Nautilus Pirates

What's your take on this faction? For only a -1 on Growth and -1 on efficiency, you get a free naval yard, marine detatchments, ability to terraform ocean squares... what am i missing? The only drawback is that it takes longer to build sea units than land units. but then, so does it take your enemies. Besides, most maps are full of water.

so do you guys use this faction? i use it, just so it'd be safe for me to tread the oceans of planet. what strategies do you use with this faction? in my last game, the pirates were more like data angels, with a huge fleet of cruiser probe teams, running free market and wealth. so there was no room for a huge army or navy. but during the late periods of the game, it was all i need. who'd complain if you get +900 energy per year, net.

[Skanderbeg]

The Pirates, despite their disadvantages, are certainly one of the strongest factions. The -1 growth and the -1 effic don't hurt them very much, with all their kelp farms and tidal harnesses they have lots of nuts for fast growth and lots of energy, only pop boom is difficult.
Their main disadvantage is the low mineral production of the sea bases, which can be helped by building sea bases near small islands with forest/boreholes.
The Pirates have great advantages in early meeting the other factions and doing tech trades, in pod popping, and mapping the planet. Additionally as I have learned playing the Pirates several times on transcendent level, their blind research tech path often goes in a way thatthey have very good chances getting the HGP. Because of their fast discovery, they have good chances to finde the Manifold Nexus first if it is on a small island, and then You can found a base their and going on an IoD-rush.
And with an fashionable trawler energy park at some quiet place, You can research the other factions into the ground.
I haven't run them with FM/Wealth (I am really no marketeer), but with
Demo/Green/Knowledge/Kybernetic, which works very well with them.

[Kinjiru]

Quite frankly, I find the Pirates to be very overpowered. I never use them myself anymore, for just that reason.

On the other hand, it is great fun playing as the pirates on a large map with only 10-30% water and forcing yourself to only build sea bases. It can really be a challenge, especially if Yang is in the game (since he build tons of bases).

[The Commodore]

Yes, I find that demo/green/knowl/borg works the best with these chaps. Makes it hard to pop boom, but I prefer sideways growth anyway. NEVER underestamate the value of all the early pod-popping.

[ssoszka]

The pirates are one of the factions that I can play on any level and just cream the other factions. I just hit all the pods, build bases near islands (letting the forests expand on their own). I like to toy with "Green" economics, playing them like "sea-gaians" that way I get huge amounts of the isles of the deeps,then the game is just about won.