AotR Full Campaign Guide: Black Sun

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\*

With the most recent update to Awakening of the Rebellion, Version 2.10, "Scum and Villainy," the Black Sun has undergone a massive rework in terms of gameplay, now sporting a new tech system with 4 different unique paths to choose from, revamped corruption, and new units to choose from. While all of this is exciting, it also means that the old ways of playing the Black Sun are no longer viable, and this new system can be confusing for people. Therefore, this guide will be a bit more in-depth to other guides to help those who might be confused on what to do or how to proceed with the new rework.

(This guide is a work-in-progress by Fatal\_Asylym. Please do NOT touch this page without his approval)

## Black Sun Start

Out of the three major factions, the Black Sun start is.... not ideal. The Black Sun has their influence across the galaxy, which results in their starting posting centered around four "sectors." These are the Northern Sector, containing 4 systems centered around Ord Mantell, the Eastern Sector, containing seven systems centered around Mandalore that stretches from Dathomir to Jabiim, the South-Western Sector, containing 5 systems centered around Fondor and Thyferra, and the Southern Sector consisting of 7 systems that stretches from Orto Plutonia to Hypori. Along with these "sectors" are several isolated systems around the galaxy that are cut off from the rest of the Black Sun, such as Trandosha, Kalee, and Jedha. While it gives the Black Sun some opportunities for different expansion in multiple directions, it also means that it is more difficult to support those different sectors at the start of the game until you can find a way to link them up to one another.

Along with a spread of planets, there is the issue of starting forces and economy. The Black Sun start with the worst economy in the game. While this can be fixed via corruption and infastructure, it will take significant credits and time to get the economy to the level of the Empire and even the Rebellion. Those credits are also needed for the military. While the ground forces start in a good position, ranging from B1 battle droids to heavy armor and Mandalorian Elite Soldiers, their space forces are in an abysmal state. Each sector starts with one capital ship and a support fleet. While this sounds good, the support fleet is lackluster, with only a couple of support ships galaxy wide, meaning the support fleet is mostly composed of fighters and small corvettes. This means that they can do some damage but need a massive overhaul in order to make a claim to the galaxy.

Finally, the Black Sun is anything but united. Four Vigo's (Xizor on Ord Mantell, Tyber Zann on Mandalore, Durga the Hutt on Tattooine, and IG-88 on Geonosis) are fighting for control of the Black Sun, hoping to exert control on the organization. Most low-level pirates only fight for money, and therefore work for all four, but the elite units and ships of the Black Sun are loyal to their Vigo and refuse to fight for anyone else. Each Vigo has their own vision of the Black Sun and the military and economic path that it should take, bringing their unique styles of leadership to the table. Only one Vigo can be in charge at a time, and while they can be easily "removed" and "brought back," the decision of who to have lead the crime syndicate and when is an issue that the player will have to address (see Black Sun Tech System for more information).

With an organization that is spread all over the galaxy, a military and economy that doesn't stand compared to their main adversaries, and a leadership that is more interested in personal interests then unity, one would expect the Black Sun to crumble. However, the biggest strength of the Black Sun is their unpredictability. With the ability to change their fighting style on the fly, they can adapt to any situation and overcome any challenge. No one expects the Black Sun to be able to survive in the Galactic Civil War, let alone come out on top, but this makes the Black Sun more dangerous, and for the right price, they are ready to prove the galaxy wrong.

## Black Sun Strategy and Opening Moves

*\*This guide is updated as of 2.10 "Scum and Villainy," which changes how the Black Sun operates and plays on both the Galactic and Tactical level. Future updates might make this guide slightly outdated. Also, this guide is not a play by play, but an understanding of how to start the game as Black Sun. Use these tips as you see fit, and feel free to adapt as the game progresses. This guide is also made with higher difficulties in mind.*

Right away, the Black Sun has several goals to accomplish to not only survive the poor start they are in, but also expand and thrive. The first goal is to get the economy going, done via infrastructure and corruption, the later especially important to get going as quickly as possible. The second goal is to address the military, both in combining fleets for defense or offense and to begin production of new units quickly. Finally, the third goal is to begin the Black Sun tech trees, which is started by selecting one of the four Vigo's. All of this must be done while under constant attack from both the Rebellion and the Empire in every direction. The following steps are steps that are provided by the AOTR community, though this is not a step-by-step guide. Use these steps at your discretion and adapt as needed.

### 1. Fortify and Expand; Prepare to Lose

#### 1a. Abandon the North/South? (Optional)

Because of the Black Sun's unique Corruption mechanic, which allows them to move units between corrupted enemy worlds at a price, a common strategy proposed by members of the community is to consolidate all Black Sun forces in either the North by Mandalore and Ord Mantell, or in the South by Tattooine. This strategy, while on paper sound, has a few key pieces of information to keep in mind.

1. This strategy will allow the Black Sun to bring its entire starting military to bear in a smaller area. While the military, especially the space force, is nothing impressive compared to the Empire and Rebellion starting troops, it is strong enough to either hold off against attacks or make quick gains early on before the AI is able to build up their forces, allowing the Black Sun to expand quickly and grow their economy.
2. While it means either the North or South is especially strong, it does require moving ALL forces to that area. This means that whatever sector is abandoned will be extremely vulnerable to attacks and will more than likely be lost early on. Because each sector has several planets capable of ship traders or ship refitters, as well as high level ground production structures, as well as the Black Sun's low population cap at the beginning of the game, this puts the player at a disadvantage until they are able to conquer planets to make up for these loses.
3. Because of the amount of units that will be moved via corruption, it will be an expensive process at the beginning, meaning economy and/or military growth will be at a halt or lowered until the move is completed. Since each sector has several economy worlds within them, this will force the player to rely heavily on corruption to make up for economy until they can capture key economy worlds and rebuild infastructure.

Most in the community recommend that if this strategy is used, that all units be moved to the South towards Tattooine. This is due to the easy to defend area of the Black Sun starting planets, the multiple economy and shipyard planets in the area, and the ability for fast, quick growth against weaker planets. Those who prefer the North will point out higher production planets like Ord Mantell, Salucamai, and Mandalore, as well as the ability to strike a vast array of targets. Whichever option is picked, be aware of the pro's and cons of such a move and plan accordingly. You want to make the move as quickly as possible in order to strike while the AI is still building up.