Complete Vasari Guide
- Yaroslav Zabello
Introduction
This guide will provide you with the most detailed explanation of Vasari ins and outs. Wee will go from basic understanding of Vasari mechanics to some of the most exclusive strategies about them within this guide. If you are completely new to the game, you should start with this guide first.
Exodus or Alliance?
Every game starts with a lobby. When playing as Vasari you can choose between the Exodus or Alliance factions. Each has a set of unique features and will unlock special play styles.
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Alliance offers easier control over minor factions, they have better end game ship technologies, and their phase missiles on capital ships can reach 100% shield penetration!
Exodus offers the most unique play style, as they can destroy planets. Yes, you read that right, Vasari Exodus have a unique mechanic to destroy planets, unlocking new strategies of scorched earth, but if that did not sound nice – you also get a huge amount of resources for each planet destroyed.
Start of the Game
The first 10 seconds of the game often take players by surprise, as you do not have any starting planet. Worry not, as you start with a small fighting force, which will arrive at a Ferrous planet. Your initial force will consist of one capital ship (Jarrasul Evacuator), 3 Ravastra Skirmishers and 2 scouts.
This unique start represents the lore of the Vasari, who are fleeing from their former worlds and enter TEC space.
You should not worry about the defending forces, as your fleet will easily overcome them. Your capital ship will automatically go for colonization of the Ferrous planet. You can leave it doing so, as there are no siege frigates at the planet, so that you can colonize it even before you have destroyed all the enemies at the gravity well.
Even though you will have to spend resources to upgrade your home planet, as Vasari you start with significantly more resources than other factions, and this includes exotics.
Having exotics from the get-go also means that you can get another 2 capital ships once you build a Fleet Beacon (capital ship factory). Therefore, the Vasari are the only race who can begin with multiple capital ships with no additional effort.
There are many strategies to be played as Vasari, but to make an informed decision let's take a look at their capital ships.
Capital Ships (Basics)
Let's start with the capital ship already in your fleet – the Jarrasul Evacuator – also known as the “EGG“ in the community, due to its form. The Egg is the Vasari analogue of a colonizer capital ship. However, it significantly stands out of other race’s colonizers, thanks to its superior beam weaponry, which has decent DPS with high pierce. The Egg could easily take on 2 TEC Akkans and come out as a victor, so do not get fooled by its role. Furthermore, the Egg is your only source of early game AOE damage, with its “Subspace Rupture“ ability.
Kortul Devastator – This is your “battleship“ class capital ship. It has one of the highest DPS in the game with great survivability. It's more of a brute force kind of capital ship, which you simply send out to kill, with little control needed on your part. However, this may also be its weakness, as it's not as specialized as other capital ships.
Skirantra Carrier – As the name suggests, it's your carrier-class capital ship. The Skirantra has a decent amount of point-defense guns, to combat neutral militia missiles, and it fields multiple strikecraft squads. The catch is that the Vasari only have access to bombers, so that you can never really achieve an air superiority over enemies. It's kill, or be killed.
Antorak Marauder – The Antorak is a support capital ship. It allows you to sabotage enemy production which can be helpful while being aggressive, or can hide allied ships in phase space, to protect them from huge missile salvos. Plus, its ultimate ability allows you to prevent the death of any allied ship, which can be extremely handy.
Vulkoras Desolator – The Vulkoras actually plays a very similar role to the Kortul Devastator, as it brings insane DPS to the battlefield. However, most of its DPS comes from missiles which can be shot down, so that in the long run the Vulkoras becomes less reliable. It's a siege capital ship, so you will bomb out enemy planets faster, but the best part of the Vulkoras is its ultimate, which allows you to damage a % of the enemy’s hull. This can be used on titans for the biggest impact possible.
To Capital Ship or Not to Capital Ship
Now, knowing what capital ships have to offer, we go back to our Ferrous planet. The very first step is to upgrade your Mining track to the max:
This will setup our metal economy very nicely but note how those upgrades lack any crystal income. This makes it crucial to expand to the closest asteroids and crystal rich planets.
Before we do that, we have to make a choice: How many capital ships will we be using in the early game? As mentioned at the start, you have enough exotics to build up to 2 additional capital ships, so how many do you actually go for? Let's break it down.
Single Capital Ship
In this scenario you do not get any additional capital ships and just play very similarly to other races, except your colonizer capital ship can clear almost any neutral enemy force with the exception of the heaviest derelicts. Even those become a mere inconvenience once you research a few military technologies.
You should level your capital ship to level 6, which will unlock the Egg's ultimate ability to drain resources from enemy planets while bombarding. You will also want to get a standing army of smaller ships early on, as the Vasari excel in early aggression.
