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[bob888w]

The technology tree is ridiculously good, and the leadership and industry tree need to be brought up to its level (rather than just coasting on a single broken skill like derelict contingent)

IMO the leadership and industry trees up to T4 are fine, it's just the colony capstone should be a whole other tree. It feels like combat is actually the worst of the bunch to me. Trying to one man carry with a phase/capital ship versus the AI which can deploy like 50 more DP then you and have 10% more range. I personally feel like going down leadership for frigate,more officers, and +CR is so much more valuable

[TaLaR]

IMO the leadership and industry trees up to T4 are fine, it's just the colony capstone should be a whole other tree.

L1R is useless and poisons wrap-around.
L5 as you noted doesn't even belong, so also poisons wrap-around.
L2L CM is near useless without L2R WP (but would be strong together). Yet you can't wrap around because of the 2 above and lock in L4.

Industry is just one overpowered skill (Derelict Contingent) and 3 levels of tax to get there.

[Megas]

I would not mind Leadership 5 if they were not blocked by permanent officer skills.  No way to get Ground Operations without locking skill points in officers.  Ground Operations would have been useful for my raids for rare items.  (Losing about a thousand marines per raid at some of the stronger core worlds when I cannot replace them immediately is a bit annoying.)  Got to collect them all (the blueprints).  Also steal those forges to permanently weaken their fleets.

One of the Leadership 4 skills should not be permanent.

[Draba]

L1R is useless and poisons wrap-around.
L5 as you noted doesn't even belong, so also poisons wrap-around.
L2L CM is near useless without L2R WP (but would be strong together). Yet you can't wrap around because of the 2 above and lock in L4.

Industry is just one overpowered skill (Derelict Contingent) and 3 levels of tax to get there.

Coordinated Maneouvers (L2L) "Affects" text says it only works with frigates/destroyers, but it does give the 1% for every larger hull.
~10% speed boost isn't gamebreaking but very nice.

On top of that: monitors are always good, 6 DP immortal PD distraction that can get 2% s-mod nav relay boost without sacrificing anything important.
Stick an officer in it and you are looking at a 15-20% speed boost. Sunders are never bad, add a few to cap out if needed.
Is a decent skill, IMO made great by monitors being a bit on the too good side.
Needed to get crew training anyway, crew training is the bee's knees.

L1 is really bad though.
Weapon drills DP limit is only 120 so you get <5% damage out of it later on. Wouldn't ever pick auxiliary support.



Reliability engineering (I2R) is very good IMO. +5% damage/maneouverability, -5% damage taken, better autofire, can be deployed more often in a pinch and the extra peak/lower overload are minor bonuses on top.
Does have the industry 1 tax so I might wrap around 2 levels in tech instead, but if it was a standalone it'd be an easy pick for me.

[Megas]

L2L is not very useful if it does not enable frigates to stay long enough.  Endgame fights are at least as big as the previous release, and (lack of) PPT is just as much a problem today.

I pick Reliability Engineering for the extra PPT/CR.  Guaranteed recovery is good on officers, but not so much on your ship-swapping character.  I am half-tempted to burn-in Reinforced Bulkheads on Ziggurat because if I crash it, I want to switch to a new ship, but losing big Z permanently would hurt.

[Hiruma Kai]

I wouldn't mind earning SPs quickier in the end game. It's really hard to get rid of bonus XP.

If the aim is to get rid of bonus XP, you really need to reduce the % amount of bonus XP given for many choices, rather than speed up the acquisition - although doing both simultaneously would also work.

Look at this way, as it stands right now, if I spend a SP that provides 100% XP back every time I earn a SP (say I have a nice cushion of 10 in the bank, and choose not to go below that), I will never run out of bonus XP, and it will continue to grow, as I earn 50% real XP, I use up 50% bonus XP, and now I spend that newly earned SP on another 100% XP option.  Now I've got 150% bonus XP in the bank (growing to 200% after the next point, 250%, etc), and am spending 1 SP every 500,000 real XP earned.

Now increase the rate at which bonus XP is used, say make it 10:1.  So I earn 10% XP, and that burn 90% XP.  I spend a 100% XP SP.  Now I've got 110% bonus XP remaining, and spend 1 SP every 100,000 real XP earned.  The bonus grows to 120%, then 130%, etc.  Bonus XP is still growing, despite earning SP at 5 times the rate.

The only way to have bonus XP truly guaranteed to run out, is remove bonus XP options above the gain rate.  I.e. if you're earning triple XP, bonus XP cannot be above 66% per point.  If you're earning quadruple XP, bonus XP cannot be above 75% per point, if you're earning quintuple XP, bonus XP cannot be above 80% per point, and so on.  The closer you are to those break points but below them, the slower any built up XP reserve will drain out.  Going above it just means faster SP gain potentially without reducing XP backlog.

The other way to look at it, is if everyone spent SP only on less than 50% bonus XP choices, you wouldn't have a backlog eventually in the current implementation.

[J3R]

My only problem is endgame fleets need to be toned down or limited in the same way the player is with skill thresholds and deployment. Super massive fleets that would never be sustainable should not exist aside from maybe REDACTED.

