I've always liked how the devs made the galactic council useless and never focus on the threat... exactly like how it'd be in real life.

As someone who has 1000 hours in Stellaris, yet relies on starbases to defend my wide empires as my fleets suck, I applaud you sir. You have done the ultimate Switzerland.

Even if they're pure energy, Montu still manages to melt the Unbidden.

I love learning more about how to actually use starbases to defend planets and such, keep up the good work Montu.

That gleeful laugh at the end where you see your defenses hold. I understand that feeling. Do a gigastructures run, Montu, and do this again with Maginot worlds. :D

Lathrix: keeps Crisis remnant as pet Montu: gets kept as pet by Crisis....

a defensive system that is neither submissive nor breedable

Montu running that wood elf build, tucked away in his little corner, killing everything that comes into his forest of citadels.

~26:10 I think you need a second set of defence platforms that's full armour. Because unless shield hardening stops the neutron star shield nullification, your 5-shield platforms are undoubtedly underperforming by quite a lot in that system. You can even see your Starbase with just 4k shield and your platforms with an empty bar at :19.

The most interesting about this is the crises avoiding montu’s space, it shows that even though the starbases can be cost effective, they still have the problem of not being flexible and not being able to force a fast conclusion to a war

I’d love to see a galaxy where it’s just Unbidden, Prethoryn, and Contingency battling it out of control of the galaxy and Montu’s little Switzerland weathering the storm. A gentle city ringed by hundreds of defensive platforms.

Montu out there creating a defense hyper-citadel-fortress-interstellar-system that can only be countered by firing up Aetherophasic Engine. Respect.

I think you forgot to mention the Zroni Stormcaster thing a bit earlier in the video. Still, that's really strong.

I actually can see how this would happen as 1. prethoryn scourge attacks galaxy 2. unbidden see this as a lot of prey, so it's a good time to start hunting in this galaxy 3. contingency see unbidden as a threat therefore it also attacks the galaxy

You could add an Inward perfectionism for flat +30% defense platform hull points and +30% damage output, this is a counsellor position tho, and maxed out on chancellor lvl 10

Okay, yeah, we definitely need to see this ultimate defense put up against the ultimate challenge: 25x Crisis!

Oh boy im almost scared with how long that leader trait tierlist is taking. Its gonna be LARGE

Vulcans on an ocean world? Heresy! I approve.

Your overlord probably lost a liberation war, which is why your ethics and leader changed. Also, how did you get Zroni Storm Casters if you got the First League? Is there some other way to get the tech besides secrets of the Zroni?

It's worth noting that many players don't bother exploring how much more effective they can make their defensive Starbases by designing a wide variety of platforms with weapons that are meant to compliment each other in battle. Combining flak, missile, and strike craft platforms can be devastatingly powerful despite seemingly being much weaker than the opposing fleet.

Fantastic advert for Surfshark. I normally skip the adverts but was so entertaining I stuck around to iisten to it.

This is great, I always wanted to try a build like this one.

You can use the ancient battelments / fortifications for even more defense platforms. (Starbase module)

I just finished an aquatic hivemind empire with a general hydrophilic agenda of turning every world into a waterworld. When making my chokepoints, the zroni storm caster made it so fun to create these all these hull/armor shredding machines. It was incredibly effective in terminal egress. I started just watching the flights try the mad dash for the platforms just to get shredded with very little chance to disengage. ITS A TRAP!

thta was a pretty good plug, background was perfect. :D

I'm so glad you're doing these again, they're my favorite to watch while I eat

Always intersting to see these playthroughs, especially since I never get to live through a playthrough of my own. Even on ensign lol

now i wonder how that kind of fortress would look like in a Terminal Egress with three orbital rings...

I would love to see you do a video on this with 25x crisis lol. Maybe at the end even go crisis yourself and have the rest of the galaxy declare war on you with maxed out buffs for them.

WHAT were the weapons you had on your defense platforms by the time the crisis happened?

Damn Montu, I really wanted to impregnate those space stations. Really disappointed.

What was the final defense platform build?

this reminds me of the phalanx in 40K, great stuff, and keep up the amazing work!

On my last pre-Paragon save I also got to millions of fleet power with starbases, I love it! I went into a different route, with Inward Perfection instead of being a Bastion vassal.

could be a cool idea to focus defense platform buildspeed and simply build infinite platforms during a battle to make it impossible to lose

