Which races, using only their own technologies, are strongest? This is a question I've been trying to answer since the Beta.
I hadn't played the new release (1.96) much, and thus I must now update my analysis of the relative strength of races w/o tech trading. I always customise the races, sometimes allocating points to stengths and sometimes to weaknesses. Sometimes I give all races the same point allocation and turn off super abilities. Mostly the same races come out on top no matter the settings! I'm guessing it's the inherent abilities plus the AI.
Top tier: Krynn, Terran, Korx!
The new Korx AI is badass! Through three games they expanded rapidly and used trading to build a huge economy AND good relations with almost everybody. Thanks Brad for beefing up my favorite race! The AI now plays this race exacly like I do. The Krynn always, always capitalize on their immense tourism income. I think they need a slight nerf.
Middle Tier: Torian, Iconian, Thalan, Altarian
Torians have gotten weaker since beta, while the Altarians have gotten much stronger. Was the Temple of Memories stronger in beta? Thank God the Thalan "pink blob of doom" influence strat is gone; now a fun race to play and play against. Spy spam.... devastating Iconian AI strat. The Iconian AI is now good at using Precursor Archives and Libraries to power tech!
Bottom Tier: Arcean, Drengin, Korath, Drath, Yor
The Drengin and Korath AI are now underwhelming; they won't expand after the first few planets. This may be a viable strat on smallish maps, not on larger ones. The Korath used to be a scary juggernaut. Now the Yor AI also seems to be faltering. And the Drath sit on huge piles of cash in every game, but don't convert it into improvements or military. Too bad, because Drath could easily be the strongest race in early wars. Maybe a super cheap invasion tech for them? And the Arcean... ug. One thing that would help this race a lot, would be to reduce the research costs of increased speed by a LOT. They usually get outmaneuvered in the race for planets, especially if their neighbors have +1 speed. At the very least the Stellar Forge should act as a navigation center. I also think weather control research and support costs should be reduced.
