Quick guide to infinite riches... and more! - improvements in upcoming update 1.2

[BrigandPhantos77]

There must be something up with my game, because I'm not seeing an invincible Kyoto spawn. I've triggered the mission, jumped out of the sector and jumped back in via the north gate. So far I've had either a couple of Wodens or 2-3 Kyotos appear and they all bit the dust.

I'd try reloading a save prior to getting this battle. I know the guide says this battle can take a very long time. Do the Terran ships respawn? The picture actually shows the composition you said. Lot's of Titans and Ray's attacking 3 Terran ships. The last time I played I stopped right after I opened the Terran sectors. They "Terrans" do respawn every so often right? Both storylines end with the Terran's winning.

[Deathifier]

I'm not sure where the invincible Kyoto comes from, I've never seen one spawn in Brennan's Triumph delta as part of the final mission and the few Terran capitals that do spawn struggle to get a 1:1 kill ratio.

The only invincible Kyoto I'm aware of is the one that starts out guarding the TOA in Brennan's Triumph Alpha, however it wanders around in-sector and in my most recent game it had moved to the other side of the sector.

The commonwealth capitals for the mission do start to wander around after a while.
When I saw them doing this I kept tabs on them - the Boron headed to the nearest Boron sector (Atreus' Clouds) but they all seemed to die en-route to a Xenon task force (K + friends) that had been invading Brennan's Triumph beta for most of the game.
The Argon headed to the nearest Argon sector (Elena's Fortune beta) and flew around there and other nearby sectors for a while, before heading back towards Brennan's Triumph Alpha.
I'm not sure what happened after that because the ships I was tracking vanished from the UI (indicating they were destroyed) and the mission completed not long after, so they may have run into that invincible Kyoto or some other hostile fleet.

If you have a save from the start of the mission where all the capitals are in the one sector you can make note of their ID's and try to track them down if they've gone walkabout.

[Sovereign01]

So is it better to hold off on the last mission until I have the hardware to deal with multiple M2s, or do it anyway and trust that the ships will meet their end on their own without any intervention from me? Because I'd have to construct a complete missile plex for my existing M7M in addition to the chip plants I already need. While I do need to reduce my Boron rep a bit to increase my standing with Strong Arms, this is not how I want to do it.

[Deathifier]

If you want to get credit for destroying at least a few of them then perhaps wait until you can do so as I think the mission complete reward (some amount of credits) requires a certain number destroyed by you.

If you just want to start the mission so you can get the nice ship then I'd suggest just making a note of the capital ship ID's (take some screenshots perhaps) in case you have to track them down later.
The ships will wander around, maybe they will be destroyed, maybe not, though it seems like they don't wander too far and other than the text message at the end of the mission and maybe the mission reward there is no meaningful difference in destroying the capitals yourself or waiting for something else to do it.

[Sovereign01]

If you want to get credit for destroying at least a few of them then perhaps wait until you can do so as I think the mission complete reward (some amount of credits) requires a certain number destroyed by you.

If you just want to start the mission so you can get the nice ship then I'd suggest just making a note of the capital ship ID's (take some screenshots perhaps) in case you have to track them down later.
The ships will wander around, maybe they will be destroyed, maybe not, though it seems like they don't wander too far and other than the text message at the end of the mission and maybe the mission reward there is no meaningful difference in destroying the capitals yourself or waiting for something else to do it.

Well my TL reached the useless Bofu station with the intention of moving it, only to find out that in order to pack it up I need freight drones. Which is weird because I didn't need them when I was moving the HQ so that's annoying.

[Jimmy C]

You need freight drones if there's stuff inside the station. You can have transports empty out the station before packing it.

[BrigandPhantos77]

So is it better to hold off on the last mission until I have the hardware to deal with multiple M2s, or do it anyway and trust that the ships will meet their end on their own without any intervention from me? Because I'd have to construct a complete missile plex for my existing M7M in addition to the chip plants I already need. While I do need to reduce my Boron rep a bit to increase my standing with Strong Arms, this is not how I want to do it.

So I attempted a play through to better understand and help you. I'm afraid the attempt pushed my frustration higher due to losing 3 - 5% rep with the Terran's for each sector I crossed while exploring there sectors waiting on resources. At that rate I'll lose the ability to turn in the required material for the setting up the defense in BT Delta before I can finish acquiring them. My stations simply do too much trading with the Boron to allow the Terran's to like me for long. The link I posted goes to Roguey's guide that he put together for it. According to it, you don't have to be responsible for destroying any of the commonwealth ships. But that it can take a very long time. Helping only determines which message you get once it completes. From what I am reading though, this may be one of a long list of bugs that will likely never get fixed since 1.2 is the final version. Sorry mate.

