Sid Meier's Starships Guide: How to Pick the Best Wonders

Sid Meier’s Starships launches today and there’s a whole load of different Wonders to obtain. These Wonders work much like those of Civilization or Beyond Earth, granting overall benefits to your entire operation from the moment they are built. They come in a variety of different forms and as a result are important to different styles of gameplay. If you never use fighters, you’re not going to need Hyperlaunch and if you play using the Harmony Affinity there’s less importance to the Great Shipyard Wonder.

That’s why we decided to pull this guide together. Both as a resource where you can find every single Wonder listed and to advise you on whether it’s worth making it for your play style. Not every planet can make every Wonder don’t forget. Also bear in mind that your opponents can also build these Wonders on a planet where it’d be available unless you build it first. Enough of this random and probably extraneous text for you. Let’s get down to the business of Wonders in Sid Meier’s Starships.

Each one of the Wonders listed features the in-game description, along with a more in-depth look at its effects and a rating to help you make particular ones a priority.

Hyperlaunch

Your fighters have full initial movement of launch. Hyperrail accelerators, rack storage for your fighters, and improved acceleration help get your pilots into the fight faster.

If you aren’t using using fighters in Sid Meier’s Starships then you’re probably doing yourself a disservice. These small aircrafts are not as capable of taking damage as your main vessels but they’re incredibly powerful when flown in behind enemy crafts to use their weapons at close range. Being able to launch them into combat quickly without having to go through a turn when they only get one hex of movement is a gift from the gods. They’re especially useful for getting around asteroids and hitting the enemy where it hurts.

Hyperlaunch is absolutely necessary if you use Fighters frequently, especially if you combine this with plenty of research into Artificial Intelligence to make them even more powerful. Combine it with the Dual Command and Tight Squeeze Wonders to give your Fighters even more power against your foes.

Warp Control

Gain control of tactical jumps through wormholes. Your scientists have learned how to predict the quantum indeterminacy of the warp, eliminating the randomness of warp operations.

Wormholes are those little orange spout-looking things that often pop up on maps. They can give you a distinct movement advantage over your enemies but they do throw you out in random places without this Wonder. The tide of battle can be turned with a simple destroyer or even a lowly fighter group in Sid Meier’s Starships. If you’re finding that you often have trouble maneuvering your fleet into a good position, Warp Control can give you an ability to easily engage from a position you find advantageous.

Warp Control is far from necessary. It can be easily surpassed by frequent upgrades on your engines and the use of Fighters to increase your ability to get ships to precisely where you need them. Don’t aim for Warp Control as a priority. Instead, only take it if you’ve got surplus Metals or if you’re going for a Wonder victory.

Intelli Shields

Shields are fully effective regardless of your facing. Sophisticated AI subroutines control the shield capacitors, providing 360 degree protection for your ships.

The shields of Sid Meier’s Starships work much the same as shields in any other space-faring title. They hold off most of the damage flying towards your vessel while recharging after every turn of battle. They are however weaker when damage comes from the sides or rear. That’s where this beautiful Wonder comes into play. Apply this, and your ships will get the full benefit of their shields no matter where damage comes from. This offers you protection from pesky Fighters, not to mention literally covering your ass when you make an error in maneuvering.

If you’ve got a planet in your federation which has the Intelli Shields Wonder then you absolutely have to pick it up. It isn’t going to save your life, but it will give you some much needed breathing space out in the vacuum of interstellar warfare.

Dual Command

You may fire your weapon and take another action or take two actions per turn in addition to movement. Training and tactics enable your crews to work with almost computer-like efficiency, doubling their workload.

Normally your ships are only able to perform one action a turn. This can be anything from firing your lasers to sending a torpedo hurtling across the stars. The Dual Command Wonder of Sid Meier’s Starships removes this restriction, allowing you to have those huge vessels under your command undergo two actions a turn. You can still only fire your weapons once, but with Dual Command you can do this and still dispatch a group of Fighters or engage sensors to spot enemy crafts that might be cloaking nearby.

Dual Command isn’t just a good Wonder, it’s a totally awesome Wonder that every fleet commander needs to have in their lives. It almost allows each single ship to have the influence of two crafts at once. Don’t just think about getting Dual Command. Sell whatever you can to build the Wonder and you’ll be the happiest fleet captain in the world. Not to mention the deadliest.

Convergent Light

Your laser now has a longer range. Dynamic lensing, photonic pulsing, and advanced targeting matrices put more power in a smaller space at farther.

The value of Convergent light should already be obvious. Your long-ranged leaser weapons can now deal their massive damage over a longer range than before. Every ship can have lasers and for dealing with enemies at a long range, every one of them should. Even if your fleet’s combat focus is around Plasma Cannons or deploying fighters, Convergent Light provides a significant boon to your exploits in the battles of Sid Meier’s Starships.

The priority you should afford to Convergent Light as a Wonder depends on how you’ve built your fleet. If you put more resources into laser weapons than others then it’s a definite certainty that you should prioritize this. However if you go a different way, only build this Wonder if there’s nothing else. If anything, it will go towards your Wonder total to give a surprise victory from having loads of them.

