========================== B O R G F A Q B y P s Y l o c K e ========================== Table of Contents =============== Version History Disclaimer Backround Borg Vessels Borg Buildings Strategies Space Features Vs. Romulan/Klingon/Federation. Contacting Me ================ This FAQ is currently only allowed to be on- http://www.gamefaqs.com http://DLH.Net If I find my FAQ on any other site, you get butchered. =================== V E R S I O N H I S T O R Y ==================== 1.0 First Version Basic info up. 1.1 Added Klingon and Romulan sections corrected a few errors. 1.2 Added UFP versus guide. =================================== D I S C L A I M E R =================================== This FAQ is copyrighted Psylocke. You may not use this FAQ in your magazine, website, billboard, neighborhood forum etc. without my own personal permission. The author reserves the right to change this FAQ whenever he feels to. Don't be messin wit the law boy! ================================= B A C K R O U N D ================================= The Borg are a cyberneticlly enhanced Species from the Delta Quadrant. They aren't one species, but rather a group of thousands assimilated. No one knows where the Borg cam from or how long they've been around. Captian Jean-Luc Picard of the U.S.S Enterprise-D first encountered the Borg on stardate 42761.3. Since then the Borg have been a constent threat to the Federation of Planets. They posses an arsenal of powerful weapons, fast ships, advanced technology, and a deadly crew. There is no individual thought in the Borg Collective. Just one big mind thinking and operating as one. The only exception is the Borg Queen. Like that of an insect colony, she commands the drones to do her bidding. ==================================== B O R G V E S S E L S ==================================== Here I'll cover the ships used by the collective. The first sentence is the game manual's description, then my own two cents. I'll also cover their special abilities. Assembler Speed 5/10 Weapons Power N/A Shield Power 5/10 Special Ability N/A The basic borg unit. Responsible for construction of new buildings. Build alot of these for best results. Tractor Beam - Tows disabled ships. This is so overlooked. If you use it properly, you'd be surprised how useful it is. I like disabling an enemy's engines and towing it into a deadly nebula. Dilithium Freighter Speed 5/10 Weapons Power 0/10 Shield Power 5/10 Special Ability N/A Gather's Dilithuim which is later constructed into ships or to research new technology. It carries roughly 150 crystals of Dilithium. I prefer 3 to a moon. Detector Speed 10/10 Weapons Power 2/10 Shield Power 2/10 Special Ability 4/10 Small vessel with low weapons power and crew. Fast ship which is best used to scouting. It can later be modified to detect cloaked ships. Interceptor Speed 8/10 Weapons Power 3/10 Shield Power 4/10 Special Ability 7/10 A step up from the Detector. Has better weapons power and crew. A overlooked vessel that can be a great asset. It's fast, cheap, and effective for raids. It also has a cool ability. Transwarp Drive - Alows instant travel from current position to any Previously explored area. I love this. You can warp from one area to another in seconds. Do it on your opponents Dilithuim mining outposts. Then warp back before they can send reinforcements. Keep in mind that it takes a while to recharge. Sphere Speed 5/10 Weapons Power 5/10 Shield Power 5/10 Special Ability 5/10 Standard Vessel for destroying enemy ships. Pretty nice ship. More Powerful than the interceptor, but costs more and needs more crew. Regeneration - Quickens repair rate rapidly without going to a repair facility. This move totally kicks. I prefer using it right after a battle or if I'm in battle with something that doesn't inflict alot of damage. (Scout Vessels or energy cannons. Assimilator Speed 5/10 Weapons Power 7/10 Shield Power 7/10 Special Ability 8/10 The Assimilator can be used to destroy an enemy vessel, or assimilate it's crew. Great ship. Large then the Sphere and a bit weaker, but very useful. It's auto-assimilator is very handy. Auto-Assimilator - Sends a Virus onboard enemy vessels and turns their crew into drones which are added to your crew pool. KICK ASS! I love using this on enemy ships, then when the crew number is low, transport on board with minimal