Resurrection

So what do you make of the new Resurrection feature then? When podded you are given the option to resurrect your ship at 25% health. The cost is energy (E) totalling 75% of your cap, so if your energy cap was 4,000 it will cost you 3,000 to come back to life.

Well Resurrection is purely optional and nothing is taken away from the player in return so you are not losing out. You could argue that it makes the game easier, which is true, but it’s not as big an advantage as you might first think.

I can see four drawbacks that counter-weigh the advantage of Resurrection. Things you should consider before clicking on the Lazarus button.

1. The energy cost, of course.
2. You only come back at 25% health, as clearly explained.
3. Your equipment is not automatically ready when you resurrect.
4. The enemy that blew you away is most likely still there.

1 – Energy cost. You may have the E available to resurrect, but most of the time you won’t. If you filled up at the start of the mission or journey, and were unlucky enough to be cornered by a Death Squad after sneaking your way deep into the map, there’s a good chance you’ll have enough left. If you don’t want to have to start the journey again, are very close to mission completion, or there’s a safe energy field close by, then the E may be well spent. The cunning part of the whole Resurrect option is that if you don’t have the required E but still click on the button, you are taken immediately to the shop. There you can use your gold to buy enough E to rise from the dead. Ker-ching! I hope that whoever at SplitScreen thought of this feature gets a bonus ‘cause it’s genius for generating income.

2 – 25% Health. The game is totally up front about this but in the heat of the moment it can be easy to forget it. Before pressing the button, take a breath and consider how weak you will be when you come back, especially in conjunction with Drawback numbers 3 & 4.

3 – Cooling Equipment. If you Resurrect then you don’t automatically come back with all of your equipment ready to use. Chances are your Repair Droid will still be cooling down, so you’ll be at 25% health for a while longer. This goes for your other gear as well, so Afterburning your way out of trouble may not be an immediate option. Luckily while you are sitting in your pod the equipment is cooling so if you just sit tight for a while you’ll soon have all the ship’s tools at your disposal if you do press the button.

4 – Waiting Enemies. The usual 10 second count down is still there, but most Mantis hang around for longer than that. Use your scanner and see who’s about. It’s not too clever to Resurrect yourself right in the middle of a cluster of Parasites who wasted you 10 seconds ago. (Yes I did just that, without considering points 2 and 3 above. My miraculous born-again life was very short.) While you’re waiting for your equipment to cool a lot of the Mantis may fly off back to their usual patrol route or swarming location. Some do seem to be attracted to life pods so expect one or two to hover nearby. There seems to be no time limit on using the Resurrect option so you could sit there for quite a while waiting for the area to clear.

Bear the above in mind, stop and think because there’s no rush, and the Lazarus button will be a useful addition to your toolkit.