AI War 2 Zenith Onslaught

AI War 2 Zenith Onslaught is an expansion for AI War 2 that adds new factions, ships, defenses, AI types and map styles. You face Zenith invasions and civil wars, or ally with the Svikari, while exploring new maps, recruiting Outguard and capturing golems. You can also choose whether to encounter the planet-eating Zenith Miners.

The Zenith arrive

In the usual universe, the Zenith are long dead, leaving only mindless automatons called Golems behind. During humanity’s war with the AI, the first of a coming Zenith horde arrives from a neighboring part of the multiverse. These Zenith are from their civilization’s prime; confused by what they see as a post-apocalyptic universe, they are not pleased.

Three new Zenith factions bring different threats and possibilities:

• The Dark Zenith: can be set to invade and establish their own economy. If the Dark Spire is also enabled, they ally with it.
• The Zenith Architrave: newcomers seeking to return to their galaxy-spanning war. Limited diplomacy may be possible.
• The Zenith Miner: sends probes before attempting to mine entire planets into pieces, with a particular interest in Dyson Spheres. You can hack the miners.

Expand your forces

The expansion adds 15 elite Cruiser ships to the galaxy. Each has a special feature tied to its weapon technology, and two can only be found by stealing Zenith technology. You can also recruit 11 Outguard, each with a distinct contribution, including the Trojan Horse, which conceals a drone army, and the Cornucopia, which boosts metal generation when needed.

Seven new defensive structures include a reactive dummy that draws enemy fire and returns some of it to the sender. The original defensive structure has also been reworked to give each weapon technology its own version. New strikecraft, frigates, stationkeepers and variants of base-game golems add further options to humanity’s arsenal.

New threats and maps

Nomad Planets return from the original AI War, with options for entire Nomad Galaxies. The AI can use wormhole borers to tunnel behind your defenses, and the expansion adds 10 new AI types and two new map styles.