Depending on your play style, you could go for “parallel colonization:“ aka colonize not just with your capital ship, but also with a secondary fleet. Since we only have 1 capital ship, your secondary fleet would consist of 10-15 Defensor corvettes and a colonizer frigate. This number of Defensors will be capable of suppressing any defender missile frigates, and their flying behavior makes them perfect to counter enemy light frigates. This leaves heavy cruisers and flak frigates as the only threat, but the number of Defensors should be capable of overcoming the few Harcka Cruisers and Garda Flak Frigates you encounter.
Alternatively, you could double down on aggression, and push towards your closest opponent. In this case it's very dependent on your enemy as to what ship class you should build. Consider going Defensors against other Vasari, and Ravasatra Skirmishers or Kanraks against other races. We will talk more on frigate roles in a dedicated section later.
Triple Capital Ship
Actually, let's talk about triple cap-ship first. Going triple capital ship is very much an “all-in“ kind of strategy. Even though your starting resources are abundant, and you possess some exotics, you will still lack the resources to build a third capital ship from minute one. This means you will need to stockpile some before you can begin doing any economy investments, which then delays the entire early economy snowball by quite a lot. Therefore, if you fail to deal significant damage to your opponent, you have just crippled your entire economy for nothing.
Another thing to consider is that even though you have 8 exotics, you cannot go with things like double Kortul Devastators, as that would cost you 4 Tauranite (red) exotics, but you only have 2. For this reason, if you do go for triple capital ship, this usually involves going for a Vulkoras Desolator and then either a Skirantra Carrier or an Antorak Marauder.
Both Vulkoras and Kortul are heavy on Tauranite (red) exotics, and you could replace one by another. However, since it's an early game rush, the enemy will often lack PD to overcome the higher DPS of a Vulkoras. While the Vulkoras, being a siege capital ship, will bombard enemy planets faster.
The decision on Skirantra vs Antorak is up to you. The Skirantra will provide better chances of killing an enemy fleet, while the Antorak will do a better job at supporting the bombardment of an enemy planet, as it will protect your Vulkoras. This also makes the Antorak a better choice if you have homeworld victory enabled, and just want to make a single push to eliminate your opponent at any cost.
Going triple capital ship is a high risk, high reward strategy, as you may well kill your opponent in under half an hour. However, at the same time, if you fail to do significant damage, you will likely lose the game.
Double Capital Ship
By its name, it may sound like a middle ground between an all-in and economy approach but is actually not one. Going for a second capital ship may be even played as a more economy focused approach than staying with a single Egg.
This is possible thanks to a minor faction ability, “Colony Seed Nanites“, which allows any capital ship to become a colonizer ship.
This ability provides you with a capital ship item for your colonization efforts, which in return enables the “parallel colonization“ strategy. In this scenario, you should go either with a Kortul or Vulkoras, as those capital ships will clear neutral militia fastest, while also gathering the very valuable experience you’ll need once you encounter your opponent.
NOTE: Not every map will have the Jiskun Expeditionary Force, which will make this approach weaker, as you would additionally have to invest in a colonizer frigate.
With this approach you can surprise your opponent with a leveled battleship, which will force mistakes out of your opponent and allow you secure your dominance over him. Should you even fail at pushing directly, you will end up with a very good and stable economy.
The downside of this approach is that it's less flexible than the single capital ship strategy. Having Defensors clearing neutral militia means you can redirect forces at any time and have them fly at high speed. Meanwhile speed is not the strong side of a battleship like the Kortul/Vulkoras. So, you always have to react before things happen and will lose if you try to react in the moment.
Overall, it's up to your playstyle how many capital ships you go with, but make sure to try them all out!
Basic Economy
We could jump into making fleets as Vasari, thanks to our unusually big reserves, however it's time to look at how to make money.
If you have not noticed yet, we could build all the stuff, but our credit count never went above 0. That's because Vasari have little use for credits.
Not having third resource may sound like an easier economy to manage, but it may often be the opposite. Credits are the main currency of the market, so if you want to convert metal into crystal or vice versa, you will need 2 transactions → first sell metal, then buy crystal, as opposed to directly buying a resource you are in deficit. This means you will lose on conversion twice.
For this reason, it becomes even more important to balance your economy as Vasari. Since you do not have trade ports, your best way to do so is by colonizing planets with a focus on the resource you will need more. E.g., If you want to spam Ravastra Skirmishers, you care little about crystal income. However, if you want to focus on research, you should prioritize any ice/crystalline planets you see.
Your secondary way to balance your economy is by installing planetary modules, such as “Crystal/Metal Seeking Nanites.“
Finally, you could fine tune your economy by building only orbital extractors you are currently in need of. This is a niche optimization, as once you have the technology, you will want to max out extractors of any kind, unless you are under heavy pressure where you cannot spare to build an extra orbital extractor.
Frigates Explained
Corvettes represent a distinct class of ships, encompassing three different types of corvettes. However, to maintain consistency with our other guides, we will address both frigates and corvettes within this section.
NOTE: As Vasari you build corvettes, frigates and cruisers from the same factory. However, your factory takes 2 logistic slots, as opposed to 1 for other races.
