Lightning Rod

Building

Gallery

Changelog

Lightning Rod
A Lightning Rod and two Thor Gunships nearby with their weapons boosted. Note the red arrows showing increase in damage.
Support Power Structure
Faction	European Alliance
Role	Emergency power Support
Tier	2
Properties
Hit points	1000
Armor type	Big Light Structure
Sight radius	3
Deployment
Cost	$800 (support power) $800 (structure)
Recharge time	6:00
Deployed by	Shield Command
Function
Power	+1000
Ability	Increases the firepower of Thor Gunships in a radius of 10 around the Lightning Rod by 20% The effect takes 100 frames (6.7 in-game seconds) to apply and lingers for 110 frames (7.3 in-game seconds)
Notes	Loses 1 hit point every frame (0.07 in-game seconds) Cannot be captured and repaired Can be used while in low power

The Lightning Rod is placed by its namesake support power from the Shield Command, which provides European forces additional power for emergency uses to return the power grid to a normal state if an enemy succeeds in compromising base power by destroying enough Power Plants.

It also complements well with the Force Shield; using this support power will allow the commander to activate a Force Shield in the most desperate of times, such as a superweapon activation while the base is underpowered.

Additionally, the Lightning Rod will allow Thor Gunships to use their weapon more effectively due to a continuous stream of lightning strikes being "captured" by the rod, thus increasing their firepower.

Despite all this, it is still unable to save a commander from a power sabotage from enemy espionage units. Additionally, the Lightning Rod has a limited lifespan and will self-destruct after a period of time. Due to the way power works, the power produced by the Lightning Rod will reduce gradually as its hit points go down.

AI behavior

Unused by the AI.

Appearances

Act Two

• The Lightning Rod is first usable in the campaign in Puppet Master.

Cooperative

• In Backbitten, three Lightning Rods are providing protective energy for Supercharged Paradox Battery and the defenses around. Destroying these Lightning Rods is the first mission objective.

Trivia

• The Lightning Rod is the only support power that can be deployed when the base is on a low power state.