Faction Profile: The Factions, Ranked

[Aureustgo]

SMAC: Ranking the Factions

I thought I'd put my overall assessment of the seven factions in one place. Links for the associated "Faction Profile" shown below.

Assumptions:
1. Standard Planet size, vanilla SMAC, blind research. Standard settings.
2. Ranking is based on the faction's ability to win consistently using the Explore strategy (for a primer, see:
https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21753.msg132563#msg132563). The standard for "winning" is Planet dominance at or around [E5] Air Power. It follows that an important component to the ranking is based on early survival. Other factors, such as fun, tactics, and variation in play are listed, but not considered in the rankings.
3. Playing against standard AI opponents.

The Factions, Ranked
(from bottom-to-top, by Tier)

Bottom tier: Do you want a challenge?

7. The Hive
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21935.0)
Don't be tricked by AI quirks. Yang is only a tough AI opponent because of how it handles production and growth bonuses (or the lack thereof). In practice, the perimeter defense is basically useless for a human player, he's got next to no energy or research (limiting his flexibility, all else equal), and the other factions are quick to go to war with him. If Yang can survive an early rush - and, factoring in the probability of attack, he's the worst in resisting it - then the Hive's production and growth bonuses can start to steam roll. That's a big "if." Eliminating the perimeter defense as a faction "advantage" (especially if it comes with the cost of heightened AI hostility) is recommended.

6. The Believers
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21752.0)
Miriam doesn't have to worry about early survival, but has completely arbitrary penalties that can delay or thwart consistent wins. The first is a 1-2 combo tech penalty that can really stagnate her development, especially if other builder factions are free to develop and trade. (She does start with an important tech, however). This can lead to some games where the AI just runs away to [D6] Fusion Power and beyond very quickly. The second is a Planet issue that slows down her ability to explore and expand. An island start is particularly troublesome. Otherwise, she's reasonably flexible, with decent money and production. Boosting her starting energy credits even further to 50 (supporters) and eliminating the Planet penalty would be a nice thematic and play-balance touch.

Reliable is their "middle" name.

5. The University
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21765.0)
Controlling for the probability of being attacked, Zak is probably the most vulnerable faction to getting wiped out early: he's got nothing to protect him, and his early bases are often in revolt, small or underproducing. Getting laser technology an absolute must, and most of the time he starts the game with it. Reasonably fun faction to play, often getting so much technology that the player doesn't know what to do with it all.

4. The Peacekeepers
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21753.0)
Having no penalties, and niche but fairly powerful advantages make Lal one of the better factions. Everyone seems to like him, too. This flexibility is good for survival and maximizing opportunities when they arise. You'll be Planetary Governor for the entire game - make the most of it.

The Power Three.

3. The Gaians
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21750.0)
Really fun faction to play. Yes, the morale issues make the Gaians susceptible to attack in the early game, but this is generally rare. (First, you need to tick off the Spartans or Believers, and then you also must lose your early mind worm(s)). Far more often, the Gaians become stupid dominant very quick. They're really the model for how SMAC disproportionately favors green and Planet-friendly strategies (and Explore, more generally). Maximize your harmony with Planet all the way to the bank. Did I mention the Gaians are fun?

2. The Morganites
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21741.0)
Morgan's only got one benefit, so it stands to reason it's a pretty good one. Energy is what SMAC is all about. Its power is in its flexibility to build, war, or explore - all a human player can ask for. Better yet, Morgan is "flexible" in that flexibility - he's got 100 credits to start the game (to be used in myriad ways) and his energy income bests every other faction (save the Gaians, in some circumstances), so he can shift between strategies quickly and competently. Also, Morgan is just a notch below the Believers and Spartans in being resilient to early aggressors: he's got synthmetal, good tech and production, along with potentially dominant probe teams. Loaded with disadvantages (that can be easily overcome in the right hands) Morgan is also one of the most distinctive and interesting factions to play. Perhaps giving Morgan a small Planet penalty might keep the faction more in check.

