Galactic Civil War Guide: Empire

Welcome to the AotR Full Campaign Guide! These pages are to help new players answer some basic questions when starting the Full Campaign for the first time, such as "what should I buy first?" "What should I attack first?" "What are some general tips and tricks?" and so on. While not a full "play-by-play" guide since every campaign will be different, this should help new players figure out strategies to get started.

* Note, these tips are used for the galactic map only, and not so much how to win space or ground battles\*

## The Galaxy as it stands....

The Empire begins the war in control of the industrial and economic heartland of the Galaxy: The Core (with the notable exceptions of Chandrila and Corellia, which have both broken away from the Empire and will need to be reclaimed. You also hold most of the Namadi run, with an unbroken arm of territory stretching towards Muunilist, as well as the Fondor Shipyards and scattered Mid-Rim worlds such as Iridonia and Taris. Additionally, the Empire also holds scattered pockets at the Maw and Kessel, as well as a second Mid-rim pocket centred around Eriadu.

As for military strength, the Empire begins with few Capital ships, the sum total of which is:

* Two Imperial I Class Star Destroyers in the Core, both linked to Heroes
* Three Victory Class Star Destroyers, one in the Kessel pocket, one over Mulinist and one over Cato Nemoidia
* Three Venator Class Star Destroyers, one in the Kessel Pocket, one in the Sullust Pocket, and one over Carida
* An assortment of Carrack Class Cruisers, Arquintens Class Cruisers and Dreadnought Heavy Cruisers.

And as for Land Forces... they're mostly army troopers with light vehicle support and General Veers in an AT-AT. There are a few elite forces, primarily on Coruscant, and a few Stormtrooper units here and there but they're scattered across the Galaxy....

Yeah... this is going to be a challenge...

## So here's the story from A-Z....

Right now, you have three big priorities.

1. Unify what units you have into fleets and armies.
2. Get more money
3. Accept that you're not going to hold all of this territory and you're going to have to give some away. Sharing's caring boys and girls.

Number 1 is relatively simple. First off, split the galaxy into sectors within your head. Then, take all the ships in that sector and unify them over a single planet, usually the one with the highest income or the greatest strategic significance in that sector. A basic plan would go something like this:

* **The Core:** . As far as units go, you have Lord Vader at Coruscant, Admiral Ozzel at Corulag, a Venator at Carida, A Victory-1 Class Star Destroyer at Rendili, a Dreadnaught at Cato Neimoidia, and a Carrack Cruiser at Bilbringi. Unify these groups under Vader as a single fleet.
* **The Northern Mid Rim:** Here, you have a Carrack, and Acclamator and a Dreadnought available. Unify them over Munnilist.
* **The Southern Mid Rim:** Not much to do here. Send the Arquintens from Naboo to capture Zhar and feel free to unify your forces there, but the fact that your largest ship there is a Venator doesn't bode well for any major operations there...
* **The Maw:** Get your ships over Kessel for now. There isn't much to do here either

Number two is a little harder...

## Money Money Money....

One of the main things to note about an Imperial campaign is that, more than any other faction, you are in desperate need of a strong economy. Whilst the Rebels can make do with cheap fighters as the main offensive force, and have sufficient forces to defend what territory they have, the Empire relies primarily on large, expensive capital ships and is in desperate need of reinforcements on all fronts. To get a strong economy, you're going to have to do a few things.

* Sell your Hypervelocity Cannons. Whilst they do provide a good defence against orbital attacks, frankly speaking, if you're fighting enemy ships over worlds which have them (Kuat, Coruscant), you're already in deep deep doo-doo
* Put down Governor's palaces *everywhere*. Like, literally everywhere you can. If you can, upgrade them to Moff Palaces.
* Aargau: Directly south of Coruscant, this planet has the chance to grow into a money maker as well. A Governors Palace and 3 Mining Facilities will bring this planets income up to around 1,200 Credits. Word of warning; this is only possible if EVERY structure is economy, meaning no defenses is possible. This leaves the world open to constant raids by the Rebels and Black Sun. Either remove a ground mine for an Outpost, reducing the income to around 1000, or have a large garrison of troops to protect the planet. It is also advisable to bring Bin Essada here as well to further boost income.
* Eriadu: Eriadu can only build a Moff Palace, but with that and a XQ-3 Space Platform, this can give Eriadu an income of around 750 Credits. This planet will serve as the command hub for the southern forces, and can also have enough defenses to hold off many attacks.
* If you want to further boost your income, I suggest selling the outpost on Maanan and pulling troops there back into the core. Maanan is a relatively low value world alone, and with how exposed it is, it is unlikely that you'll be able to get much out of it before it is taken over anyways.

Now, with this over, it's time for the fun stuff!

## Choices Choices, what to buy...

Ok fine. I couldn't think of a song for that one (Maybe Material Girl would have worked...) , but that aside, here's a few things to focus on when buying new, shiny units.

Primarily in space, the Imperial fleet centers around the Star Destroyer, and those bad boys will be your bread and butter.

## Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting!

Now that you've set up a decent base of income it's time to go on the offensive. First you need to decide which way you're going to go. There are four main routes you could take, each with their own merits and disadvantages.