The only thing you're missing is the Ancient Ramparts modules for an extra 12 Defense Platforms. Also it gives some Armor and Armor Hardening for your Starbase but who cares for that. There's also the Defense-Grid Super-Computer Building that gives an extra 8 Defense Platforms, squeezing just that bit more firepower for your Starbases. Once your done building DPs, just switch buildings for something else. And if you weren't going for the Zroni Stormcasters you could build the Ancient Shield Overcharger for lots of Shields and Shield Hardening on your DPs. There's also the Mercenary Garrison building from Mercenary Enclave for the extra 15% attack speed, stack with Command Center, I believe, for a spicy 25% attack speed. As for factor you can't control, Orbital Rings. If you can get them, they're great for the extra building slots, letting you stack all the building effects. And they could build their own DPs as well, with the ones farther back having Ion Cannons so they can still chip in. Although against the Crisis you'll probably not want to build Orbital Rings on the planets next to where the Crisis is going to come in from, for obvious reasons. If you really want the Ultimate Defense System, Worm. Get Worm, Black Hole System with lots of inhabitable Planets for Orbital Rings and an obscene amounts of DPs, or just Ions Cannons, even. Heck, if we're talking about just taking down Crisis the Ruination Glare, the Titan weapon with Mad DPS but short range will probably be great, due to the 50% range Starbase Building. That's about all I can think of with improving the defense.

I think the new under one rule origin offers a leader trait that buffs your def platforms even more, u could also use that :D

This sounds fun. I've always wanted to try something like this

I've always wondered what the best defensive build is, this should be fun

Aweseome, I'll have to test it against ACOT and I love the references.

would inward perfection work? Up to 30% damage and hull hp.

I been doing 1mil+ fleet power bulwarks for months now in my games. I go psionic with zroni-stormcasters though. And driller drones.

Wouldn't it be even more self-reliant and stable with hiveminds? Like you could do your own overlord on a specialized planet, surrounded by your own territory for protectorate stuff, you get extra 15% boost on your starbase from offspring building and have immortal council, never in need of replacement, and can also double on the starbase boost by picking the admiral hivemind too... The generals would be the same probably.

With the Archeotech modules they'd be even stronger lol. I would love to see it with those instead.

This video reminds me of my choke point system with neutron star and citadel with defensive platforms focused on armor defenses and armor and hull damage with about 400k power. I also melted everything in there.

33:42 Can't imagine the audacity of those synths, trying to infiltrate and scare your empire when they don't see the 700K power citadels glaring upon them as their Contingency papa gets mutilated to death

Okay that add transition was smooth tho

Good gods... though interesting to see that feature (or a bug) when having more starbases than allowed (well, they're built, so they won't get just scrapped, but I would expect some energy credits costs).

My computers hard drive kicked the bucket so iv been trying not to watch videos of games that were on my computer so I don’t wanna play them really bad, unfortunately you posted so I gotta watch

So you use the vassal contracts, general traits, normal defensive social policy, a accention perk for better bases and nebulars. Then you build a million starfighters and experience how a queen bee feels in her hive. What happens if your overlord perishes, do you lose all your benefits?

good ad transition

I did a similar run, full tech rush. By the time the first 25x crisis came my stations were at 5 million. The rest showed up and could not contend. I stopped playing because it got boring, but I think the year was 2450-2475 but my stations were closer to 20-25 million. I was roleplaying as the ancients if anyone knows the tv show Stargate

I'd like to see how you do with this in an mp game, if you can just turtle and outscore everyone. Probably necessary to add a mod that gives starbases and platforms diplo weight but I think it'd be worth doing a game to see what happens. Would be an amusing watch anyways.

I love how you literally bid the unbidden in.

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH this BOUT TO GET INTERESTING..... Maniacally rubs palms together while snickering

One of the civilization's next to my mine in the playthrough I am doing, automatically made me apart of their federation because I was everything they wanted in an Ally. So they really liked me from the get go, and now we have 6 federation members before even the half way mark in the game.

The Galactic Senate really needs an overhaul. I ended up quitting the community altogether in my latest run, because after nearly TWO CENTURIES of 90% of factions violating the 'gotta have mercs at war' law (because they dont know how to make enclaves and I couldn't as a Machine Empire), and constantly pushing my repeal down and down and down... ...they deliberately failed the repeal. Seeing it prioritize dumb stuff like Guardian Angels over focusing on the Crisis just really reminded me of that.

Well this has completely changed my opinion of starbases and defense platforms.😮😮😮😮

I'm playing a 25x crisis run and was super excited to see this, too bad all the bonuses I didn't have yet are in dlc I don't have :( I guess I just need to settle with my 300k stations

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at the end, which design were you using for the defense platforms? it didn't look like you were using the only strike craft one

That sponsor intro was awesome :D

Recently had a similar game where being a vassal was the most powerful thing, minus being impregnable, as I was impregnated multiple times from two different sides, enough so I was pushed back to one system & vassalised. I was able to get a contract that allowed me max resources possible from my overlord, which led me to build the tallest I've ever gone, so much so that before I overthrew my overlord, i was strong enough to have 300K diplomatic power.

The symbol you can select that looks like Pack Man with the mouth pointing down is the actual symbol of the Vulcans in Star Trek. It represents Mt Seleya where Saruk, the original father of Vulcan logic died.

What was your platform loadout and do you use ion cannons? Without bullwark and the new dlc i reached about 600k fleetpower on my starbases as hivemind orgin.

>Impregnable. Oh, so you think!