Your default military ship is the Ravastra Skirmisher, which is a light frigate. Every race has a light frigate, but the Vasari's Ravastra is the king of all light frigates. Especially once you unlock several crucial technologies, the Ravastra will outperform any other light frigate by a significant margin. It's very heavy in metal cost, so it makes for a great combat ship if you are unable to secure ice/crystalline planets.
Your other T0 unit is the Jikara Navigator. It's a scout corvette, however, unlike other races, the Vasari have armed their scouts with two PD guns and a durable hull. Using scouts as part of your fleet is unlikely, especially since their default behavior is to go scouting the moment they are built, but a madman could micro them into a proper fleet for some cheap PD support.
At T1 military you unlock 2 corvette prototypes. The first is your main combat corvette called the “Sulsurak Defensor.“ It is not as agile as the corvettes of other races; however, it comes with better weapons and benefits from superior regeneration unlocked by Vasari technology.
Just as the Ravastra is the king of light frigates, the Defensor is the king of corvettes. A Defensor will easily overcome any other corvette in the game and is excellent at its main job – fighting light frigates. Thanks to its PD guns, Defensors also counter most missile ships and are one of the main PD sources for your military.
Your second corvette is the “Tosurak Raider.“ As the name suggests, this corvette is for raiding. It does not get extra speed, in fact a Tosurak will be intercepted by other corvettes. However, it gets additional bonuses against structures and provides you with resources for each shot it takes at buildings, including defensive structures!
Tosurak Raiders have decent pierce and can be used against heavier ships, however they will be decimated by any other corvette, and even more so, by anti-corvette ships.
Your last light ship is the “Kanrak Assailant.“ As with most missile ships, Kanraks have high pierce and excel against high value targets such as capital ships. However, as they are missile ships, they are also vulnerable to point defense. For this reason, Kanraks will excel against Advent, who do not get dedicated flak ships until T3. But even against other enemies, Kanraks can be used as a surprise tactic to snipe enemy capital ships before your opponent gets a chance to counter them.
Cruisers Explained
As Vasari you get 7 cruisers to choose from. Their cruiser count is somewhat inflated since the colonizer and siege ships are not frigates but cruisers. Nevertheless, those 2 ships do deserve being cruisers as they are tougher than the counterparts of other races.
The Jarun Migrator is your colony cruiser which can be built at T0. Unlike colonizer ships of other races, the Jarun Migrator is equipped with dual medium pulse guns which allow it to win in any 1v1 against a light frigate. But don't get too hyped to rush your friend with colony cruisers, as the Jarun Migrator is very expensive and will rarely be in a 1v1 situation against a light frigate. They shouldn’t be used for main combat, but the extra DPS can speed up the process of cleaning neutral planets.
The Severun Overseer is your T1 cruiser, which in my opinion has one of the most beautiful cruiser models in the game. It's a support ship which reduces the damage output of an enemy fleet by 15%; with a few upgrades, it can track any phase jump near its location. You only need 2 Overseers to have an enemy fleet permanently debuffed. However, keep in mind that the reduction is in %, which means it scales with enemy fleets, but is also less impactful early on. As with all the support cruisers, Overseers do not have any weapons.
The Karrastra Destructor is unlocked in T2 and is your siege cruiser. Just as with siege frigates of other races, the Karrastra does not possess any ship-to-ship weaponry. But it is significantly more durable, which helps it withstand more damage; this extra health can often allow for the one extra bombardment shot to finish off an enemy planet.
The Jusotra Fabricator Cruiser is another unarmed support cruiser unlocked at T3. The default role of it is to build corvettes, which does not sound all too crazy for a T3 ship. However, its true role requires an upgrade which unlocks “Debris Reclamation.“ This upgrade gathers a % of cost of any ship you destroy in the gravity well where the Jusotra is located. You only need 1 to gather resources, however, your opponent may decide to focus on your Jusotra, so having a few back up is a nice idea.
NOTE: There is a minor faction which offers to spawn a Jusotra at a designated gravity well, however this Jusotra will not benefit from the resource gathering tech.
The Lasurak Transporter is your carrier cruiser which comes in T3. As we have mentioned in the capital ship section, the Vasari do not have fighters and this applies to Lasuraks, so can only host 2 squads of bombers. Lasuraks do come with 2 very strong PD guns that can help against enemy strikecraft and missile ships.
The Kortovas Oppressor is your heavy cruiser, which also comes in T3. You can treat the Kortovas Oppressor as a better Ravastra Skirmisher. However, it's better not just because of better stats, but also because its turrets rotate which makes kiting much less of an issue for the Kortovas. Furthermore, the Kortovas comes with a single strong PD gun which allows it to suppress some missile ships and fighters.
