Border control

[Litcube]

Does anyone have any strategies they can share with me on trying to "stake the claim" amongst the galaxy?

Usually, I construct quite a few scouts at first. Send them all across the galaxy. As I'm doing, that I'm trying to keep up witht he colonization, but it's tough.

By the time I run into enemy presence, I want to stake a defence at that choke point. Unfortunately, it'll take 20-50 turns for my force to get there. This usually happens before I can get Mobilization center researched. Any ideas?

[Ron_Lugge]

I usually just grab control of a few node systems...

But I usually play with 16 AI empires, in a small cluster, so there isn't much room.

[Da_Blade]

After the production of the first two colony ships at my home planet i lock the queue to 1 SR destroyer and 2 colony ships. I use these SR destroyer to claim certain systems. Not much later i produce them by the 5 (with, of course, slightly upgraded tech) and let them travel in groups of 5 too. These are very effective battlegroups and very affordable, being of destroyer size.

I always claim the chokepoints this way, defining a border this way, which i move forward if everything within my "borders" have been colonized.

[Litcube]

That's not a bad idea... Equipping scouts with guns.

[DavidByron]

I usually don't have a problem because I expand fast. Current game 87 planets and 31 outposts on turn 75. Two systems within my borders have planets by other empires. I've just set up NAPs with most of my neighbours so they are all trying to look around the place but there's little space left.