losses to take the ship. Diamond Speed 7/10 Weapons Power 2/10 Shield Power 5/10 Special Ability 10/10 The Diamond has an array of special attacks. But rather weak. It's a very deadly, but delicate ship. Very dangerous and should not be taken lightly. Shield Remodulation - Remodulates shields preventing all damage. This can be very helpful if your under a barrage of fire. Or if you want to protect weaker ships. But strangly the crew can still die. Computer Override - Temporarly siezes control of enemy vessel. I love using this on stronger ships, then making it self-destruct. It's also fun to send a ship into a dangerous Nebula. Nanites - Injects Nanites into enemy ship jamming communications and systems. Appearntly these change the interface of a vessel. Making it more confusing to operate the ship. (Thanks To Andrew Yao for the info) Ultrituim Burst - Shoots a beam of random energy inflicting massive damage. I love this attack. It uses most of your energy, but it's more than worth it. It seems to kill the crew before it destroyes the ship. And best of all, it hits nearby ships and buildings!!!! Cube Speed 3/10 Weapons Power 9/10 Shield Power 9/10 Special Ability 9/10 The Borg's trademark vessel. A large, Cube shaped vessel with a powerhouse of weaponry Very dangerous, Very expensive, and crowded. Taking 1000 of your drones and throwing it on one big geometrical shape may sound silly, but it's worth it. This puppy can take any ship one on one and come out with minimal damage. It's special is also great. Holding Beam - Disables enemies' engines and transports drones aboard. What fun! Holding a vessel still while you seize control! Downside? You lose drones faster than you think. It transports about 100 drones in 6 seconds. So you need to recrew often. Locutus' Cube Speed 4/10 Weapons Power 9.5/10 Shield Power 9.5/10 Special Ability 9/10 Locutus' own ship. (What's next, Picard gets a Lazy Boy recliner?) Basiclly the same as a normal Cube, but has 500 extra drones and is a tad more powerful. It also appears bigger on screen. He also has a Holding Beam. =========================================== B O R G B U I L D I N G S =========================================== This will cover the Borg Buildings and what they make. Nexus Requires - Nothing Shields 10/10 Weapons Power 7/10 The backbone of the Borg Hive. It comes equiped with it's own defense cannons to slow down unfriendly ships. You can also upgrade the amount of Control Nodes you have. Builds Assembler and Dilithuim Frieghter Processing Node Requires - Nothing Shields 8/10 This is where Dilthuim is processed into ships or to research new technology. Energy Cannon Requires - Nexus Shields 3.5/10 Weapons Power 3/10 A standard defense cannon. No crew is required to operate, and it's cheap. Surround wormholes or Dilithuim Moons with these to prevent your opponent from getting the upper hand. Torpedo Turret Requires - Assembly Matrix and Nexus Shields 4/10 Weapons Power 4/10 Like the Energy Cannon, but stronger and a but more expensive. I like these more, but they take longer to build and cost more. Combine these with Energy Cannons for best results. Detection Array Requires - Nexus Shields 2/10 These Provide a view of the surrounding area. Cheap and weak, but can be very helpful in warning you about incoming attacks. These can also be upgraded to detect cloaked ships. Assembly Matrix Requires - Nexus Shields 6/10 Creates standard ships and can repair and recrew damaged ones. Builds - Detectors, Interceptors, Assimilators, and Spheres. Modification Center Requires - Nexus Shields 5/10 Allows the research for ship upgrades. KEEP THIS GUARDED! Once you research something, it's not yours permanatly. If the Center is destroyed, you have to spend all that Dilithuim again. Advanced Assembly Matrix Requires - Assembly Matrix and Modification Center. Shields 8/10 Creates the more advanced ships. Same as Assembly Matrix, but makes the Cube and Diamond. It also repairs and recrews damaged ships. Technology Node Requires - Assembly Matrix and Modification Center Shields 5/10 This allows the research of the Diamond's special attacks. Once again, KEEP THIS GUARDED! you don't want to have to sit and wait for everything to be researched again. Transwarp Gate Requires - Advanced Assembly Matrix and Technology Node Shields 9/10 The Collective's most profound acheivment. By