The Vulrak Penetrator is the last cruiser on the menu. By its face value, the Vulrak has less DPS than a Kortovas Oppressor but costs more. The trick lies in its pierce: With 1000 pierce the Vulrak does “true damage“ to any target in the game, including titans and starbases. It comes very late in T4, but it's also the kind of ship you would want to use in late game anyway.
Vasari Structures
Structures are divided into 2 categories: Civilian and Military. The Military section is about bolstering the defenses of your planet, with (mostly) immobile but cost-effective structures, while the Civilian section handles all the economy and empire build up.
Civilian Structures
At the start of the game, you are limited to ship factories and research labs, as orbital extractors are locked behind technology research. Don’t worry about being locked out of building a more diverse empire; as Vasari you have the advantage that your orbital extractors are available in T1 civilian research. This is also true for your Exotic Refinery (which also means you can get to mass producing exotics very early into the game. Furthermore, you unlock a unique “Phase Resonator“ structure in T1 which we will handle in a dedicated section later on.
One of the basic structures are the research labs. They are responsible for unlocking new technology tiers. Unlike other races, you also get very early exotic refineries in tier 1. Those are responsible for exotics manufacturing. Furthermore you get phase resonators in tier 1, as each of those provide you with a single phase resonance point.
Tier 2 unlocks culture hubs (called “Xeno Relations Center“), which allows you to spread culture. Unlike Sins: Rebellion, culture does not overthrow enemy planets but provides various buffs and debuffs: Vasari Exodus gets better mining in culture, while Vasari Alliance gets a boost to their ship construction speed.
Tier 3 unlocks Phase Gates, which allow you to ignore phase lanes and jump directly between 2 planets you have a phase gate on. Interestingly you unlock phase jump inhibitors in this tier. Unlike other races, Vasari unlock them in civilian tree.
NOTE: As Vasari you do not have a special structure for titan construction, but instead you summon the titan from the “Fleet Beacon“ - the same structure you use to construct capital ships.
Military Structures
Unlike the TEC, the Vasari don’t start with a Retrofit Bay and have to research it first. Your cheaper turret is the “Pulse Gun Defense,“ which excels at killing frigates and cruisers; while the “Phase Missile Platform“ excels at killing capital ships and titans. Note that the Phase Missile Platform utilizes missiles, and therefore can be suppressed by PD guns.
For Retrofit Bays you will have to unlock T2 military. This should be a minor issue since you get very strong passive repair on each ship in T1.
Finally, there is the Orkulus starbase in T3 military. Unlike other starbases, this one can move freely inside the gravity well and even between planets once you have unlocked a T5 module. The Orkulus lacks AOE abilities, but its ability to move allows it to place itself so that all of its weapons are firing. With the aforementioned phase engine upgrade, it can function as an extra powerful ship, somewhere between a capital ship and a titan.
NOTE: Both Vasari factions can equip their starbase with a module, which will allow your starbase to jump between systems. This however does not allow to exceed a local maximum of 1 starbase per planet.
Phase Resonance
Phase Resonance is a brand-new Sins 2 mechanic, available exclusively to the Vasari.
Both factions get identical bonuses, however, the bonuses have different impact on each faction due to different play styles.
You gain Phase Resonance points by constructing “Phase Resonators“ at your planets. Those are rather cheap buildings, but each planet can only host 1-3 Phase Resonators. The number of resonators you can build depends on how close the planet is to the sun. Let's examine following screenshot:
At almost any map, including this one, your homeworld will be able to host only a single Phase Resonator. The ice planet I colonized can hold up to 2 Phase Resonators, which is also indicated in the build menu of the ice planet; and the Terran planet I colonized can have up to 3 Phase Resonators. As you can see, the Terran planet is very close to the sun, and therefore it can hold up to 3 Phase Resonators.
NOTE: Both Terran and Ice planets are only 1 jump away from the sun. However, it's the actual AU distance and not number of phase jumps, which determines how many Resonators a planet can support.
You get only 1 point per Phase Resonator and there are 3 tracks of upgrades. Each higher level requires one more point, (e.g. level 1 costs 1 resonance, level 2 costs 2 resonance, and so forth). Therefore, if you want to max out every single track, you need 45 Phase Resonators! That's quite a lot even for late game, so you will have to prioritize one over another.
The individual buffs are subject to balance changes, but let's take a look at current stats:
Level | Mobility | Combat | Utility |
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5 | 36% speed 36% phase jump speed | -15% weapon reload +9% weapon damage +12% phase missile bypass chance | -36% antimatter cost -36% ability cooldown |
4 | 30% speed 24% phase jump speed | -12% weapon reload +6% weapon damage +6% phase missile bypass chance | -30% antimatter cost -24% ability cooldown |
3 | 24% speed 12% phase jump speed | -9% weapon reload +3% weapon damage | -24% antimatter cost -12% ability cooldown |
2 | 18% speed | -6% weapon reload | -18% antimatter cost |
1 | 12% speed | -3% weapon reload | -12% antimatter cost |
Depending on your strategy you will have to make a choice as to which track to max out first, or maybe strike a balance between them. Every single track has its use, with Combat being most the straightforward, as it directly buffs your fleet.
