i try to look at other ships even if im not battling them to see what they have as far as tech goes90 percent of the time my tech is much more advanced and the only ones i cannot defeat are the fighting ships that are all battles and no scans, i have not done a lot of weapons research and only have ion cannons as opposed to the Quantum Capacitor Mark IV that i have completed in the energy tier. my question is , am i facing these opponents because my ship power is low or are these the guys near me or who started at the same time. what determines my opponent?

What determines your opponent? They can attack anyone who is not in their legion. What appears in the battle window? Close to your level and that your scan is powerful enough to find them (so your scan vs their cloak)

Very helpful thanks again

what lv are you? im 43 and i just got quantum mk4's. but i have phase cannons vs your ion cannons. what determines your opponent in combat is the att + def scores. the higher the # the better you will do. so put a day or so worth of RP into weapons or def and then spend top dollar to equip the best guns etc. then you will be unmatched @ your level and wont need to worry about the other 10%. for me if i have H Plasmas and i see someone with H Ion or light plasmas i will supercharge weapon research to complete a whole tier. so im currently on my way to H phased when the highest enemy has light plasmas.

edit: the scan and cloak will affect who can see you vs who you can see in your list... so its better to be prepaired for all of them that are able to see you in your general level range.

how many decks u got hunter?

well the last energy i researched was wave conduit an im level 42 and have completed 18 complete missions , like i said i have light ion cannon, light force shield, wideband jammers , Multiwave Sensor - Mark III, level 3 mining and i just started some defense research and no armor. its been forever since i got attacked so i was not worried about weapons, i was not worried about being attacked or anything. my question was if my opponents was based on my ship strength or proximity.

it seems like i research untill i cant afford to buy the next level and then go to another tier. right now im going to research some defense and then finish the next tier of scanners. depending on my income thats when i will decide what to research next. thanks for the answers

Heavy Frigate