The invincible Kyoto is the one that starts in Brennan's Triumph. It appears immediately after the TOA get's built by the Mammoth. I watched it wander off on my game as well. It's probably somewhere around.

The only reason I'd finish it myself is because I love the Terran capital ships. Kyoto is my favorite.

[Deathifier]

You need freight drones if there's stuff inside the station. You can have transports empty out the station before packing it.

To add to this, the freight drones are needed only if the TL can't dock at the station.
As the TL can dock to the HQ (and equipment docks) you don't need drones, however the TL can't dock at regular production stations so drones are needed or the station needs to be empty.

[Sovereign01]

You need freight drones if there's stuff inside the station. You can have transports empty out the station before packing it.

To add to this, the freight drones are needed only if the TL can't dock at the station.
As the TL can dock to the HQ (and equipment docks) you don't need drones, however the TL can't dock at regular production stations so drones are needed or the station needs to be empty.

The station does have a Dolphin attached so I can use that to empty it out, I was going to carry out a complex scheme involving a Goner Ranger to get the drones to the ship in a reasonable time frame. Turns out most fast ships that can carry L cargo are either strictly build-only or drones themselves.

EDIT: That's it packed up, time to leave that miserable sector behind. Should I just drop the station in the ship's path or do I need to actively tow it?

[BrigandPhantos77]

You need freight drones if there's stuff inside the station. You can have transports empty out the station before packing it.

To add to this, the freight drones are needed only if the TL can't dock at the station.
As the TL can dock to the HQ (and equipment docks) you don't need drones, however the TL can't dock at regular production stations so drones are needed or the station needs to be empty.

The station does have a Dolphin attached so I can use that to empty it out, I was going to carry out a complex scheme involving a Goner Ranger to get the drones to the ship in a reasonable time frame. Turns out most fast ships that can carry L cargo are either strictly build-only or drones themselves.

EDIT: That's it packed up, time to leave that miserable sector behind. Should I just drop the station in the ship's path or do I need to actively tow it?

How bad was the rep drop?

[Sovereign01]

To add to this, the freight drones are needed only if the TL can't dock at the station.
As the TL can dock to the HQ (and equipment docks) you don't need drones, however the TL can't dock at regular production stations so drones are needed or the station needs to be empty.

The station does have a Dolphin attached so I can use that to empty it out, I was going to carry out a complex scheme involving a Goner Ranger to get the drones to the ship in a reasonable time frame. Turns out most fast ships that can carry L cargo are either strictly build-only or drones themselves.

EDIT: That's it packed up, time to leave that miserable sector behind. Should I just drop the station in the ship's path or do I need to actively tow it?

How bad was the rep drop?

I haven't done it yet, I'm wondering if I can have my TL drop the station in their path and pack it up again or whether I have to have an M6 or something stronger drag it around. If it's the latter I'll need to have my Nemesis grab a tractor beam. This scene comes to mind!

EDIT: Just dropping the station doesn't cut it, the game doesn't let you place the station close enough for them to run into it. Maybe other stations would have better success.

[BrigandPhantos77]

This reminds me of an issue I had in either Neptune or Uranus with a complex I set up in AP. Lost a lot of rep while in system because of it. Lost a few ships trying to get to the SPP in Neptune as well. For some reason they couldn't avoid the solar panels. Ever. I'd like to call it tragic, but considering they were my freighters, it was quite annoying.

[Sovereign01]

This reminds me of an issue I had in either Neptune or Uranus with a complex I set up in AP. Lost a lot of rep while in system because of it. Lost a few ships trying to get to the SPP in Neptune as well. For some reason they couldn't avoid the solar panels. Ever. I'd like to call it tragic, but considering they were my freighters, it was quite annoying.

When placing my own complexes I didn't realise that for the exact same output the Terran stations were noticeably bigger than everyone else's. Ore/Silicon mines were one example, but the biggest(!) offender was the SPP XL which was huge compared to the non-Terran one. The game is smart enough when placing stations to move out of the way any ships that are too close even when it lets you place the thing, and when you have 2 or 3 M2s firing at it they'll chew through your station in less than a minute, unless I can somehow keep them from turning red this option is out. I have to wonder if the only answer is a missile-based solution, which of course means building a complex for the job. Because my Terran rep seemingly won't rise until I complete this mission their tech is out of the question meaning no Wraiths.

As far as I can tell, my options for killing M2s are either the Hammer, Firestorm or Tomahawk.

The Firestorm has the greatest range, lowest speed, and greatest yield.
The Hammer has average range, greatest speed, and lowest yield.
The Tomahawk has the shortest range, average speed & yield.

