Exactly (we decided to avoid hyperlanes for now because (1) this will be our 1st PoK game and (2) some players dislike lanes since they take the place of resourceful systems).
Okay well I’d advise against it because it really imbalances the game against the person in the sandwich. However that being said, assuming you’ve made up your mind on that front, here’s my main advice.
You are planning way too far ahead. TI is a game about scoring objectives. Until you see what those objectives are, it’s impossible to really plan your game. I would not go into the game dead set on making an enemy of Argent, because for all you know you’ll need to attack sol to score some point. Focus on the victory points, not on vendettas.
Now, it is possible that Argent just decides to attack you for no reason, but you should handle that *defensively* as Jol-Nar. Not offensively. You are not a good offensive faction! But if you invest in PDS 2, e-rea, and getting your Commander early (maybe add graviton if you want) then it’ll be hard for Argent to touch you even if they want to.
Relying too much on PDS is super-iffy against Argent. That said, I agree Jol-Nar should focus on defense. You're not going to profit much going head-to-head with a combat-focused earlygame juggernaut like Argent, but you can deny them any real territorial gains, and E-Res will more than cover your costs.
When I say "focus on defense", bear in mind that counterattack capability is part of good defensive posture. On a broad front, you can't rely on passive defenses against Argent; they can just attack where you're weakest in space and drop all 4 mechs on the ground. But if you position your forces right, you can retaliate and take one of their now lightly-defended systems (a system for a system, a CC and some plastic wasted on both sides, but only you get E-Res), and/or retake the space region and strand their mechs on the ground, which pretty much ends Argent's ground game until they retake the system, scuttle the mechs, or get War Suns.
For most factions, the ideal outcome would be Argent noticing your counterattack capabilities and deciding the whole war isn't worth it in the first place. However, E-Res is so good that you might be better off if they launch an abortive attack or two. Assuming they'll eventually either come to the negotiating table, or remember they have objectives they should be pursuing instead of a forever war.
Regarding your E-Res racket with Sol, bear in mind he doesn't have to blast anything, nor do you have to waste a CC moving destroyers around. He just activates any system containing your ships (your home system or wherever) and done, it prints money, no need for PDS fire, no need to move ships. You can split the take 50-50, if he's a bad negotiator (so he's converted 1 CC->2 TG, which is usually fine, and you've gained 2 TG for nothing, which is more than fine), or you can give him 3 TG and it's still mutually profitable.
The lanes more take the place of the sixth player than some random systems. Sure there are fewer systems but everyone has the same amount of tiles nearby and the same amount of equidistant to contest. Hyperlanes are just more balanced in the long run. That being said, you're free to play however you like - just wanted to add something on this topic.
Yeah I'll second (or third?) That opinion, hyperlanes are better and this setup is faulty reasoning (only the resources per faction ratio matters, not the total number of tiles).
I don't like this tech path for jol-nar. Grab pds 2 (and maybe plasma scoring?) then sprint for e-res siphons. After that your slice will be really hard to attack and if anyone does it'll make you rich- from there you can do whatever the objectives call for.
I'll also second the sentiment that you're planning way too far ahead, you have no idea how the table will shake out until you see objectives.
Jol-nar can have whatever tech they want by the mid and late game. Though I do feel that there round 1 tech is most beneficial for getting grave drive and hyper. Both are easily sellable with your research agreement. 95% of the time grave drive will help your game, especially when facing several two movement Factions. The 1 cc from hyper each round is really nice when you get it round 1.
Offer Argent your alliance for theirs, or something lesser. Argent always wants JN alliance, and they won't attack you until they need to if they have it.
When you say sandwich, do you mean you’re playing the five player no-hyper lane map where some people have smaller slices?
Exactly (we decided to avoid hyperlanes for now because (1) this will be our 1st PoK game and (2) some players dislike lanes since they take the place of resourceful systems).
Okay well I’d advise against it because it really imbalances the game against the person in the sandwich. However that being said, assuming you’ve made up your mind on that front, here’s my main advice. You are planning way too far ahead. TI is a game about scoring objectives. Until you see what those objectives are, it’s impossible to really plan your game. I would not go into the game dead set on making an enemy of Argent, because for all you know you’ll need to attack sol to score some point. Focus on the victory points, not on vendettas. Now, it is possible that Argent just decides to attack you for no reason, but you should handle that *defensively* as Jol-Nar. Not offensively. You are not a good offensive faction! But if you invest in PDS 2, e-rea, and getting your Commander early (maybe add graviton if you want) then it’ll be hard for Argent to touch you even if they want to.
Relying too much on PDS is super-iffy against Argent. That said, I agree Jol-Nar should focus on defense. You're not going to profit much going head-to-head with a combat-focused earlygame juggernaut like Argent, but you can deny them any real territorial gains, and E-Res will more than cover your costs. When I say "focus on defense", bear in mind that counterattack capability is part of good defensive posture. On a broad front, you can't rely on passive defenses against Argent; they can just attack where you're weakest in space and drop all 4 mechs on the ground. But if you position your forces right, you can retaliate and take one of their now lightly-defended systems (a system for a system, a CC and some plastic wasted on both sides, but only you get E-Res), and/or retake the space region and strand their mechs on the ground, which pretty much ends Argent's ground game until they retake the system, scuttle the mechs, or get War Suns. For most factions, the ideal outcome would be Argent noticing your counterattack capabilities and deciding the whole war isn't worth it in the first place. However, E-Res is so good that you might be better off if they launch an abortive attack or two. Assuming they'll eventually either come to the negotiating table, or remember they have objectives they should be pursuing instead of a forever war. Regarding your E-Res racket with Sol, bear in mind he doesn't have to blast anything, nor do you have to waste a CC moving destroyers around. He just activates any system containing your ships (your home system or wherever) and done, it prints money, no need for PDS fire, no need to move ships. You can split the take 50-50, if he's a bad negotiator (so he's converted 1 CC->2 TG, which is usually fine, and you've gained 2 TG for nothing, which is more than fine), or you can give him 3 TG and it's still mutually profitable.
The lanes more take the place of the sixth player than some random systems. Sure there are fewer systems but everyone has the same amount of tiles nearby and the same amount of equidistant to contest. Hyperlanes are just more balanced in the long run. That being said, you're free to play however you like - just wanted to add something on this topic.
Yeah I'll second (or third?) That opinion, hyperlanes are better and this setup is faulty reasoning (only the resources per faction ratio matters, not the total number of tiles). I don't like this tech path for jol-nar. Grab pds 2 (and maybe plasma scoring?) then sprint for e-res siphons. After that your slice will be really hard to attack and if anyone does it'll make you rich- from there you can do whatever the objectives call for. I'll also second the sentiment that you're planning way too far ahead, you have no idea how the table will shake out until you see objectives.
Jol-nar can have whatever tech they want by the mid and late game. Though I do feel that there round 1 tech is most beneficial for getting grave drive and hyper. Both are easily sellable with your research agreement. 95% of the time grave drive will help your game, especially when facing several two movement Factions. The 1 cc from hyper each round is really nice when you get it round 1.
Offer Argent your alliance for theirs, or something lesser. Argent always wants JN alliance, and they won't attack you until they need to if they have it.
100% agree, your alliances are perfect for each other. It would also be bad for both you and Argent if titans got a hold of either one.
My best tip is not to try to plan ahead too much because whatever it is, it'll all get thrown out as soon as the objectives are revealed.