You are on to something, but as a counterpoint: The T2 navy gives a lot of options not present in T1 - largely due to longer ranges. T1 subs and frigates mostl

You are on to something, but as a counterpoint: The T2 navy gives a lot of options not present in T1 - largely due to longer ranges. T1 subs and frigates mostly only interact with other naval units. But T2 get cruisers and destroyers anywhere near a coastline and they put large areas under thread A lot of T2 & T3 units have weird special powers (e.g. the destroyer that can sprout legs and walk on land, the T3 Loyalist has built-in TMD). These are somewhat sparsely distributed though The experimental units obviously have a lot of character Depending on circumstances, T1 units remain viable throughout the game. I've seen tons of matches where a T3-heavy naval invasion is pushed back by overwhelming numbers of amphibious T1 units (Zthuees) Making the switch from T1 to T2 and then to T3 is a huge part of the strategy of the game. It is true that the higher tier units are more efficient per unit of resource, but there are real costs (both in resources and in time) to upgrading your force and the decision of when to upgrade is never easy