How to use the Cerberus?

Hi, I don't understand the Cerberus. Its range is really small and thus doesn't seem useful as an offensive artillery.


To build it in a firebase requires two fusion reactors attached, which puts it about the same cost as a Bertha, which you can build in your base and still hit the enemy.


The wiki page claims it's not a defensive turret, and a Lucifer probably does a better job in those situations?


So what is the Cerberus supposed to be used for?

I like the Bertha, though :P

It would make more sense to me for the Bertha to need the 50 power and the Cerberus to have no requirements...

Or the Cerberus to rapid fire with its three cannons.

#make bertha require a grid

The 3 defensive weapons that require grid energy are basically all overpowered. Did you know that Desolator and Lucifer can close up and only take 25% damage when doing so? That is totally OP as it basically renders them immune to bombardment with a little micro and attention. At least you can destroy the Pylons to disable them.

It wouldn't change much if Big Berthas would require a grid. If you can disable the grid to a Big Bertha you could probably just kill it instead, since Big Berthas don't need to be at the frontline. Also preventing the enemy from just rebuilding the grid a few seconds later would require you to basically have won the area anyway.

If its built near energy then its easier to blow up. The grid has more vectors to attack - like scythes. It's also much harder to protect all the time so while killing the gird connections wouldn't neutralise bertha it would add more vectors to attack it/prevent it from firing. It would also mean that Bertha rushes are less likely because you have to provide that energy as well.

Big bertha alone can get aspis and terraform to protect it. It's much harder to protect grid connections. If that forces you to build fusions next to it then great - if you manage to kill it the reward is higher as fusions will likely explode as well.

Simple change, simple consequences.

I don't expect it to be very impactful either more than cost increase, but consistency wise it was always disturbing. You'd think that bigger guns need more energy but it appears that only middle guns need energy?

Logically you'd think bertha would need something like 100 energy on the grid to function

BB could use energy for each shoot. Dat would make more impact as nerf.

yea, make all super weapons incl. bertha to require grid with certain E output... at least for consistency reasons

I've been comparing the Cerberus and the BB as well.
I haven't used the Berta much yet, but I used (or tried to use) the Cerberus a few times to break porcy stalemates.
Once shields are up tho it feels like trying to chew thru wood.

5k Metal happens to be the exact price of 2 Cerberus or 1 Berta.
Heres what you get for your 5k:

2x Cerberus 1x BB
HP: 7500 - 4800
DMG: 3606 - 2002
Reload Time: 10 sec - 7 sec
DPS: 360 - 286
AoE: 96 - 96
Range: 1850 - 6200
Projectile Speed: 400 - 1100

My conclusions regarding the stat differences:
HP: A clear advantage for the 2 Cerberus, however we should not forget that 1.) You just need to do 3750 dmg (i.e.: 5 Ravens, 2 Lances in a cloaking field, etc) to destroy 50% of the value of the 2 Cerberus.
2.) The BB will be built much farther back, making it a lot easier to shield from air and ground units. Actually, most of the time it will be so far back that it won't even draw fire. Even if it may be poorly protected - its so far back, you don't always have up to date scouting on that.

DPS: 2 Cerberus have 1,25x the DPS of a BB.

Range: BB has 3,3x the range of Cerberus.
In a small to midsized map it can comfortably be built in your own base.
In a large map it can be built a bit forward of your base - or perhaps at worst in the middle between the frontlines and your own base - and still reach the enemy base after smashing the enemy frontlines.
Actually why bother kill the frontlines first? Tear that base to pieces right away.

Projectile Speed: BB has 2,75x the Projectile speed of Cerberus.
If the target of the BB is not at the absolute edge of its range its shells are going to hit at about the same time as the ones from the Cerberus.


The explaination for the use of Cerberus instead of BB in Chicken seems to me: In Chicken, you want a cannon you can leave on Fire at Will with good range - but one that will not shoot the enemy spawn, as u dont want to anger the hive.

But for PVP games it seems and feels as if Cerberus could use a buff.
Either in DPS - so it becomes a bit better at beating lightly shielded targets, wrecking frontlines.
Or in Range - so it stays useful a bit longer/can be built in a safer spot.
Or by cutting DMG & Reload time in half and making it a bit more useful for crowd control at least.
A increase in AoE would have the same effect.
Even a projectile speed buff could help it catch retreating lances that became uncloaked after firing. Tho after that happens your Cerberus usually doesnt get to "Return fire" anymore.
Actually currently BB is better at this role as well, cuz apart from not being dead after lances did a hit n run on your frontline it only needs 7 seconds to fire again.