Transformers Earth Wars: Character Profile and Analysis
By CB
Subject: Devastator
Faction: Decepticon
Subgroup: Constructicons
Function: Combiner
Range: Short, Medium, Long
First appearing in the final episode of Transformers season 1, Heavy Metal War, Devastator was the first ever combiner to show up in the toys and lore. As such, he is the most well known and has had a LOT of coverage in the various forms of Transformers media. He’s appeared in numerous comic books, shows, movies and toys. Sometimes he is depicted being only 5 bots, but more often then not, he appears as a team of 6 Constructicons.
Character Facts: Being the first combiner also made Devastator stand out in several unique ways. Unlike other combiners, he requires 6 bots to form the combiner. He also is usually much larger and stronger then other combiners due to being a prototype of sorts.
Unfortunately, this also has some serious problems for Devastator. A combiner is only as good as the minds that merge to form it and with 6 minds going together to power Devastator, it means he has 6 minds fighting for control of his actions, which drastically lowers his intelligence and effectiveness in battle. As such, he is often a very slow and lumbering giant with limited focus and direction. This leaves him at a major disadvantage as he’s very open to attack in such a state.
On the rare moments his mind is focused though, he lives up to his name and can bring about serious destruction and damage upon his Autobot enemies to send them cowering in fear and panic.
In Game Analysis: Devastator is the first combiner for the Decepticon side of Earth Wars. As such you need to have at minimum a team of 6 3 Star Constructicons to even unlock him. As long as you have any Constructicons of 3 or 4 Star level, you’ll be able to unlock Devastator.
At minimum, once you unlock a 3 Star Devastator, which is what you will get unless all 6 Cons are 4 Stars, you’ll begin with a bare bones and weak combiner. The starting stats for a 3 Star Devatator are 12,000 HP and 180 AP while a 4 Star starting Devastator is 14,000 HP and 190 AP. A very small difference.
Levels are where the two differ. A 3 Star Devastator will max out at level 9 with 30,000 HP and 295 AP while 4 star maxes out at 61,500 HP and 615 AP. So in order to bring out the full power and potential worthy of Devastator, you’ll need to make it your mission to get 6 4 Star Constructicons.
Speaking of levels, upgrading a 3 or 4 Star Devastator is going to be a long process and not cheap. Now, whenever you get a duplicate Constructicon, you get a new currency called Devastator spark, a certain amount based on whether the dupe was a 1-4 Star one. In order to upgrade Devastator, you need a LARGE sum of Devastator spark. To max out a 3 Star takes 55,000 Devastator Spark, while a 4 Star needs 600,000. Couple this with how often you really are likely to get Constructicon dupes, and you’ll see why this endeavor is going to take so long, but if you want a powerful combiner to rule the battlefield, you’ll have to steel your resolve and continuously push forward.
The growth does have it’s perks though, as Devastator packs three heavy duty abilities with constant use and very rapid cool down. A 3 Star has access to Rush & Smash and Rocket Swarm. A 4 Star unlocks the final one, Death Ray.
Rush & Smash is a hard hitting attack on a single target. After picking your target, Devastator will charge towards in and smash both his fists into it, dealing massive damage or destroying the target altogether. This is handy for getting Devastator to quickly get into the action since he does have limited operation time. Just be careful you don’t throw him into the thick of it though. Unless you have a fully maxed out Devastator, which is currently unlikely, you still have to keep him alive to make any good use. Use it wisely.
Missile Swarm fires a large swath of rockets that deal much more damage then Rush & Smash, but the damage is spread over a wide area. This one is best used on large clusters of defenses, unleash it to soften them up while Devastator attacks another target. With the quick cool down, you can likely get off 2 or 3 more swarms and wipe out the targets if you play smart.
Death Ray is the last ability. Devastator raises his hand and fires a MASSIVE energy beam from his palm at the target. It does a bit less then Missile Swarm, but only affects one target. It also is not able to be used on the HQ, so pick the biggest threat on the map and use it there.
As said before, the abilities all have rapid cool down, so if you’re smart you can set up each one for a decisive and potent strike if plan ahead.
In order to unleash Devastator, you also must spend at least 25 Ore-13 to activate him. This unlocks the ability to use him for only 15 minutes. If you have several squads and play smart, you can get anywhere from 2 to 5 uses. Just make sure if you activate him, that it’s for a good use. It takes 25 hours to generate 25 Ore-13 and 100 is the max amount you can hold, so use him very sparingly and wisely.
Random Trivia: Devastator follows his current toy model, but with a LOT odd changes to make it work in game mode. This is odd since the toy is designed in such a matter that the changes made for the game model aren’t needed, leaving a lot of mass shifted around on Devastator incorrectly and leaving a good chuck of his middle hollow and empty.
