Sparky overcharge

I have found an interesting use for the Sparky: Using 5+ of them (+200 max energy per Sparky) to have unexploding energy storage enough to overcharge.

But it is mostly useful in coop missions where you are overwhelmed early on and there is no safe spot for an Energy Storage.

How can you afford 5 sparkies but not be able to protect an e storage?

How can you say no to E-storage with guns, buildpower and mobility?

Fun fact - against pillars on attack-move/stationery (rather than running away) sparkies can win against a mass equivalent enemy

Wha?

@maudlin27 Excuse me?

@rottenbanana From memory I sandboxed around 8 sparkies against a mass equivalent number of pillars, and the sparkies would win - I was experimenting to see if it'd be viable for my AI to do it as an unconventional strategy (of mass producing sparkies/using them in place of pillars to overwhelm the enemy) since it has the apm to micro them effectively, but they barely won (and if the pillars were kiting I think the pillars would be certain to win) so I didnt pursue it any further.

@arran said in Sparky overcharge:

How can you say no to E-storage with guns, buildpower and mobility?

Because it's more expensive and it's barely any e storage, only 200. Because if you actually use the sparkies you put them at risk of being sniped, which is a lot more likely than a snipe of an e storage back home.

How many Sparkies would you need in order to have enough energy in the bank to one-shot a full-health no-vet Rhino?

1900 HP means it would take 7600 energy invested to overcharge it (because, against normal units, it's 4 energy per 1 damage). Since you can only put up to 90% of your stored E into an overcharge (except when your overcharge is costing 5k E, then you're allowed to go up to 100% of your stored energy), you would need to have 8445 E in storage.

To meet that target normally, you only need to make 1 e storage (4k for the ACU + 5k for the storage = 9k total storage) which costs 250 mass.

To meet that target with Sparkies, you would need to make 23 of them (4k + 200 * 23 = 8600), which costs 5175 mass. You can do a lot of things with 5k mass.

If you made the bare minimum to enable overcharge, which is 5 sparkies, that would cost 1125 mass compared to just 250 mass to make 1 e storage, and it's a lot more awkward to throw OCs around with only 5k in storage than 9k in storage. You're more likely to power stall, even if it's just briefly, and anything that puts you slightly negative on power would prevent an OC. If you have 5k energy in the bank and you suddenly go -10 energy, you won't be able to overcharge until you resolve the power situation. But with 9k in storage you can still do it.

@arma473 You do realize they are not only for Overcharge, right?

If you want to see in what situation I found them useful, try playing Operation Golden Crystals solo: Attacks come from all directions, bombers bomb everything, I build T2 factory and spam Sparkies: I get overcharge, they assist with building, build defenses, and shoot enemy units and don't die fast (1000 HP). Of course, after some time, I build Energy Storages.

Here is a replay: https://replay.faforever.com/17891487