I know the Commander of the Watch councilor from the inward Perfection civic provides more defense platform bonuses, and not sure when it is active in the video, but I am use you used the agenda from unyielding. Does inward perfection prevent you from being a subject, or does it make you more dependent on an empire attacking you for vassalization? Additionally, how did you get the 7 trait options for that leader at 22:06?

You know Monty, I was sitting and playing Stellaris. I realized you haven't done a " All Paragon Leaders ranked" And I am baffled, yet now eagerly wait. I don't know if anyone can confirm. But I was playing a session where I had 4 Paragon leaders. One of them was Warform, a slaver, a spy, and a General-slaver. I went to use the Archaeo-Tech Ascension perk, and I saw on the bottom that an even would happen for two of my leaders. Warform and someone else, I believe the slaver. But no event ever happened, and when I tried to recreate that. Nothing happened. Am I just delusional?

Finally a build suited to my playstyle, definitely not going to use this against in my hosted games... (I am definitely using this)

for the line at the end all I can say is only until the devs teach the AI how to do espionage and sabotaging stations

I just got a playthrough where I simultaneously was fighting The Chosen (fanatic purifiers), the Unbidden, and both Awakened Empires. But luckily, I had watched this video and thought it sounded like fun, so my territory was entirely impregnable, no navy needed. Sure, all my vassals were dying horrible deaths while knocking on the gates for me to help, but I was safe and sound, and as the galaxy burned around me, I drank a little bit of wine while the flames danced in my eyes.

I’m trying to follow along the best I can as a new rookie player. I’m still trying to learn what research to take early on

Can I just say how much I adore the memes spread throughout this video?

I really enjoy these build videos, very digestible and make me want to go and play! And I imagine they are somewhat easier than the large playthroughs to make.

These advertisement transitions have me on the floor laughing.

intresting the new Robo-mommy hard counters this perfect defense as she forces you to address her

then Maginot Worlds 2 million power most likely PDN to spam corrvets and oribital rings for extra defense and ZoFE for fallen empire stuff and prevents QSO and NDB from firing and any ships entering and you can use gateways or hyper relay so you can still enter but they cannot

The only thing he didn't show us was the weapons and armor and shields he was using

"simply bonkers" among the best words ever spoken.

The best unity rush build is a materialist equalitarian build...Love it !

Renowned leader Jynn brought his pupil with him! He was too stronk

Wow, it may take a little cheese, but focusing on defense is viable again in vanilla for the first time since flowers of death were removed by disabling manual positioning of defense platforms.

I’ve tried this myself a few months back with the lifeboat challenge(best challenge), this build is pretty much invincible UNTIL the end game crisis wipes out all other empires. After they do this they combine their forces and engage the star base when they outnumber it, however even after that they can’t beat the thing. An unlucky role can spawn in multiple crisis fleets at once(the scourge on my end), combine it, and then attack to where you aren’t able to hit everything and do still take loses. Overall probably my favorite “screw the galaxy” build

yk ironically I did this by complete accident, even the most powerful armies struggled to get past the 4 or so choke points I created to whittle them down as I send 3 big ass fleets after them, hand tuned to literally murder anything

wait, you built defensive platforms with shields only on the system with the pulsar with shield nullification, doesn't that disabled all shields from the defensive platforms?

I love the strategic cropping to hide certain things from the viewer...

What command did you use to force spawn Zroni tech?

I had a similar build like that on my PS Stellaris, and the unbidden were devouring every other empires, so they threw at least 4mil fleets on 700k stations and they didn't break through, not once

Funny I am currently doing a run with Gigastructural Engineering where I am going up against Max difficulty Aeternum and my first line of defence is a total of 9 Maginot Worlds. Guess we're both in a turtling mood.

I wish you would've done a time lapse of the galaxy being taken over and ur empire just unchanged.

Dear Montu! This was an inspirational video. I'm just missing one point: 2 types of dfense platforms, one is with shileds and strike craft, and what is the other? Thanks for your reply. :D

I do a no fleets challenge and I've just done this absurd thing and I absolutely love it: Release a single planet sector as a vassal => Release the vassal => Form a federation with you being in charge => Ask to become their bulwark with unrestricted diplomacy Now my empire has all benefits of being a bulwark and a fed member, but also is completely in control of the overlord's actions. Moreover, the overlord's one pop economy is in total collapse, but I still get huge subsidies as a percentage of my own income and this is totally broken.

driven educator gives you science indeed you can check by looking at the amount you get of a specific one it will say X because of pops

nothing is impregnable with ten good men and some climbing spikes

Every time i hear someone says todays sponsor i just dobbeltap my phone so i skip 60-80 sec and the ad is over

What is the defense platform build you used? Is there a mix of multiple kinds, or just one type you spam? Do you use ion cannons?

He's done it. The Meganot line.

He really done taken a page outta the French Militaries book

Would like to know your defense platform build. And the "optimal" bulwark starbase build. I know you showed 1 on screen, but I wasnt sure if that was your "optimal" build.

how did you equip the defence modules? only with hanger stations and shields?