I've spotted some controversy in replies. So, to clarify:

• Tracing starts only when you reach defended node and start a hack on it. Protected node migh be your final destination or in the middle of the route. It doesn't matter how long the route was, trace will only start at the moment you've reached protected node. 
• Trace speed is constant, it is not affected by defensive programs.

Karmah wrote:

Sanctuaries actually *steal* resources ,right? Meaning the opponent actually loses some of its FIDSIes ,right? 

 Also to detect a sanctuary can you do it with a ship carrying a detection module ? are there other ways to do it?  

Finally, once I detect a sanctuary on one of my systems, can I attack it with a fleet? 

Thx in advance !

No, Sanctuaries do not steal reasources. They simply provide resources to the Umbral Choir without a colony on the planet. 

A Sanctuary can only be detected by hacking or by launching probes from ships with detection modules on them. Passive detection modules detect only fleets, not structures.

Yes, once you know a Sanctuary is on the system you can besiege it and attack it like any other Colony. 

Valadeus wrote:

Karmah wrote:

Sanctuaries actually *steal* resources ,right? Meaning the opponent actually loses some of its FIDSIes ,right? 

 Also to detect a sanctuary can you do it with a ship carrying a detection module ? are there other ways to do it?  

Finally, once I detect a sanctuary on one of my systems, can I attack it with a fleet? 

Thx in advance !

No, Sanctuaries do not steal reasources. They simply provide resources to the Umbral Choir without a colony on the planet. 

A Sanctuary can only be detected by hacking or by launching probes from ships with detection modules on them. Passive detection modules detect only fleets, not structures.

Yes, once you know a Sanctuary is on the system you can besiege it and attack it like any other Colony. 

Thx for this very usefull answer ! 

I'll second the question on using offensive programs.  I've gotten my run off the ground and am doing "ok", but it seems that no matter how i arrange my offesnive programs, the hack takes the same amount of time.

I will attempt to answer your questions HuskOfKnowledge. 

1) The +5% hacking speed bonus applies only to nodes adjacent to the backdoor (meaning directly connected to in terms of hacking), it is not star lanes it's every node that is one hacking jump away from the backdoor. 

2) Sanctuaries provide no speed bonus to hacking speed at all, the benefits of a Sanctuary on enemy occupied nodes are that you can start a hacking operation from there without the need for a backdoor, it functions as a friendly node during hacking operations which means you will automatically bypass enemy Defensive Programs without starting a Trace (a Track program will still track the hack though) and you can place a Track program on them to watch any hacking operations that pass through that Sanctuary. Keep in mind that Sanctuaries are supposed to be hidden so if you put a Defensive Program on a Sanctuary and someone hacks through it and encounters the Trace, they'll know you have a Sanctuary there if there's no other reason for that program to be there.

2a) The Backdoor is separate from a Sanctuary in terms of hacking. If you have a Sanctuary on a planet occupied by another faction it will count as a friendly node in all hacking operations, regardless of the enemy's defenses on the node. In most situations a Sanctuary is preferable to a backdoor, if possible. 

2b) You cannot create a backdoor program, backdoors can only be created via hacking. 

Abduct Sleeper - When used on a homeworld will abduct a number of Sleepers from the empire based on the number of Sleepers you have. I don't know the exact equation but you can abduct many Sleepers ONLY when hacking a homeworld and only when you already have several Sleepers in that empire. 

Hacking Programs 

1) In the example provided you should be using no hacking programs at all until you encounter your target node of "Cran." At which point the Offensive programs you use will depend on what kind of resistance you run into or what kind of time table you have. An Accelerator program will make the hack of that node go 30% faster. This is a good option if you're trying to beat a trace. Overload will potential outright cancel defensive programs if they force the opponent's bandwidth over the threshold but this is not guaranteed and does little otherwise. Piggyback will allow you to put additional Offensive programs on that node for less bandwidth than they normally cost. This is only effective if you're planning on doing a lot of offensive programs on one node, which is not often. Divert will change the final destination of your hacking operation and is essentially used to end the hack early and avoid a trace program completing. 

