Ranking the Factions

[Zardnaar]

 The following is my rankings of the relative power of the factions. This is a general guideline only and  will make 2 lists. One will be what I think are the most powerful, the second will be my favourites. Since they do vary based on what GC you are playing I will try and evaluate them overall and make note for specific eras. Which are mostly applicable to the Empire and New Republic. In general I have used the following criteria in order of importance.

1. Unit roster. What units does this faction get and how good are they. This is because you might play From the Ground Up as well and things like staring position etc matter a lot less.
2. Leaders. THis is mostly the quality of your admirals. YOu can always build more ships or expand the empire, you can't change your hero roster though.
3. Starting position. Mostly on the larger GCs such as Art of War. This matters a lot less in FTGU and other GCs so is ranked the lowest.

 From the bottom to the top.

8. Yevetha
They have been disabled but they are really the only out right bad faction. They are missing a lot of basic imperial units, have weak heroes, and only have 1 unique ships which did not even seem that good.

7. Zsinj
 This faction is not ba as such more average and awkward to use. Mostly ranked this low simply because the other factions are better IMHO.


6. Eriadu Authority.

 Tectors, Torpedo Spheres and a unique escort carrier make them very competitive. Praetors seem to have been nerfed though from 2.1 and there heroes are average at best. Good capital ship faction. Weak Admirals, a bad location and weakest Imperial on the land puts them down here.


5. The Empire. They start off very good with Tectors and strike cruisers with good support ships. They peak in Era 3 with XR 85's, modular task force cruisers, heroes and Sovereign class Star Destroyers. During era 3 I would bump them up to 1 or 2 and everyone else shifts 1 position down the list.

4. Pentastar Alignment.

 Formally the best in the game they lost their 2 starting SSDs, they get one of them back at week 20. Compounding their problems the Praetor seems to have been nerfed along with the carrier strategy which they were the best at. They are beaten at carriers by Greater Maldrood and arguably Zsinj and they do not have the great unique units cruisers and 6 point ships (Tectors, Crimson Command VSDs, Allegiances etc)  to make up for it. Still Praetors will get the job done and they get Secutors and as well as Munificent's and the procursator. SInce they are basically a era 4 or 5 Empire they have been placed ahead of

3. The New Republic.
 Very good faction even inn era 1, but they take a bit to get going and their best units are era 4 and 5 where I would rate them as number 1 or 2 (1 in Era 5).

2. Greater Maldrood.
 Much like the Empire of the hand, great cruisers, capitals, heavy ships, can build Bellator SSD and Alegiance and has great units to go with them. Good on the ground,

1. Empire of the Hand.
 More or less blatantly overpowered on all the criteria I used. Best starting location, good heroes, great units good on land and space.

 My personal favourites though.

1. Greater Maldrood
2. Empire
3. Eriadu Authority
4. Pentastar Alignment
5. New Republic
6. Zsinj
7. Empire of the Hand
8. Yevetha

[Lord Xizer]

You know the PA can recruit Jerecs SSD Vengeance(under cpt Sysco) from any major shipyards for 60k(42k if you have gregor) so they still have 2 SSDs

[Zardnaar]

You know the PA can recruit Jerecs SSD Vengeance(under cpt Sysco) from any major shipyards for 60k(42k if you have gregor) so they still have 2 SSDs

Yes. Every faction can get an SSD or 2 though so it doesn't really make them stand out. Zjinj can get 2, the Emire can get an Eclipse and an Executor, GM can get 2 Bellators etc. SSDs are a lot weaker than 2.1

 I swapped Pentastar and EA around for the power rankings, I was wrong there IMHO. 

[kucsidave]

My oppinion on the topic, and a bit of adding to your reasonings some places where you missed something:
8. Yevetha/Duskhan League: They really are the weakest of the Factions as it stands, though they got the Boarding Shuttles and their Hijackers to make up for their relative weaknesses.
Their hero roster had been cut seriously from what was planned thanks to lack of resources, as well as their unit roster. They should have got 7 to 8 heroes and the Sorannan-class as a hero unit, but we ended up cutting the class in favor of getting 2.2 out sooner. I myself have spent countless hours to try and expand them where I could, but as you may see, there is not much to work with.

