The Base Builder/Researcher Strategies

1. Strategic Resource Building Placement:

• Keep Resource Generators Low Level: Most players stop upgrading Parsteel, Tritanium, and Dilithium generators relatively early (e.g., Ops 15-20 range). The amount they produce is negligible compared to what you get from mining or hostile farming, and they cost valuable power. Focus on getting them to a level that satisfies upgrade requirements for other buildings.

• Prioritize Vaults: Upgrade your Parsteel, Tritanium, and Dilithium vaults to maximize your "protected cargo" within your base. This keeps more of your resources safe from raids.

2. Key Building Prioritization:

• Operations (Ops) Center: This is the most critical building as its level dictates the maximum level of all other buildings, ships, and research. Always upgrade Ops as soon as possible.

• Shipyard: Upgrading the Shipyard unlocks new, more powerful ships and increases your drydock capacity.

• Research Labs (Combat, Station, Galaxy, Starships): These are vital for unlocking new research nodes that boost all aspects of your game.

• Refinery: A high-level refinery allows you to process more raw materials into refined ones, which are essential for higher-tier upgrades and research.

• Power Generators: Only upgrade these as needed to meet the power requirements of your other buildings. Avoid over-leveling them.

• Storage (Drydocks, Vaults, Docks): Upgrade these to hold more ships, protect more resources, and handle more incoming fleets.

1. Balanced Research Focus:

• Prioritize "Must-Have" Research: Early on, focus on research that directly impacts your ability to earn resources or survive. This includes research for:

• Mining Efficiency: Increases mining speed, protected cargo, and overall cargo capacity.

• Hostile Combat Efficiency: Boosts damage, shield, armor, and accuracy for your combat ships, making hostile farming more efficient and less costly.

• Base Defense: Improves defense turrets and shield integrity.

• Unlock Key Game Mechanics: Research lines often unlock features like new officer slots, additional away team slots, or enhanced alliance benefits. Prioritize these for overall game progression.

• Don't Neglect Any Lab Entirely: While you might prioritize one lab (e.g., Starships for ship buffs, or Galaxy for mining/exploration), regularly allocate resources to all labs to ensure balanced long-term growth.

2. Resource Management for Research:

• Stockpile Raw Materials: Research consumes significant amounts of refined materials (Crystal, Gas, Ore). Ensure a steady supply from mining and refinery operations.

• Utilize Speed-ups Wisely: Use research speed-ups for longer research times, especially those that unlock critical advancements or major power boosts.

1. Refinery Management:

• Process Daily: Ensure you process your daily refinery pulls for refined G3, G4, and later G5 materials. These are the backbone of high-level research and upgrades.

• Targeted Refinement: Focus on refining the materials you need most for your current research or building goals.

2. Resource Protection:

• Spend Down Resources: The safest resource is a spent resource. As soon as you accumulate enough for an upgrade or research, initiate it.

• Shielding: Use peace shields, especially if you are accumulating resources for a large upgrade and cannot spend them immediately. This protects your base from raids.

• Relocation: If you accumulate substantial unprotected resources and fear a raid, consider relocating your base to a less populated or more alliance-controlled system before going offline.

3. Active Alliance Participation:

• Alliance Buffs: A strong alliance provides valuable research and building buffs. Participating in alliance events (like Territory Capture) can also yield rare materials and speed-ups.

• Alliance Store: Alliance stores often offer valuable resources, blueprints, and speed-ups that can aid base development.

• Protection: Being in an active alliance provides a deterrent to raiders and a support network if you are attacked.

• Planning Ahead: Look several Ops levels ahead to understand the building and research requirements for future milestones (e.g., unlocking specific ships, reaching a certain power level).

• Incremental Gains: The Base Builder/Researcher playstyle is about consistent, incremental gains. Don't expect instant power spikes. Each small upgrade or research completion contributes to a stronger foundation.

• Resource Prioritization: Understand which resources are bottlenecks for your current progression. Is it Dilithium for Ops upgrades? Crystal for Ship research? Focus your farming efforts accordingly.

[^1]: PVPTarget.com - Player's Guide & Glossary of STFC Terminology (mentions protected cargo within vaults): https://www.pvptarget.com/guide 

[^2]: BlueStacks - Star Trek Fleet Command - Comprehensive Base Building Guide (details all key buildings and their importance): https://www.bluestacks.com/blog/game-guides/star-trek-fleet-command/star-trek-fleet-command-base-building-guide-en.html 

[^3]: STFC.space - Refineries Guide (details refinery function): https://stfc.space/guides/refineries 

[^4]: STFC.space - Refineries Guide (details refinery function and material types): https://stfc.space/guides/refineries 

[^5]: PVPTarget.com - Player's Guide & Glossary of STFC Terminology (defines "Peace Shield"): https://www.pvptarget.com/guide