Weapons Labs are one of the most expensive buildings in the game. The lower level one was reduced in price during the patch that introduced both the Grappler and Hot Pot prototype defenses. But with the high cost that rivals equally critical buildings when introduced, is it worth spending the resources?
Quick answer to this question is: YES!
The Weapons Lab might be perceived as something only for defensive minded players since Prototypes, after all, are defensive, temporary buildings. So for an offensive minded player, he might scoff at the thought of wasting valuable resources that can be spent upgrading his Gunboat for another mere 2 GBE.
While that thought process has some validity, some people believe with the reduction in cost as well as some buffs to Prototypes like the Doom Cannon that the Weapons Lab actually is for offensive players. But let’s look at the various benefits of having a Weapons Lab.
- Access to Hammerman attacks which provide Intel and Prototype parts
- Being able to farm for Prototype parts
- A near-free, extremely powerful defense unit which acts as a huge deterrent
Just the event and Prototype part farming alone make a Weapons Lab a must-have. Even if you decide not to build a single Prototype, you can at least begin to accumulate Prototype parts for the future. In addition, many encounters allow you to gain Prototype parts beyond Hammerman including the War Factory, Doctor T, and the Mega Crab.
For myself, I like the idea of opening up the game. Just the other day I did my first Hammerman event on my main account and managed to get through 2 stages. Looking back, I realize that I probably could’ve done at least 1 stage on my secondary account since both accounts have near similar defenses. But I got lazy and missed out. Since I’m just one part off from creating a new Grappler, I pretty much regret my decision for not making that attack as I will be forced to depend upon my current defenses and sheer luck until I can get that last part. And considering that two noobz recently attacked my base and got shattered by my Grappler, pretty much I’ll have to figure something else out in the meantime.
I don’t think further upgrading my Weapons Lab is worth it at this time since the resources are better placed into other areas like my Landing Craft, Vault, Sculptor, etc. But I think if I had spare resources and needed more XP, it might be worth taking a look at since you’ll have to do it eventually.