Here lie some random thoughts on ships that have already been nominated.
Zenith Electric BombersAdvantages of
Bombers over Zenith Electric Bombers:
- 50% higher cap health
- Double the armor
- 44% faster
- 22% higher cap bonus dps
- Less damage lost in over-kill (base shot power is 6.5% that of ZElecs)
- Hull bonus vs. heavy, artillery, command-grade
Advantages of Zenith Electric Bombers over Bombers:
- 60% higher range
- 50% higher cap base dps
- Neutron hull (so Fighters get no bonus, although Frigates do)
- Immune to paralysis, insta-kill
- Hull bonus vs. polycrystal
(I've omitted hull bonuses vs. ultra-heavy and structural, which both ships get.)
All round, it's not clear to me that this bonus ship meets the intended 30-50% superiority over the corresponding triangle ship. For me, the lack of heavy bonus makes these particularly hard to like. At least with a heavy bonus you know there'd be a starship or two in every wave they could get their bonus against. The over-kill problem associated with their tremendous base shot damage is pretty significant (they can one-shot several bonus fleet ships of equal mark), but I like it, as it differentiates them from other fleet ships in an interesting way. But combined with the mediocre hull bonuses, I don't see enough corresponding advantages. I'd suggest adding a bonus against heavy hulls plus buffing their toughness, base damage, and/or bonus damage.
Regenerator GolemI think the recent buff to Zenith caches (their AIP costs were slashed from 5*Mark to 1*Mark) makes these golems far more powerful then they used to be. With a bit of care you should be able to use one to sustain a powerful army of Zenith fleet ships indefinitely at moderate AIP cost. You could use this army to defend your whipping boy(s) or homeworld(s) while your main fleet is on offense.
Spire Implosion ArtilleryI'm surprised that people slam these as they're one of the main Spirecraft I create. Uses I've found for an army of them:
- Weaken the lead ship in an exo before it even reaches your planet
- Take off great chunks of health from a Hunter/Killer or golem before engaging your main fleet
- Rapidly take down most of the health of a fortress from outside range before sending in your bombers
- Kill Wormhole Guard Posts in planets you often travel through, or in planets you're going to knowledge-raid (this is otherwise impractical without a Fallen Spire fleet)
Apart from those specialised uses, they're consistently useful in weakening enemy starships, forcefields, and certain guardians, like Warp Gate Guardians with their 16M*Mark health.
Wow, I talk too much.
