swarms of smaller ships, as they have no chance to withstand the AOE damage. However it is a common mistake to get too greedy with the ability, and leave a damaged titan in risky situations, as you get stronger buffs. Players rely on the Micro Phase Jump to save them last second, however what they miss is that their enemy is not stupid and will likely bring ships which will burn antimatter, to prevent Vorastra from jumping out. You will still create havoc and kill many enemy ships, but such greed will often make it a one way trip for your costly titan.

Finally Vorastra's ultimate is the Phase Tunneling. As Vasari no longer have Kostura weapon to open phase connection with distant planets, this gives Vasari Exodus a unique advantage not only over other species, but even over their rebellious faction. The strategic advantage of making surprise attacks in the deep back lines of your enemies cannot be overestimated. This ability synergizes a lot with another unique mechanic of the Vasari "Strip to the Core" (STTC). STTC allows you to "eat" planets, by destroying them and getting huge amounts of resources. This also means, that your enemy will not be able to retake the land he has lost.

Titan Modules (Offense)

Unsurprisingly offense category offers the most amount of titan unique modules for Vorastra. Micro Phase Jump Enhancer was previously discussed. It is locked behind tier 5 military, making it an end-game module, but the impact it provides is worth every penny. Micro Phase Jump offers already a huge tactical advantage, but with the enhancer, you will get a fleet wide debuff on your enemy's armada. Since it's a late game module, you will be facing big fleets, and the module scales very well with the size of enemy fleet.

Another ability enhancing module is "The Maw Enhancer". For every ship Vorastra consumers, you get a damage buff. Damage buff is in %, so this scales very well with your late game technology and Vorastra level up stats increase. You cannot get both modules simultaneously, so I would recommend going for the Micro Jump Enhancer first, and Maw Enhancer second, once you reach tier 5.

Just as other titans, Vorastra can get modules which activate extra cannons. One of those provides good DPS with decent pierce. When combined with the Desperation ability, this will deal heavy AOE damage to enemy swarms. This upgrade is less effective against capital ships.

Vorastra Phase Cannon is the ultimate weapon upgrade. It provides very high dps along with the incredible pierce, capable of ignoring even the durability of a starbase! Keep in mind, that the stated damage stats will be increased by Vorastra's buffs and technologies. Desperation will also deal splash damage with this behemoth of a cannon, however it is unlikely that an enemy double starbase will be in range, so you gotta stick with AOE against capital ships.

As Vorastra houses all of the Vasari weapon types, it can be upgraded with those modules. These modules are similar to the ones installed on capital ships, but since titan is stronger than a capital ship, they will have a greater overall impact. Even though all weapon modules look good, Vorastra still has a limited amount of slots, so installing all 3 may lock you out of some other valuable modules. But if you are going to triage which one to install, you should go for the Wave modulator, as it would buff both the standard cannons and the Heavy Wave Cannons activated via module.

Another reason to prioritize Wave Modulator is because there are more Wave Cannons, than other weapon types. And since the module reduces weapon reload, you will get the most reliable AOE increase for your desperation ability.

Titan Modules (Other)

Defense modules are not as rich in numbers. But interestingly enough Vorastra offers 3 levels of hull modules, which can increase its survivability by quite a lot. Those hull modules synergize with the Self Repairing Armor module, as hull modules increase armor, while Self Repairing Armor module instantly repairs percentage of total armor. If you are not convinced by the numbers armor has, I recommend reading our combat guide, where we explain why armor is that much stronger [UPD link Combat Guide ]

Other defense and utility modules are the same as those you can install on a capital ship. However the Resonance Amplifier deserve a special mention even though it is technically no different to those installed on capital ships. For one you do get higher value out of this module, as phase resonance buffs Vorastra stats by a percentage, and Vorastra stats are higher than that of a capital ship. However, true value of the module comes from synergy with the Micro Phase Jump ability, as you can avoid wasting any second of phase resonance and jump directly into the midst of your enemies, to get the most value from increased weapon damage. Lastly, the extended length of the phase resonance will likely give you enough of time to finish the battle before you even need to refresh it. And remember, every extra damage on your cannons, is extra AOE damage with the desperation ability.

Most infrastructure modules are also the same as those used on a capital ship. However, for roleplay reasons we have to mention the Mobile Rulership, which just feels so much better on the Vorastra titan. Basically it evacuates your government to the titan, so that you can no longer lose the game by losing your planets, including the Home Planet Victory. You can have many modules across your empire, but the one on your titan just feels special.

There is also a unique infrastructure module, the Mobile Research Complex. If you thought it's cool to have labs on your capital ships, how about having mutliple labs in a single module along with the research speed buff? Well, that's pretty much what Mobile Research Complex is. It provides very strong scientific impact for your empire, however it also means sacrificing one of the slots for civilian purposes. It perfectly fits into Vasari Exodus lore and balance, but ultimately your preffered play style should decide if you install it.

Strategies

Vorastra titan spreads fear into the hearts of your enemies, and it has every right to do so. It's a strong titan capable of dealing with foes of any size, and specializes in tactical and strategic usage. The only downside of the Vorastra is that you cannot get everything at once. At first levels you will have to compromise a lot, which ability you want to specialize in. Going directly for the Micro Jump will provide you with a tool to dictate how battles go, and allow you to retreat from situations where other titans would die. But that would also mean, that you will lack both Maw and Desperation, so that impact of an offensive jump will be rather low.

But going directly for Maw or Desperation would sacrifice the tactical advantage Micro Jump offers and leave Vorastra as just a strong damage dealer. There is also the decision between Maw and Desperation. This choice depends a lot on your opponent's faction and fleet composition. If it's normal warships, they will usually engage you anyways in battle, so that you do not need to eat them with maw in a short time span. However if your enemy went for a carrier cruiser fleet, he will usually be quite annoying with all the fight avoiding and AOE from desperation will have a much weaker impact. However already at level 2 Vorastra you will be able to pair Maw with Micro Jump and consume multiples of enemy carriers in a blink of an eye. And should your enemy retreat in panic, that only allows you to get your cooldown off, and repeat the process in the next gravity well.

Maw will also provide better yields when used against another Vasari player because Maw gives you a percentage of metal and crystal cost of the ship consumed. Since Vasari ships consist purely out of those, the resource return will be greater. But Maw will also have a better impact against Vasari, since their ships are tougher and can sustain more AOE from the Desperation ability than their TEC or Advent counterparts. But when ship is consumed, only it's supply slots matter, which are not that different across factions.

For this reason Desperation will shine most against TEC and Advent, or smaller ships in general. You could try to decide this dilemma by getting only 1 skill point in Micro Jump and focusing rest in Desperation and Maw. But even though the cooldown on Micro Phase Jump does not look like a lot, having it only at level 1 may end up being the demise of your titan. Vorastra's weakest point is the player himself, as you cannot afford to get relaxed because you think you have the option of retreating at any time - but by staying focused as player, your Vorastra will truly become unbeatable!