Let’s start with arguably the strongest faction, resource dependant, the Vodyani. I really like them because they have such a unique way of playing which is so different to anything we’ve seen in endless space before. That and who doesn’t want to be space vampires!

The Vodyani are essentially a parasitic race that need to “feed” on other factions, including minor ones, in order to increase their population but, perhaps more strategically, produce huge Ark ships. These ark ships can be used to colonize star systems but are customisable allowing them to be equipped as combat vessels that far outstrip those of the other factions early on.

Group your wheel and Leecher into a single fleet. Consider adding your hero to the fleet for additional safety. Since they “need” another faction to harvest the all important essence from, the success and survival of this first foraging fleet is of the utmost importance. Send it out and search the nearby systems for another major or minor faction.

Don’t forget to fire off probes down alternate routes to save time. The faster you find a “feeding” system, the better.

When you do one start harvesting their essence straight away, with the harvest essence button when in orbit.

When harvesting order your ships so that the Wheel and Hero are on the top and the unarmed Leecher and subsequent Leechers are underneath. This is so that any attacks to destroy your Leechers must first go through your hero

Meanwhile... Start building cerebral reality on your home system, you’ll need the money for later, followed by the Intergalactic Supermarket when you have it. After that keep building more Leechers and send them off to harvest more essence.

For research prioritise Multi-Thread Mana for the Intergalactic Supermarket, which you’ll need for fleet expenses. Then start researching the level 1 colonisation tech Fluid Nanodynamic or Hyper Cypers, starting with whichever one will provide an additional planet on your home system if any. Once this initial researching for system improvements is done research either Unstable Isotope Machining or Specialised Isatopes. Which one depends on your first quest reward.

You do this before the tech to harvest the resource because after completing the quest will reward you with 50 of one of the resources, which you can then use right away for arming your Arks. Pick up the Galactic Commodities tech too, so you can trade for resources to speed up the upgrading of your systems later, but you shouldn’t need to.

Design a new ark equipping it with modules that give a boost to construction.



















As soon as you have enough dust saved upgrade your existing arc to the new design. To save dust you can unequip any defensive and combat modules, as in the above, but that can be a bit of a gamble.

Once upgraded your home world Ark will be a powerful production facility. Keep producing Leechers and sending them to harvest essence. Be sure to build the Intergalactic Supermarket first if you haven’t already or you’ll soon be bankrupt.

On turn 11, and just before you go bankrupt, you should have enough influence to pass your first law. Go with Excess Tith Rule to keep your Empires finances out of the red. Then save your remaining influence points.






When your essence gathering has reached 250 use Holy Proliferation to upgrade your first planet to 2 population and then to 3 population once you have 500 more.

Once that is done, and essence is coming in fast, it’s time to build your first combat Ark. Consider something like the following..












As soon as you have enough essence build the ship. Leave it in orbit at its starting system for a turn or two to fill up on manpower. Use it to dominate your constellation early one and to clear out the pirates for the quest reward. Once you’ve done that upgrade the Ark again with the most up to date technology. You can anchor an Ark on any unclaimed system, anchor it and upgrade it wherever it may be.

Now you have two main options for what to do next. Produce offensive Arks and attack the competing factions for a quick military win is a pretty viable strategy for all but the largest of galaxies. Alternatively produce colony Arks to develop a more robust Empire for the long game.

I’d suggest using the upgraded battle Ark to suppress the military capabilities of any competing factions in your area to prevent them from challenging your dominance. Consider focusing on rival factions home worlds, which are usually still their main manufacturing hub at this point. How you deal with it depends on if you’re going for a quick military win or not.

If you’re going for the quick military win or you need to erase an enemy system fast and don’t have time to spend 50 turns harvesting their essence just obliterate them. You might need to go to war for this which is why you’ve been saving your influence points. Blockade/guard the system first, until its defensive manpower is down to zero, and then orbital bombard them until victory is yours. Don’t give a second thought to the planet side improvements because you’re a space based race anyway. After that colonise the planet or move on for more destruction, it’s your choice.