robbing you of 5000 Dilithuim Crystals and taking nearly a Century to build, you get one of these. By ripping a hole in Subspace, this allows ships to pass through this to another area on the map instantly. It's basiclly a customized wormhole. It takes a long time to recharge, but it's totally worth it. =============================== S T R A T E G I E S ============================== Here I'll cover some standard strategies in the RTS world. For most of you, this will be review. "Come back here!" Rather simple. Build up a small Armada of Interceptors, Transwarp Drive Back and forth from the your base to the enemy's before they send reinforcements. "Oh no You Don't!" Effective Strategy that won't earn you many friends. Build an Army of Interceptors and Detectors to prevent your opponent from advancing up the tech tree. ====================================== S P A C E F E A T U R E S ======================================= Orange Nebula: Or to the layman, "In-Laws" Stear clear of this bad boy. This Nebula slows eats at your crew until there's no one left to die, leaving your ship drifting in space. Red Nebula: Or to the layman, "Local Hodolums". This Violent Nebula damages your shields until they're gone, then it starts destroying your ship until it's a pile of space dust. Green Nebula: Or to the layman, "Local Old Folks Home". This friendly guy helps restore shields and repair systems. It's almost impossible to destroy a ship inside one of these. Purple Nebula: Or to the layman, "Your Ex-Wife". It slows your down, disables shield generator, disables weapons, and leaves you vunerable to outside attackers. These things should be kept away from. Blue Nebula: A safe haven from attackers. This little foxhole disables weapons and shield generators. A nice place to hide if you're being pursued. Worm Holes: Holes in space that allow instantanous travel between two points. You never know where you might wind up, so you better pack a lunch and hope nobody mean is on the other side. Black Holes: What could be more fun than watching an enemy vessel crumble in the wake of a black hole? Obviously alot of things, but it's still really amusing. They only have affect if your engines are disabled, and Tractor Beams don't save you either. Astroid Belts: Or to the layman, "Sport Utility Vehicles". These annoying walls of rock prevent movment. There are two types of of Astroid Belts, Belts that move, and Belts that just stand there, (Much like your mother when she's mad) Either Way, they're impassable. Unless you have pointy ears and work for the Tal Shiar. (The Romulans have a ship that can move through solid objects) ====================== V E R S U S ====================== In this section I'll teach you a little bit about the people that challenge the collective. Keep in mind that I skip all of the Detector-like ships, because their basiclly all the same; weak and fast. ===================== R O M U L A N S T A R E M P I R E ===================== Despite what most think. The Romulans aren't a race of pointy eared whimps. In fact, they're a decent race and should be feared and respected, and they're also my second favorite Let's breakdown the compononts. Boarding Ability: Horrible Repair Ability: standard. Vessels: All Romulan Ships are equipped with some sort of Cloaking Device. And most of thier ships move with great speed. They also come fairly well equipped Don't underestimate these guys. Shrike-Class (Intresting Word, don't you think?) Small ships that move faster than your grandmother getting from the bathroom to the T.V. to watch Matlock. They aren't very powerful, but their speed makes them great scouts. And their Spy is very annoying. It can be used while their cloaked, and it works for quite a while. Raptor-Class The Raptor class ship won't fire unless ordered specificly by the commander. What they attack with is a huge energy blast that is extremely long ranged, and has a blast raduis of a little more than Locutus Cube. Their Special is a little bug that attaches itself to your ship and disables weapons for a while. The easiest way to handle these it so get right next to them and fire, that way, when they attack you, they also damage themselves! Griffin-Class Nothing new here, just a standard attack ship. It's special is a Sensor Jammer, that temporarly shuts off your Sensors. Keep in mind, that if