The Restorer

[Col_Walter_Kurtz]

You can correctly argue that it's balanced cost and DPS wise against other units in the game. Like BRINK explained very well in this video on air units here. I'm not debating that so do not start foaming at the mouth just yet.

I want to talk about the airspeed of the unit. Especially in relation to larger maps and teamgames. The Restorer is slower than the T3 gunships of every other faction that has them. It's the slowest flying unit in the game at an airspeed of 3 - 8 according to the unit database here.

Low speed is a serious weakness for a unit with a designed AA role because:

1. you can't react to incoming threats quickly enough (use ASF instead);
2. it's impossible to pursue an enemy air force that will outrun your forever (use ASF instead).

If you want to attack land targets (emergency defense, or simply on offense) or navy you have the imo better options of T2 gunships, Mercies or T2 / T3 torp bombers respectively. For offense they are not the greatest either because everyone with half a brain will spam flak in the sight of gunships. This reduces the Restorer to a stationary defense role. A flying SAM turret with +50% mass cost and + 800% energy cost and less than half the DPS. Conclusion: just make SAM's instead.

So my question is how do you use the Restorer? What is the practical use of this unit?

[Aurion]

You can correctly argue that it's balanced cost and DPS wise against other units in the game. Like BRINK explained very well in this video on air units here. I'm not debating that so do not start foaming at the mouth just yet.

I want to talk about the airspeed of the unit. Especially in relation to larger maps and teamgames. The Restorer is slower than the T3 gunships of every other faction that has them. It's the slowest flying unit in the game at an airspeed of 3 - 8 according to the unit database here.

Low speed is a serious weakness for a unit with a designed AA role because:

1. you can't react to incoming threats quickly enough (use ASF instead);
2. it's impossible to pursue an enemy air force that will outrun your forever (use ASF instead).

If you want to attack land targets (emergency defense, or simply on offense) or navy you have the imo better options of T2 gunships, Mercies or T2 / T3 torp bombers respectively. For offense they are not the greatest either because everyone with half a brain will spam flak in the sight of gunships. This reduces the Restorer to a stationary defense role. A flying SAM turret with +50% mass cost and + 800% energy cost and less than half the DPS. Conclusion: just make SAM's instead.

So my question is how do you use the Restorer? What is the practical use of this unit?

I guess they can overcome a little flak because of their high health. Sometimes they are useful if there's only a couple cruisers (Cybran or UEF, mainly). Other than that, usually you're probably better off with t2 gunships as their damage vs mass cost is way better. Not sure about cost-effectiveness, but ASF have lots of troubles killing raiding Restorers.

[IceDreamer]

The Restorer does seem tame now, but in my opinion that is only because of the sheer power the unit wielded previously. I think people became far too used to that power. THe role of the Restorer is exactly the same as that of the other T3 Gunships: Heavy ground assault. The difference is that you don't have to be in full control of the airspace, and you don't have to shadow your force with a group of ASFs; the additional AA power (Relative to the other T3 Gunships) means that unless the enemy have a significant number of ASFs, any ground force will die to Restorer unless there are Flack already present.

It's a good option in a smaller game with no dedicated Air player for the first couple of units off the production line at T3. If you can hit a non-flack-covered ground force with just 3 or 4 Restorers, and the enemy is still T2 Air, you can cause serious damage, force them to waste mass on emergency Flack, force them to upgrade to T3 Air when they don't want to, and generally shift the momentum of the fight.

The speed is fine for a gunship. Yes, it's slow, but that was the only, final stage in the nerf process to where Restorer are now in a good place. Any faster and, once again, people will use them as an AA assault unit. That AA power is not to attack, it's to force the enemy to commit their entire Air wing to taking down your blob; a few ASF won't cut it.

[psychkik]

The restorer has low speed this is becouse it is not used for responding.
it is for airial denial. Asaf are for attacking and responding this is why they are so fast.

Restorer big health and giant air guns. Asaf fast but low health.
restorers should best used in special occasions like supporting land or the weak eaon navy.

1300 here some big 1800+ please help me out here ^^

[-_V_-]

1. you can't react to incoming threats quickly enough (use ASF instead);

If you built restorers to help you win air control, then your asf should guard your restorers at all times. So if you did it properly, how can you be surprised ?

2. it's impossible to pursue an enemy air force that will outrun your forever (use ASF instead).

LOL ofc. You wouldn't want to win on all aspects right ? high HP, high speed, high AA, high ground DPS , etc ?

Once you've made too many restorers to just counter the asf with asf, well try to move forward with your restorers. IF you can't, well play more defensively.

You cannot complain about the units if you chose (or were forced) to build the wrong mix.

