I find energy usage to be decent until Excalibur. Then you have to upgrade energy. >.> I focus on dodging and just stick as many enemies in the stream of fire as possible.
I agree with omnicron about it being fun as it is. It's not really a game for long-lasting play, but something you can play in about 5 minutes and not get sucked in. It's fun for being fun, not for upgrades.
This is going to disappear in a few minutes, but w/e. For "Quick Victory" simply connect the units at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock to the enemy. The two adjacent cells support that cell. Wait until everything else reaches Embryo, then attack. Cut off everything. Win.
Use the send-and-cut method where you NEED to send massive amounts of power to one cell, like when rushing or defending. Especially level 18.
Know why the AI always cuts off tentacle when its power gets to 1? If your cell is taken over, all of the tentacles it controls are also taken over. So if you lose fighting an enemy cell... all those points are belong to them.
This game is different than the Phage Wars-type stuff, tactics-wise. Attack them when they're attacking someone else. You'll take over the cell faster and get extra power as a bonus.
Level 10: ALWAYS cut off max amount of tentacle.
Take the cell closest to you by cutting off. Spore should have 13. Extend to the other Embryo. Cut off immediately and attack the lower Embryo. Now just don't let them take the Ant and you win.
For Level 10, I seriously don't see why it's so hard. Tip: Look at the population required to conquer each cell and the power you get from conquering. That 30 power embryo is worth taking.
Don't rate down for difficulty of play. It's a nice strategy game, and it makes unit location more important than WHICH unit you take. Without enough power, you can't reach the enemy. This makes hiding in a corner a feasible option when there's 2 enemy factions. Wait it out, level up to their level, and start attacking when they can't counter you.
The difficulty ramp should be steeper skill-wise, rather than giving you less chances. Frantic mode only gives you one life, yes, but it's about as easy to dodge the bullets as the other difficulties.
What I'd like is an option to modify an existing gun as well. You'd take more time making the gun if it could carry over the appearance once you upgrade it, and save time overall.
Make your own gun. It won't be pretty, but it'll cost a bit less or do more of what you want.
Tip: Weak homing shots can still home easily at long ranges.
You've got to know the units each base spawns. There's one type which excels at taking over bases, so take control of them first. Weak bases are useless - the units spawned die quickly, and it's really not worth your time to capture them until the end.
Archers are useful. When spammed, they can basically kill any melee unit quickly and outnumber any ranged units the enemy throws at you. Combine with necro and manual control for best results.
The G-47 should let you beat the first boss easily - it has concentrated fire, where the trishot is pretty much useless.
Then get the lasers. Just get Ravager and see what happens. Chaos makes the game too easy.
The difficulty doesn't ramp up. Besides the various glitches, that ruins the experience. If I didn't get a claymore in the beginning, it would have been impossible to get back 5k gold. And after you get the best equips, the game's too easy.
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