Titan: Chastic Burst antimatter cost increased from 70 to 80; cooldown increased from 20 to 30.

Chastic burst is AR titan isn't it...not VR?

Fixed Expulsion tech to properly give its 20% culture spread bonus.

also, advent, not vasari rebels

and whooo i helped with a fix

And any and all map adds I support!

Also any ETA on when this update comes in november? 

im sueing your lore team.

Same, 10 minutes might be a long enough buff to make a difference. But it will take players more skilled tactically than me to determine if it's decisive or not.

Looking great Yarlen. Much appreciated (especially the Vasari Rebel starbase debuffs)!

Thank you for fixing expulsion...I thought that was the root of my culture problems!

LOL!

Just added this to the OP also:

Fixed Pact related crash that would occur if a player had more than six unique Pacts established.

This patch is awesome. Though I do agree with ARESIV about the phase missiles.

Phase missiles where nerfed when rebellion came out

1. Max upgraded phase missiles did decreased damage or take additional techs to upgrade (depending on reb or loy)

2. Fighters ceased to use phase missiles resulting in teching it benefiting less one less type of unit

3. There are more things that give phase missile block (advent culture for example)

4. Other weapon types in general have additional tech levels without decreasing the strength of preexisting techs.

Guess the days of Corvette spamming will return...

I am sorry, I dont understand what you mean. Could you please explain?

I hereby recommend the following possible nerfs to phase missiles:

IDEA 1: The brutal way:

--- NERF Phase missiles hard, and I mean so hard that you can hear the Vasari scream in agony all the way back to Kron.

Question to the developers: What was your intention with the phase missile tech? Was it meant to be the bane of any Advent fleet? Or was it what I think/hope meant more as a bonus? Right now most ships die with shields close to full power. Was that your intention? Or was your intention to have some hull damage as a bonus before the shields fail? Basically the ship is damaged with active shields, but in most cases the shields of the ship have to be brought down before it can be destroyed. For example:(values simplyfied)

Normal attack to a ship with 2000 shield points and 1000 hull points.

2000 damage done, shield are down, no hull damage.... yet.

Phase Missile attack to the same ship:

2000 Phase Missile damage done, shields are down but due to shield piercing the ship has already taken 200 hull damage.

The current implementations seems to be arround 1500 shield points remaining when the hull dies to shield piercing missiles.

Change the piercing values such that its a bonus, nothing more nothing less.

Advantages of Idea 1: That would nearly certain fix the problem and is easy to implement. Values can be easily changed in the future, should they prove to weak one day. 

Disadvantage of Idea 1: Might have negative influence on Vasari TEC Balancing.... although I think Vasari are very deadly even without any phase missile tech.

IDEA 2: The medium hard way:

The most OP form of the phase missiles are the bombers. 30 Vasari Bomber wings are capable of doing damage superior to 80 TEC/Advent bomber wings.... for much lower cost. Now, I dont suggest giving phase weapons to fighters again... it is the same problem. So... either

a: Make bomber phase missiles have NO shield piercing effect at all

or

b: Make bombers have shield piercing phase missiles, BUT with CONSIDERABLE lower values than frigates and capital ships. Something like 4 stages:

Titan PM: Like now

Capital Ships PM: Slightly weaker

Orkulus PM: Like capital

Frigates PM: Slightly weaker than capital

Bomber PM: HARD NERF

Advantages of Idea 2: Vasari still have their high tech toy, but now at least their bombers are balanced.

Disadvantages of Idea 2: Lot of work to implement, cap ships + Titan + Orky might still kill anything with Advent markings way to quickly. Lots of work to balance all those values.

IDEA 3: Increase Phase Missile protection of Advent

1. Slight nerf to phase missiles to perfect TEC/Vasari Balancing

2. Give Advent a far higher phase missile block change. Spread it across the resarch tree to make it timely and costly.... punishing an Advent for not resarching them in time. Maximum block values should be:

Maximum phase missile block values:

Advent Loyalists without culture: 75 %

Advent Loyalists with culture: 95 %

Advent Rebels without culture: 65 %

Advent Rebels with culture: 85 %

(in the unlikely case those values are too high, they can be adjusted later. Keep in mind that you have to research a lot of stuff to have such high values. )

Research tree locations: Advent General:

General phase missile block - works always

No research = no phase missile block

Basic Shield Projection Level 1: no phase missile block

Basic Shield Projection Level 2: 5 % block

PsiTech Shield Emitters Level 1: 10 % block

PsiTech Shield Emitters Level 2: 15 % block

Potent Shield Generation Level 1: 25 % block

Potent Shield Generation Level 2: 35 % block

Raised Shield Harmonics Level 1: 50 % block

Raised Shield Harmonics Level 2: 65 % block - Possible Maximum for Advent Rebels without culture

