Fighting against New Republic impossible?

[ErikModi]

Okay, I've played a few games, at seems like fighting the New Republic is almost impossible.  They field such HUGE fleets, dish out MASSIVE damage, and are tough to destroy.  Seems like the best I can do is drive away their fleet temporarily, with significant losses, only to have them come back with just as much firepower as before while I'm still rebuilding.  Most recently, playing Empire of the Hand, I had a two-to-one planet advantage (still developing them, though) and the NR was still sending absolutely insane fleets against me.  Watching my just-built offensive fleet (once I built up some more ships for it) evaporate guarding a planet convinced me I was in an untenable situation.  And I set the difficulty at Beginner to boot.

What am I doing wrong?

[Pali]

Focus fire on NR capital ships - they have a lot of very potent abilities that you don't want them using (MC80b ion cannons especially are brutal).  Make sure you have fighter dominance, as NR bombers can be vicious.  Use the Hand's mobility and refuse to fight where they are strong, while using your interdictors to pin down small groups of enemy ships and crush them.  Do NOT have a stand up fight within the bounds of their culture if you can avoid it, as NR culture gives their ships significant boosts - broadcast centers are excellent targets for hit and run attacks.  Also, it's not as obvious as it is in some games, but ships in Sins/Ascendancy do have firing arcs for their weapons, so catching an enemy fleet from behind will give you a good period of time to blast them while they're still turning to fight.

[ErikModi]

Hmm, sounds good.

I have been doing better. . . I think if the NR is "Aggressor" personality they get a lot tougher.  I've set them as "Economist" two games now, and seem to be dealing with them fairly well.