You may want to prioritize Mobility if you want to be annoying with raiding corvettes; or, if you are Vasari Exodus to avoid any direct combat while consuming planets. You could also go for Utility and its ability for cooldown reduction to buff your capital ships and titans.
NOTE: Phase Resonance buffs are not always applied to your ships. They activate for a period of time after a ship completes a phase jump. Initially the buff lasts for a mere 60 seconds, but you can increase the duration up to 240 seconds through technology; and even longer on capital ships via items.
PRO TIP: Vasari Exodus get access to the “Mobile Resonance Capacitor“ item, which can be installed on capital ships. These provide you with the max amount of Phase Resonance of the planet they are stationed at. However, having multiple ships with this item does not stack. This also does not stack with Phase Resonator structures.
Technology (Civilian)
There are 5 tiers of technology, and each tier provides a small metal/crystal per second income bonus. The extra income matters a lot with tiers 1 and 2, but becomes just a pleasant bonus for later stages.
Even though Vasari do not have access to Trade Ports, there are a multitude of civilian technologies which will bolster your economic might.
Tier 1
First tier offers many key technologies at very low cost. Even though you do not have Trade Ports, you also have no need for credits. What you do get access to in T1 are orbital extractors.
Unless you are rushing your opponent with a triple capital ship strategy, you should absolutely rush this technology as it will skyrocket your economy.
Resource Sublimation is another key technology to boost your income. It is not as impactful as orbital extractors because it's a % buff. However, your early game income is low by itself, hence it's better to go for raw production of orbital extractors. This technology scales very well in later game stages and accompanies the triple capital ship rush, as you do not have to invest a lot of resources into economy build up.
If you’re planning on early planet surveys for exotics and artifacts, make sure to grab the Nanite Survey Swarms to increase your chances of finding exotics. Even if you do not need more exotics, you could always sell them, and the cost of the technology is paid back in no time.
As Vasari Exodus it is mandatory to get Emissary Outreach for the early influence points. The Vasari Alliance are not as pressured into this technology, as they get 1 influence point directly from their homeworld.
NOTE: As Vasari you get access to Crystaline colonization in T1, so do not be afraid of colonizing those crystal rich planets early on!
Tier 2
The highlight of the second tier goes to Administrative Uplink. It's a planetary item which requires Kalanide (blue exotic) for construction; it expands your logistics slots by 3, and even goes up to 6, once you research an upgrade for it. To make it even better, this item increases your influence points, which unlocks stronger minor faction abilities.
This is also the tier you get access to culture buildings and the previously mentioned planetary nanites, which can increase your metal/crystal income. Furthermore, you get access to technologies which will boost both orbital and surface extraction rates.
Tier 3
The Tier 3 highlight is the Matter Hypercompiler. This item boosts both your surface and orbital extraction rates significantly. It may take some effort to install this planetary module at all the important planets but it's absolutely worth it. This also synergizes with further technologies for income that are unlocked in this tier.
Another important milestone is Quarnium Forging. It will allow you to create the most valuable exotic much earlier than any other opponent.
The Dark Fleet Tower is unlocked in this tier and deserves a mention. It acts somewhat similar to TEC Enclave garrisons, as you get ships for free which are not fully controllable. The range of those ships is not determined by phase lanes, but astronomical units (actual distance).
Tiers 4 & 5
A highlight goes to Administrative Specialists, which will instantly increase logistic slots from Administrative Uplink from 3 to 6. So, for all the Uplinks you have already installed, it will provide double the slots at no further cost.
An oft-overseen upgrade is “Sulfurous Respiration,“ which unlocks an extra item slot at Volcanic planets. The Vasari thrive at volcanic worlds, so having an extra item gives you a lot of additional flexibility when planning your empire.
Another great upgrade is “Optimized Construction” which reduces costs of all ships and structures. Note that the actual cost decrease is somewhat lower than what’s stated due to how Sins math works, but you will still make your money back in no time.
The Vasari Exodus get a unique “Stripped to the Core“ item that allows them to destroy planets. It is a key technology for them, so we will return to this topic in a dedicated section.
Technology (Military)
Similar to the Civilian tree, you get bonuses for each tier unlocked. As the Vasari, you get either a small buff to your damage or to your hull points.
Tier 1
The absolute must have technology in T1 is ”Reinforced Nanite Conduits.“ It’s dirt cheap, but it unlocks in-combat regeneration. This means a lot in the early game, as the base value for regeneration even on smaller ships is decent, but any opponent has limited forces.
This is also a key technology in your colonization efforts. Even though the Egg has very high damage and good health stats, it lacks any PD, so it will be getting damaged by missile ships a lot. But who needs to shoot down missiles, if you can regenerate the damage dealt?
