Part 1: Intro / A Word on Macros
Before we get into the good stuff, first, a few words on events.
There are four main event types:
factions (where you send shuttle missions);
galaxy (where you craft items using inventory);
skirmish (doing ship battles);
and expeditions (doing away missions - although those have been few and far between).
A hybrid event will be some combination of the above, generally faction + galaxy, although we’ve had other permutations as well.
Flashbacks are an event that has been run before repeated again as-is with (generally) one gold in the packs.
Reruns are like flashbacks, although they will have two golds, and one will be available as a reward in thresholds (usually at 400k VP).
There is a lot of strategy that can be employed to maximize your event performance. However, it’s worth noting that all of these event types can and have been macroed. DBTPWRG has publicly acknowledged that the risk/reward of rooting out macros isn’t worth it. The good news, though, is that macros are inherently less efficient than a human tapping away. Now that we have auto mode on skirmishes, for example, a human can run battles far quicker than a macro can. The flip side to this is that macros can be left to run on autopilot so will have greater stamina than a human player.
While cheating exists at all levels in the game, event winners generally are not employing those tactics - despite what some people may think. As I said, a macro is not as fast as a human player. In fact, in a since deleted post on the forums from someone trying to win a galaxy event with a macro, the author even puzzled about why he was losing ground despite having his macro run 24/7. The truth is that you can tap faster than a mouse recorder, although it can go for longer, so speed is often the only thing we can do to make up ground in galaxies and skirmishes. Offsetting the stamina also means that if you want to go for a top rank, be prepared to grind all day and night and day and night again.
As all skirmishes and galaxies especially rely on repetitive tapping, they are very conducive to macroing. It’s a fact of the game at this point, although not one that is a good thing. And as someone who is anti-macro, I will not be covering how to make them in this guide. This is written for the human players, not the robot ones (sorry, Data).
Now, onto our main program.