[Thaago]

I think leadership is a good tree thats hampered by dud skill in L1R and the colony skills in tier 5. For 3 points going down the left hand track gives to every ship in the fleet: +10-15% damage, +14-25% speed, +5% maneuverability, -5% damage taken (armor, hull, shield), better autofire accuracy, -5% fighter refit time, +30s PPT.

Thats to every ship including the player, and looks like roughly 2 combat skills worth? Something like that, maybe 1.5 combat skills. Giving that to every ship for 3 points is good. 4th point more officers/better officers is good too.

Wolfpack is a specialty skill that I think is very good if most of the fleet is very high speed frigates that are going to be doing the majority of the total fleet damage. The PPT I think is overrated: its good, sure, but ships already get +90s between crew training and reliability engineering (which also gives more CR for performance and -25% tickdown rate that stacks with hardened subsystems). Its just not needed. If the fleet's main power isn't high performance frigates, coordinated maneuvers is a lot better.

For looping, I want to double up on tier 3 and 4, and I guess wolfpack wouldn't be terrible as it would help a few ships. But woof that tier 1R and tier 5 .

[Rudette]

I actually kind of like L1R/Auxiliary Support's playstyle, and wish it weren't limited to just the early game due to caps.

Making civilian junk ships into tanky brawlers is pretty useful in the early game. Turn a couple Kites into little monsters. Use the money you save to get a Colossus MKIII or something sooner, go raiding. Make a Super-Venture. It's fun, and funny, can give some of the hybrid freighters more staying power.

But..Just like lots of other stuff? it's severely hamstrung by fleet and DP caps. Another weird thing that makes it undesirable is that you kinda want the +1 burn from Bulk Transport to make it work, since normally you want to militarize your civilian vessels for the sensor benefits and the lower maintenance from expanded cargo and the like. But, if you do that with Auxiliary Support, you dilute and lose your bonuses if you do that.

Meanwhile, Bulk Transport wants to militarize for more cargo if you don't have Auxiliary Support, so it doesn't really gain anything from the + 1 burn. So, really, I think the +1 burn should just be rolled into Auxiliary Support, where it would be used, instead of just floating there uselessly for everyone else.

The whole idea of tinkering with subsystems of junk civilian ships with after market modifications belongs in the Industry Tree, I think. Auxiliary Support would fit there better thematically.

Take it out of L1. Stick it in I1. Adjust the cap or make it a flat bonus. Move Bulk Transport's +1 Bonus to it, give Bulk Transport earlier access to the Efficiency Overhaul mod or something to compensate. Buff Salvaging and move it further up the tree somewhere. Really, I'd prefer the Industry Tree be reworked into actual choices between L = Logistics Buff and R= Fleet Buff; Each tier would should be a choice between making your fleet tougher, or making it run more efficiently. Which is way more interesting than "do you want to save money this way or that way" It would be easier to stuff those choices in there without the colony skills. I2 can keep it's piloting bonuses, but everything else would feel so much better than how it is now.

[TaLaR]

I actually kind of like L1R/Auxiliary Support's playstyle, and wish it weren't limited to just the early game due to caps.

Skills that niche below tier 5 are not compatible with wrap-around. You might as well just prohibit it, since wrap-around becomes too expensive to ever consider.

Though this more a rant towards the wrap-around mechanic...

[Megas]

Industry is the campaign QoL tree.

I could live without Industry 1, but the bonuses are nice if I am forced to take it to get to higher skills.  I like Bulk Transport's bonuses, more cargo and +1 burn (exit Military Subsystems, enter Surveying Equipment or Solar Shielding).

Industry 2 is combat, and well... PPT is a problem with some ships, so I2R.  Guaranteed Recovery on flagship only works if I stay in my wrecked ship and sit out for the rest of the battle - lame.  (Great on officers.)

Industry 3 I can live without, but the fuel one I3L is convenient, and no CR loss from e-burn is handy when I want it to navigate through storms or coronas, or just need to accelerate instantly in a pinch.  If not for Bulk Transport, I3R would be tempting for the cheaper surveying.

Industry 4, I want Field Repairs!  I do not want d-mods - ever!  I know about DC abuse, but I do not want to pilot clunkers!  Also, sometimes, I lose ships and I recover them with no d-mods.  Last big fight, I lost three Dooms, and recovered them pristine.

Industry 5... I want to be a colony lord or space baron too, but the skills are weak!  Still after putting five in Combat and Tech, what would I get?  Gunnery Drills for +3% or 4% (since my fleet is big)?  What a joke, just like Industry 5.  Strike Commander?  Not piloting a carrier this release.  Sensors, I already got Neutrino Detector from the early Galatian quests.  With only one point left, gimme my empire to rule!

[Sarissofoi]

I personally in my humble opinion think that planetary skills should be all removed. Just increase amount of available admins(they cost $$$) that can be hired.
Player is not sitting at home and running colonies anyway - he fly around so he should hire admins to do stuff.
Heck add admin skills to the admin skill pool for bigger diversity. heck make separate skills for AI admins and human admins for more fun. Having admins with some lesser traits(like affecting only some industries etc) wouldn't be bad.
Most industry tree is useful only early when you are starving for money/supplies/fuel. Derelict contingent with this dodge mechanics is busted and I refuse to use it.
Some caps make sense(at last from game play balance point), like Automated Ships(tho I wish it won't count derelict ships), but some are just meh and not fun at best.