Are Xenon realy that bad?

[ElPrimero]

Hello X veterans and dear development team!

I've bought every game in the X universe so far and happily sunk hundreds of hours into almost all of them. Only X4, however, I haven’t really played much yet. I started with version 1.0 and quickly realized how much I missed the three races that were still missing.

Now that the universe is complete again, I’m extremely eager to finally start a longer playthrough (I still bought all the DLCs, though).

But what’s really dampening my excitement are numerous reports that by the mid- or late-game, the Xenon are regularly wiped out or at best just idly linger around. And if you want to improve that even slightly, you’d have to actively protect and support them.

So here’s my question: Is that really the case? After investing hundreds of hours and earning the toughest achievements, will there really be no serious enemy left to test the Asgard, Erlking, and others against?

That would really put a damper on the fun.

I hope you can give me a bit of encouragement and ease my doubts so I can finally dive in.

[LameFox]

If you don't actively protect them but also don't really hinder them, there is a fair chance they end up being relevant in one specific area of the map (essentially displacing the bulk of ZYA's starting territory). If you also get very very lucky with seeds, sometimes they remain relevant in the Matrix 9 area too, but in most cases TEL seems to contain that if not outright destroy it. They probably won't be totally gone, just because the Tharka's pocket is so deep for attackers to get into.

Whether that's enough depends what you expect of them, I guess. In terms of threat I expect you'd find TRI or TER more challenging as opponents.

[adeine]

So here’s my question: Is that really the case? After investing hundreds of hours and earning the toughest achievements, will there really be no serious enemy left to test the Asgard, Erlking, and others against?

That would really put a damper on the fun.

Sadly, yes.

Plan on making enemies with another faction if you want a bit of a late game fight.

[vvvvvvvv]

Hello X veterans and dear development team!

I've bought every game in the X universe so far and happily sunk hundreds of hours into almost all of them. Only X4, however, I haven’t really played much yet. I started with version 1.0 and quickly realized how much I missed the three races that were still missing.

Now that the universe is complete again, I’m extremely eager to finally start a longer playthrough (I still bought all the DLCs, though).

But what’s really dampening my excitement are numerous reports that by the mid- or late-game, the Xenon are regularly wiped out or at best just idly linger around. And if you want to improve that even slightly, you’d have to actively protect and support them.

So here’s my question: Is that really the case? After investing hundreds of hours and earning the toughest achievements, will there really be no serious enemy left to test the Asgard, Erlking, and others against?

That would really put a damper on the fun.

I hope you can give me a bit of encouragement and ease my doubts so I can finally dive in.

There's central spot on the map, starting with Tharka Cascade, if you don't destroy them there and in sectors to left/right, they'll continue to exist. They'll lose all other sectors though.

There are mods that increase challenge, for example I heard good things about Reemergence.

[Blankchild]

https://www.reddit.com/r/X4Foundations/ ... /#lightbox

I play with very small fleets, like maybe two to three destroyers and a handful of fighters and my current game they are constantly attacking all the time. You could easily build up a huge megafleet and wipe them out but there is no fun in that, like you eluded to you can really degrade them a lot.

Hatikvah i is always a warzone and my main destroyer is a Barbarossa that I stole. You can limit yourself in similar ways, I wish X4 had aggressive factions like the way Stellaris did, if you build up fast neighboring factions might attack and etc. It's too easy to get too powerful where the game becomes trivialized.

[Raptor34]

There is always the Terrans and VIG. Dunno how good TRI and unified Split are though.

[vvvvvvvv]

There is always the Terrans and VIG. Dunno how good TRI and unified Split are though.

TRI obliterates Xenon in Faulty Logic and Atiya very quickly then later clears out Emperor Pride, though they take time with Emperor Pride 6.
Unified split, well... in custom start with patriarchy victory, you'll end up with THREE split factions - ZYA, CAB and FRF and ZYA seems to be pummeling CAB. Except CAB doesn't die. This doesn't seem to have any effect on xenon, but after 7.50 the game starts with defense station next to Tharka gate. That station helps a lot. But Xenon still take bunch of split sectors.

[Raptor34]

There is always the Terrans and VIG. Dunno how good TRI and unified Split are though.

TRI obliterates Xenon in Faulty Logic and Atiya very quickly then later clears out Emperor Pride, though they take time with Emperor Pride 6.
Unified split, well... in custom start with patriarchy victory, you'll end up with THREE split factions - ZYA, CAB and FRF and ZYA seems to be pummeling CAB. Except CAB doesn't die. This doesn't seem to have any effect on xenon, but after 7.50 the game starts with defense station next to Tharka gate. That station helps a lot. But Xenon still take bunch of split sectors.

... I mean fighting them.

[Tharrg]

Does making the universe bigger make the Xenon weaker or stronger? Say, useing a mod like xpan

[Daemonjax]

The game isn't designed around anything being a threat to the player. It's just not that kind of game.