* **The Dissolution of the CSA:** Low Risk/Low Reward
	+ This route is the simplest and easiest of the routes you could take, primarily focused on lancing north using Muunilist as a jump-off point to capture the worlds owned by the CSA in order to build a strong Economic base and provide a jumping off point for a drive southward past Mon Cala towards Kaskyyk. In order to do this, send Vader and ~~Ozzy-Osbourne~~ Admiral Ozzel north to link up with the fleet massed over Muunilst, along with Veers and the shock troopers and field commander from Coruscant. Then proceed to capture Kalee and Mygeeto (making sure to setup economic structures and light defences there), before proceeding to push east towards Etti IV, the ultimate goal of this route. While this is being done, send your fleet in the core to retake Chandrilla and station them over Cato Nemoida as a response fleet to any attacks from the Mid-rim. Continue to produce more captial ships, and assign them wherever necessay, though my suggestion would be to give at least one to the Core. Once Etti IV is taken, send Vader's fleet to capture Mandalore and link up with the rest of Imperial Core Territory that way (to allow for easier reinforcement). From there, you can either choose to push for Mon Cala's Shipyards, or continue driving south via Kashyyk to Hoth. While this route is good for providing a strong Economic base, it must be noted that by taking this route, you do very little damage to Rebel infrastruture and seriously delay the story mission to obtain the Executor.

* **The Road to Hoth:** Medium Risk/Medium Reward

* This next route is slightly harder, as is likely to face stronger opposition. This time, the goal is to drive south, linking up with key territory in the Rim (Sullust, Eriadu, Naboo and Malastare) as well as capturing the strategically important world of Thyferra, and the economic powerhouses of Bespin and Ord Ibanna). Start this campaign by massing the Core Fleet (this time with Vader and Ozzel) over Carida, which serves as a nice jump off point fo retak Chandrilla (with the assistance of Veers and the Courscant defence troops, which should be reassigned to form this army), before moving south-west to retake Corella and Abregado-Rae. From Abregado-Rae, then drive to Thyferra, where you can link up with the forces at Ghorman and Fondor. From here, there are two options. A straight drive to Hoth through Ord Ibanna, which is faster but exposes both your flanks to attack, or a slower drive curving around East via Rattatak and Bespin, which takes longer, but safeguards your western flank. Whichever one you chose is up to you, but by the time you reach Allyuen, you will receive the Hoth Mission. Fulfil this to lose the useless Ozzel and gain access to the all-new, all-singing, all-dancing Executor Class Super Star Destroyer (which you'll have to build). From there, you can either take a more northen route through Atzeri and link back up with the core, or, if you're feeling ambitious, move through the Naboo Pocket (picking up the forces there) and drive straight through the Outer Rim towards Kamino and Rothana. While all this is happening, make sure to keep your economy up and gradually build more Star Destoyers. The Muunilist fleet is largely a holding force here, but if you're particularly confident in your tactical ability, you could take them and reclaim Kalee and Mygeeto. This route is primarily aimed at clearing the rebels out of the south and destroying their infrastructure there. However, note that it will be difficult to reinforce the Maw in time for the mission and that attacks on the Core via Onderon from Kashyyk will be a permanent threat

* **The Reclamation of the Rim:** High Risk/High Reward
	+ This next route is rather challenging, but allows the potential to deal major damage to Rebel infrastructure by taking Kashyyk and providng a very nice jumping point for either a sweep south through Bothawui towards Hoth, or an upward drive through Mon Cala. This one beings in the same way as the **Road to Hoth** route, with Vader setting up over Carida and sweeping by Chandrilla. However, instead of then progressing towards Corellia, the drive moves west through Onderon to Kashyyk, linking up with the Maw and providing a good jumping off point for any further action. From here, you can either drive south, taking out the Cloning Facilities of Kamino and the Intelligence gathering centre of Bothawui and the Outer Rim, or strike out north and caputre the Rebel Homeworld of Mon Cala. Both options are attractive, though it must be noted, such an aggresive drive as this leaves your flanks *very* open to attacks which can easily cut you off from supply lines. Hapan raids on territory are also a nuisance, and will often have to be dealt with, as do attacks by the Hutts. This route is of high reward, as it allows for a massive strike on key Rebel worlds before they become impossibly hard to crack, permanently weakening them for the rest of the campaign. However, it's high risk stems from the fact that it leaves your flanks very wide open, making it difficult to sustain, as well as lacking access to the major economic worlds the previous two campaigns did.

* **The Drive for Mon Cala:** Very High Risk/Very High Reward
	+ This last route is, in my opinion not an especially good route to take. For me, it's too aggressive and overextends your supply lines too much. However, I have seen this pulled of *very* well, with massive success as a result. It involves combining the Muunilist fleet *and* the Core Fleet together over Carida, with associate ground forces, and making a single, massive push through Concord Dawn, Mandalore the Wheel and then straight through to Mon Cala. From there, the Imperial forces then swing North, carving through CSA territory and linking back up with Muunilist. This route is aimed at knocking out a huge part of rebel infrastructure as well as gaining access to the economic base of the CSA and, if done well, can put the Empire in a winning position within a few weeks of the opening of the Campaign. However, this route is exceptionally risky, as not only does it overextend supply lines, but by attacking so many well fortified worlds in quick succession, the chance of losing large parts of your fleet or amy increases exponential. Do this at your own peril.