2) There is nothing you can do to stop or slow down the trace once the hacking operation has started. At this point your only options are to put an Accelerator program on the node to try and complete the hack faster or use a Divert program to change the destination of the hacking operation to someplace closer so it will finish sooner. Neither of these options will cancel the trace, merely attempt to complete your operation before the trace completes. If you are concerned you may be traced, the best defense is to route your hacking operation through several intermediary nodes before reaching your destination, this forces the trace to take a longer path back to the source. 

Rule of Thumb: 

All programs (Defensive and Offensive) affect ONLY the nodes they're placed on, they have no effect on hacking operations traveling between nodes or taking place on subsequent nodes. 

Valadeus wrote:

TheFunMachine wrote:

Can someone explain to me how you populate sanctuaries?

Once created, you can establish a "Sanctuary Link" from the starting system by examining the starting system and selecting the "Sanctuary Link" button in the lower-left corner. Click the system you want to link to and all new population that is generated will spawn at the linked Sanctuary. Be advised that any ships you create will also spawn at the Sanctuary for as long as this link is activated. 

It can be terminated at any time, for free, by clicking the "X" above the link button. 

Ooooooooh, the text as I read it suggested it was only for spawning ships.... Thanks for clearing this up! :)

I'm not one to speak on or define the meta, I don't usually pay attention to it. However, I can say that hacking is a part of the game and a powerful one when used by a skilled hacker so defensive programs are definitely important. 

1) Defensive programs are permanent until you disable them. Hacking operations themselves take no bandwidth so I would use as many defensive programs as you can afford as long as you leave enough open bandwidth for a few offensive programs for your hacking operations. I also wouldn't worry too much about putting more than Encrypt on most systems. You'll learn through experimentation where the other defensive programs come into play but to start with, definitely just focus on having Encrypt on as many systems as you can afford to put it on. 

2) A trace operation must go all the way back to the source of the operation to complete the trace and terminate the hack. Keep in mind that your opponent can see the trace path for as long as it remains active so even if it doesn't complete, they can get a general idea where it came from and line up defenses accordingly. To answer the second part: your opponent can "assume" it's you but they can't be certain unless the trace completes. The hack could be passing through your node if you have no defenses on it, it could be a Sanctuary node for the Umbral Choir which would allow them to pass freely through your node regardless of your defenses on it, it could be a backdoor node from another empire, it could be a node intentionally used by another player specifically to trigger this trace and lead the target to your doorstep so they think it's you or it could simply be that it's actually you. (Isn't this fun?!)  

2a) No, your defensive programs have absolutely no use at all on a trace operation, they are unaffected by defensive programs. 

To touch on your points in the interim paragraph (there are a few here). The programs do speed up your hacking but all programs are node specific and affect only the nodes they are placed on. Hacking can actually kill enemy defenses (see the "Jam Commands" result when hacking a city). Programs themselves don't do any physical harm because they're merely modifiers to the hacking operation itself.  Pirates are actually expert hackers (most of what we call piracy today is the result of someone hacking something). You have to remember that the pirates of a space-age setting are not the rag-tag band of miscreants you'd find in Pirates of the Carribean, they'd be more like Morpheus' band of misfits in The Matrix. 

3) The Umbral Choir is excellent at hacking and is capable of much more defense than other factions simply on account of the amount of bandwidth they have at their disposal. Unfortunately, if you got a notification that someone was setting up defense on a node then the "risk" of hacking is completely gone and it becomes a system with no risk and all gain, that's not a good design. The point of the hacking "minigame" is essentially that you are required to outmaneuver your opponent, this can be done through mind games, bait and switch, backdoor shenanigans, passive observation (such as with the "Track" program or by doing nothing when you're given the chance to trace someone). 

@Sotnik, another thing you can do against tracing is use divert to make a longer path. Provided you can make a better path, of course.

Thank you all for your kind explanations.

A small tip for other players and maybe an idea for balance: there is a technology allowing to create shrines on destroyed planets. And when Cravers start to blast the galaxy with their Behemoths, you know what to do :).

Valadeus wrote:

I'm not one to speak on or define the meta, I don't usually pay attention to it. However, I can say that hacking is a part of the game and a powerful one when used by a skilled hacker so defensive programs are definitely important. 

