Matrix Games Forums

What is the benefit of Battle Robot Brigade? How should one use them?

Asking as I assumed they would be better units versus Trooper Brigade, but perhaps not as good as Armor Brigade. Perhaps better then troops for planet invasion.

Stats in game are (assuming Human faction):
Roughly speaking Robots are 1/2 the cost to build, but have 1/2 attack and defend values as well. Furthermore, they take up as much space on troop transport ships. Based on these stats it would seem one troop would be equal to two robot brigades. And two robots would be an additional cost size, so there seems to be no benefit to them. Is there a reason to build them?

maybe they get build quicker than normal infantry and could quickly be build as additional defence if you expect to gt invaded.
no idea if they build/train quicker though.

and not sure if troops have "morale" when fighting... (i dont think so?)... else that could be a troop type that never loses morale and doesnt flee.

How does size factor into combat?

"How does size factor into combat?"

How much space the troop uses in a transport. So a 20k space transport can fit 5 robot brigades, or 4 biological troops.

"Is there a reason to build them?"

They do not care about environment. These penalties can be pretty significant.
They're more disposable. This is also useful for invasions on hostile worlds- once the population assimilates, switch to native infantry if desired.
Transports have enough space that more robot brigades can fit. More importantly, their inclusion makes it easier for transports to make maximum use of the space they have.
Due to their small maintenance and cost, more of them can be fielded. This means more targets, which means other, more valuable units get shot at less. At least until they're destroyed.
Some races have poor bio infantry, comparable or even equal to robots in strength- namely, Teekans. The low cost of robots make them a generally superior choice for them.

These advantages, however, are dwarfed by the massive advantage bio troops have: experience. Even armor is eventually outclassed by bio infantry.

You probably need to factor in hit point as well. Two robot units have twice the hit points than one infantry unit. So two robot units should easily win over one infantry unit for that very reason.

Although I never build anything but the best offensive unit I can build as I never really defend planets with ground units, that is not worth the investment in resources in this game. You are better to just counter invade or have a bigger fleet instead. Also the reason why defensive structures and stations are bad in comparison with just more ships instead. The game really don't give you any incentive to build defensive equipment or structures.

Robots might be the cheapest units for suppressing conquered planets if you don't have the offensive units to spare in an ongoing war.

I think Robot Troops are only really viable for races like the Teekans who have terrible stats. Would like to see them more useful across the board someday - maybe as garrison troops with minimal maintenance for example.