After I tested the work of a low-power reactor with a fast-reloading weapon…
Energy Storage can be used for several purposes:
- Allow the ship, that survived the loss of the reactor, to fire a few more shots;
- Partially replace the reactor with a capacitor for a “strike” battle strategy;
- Reduce the probability and size of explosion.
The Energy Storage will have an impressive capacity and limited energy output (similar to weapon recharge), so you will need to choose between quantity and capacity (similar to weapon DPS or damage).
Energy Storage will also be significantly cheaper than a reactor (never have a problems with it cost).
The Energy Storage receives energy from the reactor after all weapons, and releases energy when the reactor output is insufficient.
Additionally (optional):
- Carriers recharge parasites using the energy of their own reactor/Storage.
- The Energy Storage is also fully charged at the end of the Construction Cycle (or by order), when the ship is in orbit of a colony of 0.05+ M population with Cargo Handling Capability.
In this case, it can be considered as an storage of ammunition for your railguns or power cells for lasers, and the rate of energy transfer is a logistic inside the ship (easier to deliver from a local storages than from a single warehouse).
This opens up a lot of room for RP.
And this will allow you to significantly reduce the efficiency of your fleet.