Destroying a fort is pretty simple. Usually I use Human Raid Starships, and when attacking a fort they get decimated. Now my guess is that generally players use missile frigates, bombers, and fighters when conquering AI planets, but it is still not a very good idea. The easiest way to attack a fort is to use ship types with polycrystal hulls, for example bombers. My usual choice would be heavy bomber starships. If there is a force field and you have a good resource income (over +20,000 income rate) destroy the force field with Human Raid Starships or at least shrink it so that the fort is exposed. If you choose a fort baron for one or both of the AI expect to find one or more super fortresses (Mark V forts).

AI homeworld are heavily fortified. If you attack one they AI most likely will send a counterattack against you so I suggest having a good backup fleet. You cannot destroy the command station until the guard posts are dead. The first guard post I suggest attacking is the Neinzul spawner. After that there isn’t too big of difference with the others. When done attacking the planet and you destroy AI presence you will notice an exo-galactic wormhole. Nothing can be done about but either ignore it or defend it. I suggest defending it with a light fleet.

Design backup servers are kinda weird. You can destroy them, corrupt them, or hack them. If you don’t like the ship type I suggest corrupting them, but if you want the ship type I suggest hacking it. When corrupting or hacking them I suggest using the invasion fleet as defense on your planet, and having fast yet not super ineffective ships on the planet with the design backup so that if the AI blanket the planet in tachyon radiation (revealing your hacking ships) you can defend those. If you destroy the home command station the design backup will go too, and when a design backup is destroyed there WILL be a replacement.

There are many minor factions in AI War (unless you have no DLC). A minor faction adds something into the game. Some minor factions have intensity which can be changed. Please note: I have NOT used all minor factions.
• Human Marauders: Occasionally, Human Marauders will come from the edges of planets, spawning several at a time. They usually fly a special Fighter/Bomber ship that is in FRD mode. They are always enemy with everyone.
• Human Resistance: Some allied ships (not in human player control) wander around fighting any AI, but they are outnumbered.
• Human Colony Rebellion: Close to Human Resistance but a little different (please note that I haven’t really seen much action with the last two minor factions)
• Zenith Traders (this one and all other minor factions excluding the top three are DLC): A Zenith trader is wandering around to any planet, and when selected acts as a building station (but in motion). There is no real reason for it to head to a planet other than it is in the route. The structures are mainly defensive except for the zenith energy generators. The structures are really effective and yes the AI builds them (mainly the orbital mass driver and the ion cannons, only fort barrons build super forts)
• Zenith Miners: At random points in the game one or more mining golems appear and it will be a half hour (probably depends on difficulty) before the planet is destroyed. Mining golems have high health so a small force won't be the best. A mining golem looks like this.
• Zenith Dyson sphere: A dyson golem is on a random planet. I have seen enemy gatlings while the AI control the planet it is on, but if you control the planet I know it will spawn enemy gatlings till your command station is dead. Enemy gatlings spawned while planet is under AI control will fight anyone. If you want something on the planet (spire civilian outpost, Zenith reserve, or resource node) I suggest claiming it then scraping the station and destroying the gatlings that WILL (no might they WILL) fight you. When freed from the AI (and you don’t control the planet) it will spawn friendly gatlings that fight AI and enemy gatlings on uncontrolled planets and your planets.
• Zenith Broken Golems: Random broken golems are on AI planets and you can rebuild them (the AI don’t). In order to rebuild them you have claim the planets they are on then you control them and they can be rebuilt.
• Zenith Botnet Golem: In my opinion it is an awesome golem good for defense. It is the same as other golems for rebuilding. When active any AI ships in its range that are not immune to reclamation will be yours. Reclaimed ships from the botnet golem cannot be controlled, but take up no population cap. They wander around your planets and sometimes go to AI planets. This is what happens when you use the botnet golem.

