Also - looking over the prizes in each Tier, I think these are the best groups of prizes we've seen in a while:
Tier 1: The high DPS/weight Negotiator 1 is here, along with Level 1 Hail & Phalanx. The BC has always been a great hull for low level players, and the R10 upgrades make it even more useful.
Tier 2: OK, maybe not that much too great here besides the next level of Negotiator...
Tier 3: Impulse Launcher D92-U shows up in the Forsaken Mission for the first time, which is nice for players that don't have them yet, and I think that one is more generally useful than the D92-S launcher from Tier 4. Speed 3 and Strike 3 are here. The Harpoon for base defense isn't quite as hard hitting as the Javelin, but close. The Negotiator 3 is also a useful medium-weight mortar. Countermeasure Equipment 3 is very useful... the enhanced BC & Mercury hulls make nice countermeasure platforms.
Tier 4: The new items show up here, and I don't really think any of the Tier 4 items this week are total duds, although I don't think the Fuel-Air Munitions field is that great, and winning the Atlas Carrier wouldn't be too great if you don't have a UAV weapon to put on it. Of course, if you chose to spend 9 Million points last week on the Atlas over something else... man that sucks.
And now on to the new stuff...
Cryo Launcher D104-S
The Cryo Launcher D104-S is in a similar niche as the Impulse Launcher D92-S - it has a higher damage, larger supercharge boost, lower accuracy, and longer reload time than the baseline "prize" launchers. For the impulse launchers, unless you have both a high rank AND a high reload bonus, the F Launchers are better than the S. I'll compare these as well.
| Cryo Launcher S | Cryo Launcher N | Siege Missile Z w SFB3 | Impulse Launcher F | Impulse Launcher S | |
| Max Range | 91.0 | 91.0 | 88.4 | 91.0 | 91.0 |
| Damage | 1220 | 980 | 1,088 | 648 | 900 |
| Bldg Damage | 1830 | 490 | 2,176 | 972 | 1,350 |
| Bonus Damage | 0 | 0 | 359 | 0 | 0 |
| Salvo | 1 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| Reload Time | 6.0 | 2.5 | 5.0 | 2.5 | 6.0 |
| Accuracy | 50% | 70% | 70% | 70% | 50% |
| Weight (Shipyard 2) | 700 | 600 | 1,120 | 970 | 700 |
| Bonus Armor | 200 | 350 | 600 | 300 | 150 |
| Fleet DPS | 101.7 | 175.9 | 202.6 | 137.5 | 75.0 |
| Fleet DPS/hton | 14.5 | 29.3 | 18.1 | 14.2 | 10.7 |
| Building DPS | 305.0 | 125.6 | 507.0 | 294.5 | 225.0 |
| Building DPS/hton | 43.6 | 20.9 | 45.3 | 30.4 | 32.1 |
| Hits to Overload | 16 | 80 | 0 | 120 | 15 |
| Salvos to Overload | 5.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 13.3 | 15.0 |
| Reference Overload Time (sec) | 192.0 | 55.7 | 0 | 62.9 | 180.0 |
| Overload Effect | 4296 Cryo Field | 4296 Cryo Field | 0 | 7864 shock | 7864 shock |
| Overload DPS/hton | 3.2 | 12.9 | 0 | 12.9 | 6.2 |
| Build Time (w Off) | 1d 2h 16m | 13h 46m 30s | 13h 46m 30s | 1d 2h 16m | 1d 2h 16m |
| Build Time / ton (minutes) | 2.25 | 1.38 | 0.74 | 1.62 | 2.25 |
The S version of the Cryo Launcher doesn't have the weak building damage of the N version, and with 16 hits needed for an overload, I could imagine plenty of fleet builds having enough launchers for an overload in a single salvo.
The biggest use of the Impulse Launcher S seemed to be on Enforcers (with high rank) for base defense. I think with the high ship DPS of the D104-N, I wouldn't go refitting D104-S over D104-N launchers on Enforcers. What I have seen is a few players trying to hit bases or dredges with Cryo launcher fleets, and the low building damage seems to be a big weakness for that role. I would suggest a mix of S and N Cryo launchers to try to mitigate that weakness. A key trait of a fleet mixing the launchers would be that it should be able to create a cryo field against buildings with its "alpha strike" (initial salvo)... so the fleet should make sure to have enough launchers such that (N launchers * 8 + S launchers * 5 >= 80). That shouldn't be too tough.
Maybe something like:
http://www.dahippo.com/bp/ship/#!50MO00V0V0V0V5H1V0O684S4S00004W1A4W4W0MO00V0V0V0V5H1V0O684S4S00004W1A4W4W0MO00V0V0V0V5H1V0O684S4S00004W1A4W4W0MO00V0V0V0V5H1V0O684S4S00004W1A4W4W0MO00V0V0V0V5H1V0O684S4S00004W1A4W4WdB
15 N launchers and 10 S launchers should give a lot of punch across ship and building targets.
(Huggy didn't add the D104S yet, so I used D92S (same weight & build time) instead)
Cryo Turret
This new base turret brings the potential for Cryo Launchers to anyone's base who can reach Tier 4, not just those who chose to shell out 25 Million points for the Wendigo in Avalanche. Will this turret make those of us who spent the points, spent the uranium to upgrade a turret base, and then started a 19+ day build to change a Brimstone to a Wendigo have second thoughts?
