What to research first when playing the AI?

[douglas]

Urendi Maleldil said:Try to get Phased - Polaron Beams quickly. They're the best direct fire weapon in the game on a tonnage-to-damage ratio.

No, that would be high level Anti-Proton Beams. They cost a great deal more to research that far, though, and they don't skip non-phased shields. APB XII is the best late-game weapon in stock, but there is a long period where no one has phased shields and the research cost is prohibitively high. During that period PPB is the best weapon, and level 2 is quite cheap to research and plenty powerful enough, but you will eventually want to upgrade.