So, everybody always complains (myself totally included, I'm not going to act like I don't) about lightning spells snagging too much hard-earned dark elixir. Instead of straight up getting rid of the feature, what if we were to add a lighting rod building?
Here's the outline:
Bio:
The Lightning Rod keeps stormy days away from your base. However, keep this charge-chasing structure away from your Hidden Teslas!
2x2 in size, similar in appearance to the Hidden Tesla, but solid instead of framed (and not hidden). Probably with a tall spire on top that gets a little taller every level.
Availability:
This building becomes available at Town Hall 9 (sorry TH8s! TH7s need to get their Barb King DE somewhere! [Plus it keeps it balanced])
Level 1-2 on TH9
Level 3-4 on TH10
You can only build one
Functionality:
Within a 4 tile radius (8 tile diameter), any damage from a lightning spell dropped within said radius will be drawn and deal all of its damage to the Lightning Rod. However, once the Rod has been destroyed, the remaining spell Damage will go back to hitting the intended target.
However! Since Hidden Teslas use "a storm cloud," their attacks are essentially lightning. So make sure the effect radius of your Tesla does not reach the Lightning Rod itself, not its radius of effect. Otherwise, once triggered, the Tesla's attack will be drawn to the Lightning Rod until the Lightning Rod (or Tesla) has been destroyed. This makes you place both the Lightning Rod and your Teslas carefully/strategically.
It is a defensive structure, meaning will be targeted by Giants, Hogs, and Balloons.
Statistics
Level 1: 5,000,000 Gold, 1000 HP (~3 Lvl 4 LS)
Level 2: 6,000,000 Gold, 1200 HP (~3 Lvl 5 LS)
Level 3: 7,000,000 Gold, 1500 HP (~4 Lvl 5 LS)
Level 4: 8,000,000 Gold, 2000 HP (~5 Lvl 6 LS)
Defensive Strategy
Dark Elixir Storage Protection
Noted next to each Level is how I determined the HP based on the quantity and level of the Lightning Spells likely in play. So basically, if you're tired of people sniping your Dark Elixir putting the Lightning Rod right next to your DE Storage would prevent direct Lightning Spell attacks on your storage, cutting the losses back from ~800 per hit to something much less, if anything. The Lightning Rod itself would be a deterrent, keeping people from wasting their Spells in the first place
Clan War uses
Another practical use of this is in defending your easily lightninged (wow, that's actually a word, autocorrect didn't give me shenanigans) structures, such as Mortars, Air Defenses, and to a certain extent, X-Bows. I know this isn't as much of an issue, but it can still be strategic.
You could also place the rod near your Clan Castle, just in case your troops are at risk of getting hit by Lightning Spells.
Other
It's not too much of an issue in Clan Wars, but the aforementioned point of frequently lightninged structures can be a problem in regular defenses. Put the Lightning Rod in the middle of a square with your Dark Elixir Storage, a Mortar, an Air Defense, and an X-Bow, and look at you, that quadrant is impregnable to that Lightning Spell hits!
In addition to this, it's a meaty structure, distracting support troops and holding up Hog Riders, so keep it near a high level Wizard Tower or Multi-Target Inferno Tower to really amp up their effects!
Lastly, you could drop this structure in a corner to be a late game pain in the neck in order to prevent that Third Star
Offensive Strategies
So, it's tough to get around this, so I guess the one thing I can say under here is to be careful. Before you just go dropping your Lightning Spells, watch for the Lightning Rod as to not waste your spells and an hour and a half's worth of waiting (that's why I didn't make it a Hidden trap-like feature)
If you really really needed the DE, you could drop the spell just outside of the Lightning Rod's radius, so the peripheral Area of Effect damage could still do a bit to the Storage, but not enough to be remotely practical.
Also, if you knock out the Lightning Rod with defensive troops, you can then drop all the Lightning Spells you want!
So, that's my idea, let me know what you think!
Originally Posted by ClashGod15