This phase missile block works in culture only:

Unity Indoctrination  = No phase missile block

Zealous Worship Level 1: 67.5 % (65 % general block + 2.5 % in culture block)

Zealous Worship Level 2: 70 %

Unwavering Belief Level 1: 55 % block72.5 % block55 % block 55 % block

Unwavering Belief Level 2: 75 % block

Total Assimilation Level 1: 77.5 % block

Total Assimilation Level 2: 80 % block

Wall of Faith(culture resistance tech): Level 1: 82.5 % block

Wall of Faith(culture resistance tech): Level 2: 85 % block = Possible maximum for Advent Rebels in culture

Deliverance engine: No block for technology but what about giving the Deliverance engine a buff that gives 100 % phase missile block for 5 minutes in the gravity well that was hit? Would no doubt sell any Advent player I know to build the thing for a change.

Advent Loyalists Techs that further increase general Phase missile block:

Ancient Retribution: 90 % block (5 % block increase)

Advent Loyalists Techs that further increase  Phase missile block in culturein culture:

Global Unity Level 1: 92.5 % block (2.5 block increase)(2.5 % block increase) (2.5 % block increase)

Global Unity Level 2: 95 % block (2.5 block increase)

 

(2.5 % block increase)

 

Advantages of Idea 3:

Better gameplay.... right now it is 100 % certain that the Vasari has all phase missile upgrades. That makes having the anti tech an absolute necessity. Now if phase missiles werent so impressive anymore against fully researched block, the Vasari might consider other ways of teching up. Which in turn will make the Advent become overconfident until the Vasari can severerly punish that overconfidence again. It would add depth... you have to anticipate what your enemies is doing a bit more. Makes bomber spam a bit less viable, giving the other factions more breathing room to build something different instead of hoping on a miracle that those 60 fighter wings will stop those 40 phase missile bomber wings before they destroy everything.

Makes the culture resarch more viable.... the current phase missile block implemantation is not worth the money.

Makes "Raised Shield Harmonics" useful against Vasari..... instead of being mildy annoying to TEC or Advent only.

Makes the Motherships "Restore Shields" Ability actually useful against the Vasari. Right now, it is a total waste of XP points on it if you face an Vasari opponent.

Disadvantages of Idea 3: Lots of work to implement, Vasari bomber wing still very deadly against TEC. Adjusting of the values probably means that every mentioned research file has to be modified.

That values are of course up for further discussion... but please keep in mind that Advent

-- have less ships than Vasari

-- donts stand a remote change in late game when all your synergies are killed within 30 seconds

-- need to be capable of attacking a digged in Vasari with acceptable losses... high... but acceptable

If phase missiles are nerfed, and they surely need it, balancing would be vastly improved imho. Right now if the Vasari manages to survive to very late game Advent are simple screwed.

Well I certainly agree it's primarily bombers that are the issue.  The problem is it would take a pretty substantial damage hit to bring vasari bombers in line with the other races.   If we use the assumption that assailants are balanced as our baseline, vasari bombers would need to take something like a 25-30% DPS reduction(down from 17*ish* per squad to around 12.5).

Seriously though, that is why assailants are balanced- they compensate for their superior weapon techs by having 25-30% less DPS per supply then their nearest analogue(the Javelis).  By contrast  Vasari bombers have pretty much the same DPS as the other races despite their vastly superior weapon techs.

It doesn't help that vasari bombers are also the hardest to kill- but the core of the problem lies with phase missiles.  

That said though, while the Advent feel it most keenly, I don't think the problem is unique to them.  the fact of the matter is that Vasari Bombers hit the critical mass necessary to be flying-doom for any capitalship at a substantially lower number of carriers then the other factions.  And being that bombers in general are already eternally straddling the line between balanced and too strong, having one faction's bombers head and shoulders above the others seems a poor balance proposition.

I'm mainly an Advent Rebel player, and I think that's going to be an exaggeration. As long as your fleet is at the planet you trigger wail at it is still perfectly safe to use. Maybe a fully upgraded terran might be a threat to structures, but anything less can certainly tank the damage from it, especially with repair bays and shield bestowal. All this change does is give you a chance to really screw yourself or an ally over if you're not paying attention, or if you're trying to retreat into wail range and an enemy fleet is chasing you.