Endless Space 2 – Nakalim Faction Guide

Besides having dogs as pets, let’s read what makes Nakalim awesome, and what makes them not awesome so much. It’s going to be a short read and it’s based on v 1.5.3

Intro

All credit goes to koxsos!

The DLC brings this fancy new faction with 1.5.3

Stats

From the multiplayer prespective.

There is not much else relevant to the faction identity beyond the fact their reserach is crap and that they start with T2 techs. That’s it.

Nakalim:

• Scale with game speed (the slower the better).
• Thrive on specific settings (like behemoth quest disabled = auto 2 behemoth slots from the start).
• Are the go to rush faction, due to the massive early game advantage which is easily converted into spear of isyander. Which again, scales with game speed (the slower the better).
• Are not that interesting besides that, I am sorry. Or are they?
• Relics can be used (and later freed up) on demand to give you an edge in fights/wonder races. Combined with strongest heroes in game like vodo or hissho starter they will give you a relevant edge.

General Game Strat

Do:

• Remember triple Xs (XXX) = eXpand, eXpand, eXpand.
• Remember that eXpansion is particularily cheap and easy when you invade enemy colonies barely ready for spaceflight or spacefight. So spot and rush neighbours. Be wary of salt.
• Don’t have influence for war? Who cares, BY THE HOLY WILL of the government, go and smite them out of the game.
• Focus on early growth and outpacing everyone so you can win the first academy contest, get the spear, and it’s pretty much GG from then on.
• Forgo system science output buildings, since their effect is halved.
• Given a special node is not forever away, I personally prefer pushing out a science / dust / inf behemoth to ensure the academy contest victory – this of course is only really possible with behemoth quest disabled, so you start with the tech.

And there you go, that’s how you play Nakalim, for every extra player in the game, your chances of victory grow slimmer as you will need more time to obliterate them in which they will outresearch you and ultimately defeat you as you probably won’t keep up.

T1:

Don’t forget to:

• Convert MP to tanks
• Check out the surroundings
• Colonize if able

T2

• Enable the Religious law for +10 dust per pop. You are a richman now.

What should my murder weapon be?

Just build T2 missile ships, you are married to missiles for a very long time, missileboy, be a proper rocketman! Combine with long range cards.

Ships also have plenty of weapon slots, so use them all!

Also worth mentioning that scout has equal weapon slots to attacker, and is cheaper, although worse for invading.

Research Malus

Make choice to either supplement your research with behemoths or… 

Generate more firepower to close out the game faster. 

Relics

Gotta collect’em all! Relics are a randomized spawn bonus you can collect. You either get them or your home, or they spawn on enemy home, so good luck! But of course, multipel relics spawn, so you should get some.

Getting relics

• Collecting
• Completing specific quests in the questline

Using relics

• Primarily science output
• Slot them on hero prior to fighting, fight, slot them out next turn (one slot at a time + apply)
• If you won’t miss 200 science in the grand scheme of things, whatever, push them into empire

Giving Systems to the Academy

• Not applicable in MP against players cause war declaring exists.
• Converted system income is lackluster anyway, don’t sweat it.
• Needs temples.
• rewards about 4 relics, which is really good, but still not applicable except for minors where you forego the affinity though.
• Could perhaps be useful if it did not take ages
• Sounds like a really cool mechanic for single player, but it really isn’t all that great.

Counterpicks – Umbral Choir

Given the ridiculous amount of time it will take nakalim to reserach a way to see you and your ability to potentially compete on that academy contest with early game output. You will long win a conquest victory prior to nakalim doing anything to you.

You might just be the best option there is as you are virtually unrushable…

Be very though, as the academy fleet has the highest detection tier and can lead to your early demise, if you are not careful.

Quest Line

Well basically pick whatever is easiest for you to do.

Keep in mind that as of this patch there is currently a bug that causes any empire taking over academy to trigger “you having succesfuly invaded the academy” but I would not realy on it.

There are two general endings AFAIK

Recommended route is with the manpower on empire and later reseraching technologies.

For double empire relic bonuses (from +10% to 20% quick maths!).

Other path has led me to:

+10 influence on empire per relic or something similar.