Zerg Hex Forum

How long does an italis take to pay for itself?

Italis don't use energy to shoot, so in the long run it will save you energy. Considering that it costs 25,000 energy to make it, when does it start to create surplus energy?

Metodology:
I'll compare the italis to different marine stages and different zerg units. I wont consider overkilling units, which is a bigger problem for the italis considering it has higher damage, so consider a margin of error.

In one of the first posts i have calculated the energy efficiency for different marines, different upgrades against different zerg units. I'll use those values.

A. Tier 1 marines with shattering, conservation and penetration against armor 2 target (roaches and big spine): 6 damage per energy outside armory and 8.75 in armory range.
B. Tier 2 marines with shattering, conservation and penetration against armor 2 target (roaches and big spine): 5,625 outside armory and 7.5 in armory range.
C. Tier 2 marines with shattering 1 and 2, conservation 1 and 2 and penetration against armor 2 target (roaches and big spine): 13.125 outside armory and 15.75 in armory range.
D. Tier 2 marines with shattering 1 and 2, conservation 1 and 2 and penetration against armor 7 target (brutalisks): 2.625 outside armory and 2.625 in armory range.
E. Tier 3 marines with shattering 1 and 2, conservation 1 and 2 and penetration against armor 2 target (roaches and big spine): 12.5 outside armory and 13.75 in armory range.
F. Tier 3 marines with shattering 1 and 2, conservation 1 and 2 and penetration against armor 7 target (brutalisks): 6.25 outside armory and 7.5 in armory range.
G. Tier 3 marines with shattering 1 and 2, conservation 1,2 and 3, penetration and elite scope against armor 7 target (brutalisks): 12 outside armory and 14 in armory range.

Now considering that the italis do 32x4 damage with a 1.2s attack speed, the damage per second will be 100 to armor 2 targets and 83.33 to armor 7 targets. Considering the cost of an italis to be 25,000 energy, I'll multiply that by the damage each setup (A to G) would have dealt to figure out how much damage the italis have to deal to be the same as 25,000 energy from that marine. With the damage and the damage per second, it's easy to calculate the seconds (or minutes) it will take to pay for itself.

Results (in minutes):
A. 35.5 and 25
B. 31.3 and 23.4
C. 65.6 and 54.7
D. 13.1 and 13.1
E. 57.3 and 52.1
F. 37.5 and 31.3
G. 70 and 60

I'm very impressed at those numbers, specially considering how much they're favoring the italis - only considering 2 armor or more and not considering overkilling units, which happens way more to italis than marines. This is also considering that italis are shooting non stop, and marines too which doesn't always happen.

Conclusion:
 In general, i don't think getting italis is a big energy saver, as waiting more than 30 minutes for it to just pay for itself might take longer than the game itself. The fastest "debt payment" scenario is vets vs brutalisk and i'll be impressed with only italis can hold brutas for 13 minutes while you still have veterans. It can help you survive, but if you're looking to save energy, there are probably better options.