Super Ability

From the Galactic Civilizations Wiki

In Dark Avatar and Twilight of Arnor, each race has a unique Super Ability which makes it almost overpowered in one area. You can choose which Super Ability you want, when you use the Custom Race; otherwise, it is hardcoded and not selectable by the player. Super Abilities can be toggled off in the game setup if you prefer to play without this feature. The Super Abilities are:

• Super Adapter (Iconian Refuge)
  • Can colonize Aquatic and Toxic worlds at the beginning of the game.
  • Note: Very useful in the early to midgame, as it allows you to grab planets that others can't, though you still need to research the advanced versions of the techs to make full use of the planets. The two techs themselves also make good trade fodder early in the colony rush. The trait's usefulness drops drastically as the colony rush winds down and you run out of empty planets to colonize, which also makes the AIs value them less and less as trade goods.
• Super Annihilator (Korath Clan)
  • Can build a Spore ship, which turns defenseless colonies into toxic worlds owned by you. Can colonize Toxic worlds at the beginning of the game.
  • Note: Using spore ships can put a huge strain on your economy as you take over planets with fully-intact infrastructures - and the associated production and maintenance costs - but almost zero population to provide taxes that offset those costs.
• Super Breeder (Torian Confederation)
  • If approval is at 100%, then it gets 800% bonus to population growth rate instead of 200%.
  • Note: Possibly one of the best racial super abilities around, especially in larger maps. Keeping the bulk of your developing planets' approval at 100%, you can expand exponentially and very quickly. If used correctly, your planets can grow by up to 1.5 billion a turn, securing a strong economy for taxes much quickly.
  • Note: (Need confirmation) Your TOTAL approval rate need not be at 100% for this to work. As long as a planet is at a 100% approval rate, it will take effect (based on observations so far).
• Super Diplomat (Terran Alliance)
  • Secures much better deals through negotiation. According to some tool-tips, also receives bonuses to influence. Can talk to other civs each 4th turn instead each 8th.
• Super Dominator (Drengin Empire)
  • Receives some free Super Dominator Corvette-class ships whenever the civ goes to war, with the number of ships being related to the civ's military score at the time. Can more easily extort money from other civs.
  • Note: The ships are low-HP ships with a 3 mass-driver attack each. While extremely useful in early to mid-games, their lack of scalability relegates them to the role of harassment (taking out unguarded space stations) or to cannon-fodders at the later stages of the game. It is adviced that the player should capitalize upon its initial advantage before they are outdated.
  • Corvettes also take up maintenance fees, so a throng of them can strain the economy.
• Super Hive (Thalan Empire)
  • Factories Cost divided by 4 and has greater ship range.
  • Note: This gets new colonies on their feet quickly, but can put a huge strain on your economy due to this.
  • Note: Extremely useful ability in DA, but in TA, it is greatly diminished as the initial high costs of your industries will render the 'spam building' of factories even more debilitating to your economy.
• Super Isolationist (Yor Collective)
  • Can colonize barren worlds and foreign vessels cannot travel more than 3 spaces per turn in their territory.
  • Note: A useful ability in early and late game, when it lets you grab more planets during the colony rush early and slow down enemies later on when they actually get around to researching engine techs. Doesn't do too terribly much during the time between the two stages though.
• Super Manipulator (Drath Legion)
  • Easily instigates wars between other races and then profits off of them.
  • Note: The Legion gains a certain amount of cash each turn as long as there are wars between other factions. It is not known if it applies to all warring factions or just those who have been instigated to do so.
• Super Organizer (Altarian Resistance)
  • When attacked, other races of a similar alignment will come to your aid, and you are rarely attacked by races of a similar alignment.
  • Note: Unlike the AI, when the Altarians are attacked and your alignment is the same as theirs, you will be prompted to choose if you wish to intervene, thus it is solely a matter of choice. However, it is important to note that if you intervene, any pre-existing alliances with the warmongering faction (the aggressor) will be broken, earning you a diplomatic malus ("They do not trust us" x 2) for the rest of the game, which can severely hurt your diplomacy.
• Super Spy (Krynn Consulate)
  • Starts with a spy and the ability to build Counter espionage centers. Also can set the Espionage slider to a higher value than anyone else.
• Super Trader (Dominion of Korx)
  • Starts with all trade techs and receives additional income from trade.
  • Note: Very useful in small to medium sized maps, or maybe even large maps, but this racial ability tends to weaken in larger maps due to the limited number of trade routes that can be installed. If used well and effectively, trade can yield you more than 1000 b.c.s a turn. However, be warned that your freighters can be destroyed in times of war.
• Super Warrior (Arcean Empire)
  • Receives a first strike ability in ship-to-ship combat. Only applies during the first round of combat.
  • Note: This is a MASSIVE bonus in combat, especially against enemies who pump attack while neglecting defense on their ships.