Yes Grey_Raven37, if I do not attack and I wish to just be a peaceful nation always on the defense in a reactionary war, I agree, I cannot win. That is why I like to counter attack. I think that Counter attacking offers 2 specific advantages. 1. Once I turn back the initial assault I will be able to attack their weakened force. 2. If the enemy has made an assault with all of their forces and I have been able to turn it back, the counter attack will eliminate his forces from the war, and I will knock over planet after planet with orbital control. Now the trick is being able to counter attack a position where the enemy is weaker than the forces that I have which are capable to attack. (That is the mission of my espionage/intelligence teams). Once I defeat the enemy at the point I attack, I will have taken the momentum from my enemy and gained a planet that my enemy has lost. This brings me a 2 planet advantage because my enemy has lost a planet where I have gained one. I agree with this guy. I like the initial defense strategy better. As I see it, most people who like offense in the beginning will throw really cheap, weak units at the opponent and try to cause as much chaos as they can, even if they're killed in the process. This is why I would build a strong defense in the beginning, so that they can take on whatever weak units the enemy sends at me, then upgrade my units to the highest level and then begin my offense. Then I just roll over the enemy, and seizing their resources along the way.