Cycle 15
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Fortification
Our overheads have gone up due to our acquisition of two new Control systems. Unfortunately this is what we can expect from now on. Patreus' Power is reaching critical mass and the larger we get the harder it will be to maintain a supply of CC and hold on to our systems. Fortification really is the name of the game here. Let's see our key systems Fortified early on and work from there.
Smei Tsu (outposts only. 4 cmdrs in fully loaded Pythons could complete this in 7 runs)
Bang
Paesi
Cuchua
Picaurukan
Buricasses
HIP 101846
Preparation
As you may have noticed, our two new Control systems have increased our Overheads to the point where we don't have enough CC to spend on Preparation this cycle. So don't waste your merits on Preparation - Patreus could use you Fortifying instead. Expect there to be no Expansions next cycle as a result of this.
Expansion
We have two profitable systems up for Expansion this cycle;
LTT 8260, and
HIP 101598 . Both are good - although they will increase our Overheads again - but that's an issue we need to resolve next time Patreus goes into Turmoil by selective Fortification and getting rid of our worst systems and holding on to decent systems like these.
Undermining
The Empire is launching Operation Janus this cycle. The details of this are being kept classified, but interested parties can private message me for details.
Background Simulation
Anyone wishing to help in the background simulation should also private message me. We have now surveyed all systems in Patreus space and if you fancy helping out by doing bulletin board missions and flipping a system government to one that will be easier for Patreus to Fortify, we can tell you all you need to know about doing that.
The Future
I touched briefly on the fact that Patreus' Power is now reaching critical mass and that our Overheads are rising with every new system we acquire. What does that mean for the future of Patreus' Power? We have the potential to stabilise where we are, and even grow further,
if we had more people and pushed our Fortification. This is what Lavigny does using her vast numbers and why her critical mass point is higher than ours. Our other option is strategic Turmoil. Next time Patreus looks set to enter Turmoil - which could be next week depending on how well Patreus commanders Fortify this week and how much we get undermined - we have a very good opportunity to shed systems that are only making a loss in CC for the Power. We would do that by Fortifying our profit making systems and leaving our worst loss making systems open to undermining, in conjunction with a scrap deal with Sirius and Utopia (with our understanding, they come and undermine our worst systems, getting merits for them and for us ensure that the systems most dragging us down are lost from our Control systems burden). Not gonna lie, that week would be a tough ask for our commanders as we have 25 systems that make a profit for us - all of which would need to be Fortified. It is doable though - last time Patreus was in Turmoil our commanders successfully Fortified exactly 25 systems in a truly outstanding effort. The rest of our Control systems all make losses for us.
In summary, Commanders should look to the Fortification alerts in these posts to know where to Fortify and where not to Fortify, and brace for strategic Turmoil soon in upcoming cycles.
