Ok, im a regular TEC rebel player and these are my thoughts on TEC rebel balance:

1. TAR is balanced, due to the fact that capital ships and particularly titans lose A LOT of experience from being unable to hunt pirates if this tech is researched too early. It is not overpowered as many loyalist players claim! In any case rapid expansion can be inefficient and often stifles your early economy.

2. The newly adjusted pirate mercenaries is a bit useless, due to the fact that pirate mercenaries are very expensive and require logistics support. On top of that even more tech and infrastructure is needed to recruit them ( broadcasting center tech, broadcasting center).

3. For balance, I propose that a certain number of pirates be made available without logistics cost. Perhaps three or four squadrons? There is little to justify researching this technology at present. It is time consuming and costly to recruit pirate mercenaries. For balance, there would be no resources awarded for scuttling pirate ships.

4. At present the TEC rebels lack the 'raiding spirit' that embodies their faction. This could be rectified by adjustment of the pirate diplomacy tree, to enable early raids by TEC pirate fleets.

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That aside, I like the fact that the player can choose where the pirates are called in now. It was A REAL PAIN having to search your whole empire for allied pirates before. But at least the tech was worth researching!