Editing Tunneler

| attack1type = Blunt

| attack2type = Blunt

| production facility 1 = Mech gestator

Tunnelers do not seem to spawn in regular mech [[raid]]s, [[crashed ship parts]], or [[mech cluster]]s{{RoyaltyIcon}}.{{Check Tag|Verify|Not thoroughly checked}} However, they appear as part of certain [[apocriton]] summon groups.

Tunnelers are a heavy mechanoid, and require [[Research#Standard_mechtech|Standard Mechtech]] to create. Mechs in general count as a partial pawn in terms of [[raid points]], and still contribute towards wealth.

They are created from a [[large mech gestator]] with {{Required Resources}}, taking up 3 [[bandwidth]] from a [[mechanitor]]. They must gestate for 4 cycles to be made. Once made, they recharge in a [[large mech recharger]] (50% power/day), creating 15 [[wastepack]]s whenever the recharger's waste is filled up.

Tunnelers will do tasks associated with the Mining tab, though are unable to use [[deep drill]]s. They cannot be manually controlled, except when drafted for combat. They have an effective Mining skill of 10, but with a [[Global Work Speed]] of 150%.

=== Combat ===

In combat, tunnelers have a shield (equivalent to a [[shield belt]]) of 250 power. They can also emit smoke, though with a cooldown of 15 days. They have a melee attack. Its weakness is that each time it takes damage, it slows for a few seconds{{Check Tag|Detail needed|Details: e.g. how slow, how long, when the body takes damage on when the shield does, wb when armor negates the hit etc}} - this means that when tunnelers attack you, even if you can’t kill them quickly, you can intelligently kite them by falling back from your position to escape the blocking smoke, maintain distance and slowly whittle the tunnelers down.

<bulletStaggerSpeedFactor>0.2</bulletStaggerSpeedFactor>

Tunnelers face competition from [[scyther]]s, a melee-focused mech also unlocked from [[Research#Standard mechtech|Standard Mechtech]]. Tunnelers don't have a scyther's speed, and consume +1 [[bandwidth]]. However, they are significantly more durable, with significantly more armor, slightly higher health, and the aformentioned shield. The tunneler's {{Hover title|I.e. DPS after accounting for the melee verb system but without considering the target's attributes|base true DPS}} of 7.59 (4.71 after [[Melee Hit Chance]]) seems low at only {{%|7.59/10}} of the 10 (6.2 after Melee Hit Chance) of the scyther. However, tunnelers use [[Damage Types#Blunt|Blunt]] damage. Blunt attacks usually face far less armor than a scyther's Sharp blades.

*Against a normal [[flak vest]], the tunneler faces almost no DPS loss at all, while the scyther's DPS is more than halved.

*Against [[centipede]]s, the scyther is reduced to 70% of their DPS, while the tunneler's {{AP}} totally negates their blunt armor.

So, while the scyther still has superior DPS against most enemies, their damage output is far closer than it first appears. Blunt damage's superior damage propagation and overkill mechanics further help narrow the gap against enemies with health scales comparable to humans. If durability is completely irrelevant, such as when using [[Psycasts#Skip|Skip psycast]] {{RoyaltyIcon}} mobbing tactics, then scythers are superior due to their lower bandwidth cost.

[[Centipede]]s have {{%|{{Q|Centipede|Health Scale}}/{{P|Health Scale}} round 2}} the health scale and thus {{HP}} of the tunneler, and slightly worse armor (Sharp: {{Q|Centipede|Armor - Sharp}}% Blunt: {{Q|Centipede|Armor - Blunt}}%) and no shield belt. They also have 86% of the {{Hover title|I.e. DPS after accounting for the melee verb system but without considering the target's attributes|base true DPS}}, cost 1 more bandwidth, and are unlocked at [[Research#{{Q|Centipede gunner|Required Research}}|{{Q|Centipede gunner|Required Research}}]]. For the sole purpose of tanking against melee enemies, the centipede is almost always better{{Check Tag|Verify|Increasing melee tank DPS can result in lowered enemy DPS due to injuries and significantly improves melee tank lifespans. 16% extra DPS and slightly better armor is probably not enough to overcome 2.9x the HP but needs in-game testing against common enemy types to confirm}} if they can be afforded, but their lower DPS and lack of shield can be detrimental against mixed-range enemies when tied up in melee and unable to fire. Additionally, their ranged weaponry make them even more flexible.

{{Animal Health Table}}