1) Defensive programs are permanent until you disable them. Hacking operations themselves take no bandwidth so I would use as many defensive programs as you can afford as long as you leave enough open bandwidth for a few offensive programs for your hacking operations. I also wouldn't worry too much about putting more than Encrypt on most systems. You'll learn through experimentation where the other defensive programs come into play but to start with, definitely just focus on having Encrypt on as many systems as you can afford to put it on. 

2) A trace operation must go all the way back to the source of the operation to complete the trace and terminate the hack. Keep in mind that your opponent can see the trace path for as long as it remains active so even if it doesn't complete, they can get a general idea where it came from and line up defenses accordingly. To answer the second part: your opponent can "assume" it's you but they can't be certain unless the trace completes. The hack could be passing through your node if you have no defenses on it, it could be a Sanctuary node for the Umbral Choir which would allow them to pass freely through your node regardless of your defenses on it, it could be a backdoor node from another empire, it could be a node intentionally used by another player specifically to trigger this trace and lead the target to your doorstep so they think it's you or it could simply be that it's actually you. (Isn't this fun?!)  

2a) No, your defensive programs have absolutely no use at all on a trace operation, they are unaffected by defensive programs. 

To touch on your points in the interim paragraph (there are a few here). The programs do speed up your hacking but all programs are node specific and affect only the nodes they are placed on. Hacking can actually kill enemy defenses (see the "Jam Commands" result when hacking a city). Programs themselves don't do any physical harm because they're merely modifiers to the hacking operation itself.  Pirates are actually expert hackers (most of what we call piracy today is the result of someone hacking something). You have to remember that the pirates of a space-age setting are not the rag-tag band of miscreants you'd find in Pirates of the Carribean, they'd be more like Morpheus' band of misfits in The Matrix. 

3) The Umbral Choir is excellent at hacking and is capable of much more defense than other factions simply on account of the amount of bandwidth they have at their disposal. Unfortunately, if you got a notification that someone was setting up defense on a node then the "risk" of hacking is completely gone and it becomes a system with no risk and all gain, that's not a good design. The point of the hacking "minigame" is essentially that you are required to outmaneuver your opponent, this can be done through mind games, bait and switch, backdoor shenanigans, passive observation (such as with the "Track" program or by doing nothing when you're given the chance to trace someone). 

Thank you for the detailed breakdowns, this clears up so much of the hacking mini game.  If you don't mind some general UC strategy questions (and to everyone else as well)-

1. Do you hack every colonizeable system you can?  So far I have been as there doesn't seem to be a major downside to having many sanctuaries other than that's what one of your hacks is dedicated to.  The approval hit is pretty easy to negate and it makes it easier to start dropping in sleepers later on.  I'm still not sure if there's a huge upside to having premptive units on a sanctuary or if i should wait until it's been colonized.

2.  Do you bother to get more than one planet in a system?  So far i've been hacking EVERY planet, not just system, but it seems like a waste of my hacking time.  I just want to confirm that this isn't really worth it, as it's rare that you get enough growth that you might need two sanctuaries.  I'm guessing there's a point to doing it when the system has useful resources, but that's it.

3.  How do you quickly get sleepers in an opponents empire?  From what I can tell your options are selecting the sanctuary (if there) as the spawn point for you new pop (slowish and requires having a sanctuary already) or reapeted hacking of their systems (also slow, can lead eventually to a sanctuary).

4. Anyone have a basic starting tech path they pursue?  Given they're hidden i usually push off the ship hulls and military and try to focus grabbing the ability to have 3 hacks, but i'm a little lost beyond that.

Finally an odd tip i've seen:

More than anyone else you can really use the system upgrades to shore up your weaknesses or focus something.  With almost any other race in the game you really want to try and make sure you have some income of the luxuries you use as you'll want to build multiples and going through the market is unreliable. The UC however will only ever build them once, so if you MUST have say, trees for dust income, but haven't found any yet, you can just buy however many you need off the market because it's a one time boost.

