Power tier

From Industrial-Craft-Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

In IC², power tier refers to a range of EU per tick (EU/t) by which blocks and items are grouped, which defines certain ways they behave.

Incorrectly matching power tiers between equipment usually results in either a lack of functionality or a surplus of explosions. (Even if it's only one, any number of unwanted explosions is a surplus!)

Power tiers[edit]

Tier Name Range Tier-appropriate cable
1 Low Voltage (LV) 32 EU/t or less Grid Tin Cable.png Tin Cable
2 Medium Voltage (MV) 128 EU/t or less (down to LV) Grid Copper Cable.png Copper Cable
3 High Voltage (HV) 512 EU/t or less (down to MV) Grid Gold Cable.png Gold Cable
4 Extreme Voltage (EV) 2048 EU/t or less (down to HV) Grid HV Cable.png HV Cable
5* Insane Voltage (IV) Technically anything above EV range
Typically identified as 8192 EU/t
(Glass Fibre Cable max transfer rate)
Grid Glass Fibre Cable.png Glass Fibre Cable

Machines (if they are EU acceptors or producers) typically have tooltips including Power Tier: followed by a number, to help you avoid explosions (or trigger them, if you're the HAYO-ish sort).

*As of 2.6.133-ex110, nothing in IC² is labeled as Power Tier: 5.

Block interaction[edit]

Any EU acceptor, meaning a machine or EU storage block, can accept up to the maximum EU/t for its power tier without problems. Anything above that usually* causes it to explode, destroying it completely and possibly taking a bit of the surroundings with it. It can accept lower tiers of EU/t, though if it only has a little EU storage (or none, as in the Grid Mass Fabricator.png Mass Fabricator) or has several Grid Overclocker Upgrade.png Overclocker Upgrades installed, providing less than the maximum EU/t can cause interruptions. Storage blocks just fill a bit more slowly.

If a machine is compatible with Grid Transformer Upgrade.png Transformer Upgrades, each one installed will raise the machine's power tier by 1, allowing originally low-tier machines to be directly powered by higher-tier cables, generators, or storage blocks.

*The Creative Generator being a notable exception.

Item interaction[edit]

Electric items also have a power tier, though the tooltip does not indicate it (the tier can usually be inferred from the EU storage item used in its recipe).

An item can only be charged by something of the same or higher tier; an Grid Electric Wrench.png Electric Wrench (tier 1) can be charged in anything, but a Grid Nano Saber.png Nano Saber (tier 3) can only be charged in an Grid MFE.png MFE or Grid MFSU.png MFSU. (This is also true of EU charging items, and what they can charge.)

Likewise, lower-tier machinery cannot be powered by higher-tier energy items; an Grid Energy Crystal.png Energy Crystal cannot be discharged to power a Grid Macerator.png Macerator, unless it has at least two Grid Transformer Upgrade.png Transformer Upgrades installed.