Like the Galactic Civilizations IV race preview – the Arceans were added to Galactic Civilizations III via an expansion, but are coming to IV right at launch. They've reformed from an empire to a republic, but the fundamentals of their history haven't changed and they're available to play in the alpha if you pre-order today.
The Arcean Republic are a stoic warrior culture that was introduced in the 0.65 update. Their citizens are pretty chill about most things; it doesn't really matter which ideology you wish to pursue, your choice is unlikely to anger many of these unflappable folk. Ready to do what needs to be done, Arcean citizens will never be pacifists, and even get approval bonuses when specialised as soldiers.
Despite being one of the oldest races, the Arceans find themselves on the back foot in the universe of Galactic Civilizations. For much of their recent history they've been occupied by the Drengin, one of the setting's main antagonist factions. With the help of the Terrans they've finally reclaimed their homeworld, but this still leaves them with little more than the other factions at the start of the game.
The Arceans are an excellent civilization for beginners and newcomers to Galactic Civilizations IV. Their playstyle follows a normal pattern, and other than being terrible liars, they have plenty of bonuses with few downsides and a clear, military focus upon which to build your strategy.
While the Arceans aren't considered 'good', they're not obviously 'evil' either. They're not as menacing as the Xeloxi. They simply have an affinity for conquest and aren't afraid to follow it – in fact, one of their goals is to rebuild their empire from ages past.
To do this, they have their trusty fleet of command ships. The Arceans are one of the first races introduced so far to get a direct incentive for bringing these powerful spaceships online: every time one is produced, you get a culture point to spend. On top of that, their military focus means that all of their command ships are warships, representing some of the most powerful in the game:
- Valiant: a heavy beam warship
- Absolution: a heavy kinetic warship
- Venge: a heavy missile warship
- Terminus: a strong warship with a variety of weapons and defences
- Verga's Spire: a missile-equipped carrier ship
- Elysium: a powerful missile ship which gains attack power as it levels up
- Arcadia: a powerful kinetic ship which gains kinetic attack and HP as it levels up
The Arceans have some great racial abilities that augment their martial playstyle. The 'Loyal' trait gives all Arcean leaders +10 loyalty and makes them 25% cheaper to recruit, which will help you bring those command ships online sooner rather than later.
The 'Vigilant' ability gives all Arcean starbases a larger area of effect. Not only will enemy ships slow down within this radius, but player ships will get an attack bonus, giving the Arceans a defensive boost. Although they say the best defence is a good offence, I wonder how effective building a starbase right next to your enemy's territory would be…
Last – but not least – the Arcean homeworld deserves a mention. This is a very versatile starting planet, with plenty of squares that give boosts to things like military, research, wealth, and even tourism. Arcea has a lot of plains tiles that come with random bonuses for you to exploit, and your home system has another planet that's ripe for colonisation.
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The Arceans are indomitable, dependable, and not against coming to your star system to take all of your things. If you're looking for someone strong and straight-forward, this resurgent republic might just be the faction for you. Make sure you pre-order Galactic Civilizations IV today so you can get instant access to the 0.70 alpha and try them out for yourself.