2. As far as I know the number of planets you hack within a system increases your cloaking level within that system.  In other words if you hack a single planet your cloaking level equals 1.  Two planets makes it level 2.  Three is the maximum level you can reach, I think.

To Eji1700 -

Fresh off of my first victorious UC playthrough after several failed attempts, I've got some advice that might be useful to you (though I only do single player games)

1. I agree that for the UC, the name of the game is overcolonization. The approval penalties are easy enough to deal with, and their most important buildings emphasize possessing lots of sanctuary worlds. I colonize every system I can, and in fact prioritized creation of new sanctuaries over basically everything else. EXCEPT FOR ONE THING: EARLY GAME INFLUENCE NODES. Creating a beacon on an influence node early in the game causes your influence generation to shoot through the roof, allowing you to snatch more minor factions than most other factions. This is also really useful for the UC because sanctuaries on assimilated systems provide new angles of attack for hacking operations, potentially bypassing nasty defenses and opening up new territory for sanctuary creation.

2. Maximizing the number of sanctuarized planets in a system does two important things for the UC: it increases the maximum stealth level of the sanctuaries ( though I've never actually found the info regarding this in-game) and it increases the per-planet yield bonuses from Cyber Farms, Interstitial Spaces, Industrial Refrains etc, which are incredibly important buildings. Populating sanctuary planets isn't as important as snagging these bonuses for the Nexus because it provides the fastest method of increasing your FIDSI, which is key in an empire that only produces things in one system. Also, the colonization threshold doesn't care about how many planets in a system have sanctuaries; only if there are any present.

3. I don't think there are more methods of creating sleeper agents than the ones you mentioned. The fastest way is definitely to already possess a sanctuary on a system that they later colonize. Safe hacking routes are my secondary choice for creating sleepers, though it helps to have enough avenues of attack that your target cannot defend effectively from all of them.

4. My early tech path goes: free travel science tech, minor faction diplomacy tech, titanium/Industrial Refrains tech, and then usually planet colonization techs. I avoid hull techs, but go for military faster than usual because I want to get my tier 2 cloaking before anybody else gets tier 1 anti-cloaking. Also, the tier 3 economy tech that provides the +20 industry per planet building is crazy good for the UC and should be prioritized.

A general note about hacking that is relevant to your #3 question:

 I try to minimize the risk with hacking by creating relatively "safe" hacking routes; the most successful hacking routes, I've found, have four steps: 1) the starting point (sanctuary or backdoor) -> 2) special node (uncolonizeable, and thus cannot have defensive programs placed on it) -> 3) gap of free space -> 4) the target system.

This seems to work more effectively than other configurations, though I've also had success by placing two backdoors next to each other and spamming hacks between them.

Maybe this guide that I made could provoke more thoughts to your UC gameplay if interested. 

Point 1 on @Blandersnatching post is a very important thing to have in mind when playing UC. You want as many possible points to start a hack as you can get. Otherway if you're using same path always and other players (or AI) can guess where you are, they can just stack defensive programs in your hacking path and you're f****d.

@Eji1700

You're welcome, happy to help where I can!

1) Yes. You want every system you can get as fast as you can get it and every planet in every system. Prioritize research that increases hacking speed/hacking operations and planetary colonization for a good start. You don't have to worry about military until around turn 40 anyway (on normal) because that's when Pirates get detection. 

1a) Yes, there is a benefit of having Sanctuaries on a planet before it's colonized, namely you can immediately sacrifice population to put Sleepers on that empire on that colony. 

2) Yes. You want every planet in every system. The more planets you have the more bonuses you get from Interstitial Scienes, Industrial Refrains, Cyber Farm and the other technologies (there are five that I've found) that benefit from Sanctuary planets. It also gives you more places to put people and people increase your bandwidth. 

3) You can sacrifice population from a planet you have a Sanctuary on if there is also a colony on the same planet. You can hack several systems at once in the same empire and put sleepers in each one. 

4) Xenolinguistics should be your first technology research every time. It gives you access to the Titanium you started with and, more imporantly, the Industrial Refrains building which will catapult your industry as you start colonization. From there I usually focus on technology that lets me colonize the planets near me so I can quickly snowball my FIDSI production.