7. Zsinj: Zsinj is actually a well rounded Faction which has very good units, but lacks real impact. I agree with his placement on the list completely.

6/5. Eriadu Authority/Pentastar Alignment: They are very viable factions actually, and to be Honest I think it is a tie between the two. They are not OP, but I definitely think that they both have very strong unit rosters and most importantly, a very very good starting position for the PA. If you manage your economy well, they are capable to be an economic powerhouse by week 30, and with the SSD and the heroes coming in week 20, you are also able to start expanding exponentially. For Eriadu, the starting location is a bit off, since you are getting into conflict early with the NR and IR, but it has a very viable expansionary policy which can cripple the NR early on, and solidify their holdings, which in turn gives them a very very strong holding over the galactic south, and if you start turtling in at that point, you can become a leading faction.
I think they should be in 4th place in a tie, to be honest, before the IR but behind the NR.

4. New Republic: I think they should be moved up to place 3 in my oppinion. Their mon Calamari cruisers are awesome, and the power to shields is very effective if you manage it correctly. The strongest hero roster in the game, good economic bonuses with said heroes and they get the Jedi as well. Especially strong on the ground, but not half ban in space either

3. Imperial Remnant: This is my largest difference in our oppinions. The ir should be in 5th place(since 4th is a tie IMO). They start OK compared to everyone else, but their territories are scattered in most GCs, and hard to defend. Even though you have some of the most powerful ships early game, you can't really take advantage of them since your economy is not the soundest, and you have to make serious investments in your army and fleet if you want to protect yourself. Later they become better, but the NR and EotH becomes better as well, so this kinda nullifies the advantages of Era 3.

2. Maldrood. Pich perfect. You hit the nail on that one.
1. EotH. Just like maldrood.

And just to compare, I will write down my personal favourites as well:

1: Imperial Remnant
2: Pentastar
3: Zsinj
4: Duskhan League
5: EotH
6: Greater Maldrood
7: New Republic
8: Eriadu Authority

[Zardnaar]

My oppinion on the topic, and a bit of adding to your reasonings some places where you missed something:
8. Yevetha/Duskhan League: They really are the weakest of the Factions as it stands, though they got the Boarding Shuttles and their Hijackers to make up for their relative weaknesses.
Their hero roster had been cut seriously from what was planned thanks to lack of resources, as well as their unit roster. They should have got 7 to 8 heroes and the Sorannan-class as a hero unit, but we ended up cutting the class in favor of getting 2.2 out sooner. I myself have spent countless hours to try and expand them where I could, but as you may see, there is not much to work with.

7. Zsinj: Zsinj is actually a well rounded Faction which has very good units, but lacks real impact. I agree with his placement on the list completely.

6/5. Eriadu Authority/Pentastar Alignment: They are very viable factions actually, and to be Honest I think it is a tie between the two. They are not OP, but I definitely think that they both have very strong unit rosters and most importantly, a very very good starting position for the PA. If you manage your economy well, they are capable to be an economic powerhouse by week 30, and with the SSD and the heroes coming in week 20, you are also able to start expanding exponentially. For Eriadu, the starting location is a bit off, since you are getting into conflict early with the NR and IR, but it has a very viable expansionary policy which can cripple the NR early on, and solidify their holdings, which in turn gives them a very very strong holding over the galactic south, and if you start turtling in at that point, you can become a leading faction.
I think they should be in 4th place in a tie, to be honest, before the IR but behind the NR.

4. New Republic: I think they should be moved up to place 3 in my oppinion. Their mon Calamari cruisers are awesome, and the power to shields is very effective if you manage it correctly. The strongest hero roster in the game, good economic bonuses with said heroes and they get the Jedi as well. Especially strong on the ground, but not half ban in space either

3. Imperial Remnant: This is my largest difference in our oppinions. The ir should be in 5th place(since 4th is a tie IMO). They start OK compared to everyone else, but their territories are scattered in most GCs, and hard to defend. Even though you have some of the most powerful ships early game, you can't really take advantage of them since your economy is not the soundest, and you have to make serious investments in your army and fleet if you want to protect yourself. Later they become better, but the NR and EotH becomes better as well, so this kinda nullifies the advantages of Era 3.