your Sensors are off, and there's no other ships near by that have them operating, your line of sight is cut down extremly. You can be fired upon and not be able to shoot back. Warbird-Class Ah yes, the Warbird. They make look weird, but damn they pack a punch. They move rather fast for such a large ship, and their special is can be very destructive if used correctly. The Shield Inversion Beam sucks your shields and adds them to the Warbirds, it drains energy at a quick rate, and it doesn't take much shield power from Larger ships, but small ships can be shieldless in seconds. Shadow-Class Only operated by the highest Romulan Commanders, the Shadow Class uses sophisticated weapons to complete its task. The default weapons on the Shadow class are weak, and there's like a 10 second delay between each shot. But they make up for it with their special attacks. Shield Projector This is extremlly useful for a Romulan Commander. It uses energy to restore a ship's shields other than its own. It takes alot of energy to store some shields by itself, but if you have 4 or 5 other Shadows helping you, it's done in seconds and minimal energy is used. Psychonic Blast This blasts a beam into a enemy's ship causing the crew to go insane and kill each other. this is alot more damaging than it sounds. One blast can kill up to 200 crew members. It uses about half of the Shadow's energy, so they can fire two blasts before having to recharge. Phase Cloaking The greatest advance in cloaking technology has been discovered. The Shadow can enable this customized cloaking field and phase right through solid objects (Mainly Ships, Starbases, and Astroid Belts) Keep in mind, they aren't invunerable to weapon fire. Unlike normal Cloaking Fields, this one sucks at energy until its all gone. Holographic Projector Taking up nearly all of the ships energy, this causes enemy sensors to view allied ships as enemys, causing them to fire on them. It lasts for a good while, and I think you lose control of your ship while it's in progress. Cloaking: Damnit Cloaking is annoying. Ships slip right by you but you don't even know. But like all things, there is an downside. When Cloaked, Shields are down, so the ship is completely vunerable to attack. So unload those specials before the shields get back up. And it helps to have Detection Array's and Detectors all over the place. Always remember that Romulan ships can't recharge Energy while cloaked. Tips Any smart Romulan commander knows that taking over Klingon or Borg vessels is like sending an army of toads to kill a Komodo Dragon; heavy losses and only one hollow victory. Use this against them. Try to board Romulan ships, just to disassemble them for the Dilithuim and Crew. This can save you. Another thing to know is that Romulan special attacks are directed at your ship's systems. i.e. Sensor Jammer, Myotronic Inhibior (disables weapons) and the Shadow Classes Psychotic Blast, which sends your drones on a rampage to kill each other. I experimented with this, and I found out that 5-7 blasts will leave a fully crewed Cube completely vacant. So don't underestimate them. Another annoying special is Spy. They can send an informant aboard your ship or station and they'll have the line of vision of that ship for a while. (I can't understand how the Borg couldn't pick out some pointy-eared guy in cotton near the Comm system without hunks of metal in his body. How hard could it be?} Last, ROMULAN TECHNOLOGY MUST BE ASSIMILATED! Make sure to snag a construction ship. Phase Cloak, Shield Inversion Beam, Psychotic Blast, and Spies are a must. You can gain a huge advantage by knowing where these little sneakers are conspiring. =================== K L I N G O N E M P I R E =================== Ah yes, the brute force of the galaxy. The only race that could take on a drone in hand to hand combat and win. Yes, the Klingons are an impressive race, but like all silly races, they are imperfect. Let's face it, Klingons aren't the brightest stars in the galaxy. The average Klingon spends his life thinking about ale, honor, family, dying, and singing in a horrible manner. They're the Vikings of the 23rd century. Klingons have below-average repair ability. (No one has told them that beating a circuit board isn't going to change the 'error' message on their console) So it takes them a good while to repair