I have a plan in place right now, but I want other's opinions first. Here it is:
My ship right now:
Rank: 177
6B credits in the bank.
Energy: 981 normal, 1300 ish when ranking.
Hull: 1598
Shields: 348
Space: 992 / 1014
Attack: 2469
Defense: 654
Scan: 546
Cloak: 805
Cargo: 998 / 1085
Upkeep: 146.5M
Zolazin: Cloak +40%
Saboteur: Sabotage
2338 RP/Hour
1361 MP/Hour
2043 AP/Hour
8 Planet slots.

Research:
0/3 Null Rays
0/4 Intra Dimensional Colliding
0/3 Rift Fields
1/3 Quantum Jamming
2/3 Nexus Grids
0/3 Phase Shifting
0/3 Hyperflux Signaling
0/3 Stellar Engineering
0/3 Sub-Quantum Logistics

I run 6 guns and 1 plating.

My plan:
*Finish Nexus AND Neurtonium. Install an extra one on my ship too.
*Scan spree in 3 days or so. Cost: 1.25B
*Get some Arti and Mining planets, maybe a research if something nice shows up.

I'm NPC focussed, and I'm PvPing a little on the side (Hacks especially for the new modules)

imo, i'd work up your defence tech a bit, maybe up to tier 1 of quantum overlays if you NPC a lot, then do your first tier of your scanners if you plan on hacking and scanning planets, scan also helps with NPCing as it increases the chance of critical hits IIRC, though im pretty sure you knew that anyway

UPDATE:
Scan spree over.
Energy up to 1400 when ranking.
Got mk1 neutronium - 2 hulls installed now. 2408 base.
ALL my defence comes from special mods, helmsmen and 4 DC thrusters.

If you're NPCing then I'd suggest starting on null rays soon then intra-d colliders then defences after you've finished hull research. If energy is more important then do energy first while you max out on installed cannons.

I guess your repair costs aren't too bad but with heavy nulls and intra-d Mk4 colliders you'll find it rises a lot. Uninstalling and resintalling intra-d's can also be a drain on resources.

For NPC hunting you want a high attack then high hull. When repairs get expensive that's when you need to start fitting good defences on. This reduces the number of repairs and therefore costs. Defence is also useful for PvP.

I guess it'll be some amount of time before your next scan blitz so I'd suggest upgrading your resource production structures then moving on to better scanners.

Ok. I'm doing hull, energy, then nulls. in that order. My costs are 20M at most, which I make in less than an hour. My scan spree has yielded some nice planets, which I'll be taking in the near future.

Good stuff. Just wait to see your upkeep shoot up in the next 50 levels.

If you're NPCing a lot you should be able to get the hyperterraformer mission by rank 250 (if you've not completed it using GP). This provides a really nice bonus. Getting 1.1k out of mine.

I'm 8/10 through it so far.

Research is now at 2483, mining 1257, artifact 2157. Artifact will hopefully pick up tonight by 150-200 points. After that, hopefully 1 planet a day, 100-200 points apiece.

Edit again: RP 2491, MP 1259, AP 2311

Now running 3 neutroniums.

Probably going for a mining planet next.

Intra is a great stuff that you should get first, more energy = more NPC fighting. Also the Wormhole Relay after that is cool too. Cuz you will need a big time and research as well as resource for the Supernova.

After that I suggest you build up your def, at your level I got Quantum Overlay M.3 and it worked good. Then the Null Ray. You will use Null Ray for a long time unless you want to get the Thertacon fast, which costs a lot and the you can't smile after see its unkeep cost lol.

But no matter what, get your 12+ building as fast as possible is not a bad idea. As you level up, you will have more planets to colonize/invade. Max out the planetary building will save you a lot of money cuz if you do it in higher level, the cost of changing building for your planets is enormous!

Cost of equipping +12s is enormous anyway. I reserve them for my best planets.

Null ray tech is pretty standard for NPCing. I switched to thetacrons around rank 450 but the upkeep is hellish.

Defence isn't important for NPCing until you find repair costs get high. A little defence and a lot of hull is what most players go with till thy hit this problem. With your current installed tech it shouldn't be a problem but top Intra-Ds and Null Rays will make it an issue.

I have 60K left of neutronium, then I'm going energy up to the next relays.