2. Maldrood. Pich perfect. You hit the nail on that one.
1. EotH. Just like maldrood.

And just to compare, I will write down my personal favourites as well:

1: Imperial Remnant
2: Pentastar
3: Zsinj
4: Duskhan League
5: EotH
6: Greater Maldrood
7: New Republic
8: Eriadu Authority

 I had the Eridua over the PA but did some more testing and the location bumps up the Pentastar Alignment a bit and they have some good admirals as well. The two factions are very close though I could almost go either way, I like the EA ships better, PA better location and the carrier thing (and SSD's).

 Only the Yevetha are really bad, the differences between 3-7 are fairly marginal IMHO. Zjinj is only down that low because the other factions do everything better than him (better cruisers, better support, better carriers, better heavies etc). Zsinj is trying to do two or 3 things at once and not being that good at any of them (at least vs the best factions).

 I tested NR and Empire multiple times the last time side by side and I thought the Mon Cals would carry it but they do tend to have screwy starting locations, struggle to tech up (game is often all but over by era 4/5), and early on I think the Empire has better ships (Tector, Strike Cruisers) and the lack of big ships can also hurt (not that the NR really needs them).

 Era 3 it changes perhaps but it depends if the Empire can field super weapons. That is a nice MC 90, say hi to Mr Sovereign.

 Empire vs NR the NR might be better but its when you take on the other Imperial factions I prefer the Empire. Extra damage vs tanking damage usually wins, kill stuff faster you take less damage anyway. But yeah if the NR gets rolling and you hit era 3 and 4+ some of those fleets are problematic. I also fear EotH fighter/bomber spam more than the NR on (except maybe era 4+).

 Imps vs Rebels IMHO

Era 1 Empire
Era 2 Empire
Era 3 Empire (with Sovereigns), NR without but its close
Era 4 NR (just a bit).
Era 5 NR (a lot).

I expected era 4 to be a blow out in the rebels favour but the Empire has some good upgrades that keep it competitive (new fighters in Venators/ISD IIs, Tectors), then it downgrades in era 5 (back to TIEs). Empire has the better support ships until things like the Corona turn up. NR has better fighters more or less right through and better bombers.

 In any game though if I have to pick between good now or really good later I will pick now every time. If you snowball you win (in most strategy games).

[kucsidave]

The problem is that the rebels are good now, a bit better for some time and really good later against the empire's good now, really good for some time and bad later.
The IR peaks at Era 3 for sure, but it is not that much of a peak if you can manage it. And don't forget that in Era 3 the NR also gets a massive upgrade. And the sovereigns can't really use those superlasers against a hundred K-wings.
In fact, NR fighters are so efectve if you micro them that one can win a fight with using fighters and/or carriers only, and especially if you add 2-3 CR90s to screen out enemy fighters before you send in your own. This combined with the fact that the IR anti fighter ship (the lancer) is not particulary good, is a devastating combo on their side. You mentioned the EotH fighters. Well, NR's are just as effective, and dare I say even more so.

[Corey]

8. Yevetha/Duskhan League: They really are the weakest of the Factions as it stands, though they got the Boarding Shuttles and their Hijackers to make up for their relative weaknesses.
Their hero roster had been cut seriously from what was planned thanks to lack of resources, as well as their unit roster. They should have got 7 to 8 heroes and the Sorannan-class as a hero unit, but we ended up cutting the class in favor of getting 2.2 out sooner. I myself have spent countless hours to try and expand them where I could, but as you may see, there is not much to work with.

With the Yevetha itr's not just lack of resources that resulted in cuts, it's that they cause frequent crashes so we've had to cut good amounts of even what was there to try to find what's going on with them.

[Zardnaar]

The problem is that the rebels are good now, a bit better for some time and really good later against the empire's good now, really good for some time and bad later.
The IR peaks at Era 3 for sure, but it is not that much of a peak if you can manage it. And don't forget that in Era 3 the NR also gets a massive upgrade. And the sovereigns can't really use those superlasers against a hundred K-wings.
In fact, NR fighters are so efectve if you micro them that one can win a fight with using fighters and/or carriers only, and especially if you add 2-3 CR90s to screen out enemy fighters before you send in your own. This combined with the fact that the IR anti fighter ship (the lancer) is not particulary good, is a devastating combo on their side. You mentioned the EotH fighters. Well, NR's are just as effective, and dare I say even more so.