You can increase regeneration rates directly in T1 with the “Reintegration” technology. It is not something you have to rush, but this will make your capital ship almost indestructible for the early phase of the game.
This tier also unlocks both your corvette prototypes, provides further health and damage boosts, and also unlocks your first supply upgrade.
NOTE: As Vasari you get 300 fleet supply instead of 250 in T1, which gives you an edge over your opponents.
Tier 2
The highlight of second tier goes to “Regenerative Shielding.“ This enables in-combat shield regeneration. In fact, this technology provides even more regeneration as it activates earlier, and has a higher base value then hull regeneration. It may not feel as strong however, because at this stage you may begin facing formidable forces which will be able to overcome any kind of passive regeneration. Nevertheless, this makes your ships significantly harder to kill and enables some strategies: like retreating damaged ships just a bit out of active combat, to return with full health in little time.
Another highlight goes to “Self-Repairing Armor.“ It is a ship item that enables in-combat armor regeneration, and also boosts said regeneration quite significantly. The item is costly, so it will be hard to equip every single capital ship with it. Armor is the toughest HP source you have, and it kicks in once shields are down, so it's very well worth it to get it as soon as you can. Just be aware of the cost.
You also get access to your second fleet supply upgrade in this tier, bringing you up to 600, as opposed to 500 for other races. However, you miss a third supply upgrade in this tier which may make you fall short, as you will end up with 600 supply versus 1000 supply on TEC or Advent who are at the same technological level.
Tier 3
This tier unlocks your carriers and heavy cruisers, but the real deal are the Jusotras with their upgrade to gather a % of resources of enemy ships killed.
In T3 you will also catch up with other races in terms of fleet supply, with a cap at 1500.
NOTE: You will not get much salvage from TEC ships, as they use mostly credits in construction, which cannot be salvaged. However, many Advent ships are made purely out of metal and crystal, while hostile Vasari will have constructed of pure resources.
Tier 4
In this tier you can upgrade how many resources Jusotras gather from destroyed ships; it should be a priority to get this technology.
After that, feel free to go for your titan and other upgrades for your army.
If you are behind your opponent and will face their titan before you can get out yours, consider prioritizing Vulrak Penetrators. They will let you counter your enemy, rather than trying to chase them on the same path.
NOTE: Once again Vasari get ahead in fleet supply in this tier. As you will be able to get 2.100 total fleet supply, as opposed to 2.000 for other races.
Tier 5
The Tier 5 highlight goes to the “Orkulus Phase Jump Drive.” It allows any Orkulus starbase to join your fleet and stretch your active fleet supply as an extra tough combat ship.
Speaking of fleet supply, you will get an even bigger edge over your opponents in T5. You can get up to 2,400 supply, while others will still be stuck at 2,000.
Orkulus Starbase
The Orkulus starbase is your best defensive tool. Even without any modules installed, the Orkulus comes with plenty of weapons and will be capable of overcoming medium fleets. The true strength of Orkulus lies within its ability to freely roam the gravity well. This means you can place your starbase amidst an enemy fleet in order to utilize all its broadside weaponry.
An important thing to note about the Orkulus is that its base health may seem low. That's until you realize it has starbase level durability, which means that even Javelis cruisers, which have high pierce, will deal only about 13% of their stated damage. For this reason, unless you face ships like Vulrak Penetrators, you can treat starbase health as if it was 10x the listed value.
The Orkulus is the strongest starbase in its default form, but it is significantly harder to upgrade as almost all of the starbase modules are locked behind a technology. Many of the modules will also change the visual appearance of the Orkulus starbase, however the changes are more subtle when compared to an Argonev starbase.
Default Starbase | Fully upgraded Orkulus |
|---|---|
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The Orkulus can be upgraded to host up to 16 bombers, but it would require 3 slots which could be used for health or utility upgrades.
Even though your starbase can jump to other gravity wells, you cannot abuse it to get multiple starbases at a planet. You could potentially replace a destroyed starbase by constructing it at an adjacent planet, ready to jump whenever the previous starbase dies.
The Orkulus can be used in the same way offensively: creating a never-ending supply of powerful starbases jumping onto enemy planets.
NOTE: The Orkulus starbase also benefits from Phase Resonance.
Titans
Titans are the strongest ships available to you. Depending on your faction, you may get access to the more agile Vorastra titan (Vasari Exodus) or the more combat-support oriented Kultorask titan (Vasari Alliance).
For a full review of those beasts, we recommend reading the specialized guides on the Vorastra and Kultorask. Here we will highlight the difference between these two gigantic vessels.
| Vorastra (Exodus) | Kultorask (Alliance) |
|---|---|---|
Damage against high value targets | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
Damage against swarms | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
Health pool | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
Fleet support | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
Mobility | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
Mid-game performance | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ |
Late game performance | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
End game performance | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ | ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ |
To sum up, the Vorastra provides a significant power spike if it's built during the mid-game phase but will quickly lose its value as the game goes on. The Vorastra does regain some value in the end-game phase, thanks to its ultimate, allowing the Vasari Exodus to attack any planet of their choice, while ignoring phase lanes. Meanwhile, the Kultorask requires a few core items and upgrades before it really kicks in. Once it does, it turns into an unstoppable machine.
