I won this game on Serious difficulty, but I played so badly.

Now i understand more this race.

So, I'm studying on perfect beginning build order.

First, I don't need dust, and food isn't a priority.

Science and industry.

I need to build the 2 basic improvment. Dronet, and cerebral reality.

No need to build interstitial science before getting 3, or even 4 planets.

All is about explorators ships.

Asign hero alone, so it make 3 ship.

Then I need to discover quickly (idealy first turn) 2 target for hacking. If possible a sanctuary target. 

As priority target a special node, too, because it can give important FIDS bonus.

So, I change the setup of ship if needed : add speed and remove probe. Or temporary setup one of the ship with probe only, and retrofit toward a new model afterward.

I don't hesitate to spend dust about these tricks.

Key to victory are improvment giving "+X bonus per planet". But it's not something to build first.

Why this is important : because I could create a lot of sanctuary planets, even empty, and get the bonus.

Ideal sanctuary is fertile+temperate, of course.

I need to discover very fast new system, so I know what colonization techs to choose.

I don't need quickly the tech plasma metalurgy. Xenolingistic only when this is the good time, not at first. But of course, this one is very important.

Starting ships.

It depend of the location.

Hero : give him 3 speed and 1 probe, remove all weapons and defense modules.

Send the hero first, and see what he see.

If he see nothing. Equip maybe an explorateur with 3 speed and 1 probe, send it in another direction.

If things are nice, I can also equip last explorateur with 4 probe, and send scouting probe around, trying to find a special node.

Explore curiosity isn't the priority here. But this explorateur can stay here, and explore curiosity of core system after.

After that, I can give him 1 speed and 3 probe. This explorateur will go on system alredy discovered and scout curiositys, or send scouting probe where there could be systems.

First turn laws :

- Dirty hand act

- Cram exact act  (while approbation is ok)

Here, a perfect turn one :

I equiped the hero 3 move/1 probe, send it to the left, because it's the direction going toward core.

I saw the path to the north was probably short, so I didn't give 3 move to my explorer, and send it. He discover a special node.

Last explorer : I equip 3 probe/1 move. and send 4 scouting probe around main system. Jackpot, I find a special node.

On first turn, I can so send 2 hack on 2 special node, one of the best start, if not the best.

Only bad thing, I don't have any information on what colonization tech to schearch for.

I build drone net, then cerebral reality. Im not sure what is the best first.

As tech, I go for barionic shielding, because get warp quickly is important. If I discover a system to hack and missing colonization tech, maybe I can change this next turn and report it later.

I'm so lucky in this game. (Normal Speed I precise)

So here, turn 2, another perfect turn !

As I raise the difficulty to "Impossible", it's quite good.

So here, I can see 2 planet I can hack after that (just wait 2 and 3 turn current hack end).

I will move my ship, and see If i change my tech order after that.

Note : I sended a scouting probe in same direction of the north ship. Maybe useless, but I wanted to discover quickly next system, and choose my tech according to that (it missed, i didnt see enough far away).

Turn 2, next.

I don't use yet any probe on curiosity, because it slow down exploration. I just send a scout probe when needed.

My last ship (actualy scouting main system) will follow same path later, with a gorgeous 3 probe/1 speed, and clean up that all.

When my 2 explorer will discovered enough, I will use more probe on curiosity. For now, I just use 1 or 2 probe, just in the way they reload it to the max, but I don't empty them.

I discover also that :

Mediteran planet, quick tech ! I just have to planify it for the best. So I will delay Warp, and focus on 2 colonization techs, then xenolingistic.

I can focus on Warp again, If I detect Im in a constellation and my ship have nowhere to go.

On turn 7, And I will stop to report turn here, because there is too much.

I discovered Muzi system (place where there was battles, all a story about this...)

I hacked my first sanctuary and wait for 2 more.

So it's probably time to tech for xenolingistic and build the improvment +10 planet/fertile/temperate.

Then I ll go on more colonization tech, or Warp, because I fell I could be on a constellation. We-ll see...

I will probably one or two another explorer.

I also got the quest : be the first to discover 10 anomaly.

It's fun because I used mainly 2 ship only for explore and scouting probe, and just one for curiosity (but a 3 probe one, and there is a lot of curiosity on Umbral Choir system... bad ones, but a lot !).

Actually, most of them should. It will say "Also affects Sanctuaries" in the tooltip. Mega-Industrial Complexes, Public-Private Partnerships, etc.

I like the Umbral Choir a lot too, but I've seen this idea about making them a little more symbiotic if you don't want to play more as a team than as a loner.

https://www.games2gether.com/amplitude-studios/endless-space-2/ideas/2522-symbiotic-umbral-choir

Would be cool to see something like that in the future.