something. Which gives you some time to torture the wounded retards. Although Borg ships don't have many Special Attacks that target certian systems, when one goes down, it's going to take the a Q to fix it without a repair bay. Boarding Ability: Best Repair Ability: Horrible Vessels Now that we've made fun of the grunts, it's time to look at their good side. One, they have powerful ships. Their Bird Of Prey can take two Interceptors (or so my experiance has taught me) Klingon weapons are rather powerful. Another thing, their boarding ability is above average. (Hell, if one of the freaks came charging at me, I'd run for the nearest airlock too!) So makes sure you out number them 2 to 1 when boarding. Or just attack them until there's only a handful left then beam aboard. I obviously can't type Klingon, so you'll have to bare with me on the names of their ships. (I wonder if there's a type of font that is Klingon?) Bird Of Prey's are very good for simple ships. One, their anti-gravity mines are very annoying. Second, their speed and decent attack power is good for hit and runs on poorly guarded bases. They also have a Cloaking Device they 'borrowed' from the Romulans. Next we have the SuQ-Jagh, with the Commando Team. THIS SHOULD BE AVOIDED OR DESTROYED ASAP! They can send a boarding party rght through your shields, and they do more damage then just being beamed over. The good thing is that this special requires most of the energy, so they won't be able to use it often. Next is the VoR'Cha Polaron Torpedo. No, they don't send a standard Navy torpedo that blows up a Submarine (Althought that would be amusing) it's an energy based attack that was stolen from the Jem-Hadar That also moves right through your shields and temporarly shuts a system off. Whats most annoying is when it shuts off Weapons. You're sitting there in your Cube, and some shrimp sized vessel cuts off your weapons, and your bombarded with Commando Teams, and if Life Support is off, you'd better press the red button that reads, "Cube go boom". (Never let any race have one of your ships, Borg ships are very powerful and should not fall into the hands of a greedy Romulan, Klingon, or even a Human.) Lastly we have the Klingon Flagship, the Negh-Var. These suckers are big and mean. Their Ion Cannon is like a mini version of Ultrilium Burst aimed at one ship, it causes about a 10% damage on stronger ships, and about 60% on smaller ones. In fleets, these things are dangerous. Luckly they move like iron tanks in water, so you should be able to run around and wait for reinforcments to arrive. 8 ships firing their Ion Cannon at a Cube will have the Cube split in many other shapes, none of which can be ordered around. Now we have the Fek'Lhr (I've heard the Klingons say, "Give the Fek'Lhr his doom." Do I sense Mutiny?) For once I feel bad for the Klingons, they got totally ripped off when it comes to a Science Vessel. Almost all their specials suck. First there's Ion Storm, they fire some Torpedo that makes a wee little storm that slows movment and sucks at shields. When Shields are down, the crew on the ship dies at a slow rate. Not much to worry about here, just keep moving. Next we have Death Chant. All this does is (supposedly) send Klingons into a rage and boosts their Attack Power and Repair Ability. This really doesn't do much. It won't help a Bird of Prey kill an Assmiliator, so don't wet your cybernetic undies. Now Repulsion Wave. All this does is shut off your engines. The most annoying part can be is when your moving full force at a ship near a Red Nebula and all of a sudden, the engines go offline! And you drift right into the Hodolums Neighborhood! Another horrible thing that can happen is, your engines go off-line and a construction ship tractors you away to your fate! Lastly there's Energy Dissipator. This sucks all your special energy away, leaving you with your ordinary weapons. Not really a deadly force, but it can be annoying when you have a fleet of Diamonds and your left for dead when your energy goes bye bye. Alright my Metal Boddied friends, now it's time to put your aluminum diapers on. The Jach-Eng is a force to be feared. Taking almost a year to build, and costing more than StarBase, we get the Jach-Eng. They have no standard weapons, a small crew of 50, and limited shields. So why am I making a big deal of this? Their Special