[Deathifier]

The rep should still change when the mission is active.
For example if you destroy all the M2's directly you actually gain a lot of rep with Terran due to rep gains from destroying hostile ships in their space.

For choice of missile any that can be fired by M7M or M8's are best, the Firestorm looks fine right up until the AI hits one of them and that massive blast radius destroys everything except your target.

Your other options for M2 destruction, if you don't want to use missiles, is a Carrack or Akurei with Plasma Beam Cannons.

However if the ships aren't hostile, aren't bothering you, and you can keep tabs on them, you can just leave the mission running and see where they go.

[Sovereign01]

Problem is that I cannot raise my Strong Arms rep sufficiently to buy PBCs without lowering my Boron rep first. I've been trying to steal the plans for that factory for a while now, no success as of yet.

[Deathifier]

Problem is that I cannot raise my Strong Arms rep sufficiently to buy PBCs without lowering my Boron rep first. I've been trying to steal the plans for that factory for a while now, no success as of yet.

If Strong Arms is not hostile they have a special weapons production station that, if provided materials, will produce PBC's slowly.
You can then acquire them using the Cargo Hacker.

Alternatively the black market at trade stations, stock exchanges, etc, sometimes has weapons available in large quantities including PBC's.
There might still be reputation limits so visit the black market at stations of the race you have the highest rep with.

For the factory blueprints keep trying as could take 7 or more attempts to steal them.
Also keep in mind it has a ~4hr production cycle, makes one at a time, and the upgrade time starts out as the same as production and the last upgrade (to XXL) takes an entire day.
It's great for long-term production however it'll be faster to look for some at a black market when you just want to equip a single ship.

[Jimmy C]

Problem is that I cannot raise my Strong Arms rep sufficiently to buy PBCs without lowering my Boron rep first. I've been trying to steal the plans for that factory for a while now, no success as of yet.

There is a way. Use agents to increase the Strong Arms rep. At the same time, use another set of agents to maintain the Boron rep. I'm doing that right now to get my OTAS and Terracorp rep up while holding the Atreus and Strong Arms rep high.

[Sovereign01]

Problem is that I cannot raise my Strong Arms rep sufficiently to buy PBCs without lowering my Boron rep first. I've been trying to steal the plans for that factory for a while now, no success as of yet.

There is a way. Use agents to increase the Strong Arms rep. At the same time, use another set of agents to maintain the Boron rep. I'm doing that right now to get my OTAS and Terracorp rep up while holding the Atreus and Strong Arms rep high.

OTAS and Terracorp are mutually exclusive, raising rep with either will drop it for the other.

I did manage to steal the plans for that factory since last time in the end but I'll visit the existing one regardless, I'll see what I can acquire. I was in the unclaimed sector that can only be reached by flying through their space. Regardless of how many high-yield asteroids they have, claiming it will be more trouble than it's worth.

I also found the Aran in my game but until more of my marines finish their training (only one has so far) it'll have to stay where it is for now.

[Jimmy C]

OTAS and Terracorp are mutually exclusive, raising rep with either will drop it for the other.

If you start the agents to raise both at the same time, it reduces the impact of that. I had both at Red 3 and I pushed them both to Green 2 and 3, while keeping Atreus and Strong Arms at Green 4 and 7 respectively. One more push and I should have both at Green 4 and stable.

[Sovereign01]

OTAS and Terracorp are mutually exclusive, raising rep with either will drop it for the other.

If you start the agents to raise both at the same time, it reduces the impact of that. I had both at Red 3 and I pushed them both to Green 2 and 3, while keeping Atreus and Strong Arms at Green 4 and 7 respectively. One more push and I should have both at Green 4 and stable.

I focused on Terracorp first, then once I got what I needed from them I went to OTAS. Terracorp freighters are now red to me. Went through similar issues with Dukes, then Atreus and now finally Strong Arms. Just need the Tri-Beam cannon forge now for the last of the three Strong Arms weapons. I might get the spacefly farm as well, I have a feeling it's going to come in handy.

I'm at the point when once my Ozias' are full of Nividium I'll have them offload at the HQ. Once I have the credits I'll start building a complex, first part of that will be materials for TOAs (so chips and quantum tubes initially). I just have to pick a sector to set up shop in, whether it's one I'll need to build a TOA to reach or one of the existing ones. I've heard about other races claiming sectors once I start doing it so I should probably hold off on making any more claims until I have more than one TOA. I have the choice of 7 sectors for where I want to put the next HSAP. 2 of them have good resources but to reach them you'd have to go through Strong Arms and Pirates to reach them, making them more trouble than they're worth. A third links to Teladi space but it has no roids so it's not worth claiming. A fourth is behind Goner space.

EDIT: Looks like I was too late, Paranid claimed Consecrated Fire, one of the ones I wanted...