Synergy

Synergy is a passive ability of the Advent Beam Defense Platform. Once researched, it stacks with up to four other Beam Defense Platforms to give a 12.5% boost to damage and 250 points of shields per nearby platform to all of them. All platforms must be within range of 6000 to be affected and count for the stacking.
This bonus allows Beam Defense Platforms to be much more effective than they were before Entrenchment, but they are still vulnerable to attack. Don't expect your enhanced Beam Defense Platforms to be able to take on high-level pirate raids without support from other defenses (upgraded starbase, repair platforms, hangars) or from the actual fleet.
==Stacking==
*1 platform: no bonus
*2 platforms: +12.5% damage, +250 shields to each platform
*3 platforms: +25% damage, +500 shields to each platform
*4 platforms: +37.5% damage, +750 shields to each platform
*5+ platforms: +50% damage, +1000 shields to each platform
Range: 6000 km. (Only platforms within this range of one another count for stacking and receive bonus.)
The first level of the bonus is the most important, relatively speaking: While the bonus does not suffer from diminishing returns until 5 platforms are reached, the first level provides some shields where by default the platform has none (assuming there are no Hangar Defenses with Shield Bestowal nearby). Unshielded structures have no shield mitigation, while structures (or ships) with any amount of shield points do -- even once shields are depleted and damage goes to hull. Thus, the first level increases the "effective HP" of the platform more than any subsequent, due to mitigation (which can be very high for late-game Advent) being newly applied. Therefore, it is nearly always worthwhile to get at least 2 Beam Defense Platforms if you are getting any at all -- even more so considering how cheap they are individually.
The bonus does not stack beyond five platforms, although all additional platforms within the ability's range still get the maximum stack. Also, with spare platforms over 5 in range, the bonus does not decrease if platforms are destroyed until their count drops below 5, providing extra resilience to the defense scheme. The bonus does not extend to other Beam Cannon armed units in the area, like Illuminator Vessels or most capital ships. Likewise, no shields are provided to anything except Beam Defense Platforms; to shield other structures (including starbases), Advent players can use Hangar Defenses with Shield Bestowal (which however does not stack).
===Costs and Benefits===
The table below summarizes the total damage (in %, as the actual figure will depend also on research and other factors) and shield points gained (which do not benefit from shield point increase research, but do benefit from mitigation and phase missile block research like all other shields) relative to the cost of the Beam Defense network in terms of resources and tactical slots.
Note: All other effects (such as Hangar Defense Shield Bestowal) are assumed to be absent throughout. Values in lines 1-5 are sums for all platforms, not averages.
*1 platform: 250 ¢ 75 m 35 cr, 1 tac slot, 100% damage, 0 shields
*2 platforms: 500 ¢ 150 m 70 cr, 2 tac slots, 225% damage, 500 shields
*3 platforms: 750 ¢ 225 m 105 cr, 3 tac slots, 375% damage, 1500 shields
*4 platforms: 1000 ¢ 300 m 140 cr, 4 tac slots, 550% damage, 3000 shields
*5 platforms: 1250 ¢ 375 m 175 cr, 5 tac slots, 750% damage, 5000 shields
*each platform over 5: +250 ¢ +150 m +35 cr, +1 tac slot, +150% damage, +1000 shields
Category:Abilities
Category:Advent