The Regenerator Golem

[Faulty Logic]

I find these to be quite underpowered. They are quite expensive, in terms of material, energy, and (if playing moderate) AIP, but are simultaneously less useful than other golems.

Do other people get use out of these? If so, what?
Are they comparable to other golems?
How should they be buffed (if they are)?

I would like to see their health increased to half a billion, and their AIP/material costs decreased to Armored Golem level.

[Vyndicu]

You can prevent your fleet ships from contributing toward a bigger dark spire swarm as long the regen golem has hp to resurrect anything.

I think the devourer golem can't prevent resurrect; So you can keep a regen golem in system to resurrect expensive fleetship or starships.

If you have a fortified solar system that always losing engineer/rebuilder. You can park a regen golem to resurret them indefinitely since they don't cost regen golem much hp to resurrect.

I admit not as many uses as I would like to see myself.

[Wingflier]

I don't think they regenerate Starships. That would be a nice buff IMO. Agreed they're UP.

[Vyndicu]

AI likes to target thing that are irreplacement. (Spire colony pod before galectic arm hub/various golems/spire craft from asteroids/etc...) So it is not an unique problem to only regen golem.

[Hearteater]

Any of these would work:

1) Give it Vampirism but allow it to target only fleet ships.  Possibly fiddle with the reload and salvo size a little; it needs to kill slow enough that its own attacks can't keep repairing your losses alone.  Now you've got an alternative to repairing it, all you need to do is keep it alive.  This is assuming Vampirism only gives you at most the health of the destroyed victim.  There is no way it should be healing 600k per Fighter I it kills.

2) Reduce its range to 3k, give it x10 damage to Mark I-IV Guard Posts and Vampirism (but only against Guard Posts).  Effectively it can convert Guard Post health into its own.  Maybe give it a 2:1 on health healed.  If it could heal around 8-10% of its health per Guard Post, that would give you a better method of repairing it.  Of course, Guard Posts never respawn, so they are a limited resource to feed your Regen Golem and you need to get pretty close so you'll probably take some damage getting in there in the first place.

3) Make it a mobile space dock like the Neinzul Enclave, except it spends its own health, and it ignores build time.  So if you click on Fighter I, it instantly spawns as many Fighter I's as it can (up to your ship cap) at the cost of its own health.  Only works while it has at least 10% health.  For extra fun, let it function as a Adv. Factory to make Mark IVs.

[Vyndicu]

Do you really want the golomite AI to be able to create MK 4 anything on demand? How do early Golomite AI attack with golems? I have not play with them before.

[keith.lamothe]

Do you really want the golomite AI to be able to create MK 4 anything on demand? How do early Golomite AI attack with golems? I have not play with them before.

The golemite isn't all that scary.  Heroic is scary.


On the overall topic: listening.  Certainly in favor of some kind of buff.

[Vyndicu]

I think one of the regen golem biggest weakness is that it is not able to contribute much when you are on the offensive. Especially when you consider that AI will often focus fire on the regen golem AND you can't repair something that is under attack or taking damage.

[keith.lamothe]

Is it hard to hold the regen golem far enough back to avoid the bulk of the focus firing?  If so, is it because the regenerated units re-spawn (iirc) next to the golem?

[chemical_art]

Part of the problem is that the golem is it is the only one where its power is based on things other then itself.


For me, I want a golem because it makes an impact enough to be worth it. It provides little offensive input itself, has fairly costly attrition, but most disturbing is just how inefficiently it regenerates craft.

So there are a couple of things that can be done:

Increase its base HP, keep the costs the same, making its regen cost lesser but its attrition damage the same.

Vampirism: Makes it a decent fighter in its own right, and make it worthwhile to have it follow your blob which also makes it regen craft in the blob.

Remove its attrition: It's main cost is from regen craft anyway.

Boost its damage: An alternative to vampirism, it makes it worthwhile in its input.

[Toranth]

I think one of the regen golem biggest weakness is that it is not able to contribute much when you are on the offensive. Especially when you consider that AI will often focus fire on the regen golem AND you can't repair something that is under attack or taking damage.

Oddly enough, on the offense is the best usage I've found for the Regenerator Golem.  I usually keep it safe somewhere, until I make my final push for the AI Homeworlds - That's when losing ships has the most imediate impact (rebuilding and returning to battle takes too long).

3) Make it a mobile space dock like the Neinzul Enclave, except it spends its own health, and it ignores build time.  So if you click on Fighter I, it instantly spawns as many Fighter I's as it can (up to your ship cap) at the cost of its own health.  Only works while it has at least 10% health.  For extra fun, let it function as a Adv. Factory to make Mark IVs.

Actually, this sounds kinda cool, too.  A construct-o-Golem!  Would need a name change, and might overlap a bit with the concept of the Hive Golem, though.


New idea - Would it be possible to just force damage to be applied to the Regenerator Golem first, over whatever the actual target was, and so let it protect structures too?  Kinda of like a system-wide Shieldbearer that shuts off at 10% health.

[LaughingThesaurus]

Actually, this sounds kinda cool, too.  A construct-o-Golem!  Would need a name change, and might overlap a bit with the concept of the Hive Golem, though.

A Neinzul Enclave Golem? That just sounds crazy powerful.

[Vyndicu]

Not to mention that as far we know neinzul enclave and golem have never crossed path with each other until AI rebellion. 


No I often the regen golem as PART of my "blob" mainstay fleet and will often go on the offensive as much as it does on defending. The biggest problem is actually that there are some stuff that can knock a regen golem down to 10 percent hp in blink of an eye (Pun intend). Some example is 300 mk 3 stealth battleship or ion cannon or devourer golem or *insert any dangerous objects that can one-shot 200 fleetship at once*.

Another problem with using regen golem on the offensive is that the regen golem on it's own can't do anything significance. So as a result anti-blob tactic are indirectly impacting the regen golem because the two fates are same.

Basically blob fleetship and regen golem work great when put together. If you take one or another out of the equation then they become cannon fodder for the AI's ship.

As a result I would like to see that regen golem can stand on it's own without blob or give it a role that is useful against anti-blob stuff AI has.

[TechSY730]

I'd be in favor of vamperism with a decent-ish attack (not huge, as this golem is not about direct offensive power, but enough for this effect to be usable) and a enough HP to actually be able to afford to regen and not die in a blink of an eye if the AI starts to target it (currently, if it regens other units and takes damage, it dies really, really quickly)
With that, it would be worth its cost.

Also, please make it such that when it is in stand-down mode, it doesn't regen units.

[Hearteater]

Another alternative for the Regen Golem:

4) Give it really strong Radar Dampening, like 1000.  Now give it 1000 repair beams strong enough to instantly repair any fleet craft, but instead of using resources they use the Regen Golem's health.  Give them a very short range so the Regen Golem must be in the center of your blob, and allow them to repair ships even in combat.  Probably limit them to fleet ship repairing only.  This puts the Regen in the heart of battle so it is a lot less safe to use.  But as a result, you can also make it more efficient since it will take enemy fire.  Maybe allow it to regen destroyed fleet ships like it currently can, but I'd restrict it to only nearby deaths (so you can't sit back with it) and make it less efficient (costs x2 health) with a separate cutoff (at 25% it stops replacing killed ships, at 10% it's repair beams turn off).