Beware, for in the depths of space - perhaps even as close as your own backyard - lurks a terror known as the Festron Hunt. While other species search for idyllic worlds to cultivate and grow and thrive, the Festron prefer worlds that are already occupied with a plethora of potential hosts for their young.
They’re every bit as terrifying as they sound. Aggressive and brutal, the Festron view other species as little more than prey to be hunted and cultivated as hosts for their larvae. Their homeworld used to be teeming with dozens of other sentient species, but now only the Festron remain, having provided all other living beings on their world with a morbidly grim fate.
Any world will do, but the Festron themselves are Aquatic and prefer Oceanic worlds, which they can colonize without penalty. They do receive some approval penalties when on terrestrial or other non-aquatic worlds, but if it means that they can continue to thrive and spread, they won’t be too picky.
The Festron are ravenous - they will consume any and all in their wake. As a result, they receive some pretty hefty bonuses when they conquer a planet: 1,000 credits and a whopping +10% to their approval rating for 25 turns. Because of their unrelenting nature, they also have +10 to control and their planets generate +1 more influence per turn. It’s in your best interest not to let them take too many!
They are pragmatic and believe that empowering the strong and purging the weak will help them to achieve a truly great empire. Their ships gain experience quickly, they gain bonuses for planetary invasions, and their intimidation factor makes entering into diplomatic talks with them a bit of a tenuous process at best - and terrifying at worst.
Experts at playing the “long game,” Festron are tolerant of war and are quick to brave the dangers of space. They have been known to drop lone individuals onto worlds who will spend generations lurking and hunting the local population as they slowly take over and infest their victims. Some are even rumored to have reached as far as Earth…
The bottom line with the Festron? They don’t share worlds with others. I’d say you should send them back to kindergarten to learn some basic lessons about that, but I think it’s probably better that you just eradicate them on sight.
The Festron Hunt is one of over a dozen civilizations available in Galactic Civilizations IV, which releases on April 26th. If you haven’t joined the beta yet, there’s still time! You can get more information on that here. If you’re already playing, let me know what your favorite civilization is and if you’ve tried the Festron Hunt yet!
Check out our other Civilization Highlights:
Meet the Mimot Brotherhood
Meet the Terran Alliance
Meet the Manti Cluster
Meet the Baratak Grove
Meet the Torian Regime
Meet the Altarian Republic
Meet the Drath Freehold
Meet the Krynn Syndicate
Meet the Navigators