Hutama
If the idea of taking over the galaxy with crushingly intense good looks is your idea of a fun way to play Sid Meier’s Starships, then you need look no further than Hutama. Whenever his fleet visits a world, they will gain a bonus equal to the first visit. This is always a quick way to get your popularity on any world up to one bar. That might not sound like much, but since you’ll often be arriving at worlds and completing a mission to grant you another point of Influence, you’ll be starting off with two right out of the door.
Now that isn’t any different to other leaders, true. Where Hutama differs though is that he can then return to a world after visiting it once to get that same additional “pip” of influence again. Where other Leaders may have to make a handful of visits and throw improvements or cities around like psychopaths to gain influence, Hutama needs only to visit to boost his popularity. This makes him a great contender for quickly amassing a large amount of planets and a surefire way to collect the Population Victory.
Other Leaders can build cities all they want, but when Hutama rolls into town their hard work often falls into his hands. Supplement his already insane ability with a strong fleet capable of taking on any mission with ease and you’ve got a Leader who can extent his hand across the stars better than anyone else.
Rejinaldo Bolivar
Rejinaldo Bolivar will appeal to all of the warmongers out there. This master commander of fleets starts with three starships where other leaders usually start with two. That means you’ve got more tactical options during combat and a significant advantage over your foes early in the game. Yes when you think about it this is only saving you 1000 Energy. When you look at it another way though, that’s 1000 Energy which can be invested into upgrading each vessel with fighter groups or improved shields rather than having to buy a third ship.
While this isn’t a long-standing benefit like those of Hutama or Samatur Jama Barre, it is a short-term opportunity to exert your increased strength upon your enemies without having to pay through the nose. Bolivar’s fleets often grow to be larger than those of other Leaders. Surely you can see where this is going.
If you want to win through taking over your enemy’s home worlds, then Rejinalo Bolivar is a fantastic choice. He will allow you to quickly assault the central government of any other empire and quickly get them into your collective. Of course later in this game this one additional starship isn’t exactly much. The key to winning in Sid Meier’s Starships comes from applying pressure from the greatest source you have. In the case of Bolivar, that pressure comes from pulling the trigger on your enemies before they can fight back.
Suzanne Fielding
There’s not a whole lot of fluidity among the Leaders of Sid Meier’s Starships. Their special abilities and talents are often quite focused on a single important factor. Suzanne Fielding represents a different way. Her ability to gain an extra 50 credits per city she owns per turn. In the early game, this is almost totally useless. Your collection of cities is tiny so an extra handful of credits aren’t going to be of much help.
Further down the line though, Suzanne Fielding’s unique ability can help you buy anything you need via the Market. As long as you prioritize the production of cities, the amount of credits you roll in will be high enough to buy whatever resources you might need to further cement the power of your federation. Buying resources with it makes sense in the short term. When looking down through the ages though, this isn’t the best use of your credits.
Suzanne Fielding’s bonus in Sid Meier’s Starships lends itself almost perfectly to Population Victory via the purchasing of Influence. Credits can be used to buy this Influence on new worlds. To create a larger empire, this Influence is going to be important when populating the galaxy with your people.
