Tip 28 - Spies

If you've been putting some of your funds into espionage at some point you'll have a spy available to place.  The spy has three functions:

You get general information that accumulates over time about that opponent.  Go to foreign stats and then click the Report tab.  You can cycle through all your opponents.  Of course at this point in the game I know very little about the Altarians.

← click

You can disable an improvement on an opponents planet.  This is very easy to do:

← First click the spy icon.

  ← Then click the planet and what improvement you want to disable.

Now there are several strategic ways to use spies, and since it's a new game element, my advice here may not be perfect.

• I like to rotate my spies once in a while.  I figure if I've got a spy on an opponents planet, they will then have to divert funds to create their own spy to nullify him.  Unless you're the only other person in the galaxy, once that nullifying spy is made, if you've moved before he uses it, he'll place it on some other person.
• Some people like to save up 3 spies, and then place them all at once on an opponent.  This can really cripple his production or research depending on what you use them on.  This will also insure they can't immediately nullify your agent.
• Each spy costs more than the last one.  So don't waste them.  If an opponent easily nullifies your spy, don't just stick one more spy on their planet.  It could be a losing money sink.
• Spies cost nothing to maintain...
• If you're bringing in lots of extra money and don't know what to spend it on, you can crank your espionage slider to use up to 25% of your production cost towards making spies.
• To nullify an agent click the Domestic Stats button, and then the Espionage tab.  If you have an unused spy, you'll be able to highlight the enemy spy and click nullify.
• ← click
• From the screen above, you can also many your agents.  Taking them out of the field for reassignment.   
• After you've built up enough espionage against an opponent you'll be able to double click their planets just like your own.  You'll be able to see all his data just like your own.

Probably the best way to use spies is either super piece-meal, or save them up for a big assault. 

1. Piece-meal means just apply them one at a time one each different enemy to get some baseline activity.  Sometimes if you only have one an enemy, they won't bother to disable it.  But if the race is really good in espionage it won't be much for them to remove it.
2. Save them up for a big assault.  Get like 10 or so spies, and when you go to invade, place them all at once on critical installations.  You can hurt the where you feel it will do the most benefit to you.  Their manufacturing, their economy etc.  If you sold that race some stuff to drain their bank account beforehand, it will be even more effective since they can't go far (for long) into massive deficit spending to neutralize them all.  Then as you get each spy, keep placing hem until you've conquered their empire.

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