You might wanna watch some high level setons and see how to use restorers. You might be surprised how good they are as a support in a asf fight (if both asf and restos are used properly). I am not saying at all they're mandatory or auto win, but they are VERY efficient.

[Col_Walter_Kurtz]

LOL ofc. You wouldn't want to win on all aspects right ? high HP, high speed, high AA, high ground DPS , etc ?

That's not what I said. Jack of all trades master of none - that's the role it should have. I only implied that it needs more speed to fulfil it's AA role more effectively.

The point that I'm making is that the Restorer doesn't seem useful in any scenario if it fails at AA. The statistical facts are in my post, feel free to attack them. Aside from regular logic dictating that having an anti air unit with low speed is like a Ferrari with bicycle wheels or a jet fighter with a confetti cannon.

Consider that it gets raped by ASF more badly the higher the number of units that are against eachother (1 Restorer works against 3-4 ASF, 50 Restorers get raped by 150-200 ASF like BRINK explains in the video I linked). Building them is a risk and probably a waste of resources. So far I've only gotten replies indicating that the Restorer is dangerous when rushed, or that it can be used as a standalone force for lazy players.

You might wanna watch some high level setons and see how to use restorers. You might be surprised how good they are as a support in a asf fight (if both asf and restos are used properly). I am not saying at all they're mandatory or auto win, but they are VERY efficient.

Point me to one such replay then. Since my 'rediscovery' of FA I must have watched over 50 high level Seton's replays - one or two featuring you - and I've hardly seen any Restorers being built. Let alone see them used in some kind of extraordinary support role for ASF. It's a far detched idea. Before the Restorers get to your fight it's long over. The Restorers might happen to be in the proximity of an ASF fight, sure, or a smart player might lure the enemy there. You might as well lure them towards cruisers, SAMS or other ground-to-air. Making Restorers seems like a novelty, redundant even. I'd be surprised if you could point me to any replay where they have any significant role even.

[Zoram]

I only implied that it needs more speed to fulfil it's AA role more effectively.

I don't understand that point, but maybe it's because I don't understand what the unit is supposed to be :p

For me it's a gunship, an air to ground unit, that's to be used against ground, either ennemy structures or incoming ground attacks, and that also happens, as a bonus, to have air defense effective against small ASF parties. I don't understand it as being intended to be used in massive air battle against swarms of ASF.

[Aurion]

I only implied that it needs more speed to fulfil it's AA role more effectively.

I don't understand that point, but maybe it's because I don't understand what the unit is supposed to be :p

For me it's a gunship, an air to ground unit, that's to be used against ground, either ennemy structures or incoming ground attacks, and that also happens, as a bonus, to have air defense effective against small ASF parties. I don't understand it as being intended to be used in massive air battle against swarms of ASF.

The restorer doesn't have the ground damage to be that. Especially considering the other t3 gunships which have way higher air-to-ground dps. The difference is that the restorer is resilient vs ASF (and even kills a couple), so a raiding unit that you can't take out just like that or something that could help get or keep air control. It's also less risk than making a strat bomber (for air control issues).

[IceDreamer]

I only implied that it needs more speed to fulfil it's AA role more effectively.

It has no AA role. Get that idea out of your head, squash it into a small ball, then throw it into the ocean of things to never think again.

It was given an AA role in FA release, and in 3599, and just look where that took us. Any Air unit with both an AA role AND any form of meaningful Anti-Ground DPS AND high enough HP to not instadie to AA is automatically going to be OP as all hell. It was.

The AA is there so that it cannot be denied by the first couple of ASFs out of the factory in the way that the other T3 Gunships, or T2 Gunships can be. The AA is there so that it forces a greater percentage of your enemy's economy into Air units to counter it, even if they don't want to. It's there so that, if you have enough ASF to deny their own the ability to build up enough, they have to build Flack, which you can avoid, and wastes their mass.

The AA is NOT there so that you get a unit which can both chase down Air units AND punish ground units efficiently.

EDIT: A crucial point you must consider is that the low anti-ground DPS relative to the other T3 Gunships doesn't actually matter. Who cares how long it takes to kill that defenceless army? It doesn't matter, so long as that army doesn't reach your troops and get to fire. You could half the Restorer's DPS again, and then again, and it would STILL have a decent role, because an army caught off guard with no Flack, controlled by an enemy without SIGNIFICANT fighter squadrons, is a dead army. Doesn't matter if it takes 2 minutes rather than 30 seconds, it's still dead!

[The Mak]

The AA on a Restorer will always hit its target. You cannot micro away from it or dodge it. If you get into firing range it will make a hit and it has a big range (60, same as stationary T3 AA).