Originally posted by Lorska:

But the effect should give a comparable result in return. Either firing at you or having to jump through hoops just so it accomplishes basic functions is not comparable to the drain on resources (including the requirements to set it up in the first place).

Well I don't know about you but I have a vast quantity of seeker trophies stored away lol. I think I could set up maybe 10 of them to cover my entire base from seekers.

Anyway, my point was that for designated automated targeting, ballista seems pretty fine. So long as half the projectiles land at their targets, it's just as effective as firing black metal munitions yourself if we're looking at just the damage values and resource costs and not considering the potential "volume of fire" effects available when you are engaging a target which is also being fired upon by ballista.

Originally posted by Lorska:

Saying it can't be good or usable because then people would use it is an absurd statement. Especially considering the popular alternative to defense right now is creating indestructible walls made out of dirt.

Never said that, and on my own part, I've always relied on proper walls and not ditches or mounds, so can't really relate to the latter.

The ideal scenario is having different defenses available for different players, playstyles and bases. You can forgo use of stone walls or ballistae, it matters not. The only thing that matters are results and if you don't think ballista provide those for you, that's fine, you have other options available to you.