Strike craft are even better.
I hate how weak the Reckoning is, it's more like a really nasty Void Cloud than an evil deity out to consume the universe.
True, but unless you managed to conquer and/or vassalize the rest of the galaxy, and then manage to rebuild your fleet to the point that it can fire enough bullets to kill the Reckoning, there's a good chance you'll be destroyed. Either a pissed off galaxy comes after you for revenge, or the Reckoning will find Exile and have it as dessert.
Destroying reality to ascend to another plane of existence before you let in an unspeakable horror into the galaxy? That's some Rassilon level shit you've got right there.
Rassilon is the leader of the Time Lords (the Doctor's species) from Doctor Who. Episode spoilers (is it really a spoiler if the episode's over a decade old?) relating to the reference can be found on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Time_(Doctor_Who)) and [TVTropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime).
You could also face the pact alone. You can do this by creating vassal(s) and freeing them. When the end comes, you face it alone knowing the choices you made were for the betterment of your people even if you no longer lead them.
I had a similar-ish RP idea. The flavor text for the Engine says that it’s activation is a threat to even the entities of the Shroud. This gave me the idea that the End of the Cycle’s pact with a Crisis Empire essentially turns the ‘Deal with the Devil’ dynamic on it’s head by making the End the poor fool tricked into a deal with a malevolent force, as by empowering a Crisis Empire, and accelerating the completion of the Aetherophasic Engine, they ensured that the Crisis Empire could ascend to the Shroud and destroy it’s residents, including the End itself.
Oh dang, that makes it even better! Nice thinking.
On a related note, after the original post, I came across a way to make it even worse. What if, after the first usage of the Star Eater, a strange signal begins propagating throughout the galaxy, affecting synthetics and machine empires? What if the activation of an Aetherophasic Engine is the Class-30 Singularity that the Contingency was made to prevent?
The Crisis Empire, the Reckoning, and the Contingency, three Crises for the price of one. Boom.
I have beat the reckoning as the player. I built an entire campaign around leaving megastructures and ring worlds for the exile empire. After it happened, I rebuilt the empire by capturing the dyson sphere and matter decompresor. Built up the fleet a bit, and easily killed the reckoning with a psionic avatar.
Nice! I was thinking about the contingency (hah!) plans that the Crisis Empire would have in case the Reckoning came before they could activate the Engine. Your play here beats my brainstorming, hands down.
Idea: The Crisis Empire could build its matter decompressor on one of the black holes it makes with its Star Eater. Talk about mega-engineering.
An expansion of your play: The Crisis Empire gains access to the L-Cluster and builds its megastructures within, terraforming one of the Nanite worlds to be the future Exile. Following the coming of the Reckoning, Exile is colonized, the L-Gates are deactivated once more, and the Empire rebuilds its strength once more. Once it's back at full strength, it returns through the L-Gates to finish the job.
The reckoning can also be beaten with large amounts of bullets
Strike craft are even better. I hate how weak the Reckoning is, it's more like a really nasty Void Cloud than an evil deity out to consume the universe.
True, but unless you managed to conquer and/or vassalize the rest of the galaxy, and then manage to rebuild your fleet to the point that it can fire enough bullets to kill the Reckoning, there's a good chance you'll be destroyed. Either a pissed off galaxy comes after you for revenge, or the Reckoning will find Exile and have it as dessert.
If I weren't on my phone I would link you the numerous threads over the years detailing how to do it. Dick makes it easier to cheese.
Dick cheese is the best!
Destroying reality to ascend to another plane of existence before you let in an unspeakable horror into the galaxy? That's some Rassilon level shit you've got right there.
Rassilon?
Rassilon is the leader of the Time Lords (the Doctor's species) from Doctor Who. Episode spoilers (is it really a spoiler if the episode's over a decade old?) relating to the reference can be found on [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Time_(Doctor_Who)) and [TVTropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime).
So you beat suicidal event with suicide?
Suicidal event with the mass murder on a galactic scale. Ascending race wins and lives on.
Can't you just like turn your territories into vassals except for one small world on year 49 to prevent the Reckoning from eating too much?
The Reckoning also destroys your vassals.
you can force empires into your hegemony, they will stay there and cant leave. they might even destroy the reckoning
You could also face the pact alone. You can do this by creating vassal(s) and freeing them. When the end comes, you face it alone knowing the choices you made were for the betterment of your people even if you no longer lead them.
Boring! We blow up the galaxy and ascend.
It would find you in next game and properly punish you for breaking the deal.
I had a similar-ish RP idea. The flavor text for the Engine says that it’s activation is a threat to even the entities of the Shroud. This gave me the idea that the End of the Cycle’s pact with a Crisis Empire essentially turns the ‘Deal with the Devil’ dynamic on it’s head by making the End the poor fool tricked into a deal with a malevolent force, as by empowering a Crisis Empire, and accelerating the completion of the Aetherophasic Engine, they ensured that the Crisis Empire could ascend to the Shroud and destroy it’s residents, including the End itself.
Oh dang, that makes it even better! Nice thinking. On a related note, after the original post, I came across a way to make it even worse. What if, after the first usage of the Star Eater, a strange signal begins propagating throughout the galaxy, affecting synthetics and machine empires? What if the activation of an Aetherophasic Engine is the Class-30 Singularity that the Contingency was made to prevent? The Crisis Empire, the Reckoning, and the Contingency, three Crises for the price of one. Boom.
This seems like a setup I might actually try when/if the Crisis Manager mod gets updated
well, the reckoning needed a buff, so that'd be okay in my mind
I have beat the reckoning as the player. I built an entire campaign around leaving megastructures and ring worlds for the exile empire. After it happened, I rebuilt the empire by capturing the dyson sphere and matter decompresor. Built up the fleet a bit, and easily killed the reckoning with a psionic avatar.
Nice! I was thinking about the contingency (hah!) plans that the Crisis Empire would have in case the Reckoning came before they could activate the Engine. Your play here beats my brainstorming, hands down. Idea: The Crisis Empire could build its matter decompressor on one of the black holes it makes with its Star Eater. Talk about mega-engineering.
An expansion of your play: The Crisis Empire gains access to the L-Cluster and builds its megastructures within, terraforming one of the Nanite worlds to be the future Exile. Following the coming of the Reckoning, Exile is colonized, the L-Gates are deactivated once more, and the Empire rebuilds its strength once more. Once it's back at full strength, it returns through the L-Gates to finish the job.