[Graeme Dice]

Originally posted by spoon:
[/qb]

what about Repair, Resistance, Strength, Organics, etc? Maint. Reduction is at least in the top 3 most important characteristics, and it's cost should be weighted to reflect that (or maint reduction should be made to work differently). Or are you going to tell me that 10 points is maint reduction is equivalent to, say 50 points in Tolerance, or 50 points in Repair?[/QB][/quote]
120 maintenance aptitude costs 2500 points, which makes it the single most expensive trait there is.
That's the equal of 140 in just about every other Category other than aggressiveness and defensiveness. Personally, I'd much rather have 140 construction than 120 maintenance, because your ships don't Last that long in a way anyways.

The game should not be perfectly balanced, because then it becomes nothing more than a paper/rock/scissors matchup. That reduces all strategic decisions to the point where your ability as a player no longer matters. All that matters is that you play the game, because every decision is just as good as every other decision.