How to Deal With Pirates in Endless Space 2

Endless Space 2 offers an entire arsenal of ships and infantry troops to help you deal with various threats plaguing the unexplored universe. One of the biggest such threats is the pirate fleet, which you may encounter completely randomly during the campaign.

The pirates are absurdly overpowered, and if you can’t find a way to deal with them, then take a look at the step-by-step guide below for some essential tips that should help you out.

Step 1: Create and Send Out Scout Ships

Scout ships are a must when it comes to detecting a pirate base before it reveals itself and attacks you. Scouts are cheap, as they don’t need any armor or fancy weapons, so create a few and send them before turn 11, which is when pirates start attacking.

Pirate bases usually spawn one jump from home systems or systems with planets. This should give you a sense of where to send the ships and look for the base.

Step 2: Adjust Your Hero Ship Design

Assigning a Hero Ship is absolutely necessary for increasing your ground army’s value. But first, you must make a few changes to its design before venturing into the battle with pirates:

• The Hero Ship must have enough speed to maneuver around the pirate fleet that will try to defend the base, so give it two engines.
• Remove the default weapons and set up rocket launchers instead.
• The Hero Ship must be well protected, so make sure that the armor is attached.

Step 3: Prepare for the Battle

Before the battle begins, you can make a few more adjustments in your game menu in order to increase your damage. 

1. Go to “Military Overview”
2. Choose “Battle Tactics”
3. Activate “Barrage Fire”

The last thing you need to do before the battle starts is to activate the fleet action “Guard,” a necessary defense mechanism in this situation.

Step 4: Fight for Victory

Before arriving at the pirate base, use the “Barrage Fire” tactics to eliminate the pirate fleet, which will grant you +2% damage at long range per enemy ship.

As soon as you’re done with the fleet, activate the “Ground Battle” plan once you arrive at the pirate base. When the battle starts, use the “Preemptive Bombing” on all turns.

This should be sufficient enough to deal with the pirates in Endless Space 2.

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If you’re also looking for some help on how to use probes in Endless Space 2, then refer to the guide below:

• Endless Space 2: Using Probes Effectively