If you want to go for the long game the essence from another faction’s large developed home world is a valuable resource that you’re going to need. So place the battle Ark on the top of the fleet list with Lechers underneath, so it can protect them, and start harvesting that essence.

At this point you should be a dominate force in your constellation if not the whole galaxy. But the edge that Arks provide won’t last into the end game so you need to stay a head of the curve.

Snatch up all of the key real estate. But that doesn’t mean colonise every system. You’re looking for quality over quantity. Aim to colonise systems with multiple colonisable planets and luxury resources, which become ever more important, and you’ll need them to make settlements.
Update your home world Ark and produce Arks colony arcs with weapons and, instead of construction boosting modules, science boosting modules. This will give you such a massive boost to your research that the Sophons will cry.

The long term objective of this strategy is to use your significantly enhanced tech level to maintain your dominance all the way to whatever game victory you choose, laughing as the other factions attack you with their primitive bullets and you hit back with your Hyper Phased Beams of Antimatter.

When you reach tech Era 2, which should be soon, upgrading your science orientated outposts, which should be all of them, to stage 2 settlements. You will need luxury resources to do this so select whichever one is the most abundant. If you use Bluecap Mold though your systems will receive +50 science on system. As settlements keep expanding their populations by producing Holy Proliferation with the essence you’re collecting.
For a significant boost to science convert to a Democracy as soon as the option is available in the Senate menu by pressing on the “Change Government” option.

If a planet you’re harvesting essence from starts to run low on population or is totally consumed shift your Leecher fleets to another planet to harvest essence from there. If you don’t completely destroy the planet then the population may grow back and you can return once more to harvest. If you allowed the smaller rival faction colonies to survive previously it’s time for them to pay for your generosity with their essence. Go hoover them up too. But be careful of reducing a rival factions planets all to 0, as they’ll be destroyed and vanished, meaning you’ll have to hunt further afield for essence. Think of it this way, your the farmer and the other faction is your herd. Managing their population and shifting around your fleets will keep in you steak and essence until your old and grey.

Keep researching tech, going up Era’s, expanding your systems to higher levels, settlements to colonies, and subsequently increasing their populations. To do this the continued cultivation and accumulation of luxury resources is important. And that’s all there is to it. Build instillations that boost science and the tech Chameleon Spaces allows you to convert unused industrial points into additional science.

If you’ve focused on science and science imrovments, found rich feeding grounds, maintained them and haven’t been too badly affected by aggressive factions attacking your Empire you should reach Era 5 around turn 120. Will this be a Science Victory? I don’t know. It’s still an alpha and for now Era 5 is blank.

Until there is an Era 5 go use your super high tech advantage to win friends, or eliminate enemies. The Vodyani win. You win. The Vodyanim with you as their leader, ascend to become Virtual Endless...

The Vodyani have two main advantages. The ability to spawn fully geared up Ark ships in one turn and a unique form of colonisation. A Vodyani system of 7, with 4 planets (7x4) is a population 14. Plus if the tool tips are right, and to be honest they don’t seem to be, add to that the science boosting modules which add an additional 200% and your rocking the equivalent of a population 42 for science on a single system... Oh yeah!

So...
1. Combine your first forager fleet.
2. Redesign and upgrade your first Ark to better produce Leechers.
3. Construct a battle orientated Ark and use it to destroy enemies and defend you Leechers.
5. Redesign your colony Arks to be science orientated, and focus on expansion and science tech while building science boosting improvements.
6. Move your battle Ark and Leecher fleet around and manage your essence gathering.
7. Search anomalies to find luxuries which you’ll need to build colonies.

Thank you for taking the time to read my guide to the Vodyani. If you found it helpful, anything needs clarifying or would like me to continue with the other factions, please leave a comment.

This is of course based on playing the alpha and things are likely to change.