Capital Ships (Advanced)
Vasari capital ships, unlike their TEC counterparts, are not as affected by firing arcs. Vasari weapons have only a limited rotation arc which is in front of the ship, and this is true for all 5 capital ships. What is worth discussing in the advanced section are the synergies.
Let's begin with Jarrasul Evacuator.
Its colonization ability provides you with free mining levels: If you max the ability out, you will get up to 3 mining levels on a planet upon its colonization, as long as the planet actually has 3 levels of mining available. This also means that you bypass your technological limitations and can get 3 mining track levels, even if you have not unlocked the technologies to upgrade a planet that far.
This is indeed a very strong feature; however, you will barely see it happen in a real game as other abilities often take the priority in leveling.
Your second ability slows down enemy ships and prevents them from jumping into phase space. Furthermore, this ability buffs the damage output of your third ability when used together. The best use of its slowing debuff is combined with Ravastra Skirmishers who struggle against moving targets.
NOTE: You have to use this ability before ships begin charging their phase engines, as it does not interrupt already charging engines.
Your third ability is the only early game AOE in the Vasari arsenal. It's an early game AOE it does not pose any real threat to cruisers, but it will be deadly against corvettes and even some light frigates.
Finally, your ultimate ability deals significant planet bombardment damage while also yielding resources.
The Kortul Devastator – can be pumped to have a high DPS which is surpassed only by titans. This is achieved through ship items and maxing out its first ability. However, for the early- and mid-game phases you will want to use the second ability which debuffs the entire enemy fleet.
The Kortul’s third ability has significantly less impact on the battlefield, but does not use any antimatter.
Finally, its ultimate can launch a cascade effect which will damage the enemy fleet: each ship destroyed explodes and deals damage to nearby ships.
The Skirantra Carrier is most interesting for its first ability: it restores a % of armor and it's best used on a titan. A high-level Skirantra will be capable to instantly regenerate 36% of the armor points on a titan every 12 seconds. Additionally, it will make those armor points more durable, so unless you run out of antimatter, your titan becomes nigh unkillable. The only downside is that the Skirantra can be focused by the enemy fleet, and even if you have multiple Skirantras, this heal will yield significantly less as the Skirantra has less base armor points.
The Skirantra’s second ability provides some AOE heal, but it's nowhere close to the utility of your first skill. It does synergize with your third skill, which buffs bombers to have more damage and health, as the heal will keep your bombers alive, even under heavy fire.
The Skirantra's ultimate is best used on some cruisers. Even if you use it on Vulraks, who are the most expensive cruisers, getting 3 of those for free is not that crazy.
The Antorak Marauder is a support capship with several skills to annoy your opponent. The phase out ability is a unique kind of “stun,“ where the target cannot be damaged but also cannot move. This allows you to separate high value targets from main fleet should your opponent retreat; or even simply trick your opponent into switching targets, as they try to focus fire your capital ship.
The Antorak's ultimate prevents your ship from dying, and even regenerates huge chunks of its HP, which serves a similar role as Skirantra carriers. It's definitely stronger than the Skirantra's ability, but it's also an ultimate which has to be unlocked first.
One thing the Antorak does shine at is the fleet-wide speed boost. Even though it's just 8-24%, this can allow you to run from your opponent indefinitely and only take such engagements you really want to participate in.
The Vulkoras Desolator is THE scariest capital ship of the early game. It has the DPS of a battleship but also comes with the ability to launch 20 phase missiles, with high penetration and damage, straight at level one. There are many counters to it, but until your opponent has a proper counter, you can even rush to snipe an enemy capital ship. Once the phase of missile dominance is over, you can always use the Vulkoras for fast planet bombardments. The Vulkoras can also be sent into enemy backlines, as it has an ability to deal additional damage against structures. Finally, its ultimate can deplete up to 60% of enemy titan's hull, which ensures the usefulness of a Vulkoras even in situation where not a single missile can land a hit.
Capital Ship Recommended Modules
When it comes to recommending modules, you have to keep in mind that every game is different. If you think that some module fits perfectly into your situation, you should go with that one, rather than picking the one from this list.
With this being said, some general recommendations can be given.
Jarrasul (Egg) is a colonizer capital ship, yet it still has decent firepower which is mostly condensed in its beam weaponry. For this reason, we will get a Beam Modulator. The second item you will be seeing a lot is Self-Repairing Armor, as it bolsters the survivability of the capital ship. The third and fourth slots are way more situational. In the screenshot, I went with Resonance Amplifier and Gravity Stabilizer to increase the strength of the Egg as a unit, but there are many other options including going mobile labs as Vasari Exodus.
