About a month or two ago, I started another modded playthrough, determined this time to finish Knights of Ludd. I wanted a more challenging endgame threat to match the modded playthrough (Scalartech, Emergent Threats, IX Battlegroup, and HMI were the biggest mods I had, plus A New Level (25) to give me a bit of an edge for my first time diving heavy into modded threats). Great timing it turned out, since .98 would be a ways away as I would later discover. I apologize if the recounting of my journey gets wordy, I had a great time and found little detailed feedback on this mod outside the forums (almost nothing on YouTube), and wanted to contribute my own experience.
It's tough, I would consider one who could beat it with only vanilla ships and equipment to be a god among men and the true inheritor of the Persean Sector. Vanshilar, unsure on your view on modded fights, but you were the first individual coming to mind as I wrote that. As someone who thoroughly enjoys ship and fleet construction, it was a ton of fun, and for a mod that seeks to spice up the endgame with a bit of mystery and eldritch horror, it's amazing, achieves its goals entirely, and is perfect for anyone who wants to a new threat to face once you've trounced Tri-Tach's loose hellhounds and the Doritos. To everyone involved in the creation of this mod, I applaud you. You've brought nightmares to life.
Spoiler
Darkest Deeds: A fun little jaunt across the sector, as long as you can hold your own against phase ships, especially when dealing with multiple ships with Quantum Disruption, it shouldn't be too bad. But this is just the warmup.
The Devourer/Nian: At this point, my fleet was almost maxed, both in terms of officers and s-mods (I prepped for this as much I could with every resource I could muster): Paragon (AI) from the Emergent Threats bounty fitted with the spiciest IX Battlegroup weapons, a Paragon (HG) from IX Battlegroup, a Radiant (HG)(AI), another unique bounty ship that was a terror to behold, and 5 Skirt frigates from Scalartech (BigBrainEnergy, I am not yet caught up on your current playthrough yet, but if you haven't experienced the power of officered Skirts yet, it's a powertrip you can't recover from). The Dawn Sea ships were definitely a challenge for my slower capitals, but the frigates put in work and I was fortunate to fight the fleet alone, so it was not too bad.
Amaterasu: After the Dawn Sea loot and the loot from the Elysian Accretion Disk, my fleet was a menace. The Paragon (HG) was rocking double Rift Torpedo, quad Antimatter SRMS; this was a missile boat that would make the Pegasus weep. Still was a fight that I attempted two or three times, as losing my frigates early led to a rapid loss as my anchors were surrounded. But after the Dawn Sea fight, it was a fresh experience fighting a much more nimble faction. I also absolutely adore the Elysian ship design, my gosh these things have deadly looks that match their combat prowess. The capitals especially gave me a run for my money, with what felt like nigh unbreakable shields.
Yukionna: MY BELOVED. Dusk is an interesting faction to fight, I thought with my entire fleet having 360 degree shields would save me. I was very much wrong. Dusk was definitely the faction for me that needed the most counterplay. With Dawn and Elysian, there was constant pressure, whether it was durable ships with staying power or highly maneuverable ships that could back off and vent, I was always shooting and always being shot at. Fighting Dusk was like fighting a true predator, staying out of danger to isolate a ship, cripple it with enough EMP to make Spindle blush, and then go in for the kill. I had to reload the most fighting Dusk, and despite the annoyance of watching my Paragon spin in circles, it was still an enjoyable faction to fight. Probably the one time in the game that stacking Impact Mitigation, Damage Control, ARU, and RFC is not overkill. Yukionna herself earned a spot in my fleet replacing my Radiant (HG). Quad (I apologize if I butcher this name) Myogi Ultradriver, twin Paladin PD, and double Rift Cascade Emitter. This ship felt like what Ludd feared.
Corrupting Heart: My gosh, in some ways the easiest fight I had, in others the hardest. Initially the third boss I was going to fight, I concluded the easiest way would be to drop directly on top of Watcher to fight it. Dropping in on the Corrupting Heart plus 8-12 full size Elysian fleets instigated a degree of fear I didn't know possible. I was annihilated no matter my approach, the +500% xp fight simply had to many ships for me to chew through fast enough to keep the advantage. Until I brought Yukionna. I dropped in and pulled a lot of fleets into the nearby nebula, and managed to (somewhat) isolate the Corrupting Heart. Still a +500% xp fight, but this time I had Yuki. She chewed through ships faster that they could spawn, and this ended up being one of the only fights in my playthrough that I set my flagship on autopilot, just so I could watch her work. I know not what the price is for embracing this machination of Moloch, as the Path is quick to tell me I have done, but it is a price worth paying.
Misc: New [REDACTED] weapons are great, a wonderful variety in role and type (even between the Myogi and Styrax, there are still distinct factors to influence which I want). By the time I got to Yukionna, I was drowning in Omega weapons, both vanilla and those introduced via the mod. The only exception for me was the Nanten Disassambler, which I only got 1 drop of. Ballistics are amazing, some excellent new missile weapons, and very potent HE & Kinetic damage energy weapons. The only weapon from this mod I'm not too enthralled with is the Thermal Sniper, which despite the amazing range, just didn't have the hit strength to mesh with my fleet doctrine. Also, I adore the custom AI cores, both in inventory sprite (they're dynamic!) and portrait.
If anyone knows of any content I am missing, please let me know ASAP.