Great Shipyard

Repair costs are reduced by 50%. This immense network of docks, yards, and factories bustling with unceasing activity, returning damaged ships to service.

Here’s a Wonder that sounds much better than it actually is. At first glance, Great Shipyard is a glorious Wonder that’ll save you more energy than a million Duracell batteries. When you’ve actually played more of Sid Meier’s Starships though, you come to realize that this isn’t exactly the best Wonder out there. A reduced repair cost is always nice, don’t assume that it’s unimportant. It’s just incredibly easy to get by without bothering to take Great Shipyard.

This is especially true when you play using Harmony. The Harmony Affinity already greats you a 50% cheaper repair cost, making the benefit granted by Great Shipyard much less worthwhile. If you find that your ships are always taking damage in battles then it’s not a bad choice to go for it. Should you generally be good at avoiding damage and regular take Shore Leave, the Great Shipyard’s benefits don’t exactly count for much.

Damage Control

You no longer take critical hits. Drill and simulation of combat damage scenarios gives your crew the ability to fix problems almost as soon as they occur.

This Wonder, oh my. Critical hits can be a serious pain in the backside, taking everything from your engines to those shields you hide behind down in an instant. Damage Control allows you to completely ignore the possibility of these painful issues striking your ships and giving you the added reassurance that you’ll not lose those all-important sensors when the enemy is sneaking around you waiting for an opportunity to strike.

If Damage Control is available to you, you buy it. You don’t think about it, you don’t consider it, you just do it. Critical hits can throw a major spanner into the works of any strategy in Sid Meier’s Starships. The glorious opportunity to avoid this terrible affliction is beautiful. Simply beautiful. It’s alright to shed a tear of joy just thinking about it. We did.

Jump Start

You move first in all battles. Your targeting and maneuvering systems are no longer affected by FTL-deceleration, instantly bringing you into combat readiness.

There’s one constant in Sid Meier’s Starships that proves to be a constant bone of contention for players. You rarely seem to go first unless there’s something special about the mission you’re undertaking. With Jump Start, you’ll always go first in battle no matter the situation. That means you can move into a better position well before your opponents can, luring them into traps you can set many turns before you’d normally be able to do so.

Jump Start is actually not all that incredible for slower moving or more defensive fleets. If your strategy hinges upon quickly getting stealth vessels and Fighters into position or tempting enemies into a pincer attack, then Jump Start is utterly necessary. If not, maybe take it if you want to go first for once in your life.

Glide Path

Impulse power now provides 3 moves instead of 1. Next-generation inertial dampers give your ships an edge in mobility, even when thrusters are offline.

An oft-forgotten aspect of this game is that you don’t have to just move and fire. You can make your way into a position and want a little more time to adjust your facing or get ready for that deadly strike next turn. That’s where Glide Path comes into play. If you forego firing your weapons or conducting any other activities (unless you take Dual Command as another Wonder), you can engage impulse drives to keep you moving an extra hex forward. With Glide Path, that becomes 3 spare movement points.

Glide Path sounds absolutely incredible in theory but in practice, it’s not all that useful. If you find yourself having trouble when properly aligning your fleet then it’s a good way to go. Otherwise though, maybe focus your precious resources somewhere else.

Redundant Systems

Your ships automatically repair 50% damage per turn. Decentralized AI control and redundant/self-coordination smart systems can work around to restore capability.

Where Great Shipyard wasn’t particularly useful, Redundant Systems really shines. This tasty little Wonder allows your ships to repair themselves for half of the damage their took during battle at the end of every turn without the need to expend any resources. That means that if you had a sudden and unintentional lapse of concentration which put your flagship in danger, Redundant Systems might keep it going a little longer.

There’s no question here. Redundant Systems is an amazing Wonder. It’ll keep your ships flying after they’ve taken significant damage and may even allow you to enact a swift comeback after an enemy’s torpedo got a little too close and almost took out half of your forces.

Naval Tradition

Your crew operates at full effectiveness in battles. Your spacefaring heritage is the pride of the Federation, and the challenge of combat causes your crew to rise to the occasion.

A tired crew is an inefficient crew. Throughout Sid Meier’s Starships your crew morale drops with every movement you make (unless via Warp Gates) and with every battle you engage in. The lower this is when you start a battle the less capable your ships are when trying to act at full efficiency. The Naval Tradition Wonder removes this lack of effectiveness from a tired crew, allowing you to perform to a higher standard no matter how tired your crew is. You’ll still have to take shore leave and there’ll still be that restriction hanging over you, but your fleet will always perform to its best.

Naval Tradition is a great Wonder to go for if you spend a lot of time flying to new worlds or you’re preparing to take down an enemy’s home planet. The reduction in efficiency isn’t noticeable without this Wonder, but most definitely is when you’ve got it. Take Naval Tradition if you’re going into battle as your primary method of being victorious in Sid Meier’s Starships.

Naval College

You receive three Battle Cards at a time. Exceptional training of your office corps leads to leaders who can improvise responses to almost any crisis.

