Cleansing Brilliance

Ability User: 	Radiance Battleship
Ability Type: 	Active
Target: 	Targets enemy capital ships, frigates and structures.
Antimatter Cost: 	150
Cooldown Time: 	120
Duration: 	8
Range: 	8000 -> 10000
Beam Width 	1000 -> 1250
Damage Per Second:	
250 -> 312.5
Note: Values in table are current as of Patch 1.90.
All targets within a column are consumed in a devastating pillar of light. -Extracted from the game
==Tactics==
Cleansing Brilliance must be targeted at an enemy ship or structure. It will cause the Radiance Battleship to emit a large white beam at the target that damages all enemies in its path. Strike craft are not affected by this ability.
It is also efficient in encounters with many small ships. By manually targeting a ship at the far end of a closely packed hostile fleet the beam will damage each ship it touches. Multiple Radiance Battleships can quickly take out large fleets of frigates and cruisers with Cleansing Brilliance.
While this ability is technically area-of-effect, unlike other AoE abilities in the game, the area in question is not circular centered on the cast point, but rather a linear strip starting at the nose of the Radiance and ending at the target. The "beam width" parameter in the table above is the width of this strip. The strip is centered on the line between the center of the Radiance and the center of the target. The listed width is total; i.e., the beam reaches 500 / 625 units off its center on each side. Note that the width of the strip is not visualized by the game like other AoE ranges; however, players may estimate it manually by comparing to the range circles drawn for most other range-dependent abilities. (Or use the Tactical Grid, which has squares 4000 units on a side.) As a guide, a width of 1000 is relatively narrow, but about as wide as the Radiance model is long, and certainly wider than the beam visual effect.
The total damage over the 8-second duration is 2000 at level 1; 2500 at level 2. This damage is dealt to each ship hit; i.e., to the designated target as well as all ships caught in the beam path (see above). This is a channeled ability, meaning it can be stopped mid-cast by certain attacks, in which case the remainder of the damage will not be dealt. Also, the damage is applied (procs) in the listed amounts 8 times in 1-second intervals, meaning shield mitigation goes up with each successive proc. This makes Cleansing Brilliance, despite its long range, rather less effective as an "alpha-strike" (large bulk damage dealt at once at start of combat) ability, as with the game's mitigation system, an alpha strike derives most of its power from the fact that it only faces minimum mitigation.
For example, the TEC Rebel Ragnarov titan's Snipe ability makes for a devastating alpha strike, as all of its large damage is dealt at once, and it outranges virtually all other attacks, meaning the enemy is unlikely to have more than basic mitigation in place when hit. The Advent Loyalist Coronata titan's Unity Mass can be used as an alpha strike as well, although its moderate range makes it less practical in the role. (But if a hit is successful, at equal level and with a supporting fleet to source its bonus damage, Unity Mass actually does more damage than even an Overcharged Snipe.) The Radiance, however, will face mitigation for most of Cleansing Brilliance's damage due to how the ability works. Thus, while the damage is still significant, do not expect a single cast to wipe out all ships hit. Also, if you are playing Loyalist, Unity Mass is a better option for an alpha strike at single targets.
=== Leveling ===
Cleansing Brilliance's second level is probably a worthwhile investment, as not only does the damage go up somewhat (by 25% -- not so much, but at these values can be the difference between severely damaging a light ship and destroying it outright), but the AoE size is increased as well. The latter is both due to increased beam width (+25%) and increased range (also +25%), combining to give a 56% increase to area covered. (Assuming targeting at maximum range, or at least at equal percentage of maximum range for the respective levels.)
Additionally, the longer range and wider beam at level 2 open more enemy targets to attack without moving the Radiance out of position, and make catching larger numbers of enemy ships in the beam less fussy, again reducing the need to move the Radiance around to get good firing lines for this ability. Generally, it is best if a Radiance can remain in place in battle, as the ship's usual role in fleet combat is to serve as an "anchor" for your positions, not to fly around as a flanker-sniper. Also, Advent fleets rely on ability synergies to a large extent; to benefit from these, ships need to stay relatively close together, which is another argument for your capitals staying put. This is particularly pronounced for the Advent Loyalists, who tend to do best with a more "defensive" playstyle.
==Development==
Patch 1.1: Cooldown increased from 75 seconds to 120 seconds.
Category:Advent
Category:Abilities