Posted on: July 5, 2023
KingOfEmpires
Games: Reviews: 4
Tied with Supremacy in Likability
The New Mechanics: -Hacking: The main feature, hacking itself is fairly straightforward (draw a line between point A and point B and wait) and gives nice rewards. Hacking *defense*, however often leads to frustration as there is a steep learning curve and really only works if your empire has natural choke-points (Vaulters and Hissho are particularly vulnerable to hacks). Its a nice mechanic, but not everyone’s favorite All factions begin with the ability to perform 1 hack at a time (UC begin with 2) Extra hacks along with hacking defense/attack programs are unlocked via tech tree -Cloaked Fleets/Ships: A special module (unlocked via tech tree) that makes the ship/fleet invisible. Cloaked fleets ignore closed borders and blockades, and can attack an opponent then hide again after the battle. Is countered by detection modules, and revealed fleets are seen by ALL players. There are three Tiers of Cloaking, so it becomes an arms race between Cloaking and Detection. UC has cloaking on their ships automatically as well as on their Home System and Sanctuaries On a side note, the above mechanics are added to pre-existing techs, meaning there is no ‘tech tree bloat’ like there was in Supremacy or Vaulters The New Faction: Umbral Choir (UC) A hidden, pacifistic faction that quietly spreads across the map. One of the most unique factions in ES2, the UC only have 1 (hidden) system and expand by placing Sanctuaries via hacking. I don’t have room for more specifics, so here’s the general gist: -Has good synergy between the espionage theme and mechanics -Relies on Cloaking as defense in the early game -Has very short turns (plenty of waiting in multiplayer) -Are quite annoying to face as one has to go out of their way to find UC -You will dislike Awakening Expansion Overall, this expansion is tied with Supremacy in terms of likability. Get Vaulters first, then either Penumbra or Supremacy depending on your playstyle. I personally like Penumbra more, but I know others disagree
Is this helpful to you?
