How energy producers compare in value, when metal converters help, and why t1 towers are only slightly better than t1 combat units.
Tags: beyond all reason, BAR energy economy, metal converter, LLT value, energy building efficiency, BAR eco guide
Every energy building in BAR has an efficiency rating that tells you how much energy you get per metal invested. The community maintains detailed comparison spreadsheets covering wind generators, tide collectors, fusion reactors, and advanced fusion. Wind is fast and cheap early. Tide is stronger but location-dependent. Fusion has a massive upfront cost but pays back over time through raw output.
Building energy during the payback phase also helps offset the investment. When constructing an advanced fusion reactor, energy generated during the build time already counts toward the total payback calculation.
Level one laser towers offer only slightly better value than t1 combat units if you just look at raw damage per metal. The twin guard and beamer constructors upgrade the basic LLT and push that value significantly higher. What makes LLTs matter on the frontline is that they build instantly with no lab requirement and no walk time. Units marching to the front take time. An LLT drops there immediately and starts working.
Against t1 units that do not outrange it, the LLT runs around 150 percent efficiency. That marginal edge adds up when you stack multiple towers along a contested line.
Metal converters turn energy into metal at a fixed ratio. Ten converters produce 700 energy per second to generate 10 metal per second. That ratio matters when you have excess energy and starved metal production. If you built converters and the situation did not improve, the ratio tells you why. Ten converters require substantial energy infrastructure to power them meaningfully.
Use converters when your energy far exceeds what your economy needs and you cannot place more metal extractors. On maps with limited mexes, converters become an important secondary income source.
Understanding these efficiency numbers helps individual players, but coordinated teams win by sharing the knowledge. Creed of Champions runs games where experienced economy players show newer members exactly when to build what. No one mocks a suboptimal converter ratio. Everyone wants the team economy to thrive.
"Gaming actually fulfills a human purpose here - cooperation, mutual upbuilding, fun and striving for greatness together. Instead of random anonymity, you meet, learn from, and enjoy real people."
[Crd] Member testimonial