Mechanoid
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Mechanoids - Autonomous intelligent robots built for domestic, industrial or military purposes. Only available to advanced cultures because such complex AI is needed to control them.
Mechanoids are deadly autonomously intelligent robots that form a faction called a Mechanoid Hive.
Centipede
Heavy combat mechanoids that glide on dozens of tiny legs. Their thick carpace[sic] and firepower makes them very effective against bunched-up static defenders. They are somewhat vulnerable to mobile hit-and-run tactics.
Lancer
Fast human-sized combat mechanoids built for medium and long-range combat. Their bodies are light, making them vulnerable targets at close range - especially in melee combat.
Pikeman
A clunky multi-legged combat mechanoid specialized as a long-range weapons platform. While effective at distance, it is weak in close-range fights and in melee combat.
Veterans of mechanoid wars know that often, the safest place to be around a pikeman is touching it.
Scyther
Fast, spindly, human-sized combat mechanoids specializing in rapid approach and close-range combat. Their bodies are covered in points and blades, but their[sic] mostly use two arm blades to lop off limbs or gut their victims alive.
Termite
A medium-sized mechanoid. Termites specialize in burrowing, digging, and breaking through defensive structures. Defenders need to decide whether to try to eliminate the termite before it can dig through their defenses, or take it where it emerges.
Summary
Mechanoid forces are specialized by their unit types, with each unit performing a single role. Basics summaries are available here, see the individual pages for further details and analysis.
Scyther
The melee boogeymen of Mechanoids. As they're fast and extremely dangerous up close, large numbers can and will surround and overwhelm single enemies. Melee blocking, use of chokepoints, and focus fire while they close are useful tactics. Mechanoid raids consisting entirely of large numbers of scythers are fairly common - this can be a boon to prepared colonies as significantly simplifies defensive needs, but devastating to the unprepared.
Lancer
Armed with charge lances, they make up for modest DPS with the chance to insta-kill pawns by destroying body parts. This is fairly rare, but long term presents a significant risk. Thus exposure should be limited and lancers eliminated with extreme prejudice. As they fight best against pawns at medium to long range and cannot fire when engaged in melee, melee combat is very effective if the distance can be safely closed.
Centipede
Centipedes are tanks and crowd controllers. They are extraordinarily durable and their heavy charge blasters do respectable damage in massive bursts, while inferno cannon light fires and force ignited pawns out of cover. Having your pawns spread apart and behind cover is a great strategy to dealing with their blaster. Mortar Fire and melee combat are decent options for actually damaging the centipede due to it's slow movement speed and large size. Alternatively, a psychic insanity lance against a charge blaster centipede turns a danger into a significant asset, likely to both get killed itself and take several other mechanoids down with it. Don't target inferno cannon wielders for this however, as they will not be able to damage their fire-immune brethren.
Pikeman
Acting as the sniper, they aren't terribly good at their job. Their main role is to allow mechanoids to engage at range - use bends in chokepoints to force them into range, or simply advance and kill them.
Termite
While not particularly dangerous on their own, their thump cannon can destroy most walls in a single shot, leaving your colonists open to damage from other mechanoids. Depending on the exact strategy employed against the raid as a whole, these might be the highest priority, or of negligible concern.
Lore
Killer machines of unknown origin. Hidden in ancient structures, under mounds of dust, or at the bottom of the ocean, mechanoids can self-maintain for thousands of years. This group of mechs seems to be unified in purpose, but not well-coordinated in action. While local scholars believe they're autonomous weapons left over from an ancient war, tribal legends describe them as the demonic servants of a sleeping god. - Faction description.
In the lore, Mechanoids are autonomous intelligent robots built for a variety of purposes. The technologies required to build them vary based on the complexity of the resultant mechanoid, with Spacer-level[1] urbworlds[2] being able to construct more simple mechanoids for companionship, combat and labor use, while only glitterworlds are capable of constructing the more advanced, quasi-conscious versions.[3] Others still are constructed and utilized by archotechs. [4]
In-game however, only combat mechanoids from a single, somewhat mysterious source are ever seen. There are some indications that the Mechanoids seen in game may have been built by, or otherwise allied with, an ancient army, perhaps that of the Ancients faction.[5]. Whatever the case however, they have since lost any allegiances they may have had and are now hostile to every other faction.
Defoliator ship parts are usually associated with orbital-drop mechanoid armies.[6]
Insectoid ecosystems were genetically engineered to fight Mechanoid invasions[7] and thus the two factions are always hostile to one another.
References
- ↑ Cryptosleep_Revival_Briefing
- ↑ "Markus Kenuneke" player-created backstory
- ↑ Cryptosleep_Revival_Briefing
- ↑ "Ang 'Codex' Gao" player-created backstory, quest descriptions
- ↑ Orbital mech cluster targeter description
- ↑ Ship part (defoliator) description
- ↑ Megascarab description
Pawns
| Pawn Type | Image | Combat Power | Gear Health (%) | Avg. Gear Quality | Clothing Budget | Weapon Budget | Available Weapons | Age Range | Additional Info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scyther |  |
150 | 100 | - | - | - | Melee (Blades) | Any | - |
| Lancer |  |
150 | 100 | Normal | - | 9999 | Charge lance | Any | - |
| Centipede |  |
400 | 100 | Normal | - | 9999 | Heavy charge blaster, Inferno cannon | Any | - |
| Pikeman |  |
110 | 100 | Normal | - | 9999 | Needle gun | Any | - |
| Termite |  |
110 | 100 | Normal | - | 9999 | Thump cannon | Any | - |
Trivia
- Although all mechanoid-only weapons are 'Spacer' in terms of tech level; the hidden mechanoid faction itself is actually 'Ultra' tech level - one above 'Spacer', and the second highest tech level in the game, below 'Transcendent'.
Version History
- 0.4.460 - Mechanoid raids added.
- Factions
- Ancients (Neutral, Hostile) • Tribes (Gentle, Fierce, Savage, Cannibal
, Nudist) • Outlanders (Civil, Rough) • Pirates (Normal, Cannibal) • Insectoids • Mechanoids • Empire 
- Related
- Faction base • Raider