I compared the damage output of this turret to some others. Even with a Level 5 turret base, there is only 21% power margin (12% with Level 4), so there is no useful offensive special that could be added to this turret.
| Wendigo | Cryo Turret | Deadeye Executioner | Executioner with Thermo 3 | Javelin with DUShells 3 | Sent 5 with Scram 3 | |
| Range | 131 | 120 | 30 - 199 | 50 - 146 | 80 - 149 | 30 - 135 |
| Damage | 5,042 | 5,042 | 1,886 | 2,359 | 2,754 | 1,144 |
| Submerged Dam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Damage Type | Radioactive | Radioactive | Penetrative | Penetrative | Ballistic/Penetrative | Penetrative/Ballistic |
| Salvo | 5 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Cycle Time | 7.9 | 7.9 | 10.2 | 10.1 | 12 | 5.3 |
| Spread | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Splash | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Accuracy | 100% | 70% | 100% | 100% | 140% | 100% |
| Ship DPS | 638.2 | 446.8 | 184.9 | 233.6 | 321.3 | 215.8 |
| Power Consumed | 3,920 | 3,292 | 3,654 | 3,420 | 3,693 | 1,209 |
| Salvos to Overload | 1 | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Reference Overload Time (sec) | - | - | - | - | ||
| Overload Effect | - | - | - | - | ||
| Overload DPS | 543.8 | 95.2 | - | - | - | - |
| Build Time (w Off) | ||||||
| Other | Charge stacks with other cryo launchers | Charge stacks with other cryo launchers | No CM, 50% Pen Bypass | No CM, 50% Pen Bypass | None | 40% CM Evade |
The DPS on the Cryo turret is pretty good, but the range isn't. The Wendigo, with its higher accuracy, range, and ability to make shockwaves is still worth a premium over this Cryo turret, but with Radioactive resistance being generally lower on most ships than Penetrative or Ballistic, the Cryo turret is worth using, if you can find a base design that takes advantage of it. (Since Victory Mortars have a similar range (125), you might want to look at some VM designs for inspiration). I'm not even including the shockwave potential here - if you can cluster a few of these turrets, use them to compliment a Wendigo, or use some ships with D104 launchers, you may be able to pop some cryo fields on attackers and really mess them up.
Zynthonite Reinforcements D4-M
I'm not surprised that Kixeye decided to release some blueprint turret armor - it seemed like that was their plan as soon as it was released. The confusingly named D4-M is the first winnable blueprint for turret armor. This armor provides additional armor points as well as Missile Defense, independent of any special that may also provide resistance.
| ZR D4M | DU3 | DU2 | DU1 | |
| Armor Points | 16,040 | 22,000 | 17,000 | 12,000 |
| Power | 925 | 1252 | 968 | 683 |
| AP/ Power | 17.3 | 17.6 | 17.6 | 17.6 |
| Other | Missile def + 25% | |||
| Build Time | 1d13h53m | 1d3h14m | 18h56m | 13h22m |
With similar armor points and power draw as DU2, this armor might be worth considering. The +25% doesn't seem to help much if you are only considering the benefit on the armor, but when also considering the benefit applies to the basic turret armor, then the benefit might show up.
A Level 4 turret with DU3 would have 32,800 armor points (against any weapon)
A Level 4 turret with D4M would have 26,840 armor points, but 33,550 effective armor points against Missiles (25% resistance).
On a Level 4 turret, you've saved a little power, but not given yourself much benefit. Combining this with a missile defense special would give more benefit, but the relative benefit would be the same for both turrets.
How about a Level 5 turret?
A Level 5 Turret with 2 DU3 would have 58,400 armor points
A Level 5 Turret with 2 D4M would have 46,480 armor points, but 66,815 effective armor points against Missiles (43.75% resistance stacked).
This isn't astounding, but if also adding a missile defense special, I could imagine a missile fleet needing to stop to kill that Level 5 turret. If using two D4M with Reactive Panel 3 (25% power, 50% missile defense), any weapon drawing up to 1350 power could be used. This would include a Napalm or Cerberus 5, but not a Gargoyle or a Coaxial turret. Of course a fleet wouldn't stop for a Napalm, but getting a lot more shots out of a Napalm sure would be appreciated in most base defense scenarios.
Have a Merry Christmas... you keep playing, I'll keep posting!
This isn't astounding, but if also adding a missile defense special, I could imagine a missile fleet needing to stop to kill that Level 5 turret. If using two D4M with Reactive Panel 3 (25% power, 50% missile defense), any weapon drawing up to 1350 power could be used. This would include a Napalm or Cerberus 5, but not a Gargoyle or a Coaxial turret. Of course a fleet wouldn't stop for a Napalm, but getting a lot more shots out of a Napalm sure would be appreciated in most base defense scenarios.
Have a Merry Christmas... you keep playing, I'll keep posting!
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