[Slashman]

So what about the End Game Crisis that the devs had alluded to earlier in last year? Is that dead now?

[adeine]

So what about the End Game Crisis that the devs had alluded to earlier in last year? Is that dead now?

It's technically in the game, but not really a crisis or worth playing sadly.

Spoiler

Show

There's no rhyme or reason or strategy to it, it just spawns a bunch of Kha'ak and Xenon around your property in a loop that drags on for a semi random amount of time. The Xenon might as well have been left out as they're completely insignificant, the only thing of note being the Kha'ak destroyers. There's zero interactivity, nothing you do makes a difference to its 'progression'. Unless you pay a sum of credits to skip it entirely.

It's not a use for endgame fleets or supply chains either, you could beat the crisis after getting your first couple of destroyers.

[EGO_Aut]

So here’s my question: Is that really the case? After investing hundreds of hours and earning the toughest achievements, will there really be no serious enemy left to test the Asgard, Erlking, and others against?

That would really put a damper on the fun.

Sadly, yes.

Plan on making enemies with another faction if you want a bit of a late game fight.

Are the factions really a challenge? I mean, they don't exactly build many shipyards...this sounds boring.

[adeine]

Are the factions really a challenge? I mean, they don't exactly build many shipyards...this sounds boring.

VIG is a very fun fight, though it's over after one big engagement.

[GCU Grey Area]

Are the factions really a challenge? I mean, they don't exactly build many shipyards...this sounds boring.

Prefer to fight them myself. In most games I have at least 1 or 2 of the factions as my enemies, just to spice things up. Find the battles are more interesting than only fighting Xenon.

Faction ships have access to a greater variety of weapons, many of which are superior to Xenon equivalents (particularly with regard to range). Unlike Xenon some of them are also armed with missiles, which is a particular issue when flying a capital ship (I'm mostly flying a Hyperion in my current game by the way). Even small groups of S/M ships can pose a distinct threat. Absolutely essential to identify missile armed ship as priority targets in every fight if I prefer to remain mobile - they will nuke my engines (& other subsystems) if given half a chance.

Also prefer the station sieges. Faction stations are generally less bullet spongy, but I do need to be MUCH more careful with regard to where I place my destroyers. Some of their stations may be armed with 70+ 8km L Plasma turrets (such as this one). Far more dangerous than a Xenon station with a handful of 5km Graviton turrets.

[RyanHeart]

Hello X veterans and dear development team!

I've bought every game in the X universe so far and happily sunk hundreds of hours into almost all of them. Only X4, however, I haven’t really played much yet. I started with version 1.0 and quickly realized how much I missed the three races that were still missing.

Now that the universe is complete again, I’m extremely eager to finally start a longer playthrough (I still bought all the DLCs, though).

But what’s really dampening my excitement are numerous reports that by the mid- or late-game, the Xenon are regularly wiped out or at best just idly linger around. And if you want to improve that even slightly, you’d have to actively protect and support them.

So here’s my question: Is that really the case? After investing hundreds of hours and earning the toughest achievements, will there really be no serious enemy left to test the Asgard, Erlking, and others against?

That would really put a damper on the fun.

I hope you can give me a bit of encouragement and ease my doubts so I can finally dive in.

Let me give you an example, my game has been running for 4,5 days so far xenon in faulty logic and Atiya's misfortune is completely wiped out by HOP and ANT (Atiya Misfortune I is a battlefield between ANT & HOP), littany of fury and Emperor's Pride Completely wiped out by PAR) So, like always Paranid killed their xenon neighbours

Teladi annihilated scale plate green, matrix #451 and torquise sea, couldn't touch matrix #9 though. (They can i think they have so many fleets, it's insane) so matrix #9 shouldn't have too much time.

Terran's being a protecterate, really only care to protect themselves (well i blocked a 5 osaka and an asgard entry to tharkade cascade XV, so maybe not) They are sending bunch of fleets to ANT though. Savage spur 2 is untouched. Xen constantly sending K or two to harass getsu fune though.

ZYA is holding on it's own pretty well as far as i can see but they are not expanding and FRF too, so Northern Xen Sectors are pretty much untouched (or not, it's been days since i been there considering 4 hours info check, maybe i should scout those regions again)

Hatikvah I is a battlefield xen sending I's and K's like there is no tomorrow, i built 2 defense stations at the gates for ARG and Xen killed those too.

Look, game has a system as far as i understand, bigger a faction is less aggressive they become;

They have a thing called "jobs" like assignments for each faction and losing bases doesn't change those jobs as i can understand so if xenon lose too much fringe sectors and concentrate on some central location like tharkade cascade, it should make way stronger and i heard they should build those lost shipyards and wharfs there too, so unless player intervention occurs, no worries Xen should kill and stay relevant.

If you want more spice, just let Paranid form TRI and unleash them on everyone This should weaken everyone except central and northern xenon strongholds