• Neinzul Rocketry Corps: Neinzul missile silos are randomly place around the galaxy and will fire a warhead randomly, but don't worry there should only be emp and lightning (the most common warhead) which don't have super bad side affects. The range of the lightning warhead is small so one ships with blade attacks are really threatened
• Neinzul Preservation Warden: Annoying ships (not a lot) attack you randomly for using resources and warheads (if you are using those). Attacking ships from this minor faction are allies of the AI and ALWAYS come though wormholes.
• Neinzul Roaming Enclaves: Roaming across the galaxy, these are wandering bands of Neinzul Starships. Their loyalties differ, as do their mark levels.
• Fallen Spire: It adds a side story to the game. It introduces subspace signal with which you use subspace receivers, but BEWARE after the first time the AI WILL attack you relentlessly until you complete the task. The attacks aren’t the “you are DEAD!!!!!” kind, so don’t panic. You want good defenses before you do start the tasks. After the third or fourth time you get “rewarded” (as it can be called) and you get a “factory” which produces NICE ships.
• Spire Civilian Leaders: Spire civilians are randomly place in the galaxy. When under AI control they up AI progress by 1, but when freed or under your control they subtract AI progress by 3.
• Spirecraft: Random asteroids are on all planets but ones near homeplanets and the homeplanets themselves. You can use a special constructor to produce ships of each asteroid.

Exodian Blade from "Destroyer of worlds" expansion places a new super powered golem in the game, but you have to track down this "exile" by hacking ai planets to determine how many hops away it is. Even if you have not figured out it's location for certain, when you free the world it is on it becomes visible and repairable. It takes a _LOT_ of resources and time to repair, dwarfing any other golem in game, but can easily beat massive AI fleets alone.
The AI starts sending Exos when you begin repairing it (1 per 30 minutes), they get worse when it comes online(1 per 10 minutes), and get even worse when it's on an AI homeworld (under a minute apart). these exos go after it specifically.

Showdown Devices: places 4 immobile, indestructable structures in game, if you take all 4 systems the AI begins a MASSIVE series of attack waves (talking a warpin at 1 or 2 planets every minute or so with bonus Exos at 15 minutes left and 2 minutes left) If you hold all systems at the end of 30 minutes from when you took the final one, the AI LOSES THE ABILITY TO WARP IN SHIPS. No more waves. Every ship in the galaxy turns into threatfleet, and the AI home command stations turn into mothership like weapons of doom with multi planet nuclear explosions when killed. It is worth noting that the Exodian Blade from below can easily beat a mothership, but as it has shorter range you want to wait at the other side of a wormhole until mothership is close enough that hopping through puts it inside your range. (this strategy is my only diff. 8 win)

This section of the guide is for things which probably aren’t thought about by most players.
Seeds are the key to the map generator. Before you start the game you have some choice as to what map you play. Seeds are kinda hard to explain, but with the ship set other than simple you can kinda pick which ships you can use by picking that planet for a homeplanet.

Fabricators give you special ships (not exactly new ship types). There are three types of fabs: EXP star(ship) fabs, EXP fabs, and core fabs. EXP star fabs give you some new starship types, but mostly Mark V types of what you already have. EXP fabs give you mostly new ship types (including EXP engineers). Core fabs give you mostly Mark V ships.

Also, Salvage dirty trick.
1) find a system with a sentry eye. if none are available, a raid eye can also work, as can a system next to a raid engine.
2) knock out most of the system's defenses but leave the eye and a couple guardposts up, preferably out of the way ones.
3) build a logistics command station kinda near the eye, followed by the highest mark of heavy beam cannon you have access to. (I normally get mark 4 just for this) Make sure the HBC will not be in range to get sniped by guardposts, but preferably is in range to cover the eye directly with it's shots. Make sure the HBC is on a direct path from eye to command station.
4) after the HBC is completed, trigger the eye by building turrets to defend your station. make sure to avoid spider and sniper turrets as these will eventually kill all the posts.
5) make sure you keep 1-2 scout starships in system to detect any cloakies before they reach the HBC.
6) make more income than the rest of your empire combined!