NOTE: Beam Modulator and all other weapon modules have 2 levels, which double the strength of the module.
Kortul also has multiple beam weapons, but about third of its DPS comes from a wave cannon, so we should get both Beam and Wave modulators. Again, we do get the Self-Repairing Armor for survivability, and finally we get Antimatter Recharger, as our first ability will deplete our AM reserves pretty fast.
The Skirantra Carrier has a decent weapon load-out, but not to an extent I would recommend going with some kind of modulator. Instead go with the Bomber Armor to boost your bombers even further; Self-Repairing Armor because it's a good all-round item; Gravity Stabilizer to compensate for the slower base speed on Skirantra; and the Antimatter Recharger to never run out of AM while spamming your first ability.
The Antorak Marauder should either get all 3 weapon modulators or none, as it makes equal use of all weaponry in the Vasari arsenal. In this case, I decided to load-out the Antorak with the Orkulus Starbase, Self-Repairing Armor, Phase Resonator, and Antimatter Recharger to spam my first skill. As Vasari Exodus, the Antorak would be the perfect candidate to get all the mobile labs.
The Vulkoras definitely screams for Phase Missile Augments, to boost your already ridiculous missile damage. Antimatter Recharger is second on the list, as your first ability is heavily limited by AM regeneration, this item will boost your effective DPS by quite a lot. After that I went for Beam Modulator, as the Vulkoras has several strong beams installed. Lastly, I topped it off with the Self-Repairing Armor.
Capital Ship Cheat Sheet
| Jarrasul (EGG) | Kortul | Skirantra | Antorak | Vulkoras |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Damage against high value targets | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Damage against swarms | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ | ⭐ | ⭐ | ⭐⭐ |
Health pool | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Fleet support | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐ |
Mid-game performance | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Late game performance | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
End game performance | ⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | ⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Strategies
Vasari Exodus – Strip to the Core – Space Nomads
Strip to the Core, STTC for short, is a unique strategy available exclusively to Vasari Exodus. As Vasari Exodus you have access to a unique planetary module: It allows you to strip planets of all their resources and turn them into destroyed planets, uncolonizable for the rest of the game. This enables the strategy of scorched earth, where you no longer hold for every single planet, but simply destroy them.
You can even take an enemy planet, hold it for limited time span while the planetary module is being installed, destroy it and then move to the next planet.
STTC also provides you with a great number of resources. The actual amount is a subject of balance changes, but to get a broad idea you can check following table:
Planet type | Resources from STTC (Credits/Metal/Crystal) | Benefit in time (in minutes) |
|---|---|---|
Pirate Base | 0/3200/2400 + 10 exotics | 180 |
Terran | 0/9600/7500 + 4 exotics | 100 |
Gas Giant | 0/0/19200 + 8 exotics | 92 |
Oceanic | 0/4800/6400 + 4 exotics | 65 |
Ferrous | 0/19200/0 + 2 exotics | 60 |
Ice | 0/0/14400 + 2 exotics | 56 |
Desert | 0/6400/4800 + 4 exotics | 55 |
Volcanic | 0/14400/0 + 2 exotics | 52 |
Moon | 0/3200/2400 + 1 exotic | 44 |
Asteroid | 0/3200/2400 + 1 exotic | 16 |
If you’re wondering, how you play if you destroy all your planets – do not worry. As Vasari Exodus you have an entire category of additional ship modules which replace research labs, production facilities and even Phase Resonators.
Mobile Phase Resonators are best installed on starbases, as you will want your ships to roam with you and those items do not stack when in the orbit of the same planet.
Ideally, you want to farm a level 6 titan so that you can strike any planet of your choice. This will enable hit and run tactics with lasting effect, as you will be leaving desolated space after each such jump.
Vasari Alliance – The Grey Cardinal
As Vasari Alliance, you get a multitude of planetary items to boost your influence points and the recharge rate of those points from the very early game. As smaller maps do not have all the minor factions guaranteed, you may have to adapt to it, but if you got lucky with minor factions, you will get to use your dominant influence to its full potential. The Jiskun Expeditionary Force (minor faction) is known not only for its colonization item, but also for their raiding forces, available at 6 influence points. Players have been experimenting with getting those raids very early for a while now. This becomes extra deadly if you play with home planet victory, as this raid includes several siege cruisers.
You can even boost those phase raids by researching military technologies. Those raiders use Vasari ships, which will fully benefit from any research you make, including the in-combat regeneration subjects.
Furthermore, having this many influence points will secure your dominance over auctions. As auctions are random, it's difficult to provide advice on them, except that auctions are good and as Vasari Alliance it's mandatory to participate in those.
Note that your influence planetary modules cannot be installed at just any planet. For this reason, you should look out for Volcanic, Ferrous and Greenhouse planets, as those offer slots for your strongest items.
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