Attack, the SubSpace Shockwave. It can only be used once before the ship goes to hell, but boy can it take half of your forces with it. They send a HUGE wave-like beam for a short distance that destroys anything in it's path. I'm not kidding you, Locutus would lock himself in a escape pod until it went away. If the wave manages to pass halfway through a Nexus, it's all over. Whenever you see one of these, either destroy it, or take a huge risk and try to take it over. ONLY USE HOLDING BEAM! Auto-Assimilator will take too long, and any smart Klingon will have released the Shockwave on you. I strongly recomend just destroying them, preferably from the rear. (The Shockwave only moves forward, unlike the Romulans Rift) Tips When fighting the Klingons ,the only way to beat them is out gunning them. Klingon ships are durable, powererful, and run by brutes who aren't afraid to fire. Another thing to do is use your Diamond's Computer Override ability to seize control of ships and use their Commando Team/Polaron Torpedo etc. against them. On the upside, Klingon ships move slower than most other ships. This isn't a huge advantage, but it can help you run away or ambush them. =============== U N I T E D F E D E R A T I O N O F P L A N E T S ================ Ah yes, Humanity and her group of do gooders. Also the Borg's worst enemy. The UFP is a simple race. They mainly focus on defensive tactics and aid, not much to fear. Stats Boarding Ability: Standard Repair: Standard (With Scotty, this should be maxed =) Big note, BEWARE OF THE TEMPORAL STATION! This thing is the biggest threat to you. It freezes ALL ships/Stations in it's radius, and it's a damn big radius. Take it over or destroy it at all costs. Vessels: Defiant Class: No, Before you ask, this is NOT the Defiant from DS9. (Although Worf pilots that one) A little bit of fire power and speed, these can be no more than annoying bugs. Although when in masses, they're fairly destructive. Akira Class: These are evil little bastards. Like most ships their class, shey have so-so attack and speed, but what makes them a target is their special attack that shoots a bouncing energy beam that gets stronger as it hits more ships. Steamrunner Class: Similar to the Raptor class the Romulans use, this shoots a big energy ball that creates a wee little wave of doom. Get right up in their nose's so they damage themselves when they shoot. Their special is a Engine Jammer, basic stuff, stops you from moving temporarly. Soverign Class: The Federation's top ship. I'm sure you've seen this a few times, (YOU BETTER HAVE!) and she packs quite a punch. Torpedo's, Phasers, the whole nine yards. And of course, Kirk's infamous Corbonite Deflecter, except now it's a reality. Remember though that it doesn't actually deflect fire, it just absorbs alot of it. (Their Shields will still go down, but just a wee little bit) Nebula Class: The Federations Science vessel, unlike the other race's, this one is devoted to aiding and defending it's allies, not taking a aggressive approach. The only thing you should worry about is the Shield Disruptor, will temporarly makes your shields drop, other than that, it posses no threat. Although It's no help when it's sending Engineering teams to other ship which repair sheilds and systems. ===== MISC ===== A "Thank You" to the following: Gene Roddenbury for creating such a awesome series that has assimilated my life. Activison for making this game. Gamefaqs for hosting this faq. Leonard Nimoy because he's my hero! >=) Myself because I'm cool and my mommy says so! And a big, "Damn You!" to the following Microsoft, for not haveing enough features in Notepad, it would make my job easier. Activison - For taking so long to make a sequal. Compaq - For making my crappy computer and getting away with it. ============== Contacting me ============== If you have suggestions, comments, or see something wrong, feel free to send it in. Solid_Snake_14@hotmail.com. Allow 3 buissness days for reply, (I always wanted to say that, I'll reply as soon as I can). But I won't reply to the following. - Mail typed in all caps Poor Grammer (dude yer fak sux) "l337 Sp33k" (D0d3, y0ur F40 $uX!) The Words, "Star Trek", and "Sucks" in the same sentence. Meaningless Flames. (You can critisize this FAQ, just don't be an ass about it.) And on a closing note- "Resistance is futile."