[Poll] Combat Fabbers: Too Efficient?

Greetings, all.

As the subject header indicates, this thread is intended to see how the community feels about combat fabber efficiency (that is, energy consumption per metal when building).

According to PaMatches, combat fabbers build at a rate of 60 metal per second, and consume 2000 energy per second when doing so, yielding an efficiency of 33.33 energy per metal. By comparison, fabrication bots build at a rate of 10 metal per second and consume 1000 energy per metal, yielding an efficiency of 100 energy per metal.

Basic math says that combat fabbers are three times more efficient than fabrication bots. Consequently, the player who is able to micromanage and protect more combat fabbers will be able to build more stuff for the same energy cost, making the combat fabber more-or-less mandatory.

Now, my own opinion on this is strictly theoretical: I dislike it when a single unit becomes mandatory. Note that I don't mind when a unit CLASS is mandatory: you're gonna need something to shoot at the bad guys with, and that means bots or tanks or some combination thereof. But I dislike the idea of a game being decided by the player who can play simcity with combat fabbers the best.

That said, it occurs to me that the community might feel differently about this. Some people might like that kind of economic skill gate; others might feel that economic force multipliers add diversity to the game. Still others might feel that combat fabbers would not be able to function as "combat medics" for mobile forces without this kind of efficiency.

What say you?

have you played the new update?

Yes, but I haven't seen the patchnotes. Were combat fabbers changed?

The only thing that changed with combat fabbers is that they can't assist building construction.

If that's the only change then it's possible they could still reclaim enemy units at a good clip. That's micro heavy, sure...

Good luck. Most enemy units can one-shot a combat fabber in the time that takes.

Well, that solves everything -- it allows them to act as a combat medic (which was the point) and build mines rapidly WITHOUT outmoding other fabbers and unassisted factories. Brilliant!

They only consume 1 energy as well.

Keep in mind that healing the unit means that you're losing more metal than otherwise when it eventually dies.

Okay, enemy buildings that are unprotected work rather well for that micro heavy approach, but not so much enemy units. Still it's great when I can punish someone for failing to defend those mexes, take out that air fabber floating around, etc.