So I've just finished my first playthrough with Vodyani and noticed that I cant do anything about outposts from rival factions. 

I spawned really close to a minor faction and immediately started leeching essence and planing my invasion and Ark anchoring. 

With a bit of planing I managed to build an ark just as I finally won a ground battle and cleared the system for the taking, but before my ark managed to arrive the Lumeris swooped in and bought the system. 

What a cool surprise!

It was great seeing the AI use the Lumeris affinity so well and make me do all the grunt work for him, just what I would expect from a  faction like this. But as the Vodyani there was nothing I could do but wait for it to finally be colonized (~10 turns) and then just conquer it again. All other factions can set an outpost of their own on the system and fight for the control of it but the Vodyani are left out of the game ( I tried leeching away the pop on the system and it didn't seem to do anything). 

Haven't played the game since the patch, but before that the Vodyani were able to leech outposts, drastically slowing (or nullifying) their growth. 

It's interesting that the Lumeris were able to fund an outpost on a system you had conquered... I guess the combination of Vodyani unique population/colonization mechanics and the weird influence thing going on (it takes a very long time for influence to reflect current conditions) made that possible.

Questions: did you assimilate the minor faction after conquering them? Is that the only time it's happened to you? Do you think you could test it again?

People keep mentioning this, but I have never ever been able to leech an outpost, pre or post patch.

Eji1700 wrote:

People keep mentioning this, but I have never ever been able to leech an outpost, pre or post patch.

It can be done. The more leechers you assign to the system, the quicker it's drained.

As you can see in this screenshot, I'm 4 turns away from purging the outpost of Adana I.

TheTakenKing wrote:

Haven't played the game since the patch, but before that the Vodyani were able to leech outposts, drastically slowing (or nullifying) their growth. 

It's interesting that the Lumeris were able to fund an outpost on a system you had conquered... I guess the combination of Vodyani unique population/colonization mechanics and the weird influence thing going on (it takes a very long time for influence to reflect current conditions) made that possible.

Questions: did you assimilate the minor faction after conquering them? Is that the only time it's happened to you? Do you think you could test it again?

The system i was trying to colonize was out of my influence area so I think the Lumris should have no problem doing it .I just assumed that I need to park my Ark at the system to assimilate it to my area of influence and not that I gain influence over that area just by wining the combat (Ark being mobile bases also have mobile influence?).

The race was assimilated but no actual population came under my control on any of my systems. I'll try testing it again in my next playthrough. 

vahouth wrote:

Eji1700 wrote:

People keep mentioning this, but I have never ever been able to leech an outpost, pre or post patch.

It can be done. The more leechers you assign to the system, the quicker it's drained.

As you can see in this screenshot, I'm 4 turns away from purging the outpost of Adana I.

Thanks for the photo, it gives me some ideas to test if I still can't do it.

TheTakenKing wrote:

Haven't played the game since the patch, but before that the Vodyani were able to leech outposts, drastically slowing (or nullifying) their growth. 

In one playthrough, I actually killed outposts.  I had a fleet of vampire ships that would show up and it absolutely devoured outposts.  I could never kill true colonies, though.

Eji1700 wrote:

vahouth wrote:

Eji1700 wrote:

People keep mentioning this, but I have never ever been able to leech an outpost, pre or post patch.

It can be done. The more leechers you assign to the system, the quicker it's drained.

As you can see in this screenshot, I'm 4 turns away from purging the outpost of Adana I.

Thanks for the photo, it gives me some ideas to test if I still can't do it.

I always put at least one leecher module in every single ship I make, even in newly built Arks. 

Once anchored I then modify them again.

vahouth wrote:

Eji1700 wrote:

vahouth wrote:

Eji1700 wrote:

People keep mentioning this, but I have never ever been able to leech an outpost, pre or post patch.

It can be done. The more leechers you assign to the system, the quicker it's drained.

As you can see in this screenshot, I'm 4 turns away from purging the outpost of Adana I.

Thanks for the photo, it gives me some ideas to test if I still can't do it.

I always put at least one leecher module in every single ship I make, even in newly built Arks. 

Once anchored I then modify them again.

I do as well, other than arcs, which is why its been confusing