Daybreak wrote: ↑Tue Jun 21, 2022 11:47 am
I disagree - for comparison it has to be apples for apples - you cant compare it against fighters
I'm not comparing them to fighters, I'm telling RIS (same as other shields) have a hard counter, carriers, that make shields not OP no matter what.
Then I'm comparing RIS to the regular shields, and stating that each have their pros and cons, that make RIS not OP.
You must compare it against robotic ships with the other shields
OK
1 Robotic hull with defense grid shield, two zortrium and two laser 4. Shield strength 18, structure 376, two shots of 66 damage. Cost 132 PP.
vs
1 Robotic hull with RIS, two zortrium and two laser 4. Shield strength 0, structure 376, two shots of 66 damage. Cost 147 PP.
Wins the one with defense grid.
5 Robotic hull with defense grid shield, two zortrium and two laser 4. Shield strength 18, structure 376x5, 10 shots of 66 damage. Cost 660 PP.
vs
5 Robotic hull with RIS, two zortrium and two laser 4. Shield strength 24, structure 376x5, 10 shots of 66 damage. Cost 735 PP.
Win the RIS hulls, barely, but the other empire is playing with 75 less PP.
Same designs, 10 defense grid vs 10 RIS, win the RIS hulls with clear advantage. But then, why are you building so many robos with defense grid knowing there is an empire going RIS?
10 Robotic hull with RIS, two zortrium, one laser 4 and one flak. Shield strength 24, structure 376x10, 10 shots of 66 damage. Cost 1470 PP.
vs
13 Robotic hulls with bomber, two zortrium, one laser 4 and one launch bay. Shield strength 24, structure 376x13, two shots of 66 damage. Cost 1456 PP.
Win the hulls with bombers. Obviously.
Maybe RIS is OP compared to the other shields early game, if the empire going RIS has some production advantage and the enemies don't build fighters for some weird reason. But late game there are not op at all. You can't have fleets of Titans with significative numbers for the RIS bonus, and robo hulls are too limited for end game.
at Plasma shields the Robotic ships are more expensive than ones with RIS, but with worse shields
Then build ships with RIS (if you have robotic). But keep in mind that you first need to build the six ships and keep them together. You can't conquer an empire with 6 ships spread, but you can cripple supply with that.
Robotic Hulls and RIS are unlocked for a GRAND TOTAL of 44RP
If you unlock them later than that, delaying when you can start building them, they become less interesting.
If you go crazy about building robos with RIS from start, when are you planning to build new colonies or invade natives? You then drag behind in PP and RP and other empires crush you.
Robo hull is the best hull for RIS yet it is quite expensive on itself and short on slots. Other going with organics with a balanced build (fighters and guns) wins hands down.
Defence Grid is unlocked for a total of 154RP
and Deflector shields for a further 270RP
and Plasma for a further 1.4KRP
Shields that can be mounted on every species and every hull line. RIS can only be on robotic hull with robotic species. It's quite restrictive.
Robotic Interface is overpowed for its total cost
... when pitched against robo hulls with shields.
But not when pitched against robo hulls with fighters, titan hulls with black shields, or any other hull with fighters. So pretty much not OP or UP in most game situations.
Anyways, what would you propose for RIS? Just increase their cost? Then I would never use them (unless wanting to lose). Same I never use the regular shields in robo hulls because that internal slot is too valuable for a shield.
Only if an enemy is abusing Arc Disruptors I would go deflector shield on small hulls, or plasma in self-gravs. And only if I am Etty would I build robo hulls with Etty.