1. The Spartans
(https://alphacentauri2.info/index.php?topic=21892.0)
Santiago is like the Miriam in that she's never at risk of being overrun (in part because she doesn't have to face themselves), but she features few or none of the drawbacks. Santiago's got good technology, and her exploring potential goes even beyond the Gaians. (The production penalty is almost non-existent when one factors in free prototypes and the power of rush purchases). This means Santiago is reliably getting all the starting techs, good energy credits, more rovers, more surviving rovers, and just generally, excellent board control - everything you want to win reliably. Thematically, (some of) Miriam's research penalty(s) are more suited to Santiago, and might be desirable for added play balance.

Overall:
It should not be surprising that the best factions are those that can Explore the most reliably, because that is strategy that the game's mechanics reward the most highly (or so I've argued). Despite the rankings above, make no mistake: each faction has a very good chance to win, and they all play out with interesting nuances, even if one chooses to play them with the same overall strategy (i.e., build, war, hybrid or explore). A few suggestions aside, the design of the seven factions is generally excellent, and is a good reason why SMAC is so well received and revered. Their interplay is especially rewarding.

[Iranon]

Very interesting series, although my personal experience is quite different.

I'm fairly comfortable with the Hive and Believers: Yang can't easily access some of the high-impact break points of Social Engineering, but Police/Planned with no downside on top of a native growth/industry bonus is equally robust for war or peace. Miriam can run Democracy where others don't want to deprive new bases of free minerals (and upset a crusade-happy nutcase), trading in her native +2 Support for Efficiency and Growth. Whatever economic SE we pair it with - the peacetime package is rock solid even with a 20% research penalty, and we retain some probe/offensive advantage. Police State or Fundamentalism are expensive, but if we choose conflict we can push very hard indeed. The start is slow and can force strange choices, but we have a diverse and powerful toolbox to get ahead.

If any faction feels like a liability to me, it's the Spartans. Morale can't be turned into a peacetime advantage. Rush purchase does not render the production penalty non-existent, quite the opposite in my experience: At best the costs scale linearly with outstanding minerals, for units we are likely to get a worse rate on a higher base price. And even if we're fine with overpaying (twice?) for our shiny high-morale frontline units: We also overpaid for the Colony Pod to found the base, the Formers and infrastructure to render it productive, the Command Center to keep our quality advantage, possibly the garrisons to pacify it, we didn't get the advantages of another faction, and every step compounds. Free prototypes don't begin to compensate, so everything rests on the initial scouting/combat advantage. If I want to gamble on this, the Gaians have more to offer in addition to being a more well-rounded faction.

Morgan and Zakharov feel quite comparable - both get an initial freebee, juicy immediate returns from a barebones base (raw energy vs. +70% research) but a long-term growth limit. Zak's bonus scales better as bases grow, he can turn his weakness into a strength with the Virtual World (even past 2 additional Drones, we get the +50% psych of a Hologram Theatre), he has access to Planned for population booms where useful, his initial freebee keeps on giving because the free tech doesn't increase future research costs, drone issues can be played around where a hard cap needs specific infrastructure.
In theory, Morgan has a more flexible advantage... in practice, he operates under stronger restrictions and can't keep up for long in any balanced play.

[magic9mushroom]

The thing about Zakharov is that his major penalty (drones) gets rendered much less relevant on the highest difficulties, because it's not coded to produce super-drones the way bureaucracy is. So on Transcend, he gets a grand total of one extra drone per base over size 3 - the second and further extra drones don't happen, because everyone is already a drone when his penalty is assessed. And if there is even one specialist in a base, Zakharov gets no extra drones at all, because everyone is already a drone (unless Lal or Domai). Obviously, on Transcend Zakharov does in fact have drone problems, but everyone has drone problems on Transcend and his aren't much worse than others' (apart from Yang/Santiago/Lal/Domai, obviously, as they actually get bonuses in this area).