 I expected to rate the NR higher, GM and EotH were to good. Empire picked up Tector era 1 now and that is massive change (tank+ damage), and in era 2 they get Allegiances. I have been moving away from ISD II fleets now with most factions mostly using them near the start and in carrier fleets. Its also hard to tech up and if you can you have often won the game anyway, Empire has more control over it.

[turtle225]

New Republic fighter spam should not be underestimated. Even in the lower eras the NR is one of the strongest factions imo.

Even the lowly MC80A is pretty good now sitting at a comfortable 4 pop where it isn't competing against the MC80B.

Let's also not forget that the Nebulon B is possibly the second best carrier in the game (albeit expensive) behind only the Hapan Battle Dragon. You can run a fleet of 60 Nebulons and just watch your 120 X-Wings break your computer the game.

[Zardnaar]

New Republic fighter spam should not be underestimated. Even in the lower eras the NR is one of the strongest factions imo.

Even the lowly MC80A is pretty good now sitting at a comfortable 4 pop where it isn't competing against the MC80B.

Let's also not forget that the Nebulon B is possibly the second best carrier in the game (albeit expensive) behind only the Hapan Battle Dragon. You can run a fleet of 60 Nebulons and just watch your 120 X-Wings break your computer the game.

That fleet is very expensive lol (90-100k?) I can have 2 or 3 fleets for that as the Empire;).

 Also computer chugging, I tried somethign similar had about 50 or 60 X-Wings+ other ships (over 100 all up). Poor PC.

[Zardnaar]

My oppinion on the topic, and a bit of adding to your reasonings some places where you missed something:
8. Yevetha/Duskhan League: They really are the weakest of the Factions as it stands, though they got the Boarding Shuttles and their Hijackers to make up for their relative weaknesses.
Their hero roster had been cut seriously from what was planned thanks to lack of resources, as well as their unit roster. They should have got 7 to 8 heroes and the Sorannan-class as a hero unit, but we ended up cutting the class in favor of getting 2.2 out sooner. I myself have spent countless hours to try and expand them where I could, but as you may see, there is not much to work with.

7. Zsinj: Zsinj is actually a well rounded Faction which has very good units, but lacks real impact. I agree with his placement on the list completely.

6/5. Eriadu Authority/Pentastar Alignment: They are very viable factions actually, and to be Honest I think it is a tie between the two. They are not OP, but I definitely think that they both have very strong unit rosters and most importantly, a very very good starting position for the PA. If you manage your economy well, they are capable to be an economic powerhouse by week 30, and with the SSD and the heroes coming in week 20, you are also able to start expanding exponentially. For Eriadu, the starting location is a bit off, since you are getting into conflict early with the NR and IR, but it has a very viable expansionary policy which can cripple the NR early on, and solidify their holdings, which in turn gives them a very very strong holding over the galactic south, and if you start turtling in at that point, you can become a leading faction.
I think they should be in 4th place in a tie, to be honest, before the IR but behind the NR.

4. New Republic: I think they should be moved up to place 3 in my oppinion. Their mon Calamari cruisers are awesome, and the power to shields is very effective if you manage it correctly. The strongest hero roster in the game, good economic bonuses with said heroes and they get the Jedi as well. Especially strong on the ground, but not half ban in space either

3. Imperial Remnant: This is my largest difference in our oppinions. The ir should be in 5th place(since 4th is a tie IMO). They start OK compared to everyone else, but their territories are scattered in most GCs, and hard to defend. Even though you have some of the most powerful ships early game, you can't really take advantage of them since your economy is not the soundest, and you have to make serious investments in your army and fleet if you want to protect yourself. Later they become better, but the NR and EotH becomes better as well, so this kinda nullifies the advantages of Era 3.

2. Maldrood. Pich perfect. You hit the nail on that one.
1. EotH. Just like maldrood.

And just to compare, I will write down my personal favourites as well:

1: Imperial Remnant
2: Pentastar
3: Zsinj
4: Duskhan League
5: EotH
6: Greater Maldrood
7: New Republic
8: Eriadu Authority

Based on firther testing and input from Turtle 225, NR is being bumped up to 3, Empire takes a tumble to 5.