upgrading t2 mex to t3 mex

[Gruffman]

So i've been told in no uncertain terms that it is better to destroy your t2 mexes then build a new t3 instead. I can't see why this would be a good idea as opposed to upgrading your t2 mex into a t3....?

[FtXCommando]

Cost of building a t3 mex with a t3 engie - 4600
Cost of upgrading a t2 mex to t3 - 4600
Reclaim of t2 mex - around 730
However the t2 mex continues to produce the 6-9 mass per second as it upgrades so you need to finish the upgrade within a set amount of time for it to be the optimal use of mass.

[UnorthodoxBox]

Most people that do it, do it wrong. It is usually a bad idea to do unless you have over 200 buildpower on the mex and will not mass or energy stall at all.

[armacham01]

It's not strictly better or strictly worse. There are tradeoffs.

Method 1: tell the mex to upgrade itself. The mex will contribute build power to the upgrade (so you don't need any engineers) and while it is upgrading, you will continue to get 6 mass per second (9, if it's storaged).

Method 2: tell the mex to upgrade itself, plus assist it. The mex will contribute build power to the upgrade, plus you can have engies assisting it. You will continue to get 6 mass per second (9 if it's storaged) while it upgrades. The upgrade will cost the same amount as for Method 1, but it will finish faster (assuming you are not stalling on mass or power) because of the assistance. This is good because while the mex is upgrading, you're paying for the upgrade but you don't get any benefit (increased mass per second and increased HP) while the upgrade goes on.

Method 3: ctrl-k the mex, then build a new T3 mex on top of it. This requires a T3 engineer. This is not even an option unless you have a T3 engineer (or ACU with T3, or a SACU). You don't get any mass while the mex is under construction, and the mex itself (because it is dead) does not contribute any build power to getting the T3 mex completed faster. The only advantage is that you get to scoop about 700 mass from the dead T2 mex, before you start building the T3.

700 mass divided by 9 mass per second, means that if you finish building the mex within 78 seconds of when the t2 mex died, you basically broke even (you wasted your time doing this more complicated thing). But if you can get it up sooner, Method 3 comes out ahead. If you can build the mex in just 20 seconds, then you are losing out on 180 mass (that the t2 mex would have generated while it was upgrading itself) but you get 700 mass (from scooping the wreck) so you are about 520 mass ahead of where you would be under method 2.

520 mass is not a tiny amount, but it is also not world-shattering. It is a bit more than a corsair wreck. It's half of a percy wreck. It is the cost of 10 T1 tanks.

Method 3 is considered tryharding because it is an elaborate thing that takes your time and attention away, when you could probably be doing other things.

Your most precious resources are mass, energy, and attention. Just as you want to have more mass and more energy, you want to have more attention. You can't create attention, you can only avoid spending it the wrong way. Depending on your situation, it is very likely that zooming out, looking at the map, moving your units around, watching a scout plane fly over the enemy positions, etc. is more valuable to your success than saving 500 mass while you upgrade mexes. I've actually never used Method 3 in a ladder match and I don't expect to do so any time soon.

So if you're playing Seton's, and you're in a phase of the game where the air player doesn't have a lot to do, or if you're on a "gap" or "craters" map, then 100% it can make sense to engage in this bit of tryharding. But in other contexts, it's usually just not worth it.

[E8400-CV]

The gain is usually offset by the cost of early overbuilding of buildpower

[UnorthodoxBox]

But if you can get it up sooner, Method 3 comes out ahead.

The issue with this is you need like 2 t3 engineers and 20 t1 to complete the mex in a reasonable time

[IceDreamer]

Might be worth simplifying this whole shebang by making the upgrade cheaper than the new build (Effectively take the existing T2 mex into account properly, like other upgrades do)

[keyser]

you don't want to make T3 mexx cheaper.

[UnorthodoxBox]

I agree with keyser, no reason to make any changes to this as it has basically 0 impact on the game, and making t3 mex cheaper would just make eco even more powerful.

[noobymcnoobcake]

Already discussed on the balance fourm

This is unintuitive, APM Heavy and unexciting gameplay, saving ~ 600 mass to invest into more eco instantly is a huge deal. Having a t3 acu and a few t1 engineers makes this always a good idea.

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