From the depths of deep space where the Dark Fleet dwells comes the Vasari Exodus' Vorastra-class titan. Originally designed as a means to keep insurgent elements deterred in the old empire, the Vorastra continues to serve as the Exodus faction’s most lethal weapon.

At a glance, the Vorastra may seem under-powered compared to the Vasari Alliance’s Kultorask titan class, but this would be a mistake. The Vorastra’s strength comes from being highly mobile and from its ability to deal massive area-of-effect damage to enemies.

With its default configuration, the Vorastra features the following loadout:

• 2 Phase Missile Arrays comprised of 31 launchers each (1 array per wing).
  
• 4 Heavy Beam Cannon turrets (2 on the center body; 1 per wingtip).
  
• 12 Heavy Wave Cannon turrets (4 on the center body; 6 forward facing on the wings; 2 aft facing on the wings).
  
• 12 Point Defense Pulse Gun turrets (8 forward facing; 4 aft facing).
  
• Planetary Bombardment Beam Cannon.

As with all titans, this basic configuration can be further specialized using a variety of offensive, defensive and utility improvements, or with mobile rulership enhancements.

The Vorastra can be upgraded with several unique abilities as the ship gains experience:

• Micro Phase Jump: Instantly transports the titan to the targeted position in the same gravity well and deals area-of-effect damage upon arrival.
  
• The Maw: Immobilizes the titan and draws in nearby enemy ships in a frontal cone. Enemy ships that are drawn into the maw are destroyed and converted into resources.
  
• Desperation: Passive ability upgrade that grants the Vorastra splash damage to its weapons, a bonus to weapon reload speed, and damage reduction proportional to its missing hull.
  
• Phase Tunneling: Allows the Vorastra to generate a temporary phase lane between its current gravity well and a target detected one.

The titan and its abilities can be further enhanced with a number of offensive upgrades:

• Nano Attack Swarm (3 uses): A swarm of nanites damage the targeted enemy and then continue to damage it over time.
  
• Auxiliary Hangar: Adds a hangar bay to the titan, giving it the ability to host 10 bomber squadrons.
  
• Micro Phase Jump Enhancer: Enemies damaged by the Micro Phase Jump’s arrival now incur a weapon reload rate penalty for a short duration.
  
• The Maw Enhancer: The Maw now adds a stacking buff (up to 20) to the titan’s weapon damage for each ship consumed for a short duration.
  
• Heavy Wave Cannons x2: Adds fixed heavy wave cannons to each wing of the Vorastra.
  
• Phase Cannon: Unlocks the Vorastra’s powerful Phase Cannon.
  
• Beam Modulator: Uses advanced modulation of the ship’s beam cannons to increase damage. Can be set to an ‘active’ state to greatly increase the damage for a time.
  
• Phase Missile Augments: Customizes the launcher and targeting systems of the Vorastra’s phase missiles, increasing their damage output. Can be set to an ‘active’ state for a time in order to increase their ability to bypass shields.
  
• Wave Modulator: Modulates wave cannons before firing to maintain a more stable waveform. This both increases wave cannon damage and increases their fire rate.

• Nano Repair Swarm: Nanites repair the hull and armor of the targeted ally unit.
  
• Phase Attenuated Shield: Extends the inner edge of the Vorastra’s shield into phase space, increasing the speed of shield regeneration. Also provides a large passive bonus to shield burst restore points.
  
• Hull Plating (3 Levels): Adds additional armor plating to the Vorastra, greatly increasing its ability to survive combat.
  
• Self-Repairing Armor: Experimental nanites are installed to enable armor regeneration while in combat and to rapidly restore armor capacity in an emergency.
  
• Bomber Armor: With a limited population, keeping bomber pilots alive is a top priority for the Vasari. As such, this upgrade was developed to retrofit each bomber strikecraft with additional armor and armor strength.

• Nano Catalyzer Swarm (5 uses): Adds packages of energized nanites that rapidly restore antimatter to the targeted ally unit during combat.
  
• Gravity Stabilizer: An advanced system upgrade that stabilizes and normalizes gravity in the vicinity of the ship, granting it greater speed and maneuverability.
  
• Resonance Amplifier: Adds an onboard system that allows the ship to amplify and extend the duration of Phase Resonance effects.
  
• Antimatter Recharger: Greatly improves the Vorastra’s antimatter recharge rate.
  
• Deploy Orkulus Starbase (1 use): Prepares an Orkulus starbase build package that can be deployed at foreign gravity wells.
  
• Deploy Phase Gate (1 use): Prepares a permanent Phase Gate build package that can be deployed at foreign gravity wells.

