My biggest problem in learning to play Sacrifice was (and is) that there is no data on the effectiveness of the units vs. the different types of targets. The only way to find out is to try and try and try. But there are many contributing factors when playing the game so that the sample data is tainted, in a manner of speaking, which means even more trying is necessary to get an accurate picture ...
I have seen the stats at the Astral Void and they are great - but they are not completely sufficient. The most important aspect is not how much damage is done in a single attack, but rather how much damage is delivered to the target over time in relation to how much health the enemy units can regenerate within a given time frame.
This means not only the attack rate but also accuracy and the likelihood of hitting a moving target under battle conditions. For example, it seems that Sylphs miss a stationary target of 'reasonable' size and distance - a level-one unit at half range - about half the time and Brainacs miss even more often (it's a pity, really, as Brainacs have a pretty good range).
So how many Sylphs would be needed to take out, say, 5 advancing Spitfires before the Spits have fulfilled their purpose of roasting your melee/manahoars/wizard or even the Sylphs themselves? What about shielded Shrikes? How many Brainiacs does it take to kill 10 Troggs in less than thirty minutes?
Another example: do Squalls deliver at least double damage to the enemy (in normal, i.e. less than ideal situations) compared to Sylphs, seeing that they cost double in souls? Until the enemy gets Chain Lightning/Demonic Rift etc. I could build either unit, so I would choose maximum fire power unless the tactical situation favours one type over the other.
Lots of questions ...
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Sherlog [Personenkennzahl 250866413515 / Stefan Otto / SO1801-RIPE]
I have taken the stats from the Astral Void and calculated the theoretical damage per second and per soul to make comparisons easier. For units that do not do constant damage I have put the average or typical values in the first (third) numbers column and the maximum values in the second (fifth). Special abilities or area effects were not considered except for the improved attack of an electrocuted Storm Giant.
Originally posted by Borgified Sheep: How come the pyromaniac has such a low rating? It deals around 800 dmg if I recall correctly and costs only 2 souls.
Yes, but the Pyromaniac takes 7.2 seconds to reload its rocket launcher (imagine such a reload rate in Quake - the game would turn into a thing like Halflife/CS or even worse ). Other units deal less damage per single shot but compensate this by shooting more often.
Remember, the table shows how much damage a unit could inject into the enemy army over time under ideal conditions (i.e. no misses), and the numbers are normalized to one second.
Strictly speaking the numbers approximate the real damage injection only for battles lasting significantly longer than the reload time: during the first 8 seconds the Pyromaniac will have fired 2.0 times and not 8.0/7.2 = 1.111111111... times (the fence post error which is so well-loved among programming folk).
Another thing to keep in mind is that only ranged can come close to, ahem, perfect delivery. Especially the bigger melee will spend a significant time out of touch with the enemy, doing no damage at all (Dragon, Jabberrocky). A plus for the Frostie with its built-in turbo. Among the ranged those with high accuracy or large projectile diameter/effect (Fallen) can deliver better than those with low accuracy and/or small diameter projectiles, i.e. archers.
Anyway, the Pyromaniac is two-soul unit that deals as much damage as the second best one-soul ranged (Shrike, Flame Minion) and only slightly less than Locust and Fallen. That makes it quite powerful already but add to that its deadly accuracy - only beaten by the Deadeye and on par with Squall and Boulderdash - and you see why the PM is the must-have ranged unit in Sacrifice.
Squall vs. Sylph is a tough call because the Squall offsets its low damage with high accuracy, good range and by being a two-soul unit which means that it can survive things like Chain Lightning and Demonic Rift.
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Sherlog [Personenkennzahl 250866413515 / Stefan Otto / SO1801-RIPE]
[This message has been edited by Sherlog (edited 03-27-2001).]
One must also take into account defense, dexterity, AOE Damage, Resistance to certain things, Player attributes, and much more. It's extremely hard to calculate the best combinations, I just say all out Charnel!
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"Envision Success. Envision only success. A morose attitude is the most unbecoming in a servant of death."
-Charnel's Imbalance and Mm-_-'s best tactic
Its is actually best to have 1/4 squalls, 3/4 slyphs. Reasoning for this is that squalls are better at long range, while slyphs hit more in short, and can cloak.
Of course, shiny designed them so they both suck, so if you want a powerful ranged force in your custom you wouldn't want either.
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Stats on unit effectiveness? 
). Other units deal less damage per single shot but compensate this by shooting more often. 
Linear Mode