The Battle Cards of Sid Meier’s Starships are easy to miss. You’ll find them at the bottom left of your battle screen. Do not forget them. They can be incredibly useful when taking on a foe, especially one that seems to be more powerful than your own fleet. Battle Cards can be fairly useless in situations like the ones which repair all critical hits, something which rarely happens and even when it does can easily be rectified.  They can also turn the tide of war, like Hyper Conductors which increases all firepower by 50% or Saboteurs which instantly deals 25 damage to all enemy ships, often bringing down fighters instantly.

Naval College isn’t a Wonder that makes your fleet more powerful directly. It instead gives you a passive way to make your fleet even more deadly with randomized special abilities. If it’s offered to you, take it. Take it and never let it go. Love it like your own child and use Battle Cards to propel you into victory.

Torpedo Boosters

Your torpedoes move faster. A brilliantly powerful and inexpensive thruster system is applied to all your torpedo systems.

Torpedoes aren’t like normal weapons. They aren’t launched before doing damage instantly to the enemy. Instead, they spear across the battlefield like small bombs which can be detonated or told to move further at the beginning of each turn. They’re often forgotten by commanders and yet hold the power within them to utterly decimate your enemies without a moment’s hesitation.

If you don’t use torpedoes at all then Torpedo Boosters isn’t going to do anything for your battle plans. If you do though, Torpedo Boosters grants you missiles which move a ton faster than they usually do and can cause incredible damage to your opponents quicker than usual. It also means enemy vessels are less likely to move away from your missile.

Stealth Torpedo

Your torpedoes are undetectable after they are launched. Stealth fabrications and shaping technologies used in ships are applied to your torpedoes.

What’s more effective than a gigantic missile? How about a gigantic missile that the enemy can’t see? Torpedoes move slowly across the field, allowing opponents to maneuver their fleets out of danger. Stealth Torpedo means that your missiles are not visible, meaning that the massive explosion which decimates your enemy will come completely out of nowhere. Be incredibly careful if you are going up against a fleet that has this Wonder though, as a stray torpedo can destroy even your most powerful ships in a second.

The Stealth Torpedo Wonder should only be purchased if you frequently use torpedoes in combat. If they’re only there as a backup for you, then the resources put into this Wonder could definitely be better spent elsewhere.

 Reactive Armor

Your ships no longer take damage from torpedoes. Explosive armor blocks and a watch guardian AI work together to disperse torpedo shock waves.

Enemy torpedoes are a pain in the ass. They come into your fleet and cause huge damage to whatever ship they hit. The Reactive Armor Wonder completely negates the destructive power of several tons of TNT flying through space. It sounds too good to be true and that’s because really, it isn’t worth your time or effort except in special circumstances.

These circumstances aren’t exactly wide either. Unless you’re going up against an enemy fleet which uses Stealth Torpedos or Torpedo Boosters, Reactive Armor is about as useful as strapping a political sticker to the back of your ships. This is especially true when, other than Stealth Torpeoes, a flying torpedo can be easily avoided by simply spreading out your fleet. Only buy this if the earlier situation applies or if you’re going for a victory using Wonders.

Cloaking

Ship Stealth Modules are always active. Self-cycling stealth meshes keep at modules active at all times without needing the crew’s  attention.

We agree, stealth modules in Sid Meier’s Starships can often feel a little redundant. You have to activate them at the cost of other actions every turn and they can be easily slipped through when an enemy vessel gets a little too close. If you’ve got the Cloaking Wonder available to you though, it’s time to go stick on some stealth systems and jump around your foe like a gaggle of ninjas on a sugar high.

The Cloaking Wonder means that all of your ships with a stealth module will automatically activate it without the need for you to do anything. If you have this available to you but don’t actually use stealth, go buy a bunch of them for your ships and get this Wonder. The enemy will never know what’s coming. Literally.

Tight Squeeze

Your fighters can move through asteroids. Fighter Pilots are taught how to negotiate asteroid fields. Their Fighters also have louder collision alarms, just in case.

The battlefields of Sid Meier’s Starships are awash with asteroid fields. They are what might constitute as cover in this game’s world and can be either a help or a hindrance to your victory, depending on how lucky you get. Tight Squeeze allows your fighters to slip through these without having any problems, vastly improving their ability to zip around the enemy to get into battle quickly.

If you have a Fighter-heavy strategy, Tight Squeeze is a great Wonder to take on. That being said, if you have the Dual Control and Hyperlaunch Wonders available to you first then you should be buying those as they’ll have a much greater positive effect in your gameplay than this one.

Repulsors

Your ship can pass through narrow passages in asteroid fields. Resonator array matched with your shield generators gently move small obstacles aside as your ship passes.

Asteroid fields stop big ships getting through them too. Now while fighters often have an easier time getting through these, larger ships have to be very careful which often makes it less than a good idea to try to fly through areas full of asteroids. If you take the Repulsors Wonder though, you’ll find that the mobility of your fleet is heightened to crazy levels.

If your fleet is quite slow and mainly relies upon doing damage at long range, Repulsors isn’t a priority. If you use a large amount of fast ships to zip around the enemy then for the love of all that’s holy take Repulsors. They’ll give you even more avenues for movement from which to execute a merry barrage of death upon your enemies.