Of course, the Vasari Exodus faction has the ability to return to a fully mobile state once the appropriate technology is unlocked. To maintain a mobile empire, all Exodus capital ships and titans have the option of hosting Infrastructure.

• Mobile Exotic Factory: Integrates an Exotic Factory into the Vorastra, allowing it to forge exotic resources.
  
• Mobile Research Complex: Adds a massive complex of connected research facilities within the Vorastra, allowing it to coordinate Exodus scientific efforts while on the move.
  
• Mobile Rulership: Moves the capital of the Exodus faction to the Vorastra. This allows the empire to survive without the need of any planets.
  
• Mobile Fleet Beacon: Allows the Vorastra to remotely summon all types of ships from the Dark Fleet to its location.
  
• Mobile Resonance Capacitor: Permanently integrates a Phase Resonance capacitor into the Vorastra, storing it for as long as it survives.

Real-Time Strategy (RTS) games are undergoing a transformation, and at the forefront of this evolution is *Sins of a Solar Empire II*. This highly anticipated sequel promises to blend the strategic depth of 4X games with the tactical intensity of RTS, just as its predecessor, *Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion*, did so masterfully. But what exactly sets Sins II apart? Let's dive in.

Is Sins of a Solar Empire II a classic RTS or a real-time 4X game? The answer is simple: it's both. This hybrid nature is what makes the game so compelling. By seamlessly combining the expansive strategy of 4X with the real-time tactics of an RTS, Sins II offers a unique gaming experience that appeals to fans of both genres.

In future posts, we'll delve into the new and improved features that transition from *Sins Rebellion* to *Sins II*, examining the four X’s—eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate—one by one. For now, let's focus on how Sins II enhances the RTS experience.

One of the standout features of Sins of a Solar Empire II is its pacing. Unlike many RTS games that demand rapid reaction speeds, Sins II offers a more measured and steady pace, particularly in combat. This allows players to switch seamlessly between tactical battles and strategic oversight without feeling overwhelmed.

Moreover, Sins II is a "Real-Time With Pause" game, meaning that in single-player mode, you can pause the game at any moment to ponder your next move. This feature is a godsend for those who prefer a more thoughtful approach to strategy.

User-interface accessibility is crucial in RTS games, and Sins II excels in this area. The game introduces several upgrades and new features to ensure smooth and satisfying gameplay. Information related to ships and colonies is now better organized, with detailed statistics easily accessible by holding the Alt-key. This reduces information overload for new players and makes it easier to find crucial data at a glance.

One of the most significant improvements is the new customizable Bookmark Bar. This feature allows players to add or remove bookmarked colonies or fleets at will, making it easier to quickly identify and manage your assets. The bar is broken down into different-sized blocks representing various entity types, with larger blocks for buildings or larger ships. Highlighting this bar with the mouse shows more detailed force composition information, and clicking it cycles through what each bar represents.

Complementing the Bookmark Bar is the Selection Window, which displays entities on a tactical level. This window is often the fastest way to select and command units in a battle, providing a more stable and easy-to-read interface compared to the old Empire Tree from *Sins Rebellion*.

Sins of a Solar Empire II introduces an innovative fleet replenishment system, where ships can be constructed at an available production facility and then automatically piloted to the fleet, wherever it is operating in the sector. This eliminates the need to search your colonies for an available facility first.

The layout of various planetary improvements has also been streamlined, allowing for more rapid colony development. Commerce and mining are now integrated into the planetary improvements system, making it easier to boost your economy with fewer clicks. Orbital mining, unlocked later in the tech tree, ensures that claiming mineral-rich asteroids is well worth the effort.

The old Planetary Specializations feature has been replaced with a new system of Planetary Item Slots, allowing for greater customization of each planet. These items can add defensive capabilities, produce the new Influence resource, or grant significant economic boosts, depending on the faction you're playing.

RTS games live and die by their control systems, and Sins of a Solar Empire II has made significant improvements in this area. The game now features a modernized WASD camera control system and a range of remappable hotkeys for common and less common game commands. The arrow keys are also free to remap for left-handed players.

The Selection Window for detailed unit selection tools has been completely redesigned, reducing the need for menu-diving to find critical unit actions. Common ship behavior commands are now integrated into the standard ship command bar, while lesser-used advanced actions have their own pop-out window.


Sins of a Solar Empire II builds upon its predecessor with significant improvements in UI, controls, and overall gameplay experience. These enhancements make the game more accessible and enjoyable without compromising on depth or complexity, seamlessly integrating classic RTS and 4X elements.

Stay tuned for our next post, where we'll explore the first two of the four Xs: eXplore and eXpand.