Editing Raider

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'''Raiders''' are enemies that spawn in groups at semi-regular intervals. Group size, health, skill, and equipment depend on both the set [[AI_Storytellers#Challenge scale|game difficulty]] and the time already elapsed in the game. Typically on [[Tough Cleopatra Classic]] only one wounded raider spawns in the first group, and the subsequent group has 3-5 raiders; eventually, there are groups of more than 20 raiders with the lowest health being above 80.
Raiders will invoke a message when they spawn, and an alert will come when they begin their assault.

{{asof|A14}} raiders can enter "steal" mode if they see enough value. In this mode, they will grab your stuff and carry it off. Also kidnapping raiders now also work together to kidnap your colonists, making them more effective at it. Instead of everyone fleeing at once, some will kidnap while others cover them.
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== Equipment ==

Raiders have limited equipment possibilities. Usually on [[Cassandra Classic]] they come equipped early on with mostly [[pistol]]s and crude melee weapons, some [[survival rifle]]s and [[pump shotgun]]s later down the line. In the late game they can come equipped with things such as [[frag grenades]], [[sniper rifle]]s, [[T9 Incendiary Launcher]]s and [[PDW]]s. Rarely some will have [[assault rifle]]s or even [[charge rifle]]s. A raiding party may include members equipped with melee weapons and [[personal shield]]s. When a raiding party includes grenade throwers, the AI is intelligent enough to run way from grenades thrown by their own faction.

== Raiders' Strategies ==
=== Immediate Attack ===
Raiders, upon either landing in their drop pods or arriving on the map sides, will proceed to instantaneously converge on your colony and attack. The best thing to do is to defend.
=== Preparation ===
Raiders, upon either landing in their drop pods or arriving on the map sides, will proceed to stand around in a small group near-by where they spawned for a period of time and then proceed to attack. It is possible and a completely viable strategy to attack them while they are "preparing". This preparation has no effect on their attack other than the fact that it gives you more time to prepare yourself.
=== Sappers ===
Raiders, upon either landing in their drop pods or arriving on the map sides, will proceed to instantaneously converge on your colony but not attack. They will instead mine a separate way into your colony away from your defenses. This can be a fairly dangerous way (for you) for them to try and attack. The best thing to do is instantly assault them before they can mine too much. Sappers will also avoid high-health ore veins, like compacted plasteel.

=== Siege ===
Raiders, upon landing in their drop pods, will proceed to receive building supplies (things such as metal, food, medical supplies, and artillery shells) and construct any number of the following:
*Mortars
*Incendiary Mortars
*Sandbags
After constructing the amount they desire, they will proceed to bombard the colony with mortar shells, potentially causing a great deal of damage. The best strategy is either to assault the mortar base or wait it out and repair the damage as best as you can. The choice mainly depends on the surroundings of the mortar base and your base's position. If your base is located under a mountain (your base tiles will read ''Overhead Mountain'' when you hover your cursor over them), the mortar shells won't be able to hit those tiles at all! This makes deep mining a very effective strategy against heavy bombardment. If you don't build your base into a mountain, you should at least consider digging out at least one panic room for your colonists to hide within from the shells.

Note, the raiders always spawn in with ranged and melee weapons -- they can't all spawn with melee.

== Defense Strategy ==

Raiders will start by standing around in a group where they spawned and will continue this until they see a [[colonist]] nearby or they hit a certain preparation time limit, at which point they begin the assault. Because a colonist can set them off early, you can plan out the time you want them to attack. It is generally best to set them off early if you're well-prepared, to avoid potentially troublesome scenarios such as having no power when their timer runs out. Conversely, you should not set them off early if your defense is not prepared. Note that raiders usually take less than one day to begin, meaning that if there is an eclipse and you rely on [[Buildings#Solar generator|Solar generators]], you should not wait for them and should instead set them off early while you still have some power left. Also it's good to note that raiders will remember where your [[Deadfall trap|traps]] are. This doesn't apply to other factions, though -- if, say, the Vipers of Power come in and sets off your traps, then they would remember that. But, if the Rippers of Fire later attack, they won't have that knowledge and will still set off the same traps.

Raiders will attack randomly chosen constructed objects and colonists. They will not attack [[prisoners]], rock walls,[[animals]] (unless the animals are hostile) or unpowered turrets. Raiders will usually set fire to [[Food]](As in growing zones), [[power]] generation, [[wall]]s, [[nutrient paste dispenser]]s, [[equipment rack]]s, [[drop beacon]]s; they will melee-attack [[Standing_lamp|lamps]], [[bed]]s, [[stool]]s, [[Table_(short)|short tables]], [[Table_(long)|long tables]], and [[door]]s; they also use [[Molotov_cocktails|molotovs]] and [[frag Grenades]] on [[auto-turret]]s, [[sandbag]]s, and other targets. They will not attack [[blasting charge]]s, [[power conduit]]s, [[zones]], [[floor]]ing, or [[grave]]s. It is thus recommended to keep power generation, eating areas, lighting, doors, and walls near or behind a protected entrance. Raiders will prioritize firing on colonists or turrets when those colonists or turrets are firing on them, but will otherwise prioritize random objects, meaning you can put doors or walls near your defenses to temporarily distract them.

=== Turret Nested Entryway ===
Turreted outside areas are generally only viable for the first several raids (in [[Tough Cleopatra Classic]]), after which the areas will quickly get overwhelmed each raid due to not being able to focus fire on the spread-out raiders. Remember that raiders will run from exploding turrets! While protecting the outside starting area, you want to rapidly pause the game during raids and give orders to repair damaged turrets. Turrets should each get their own sandbags to reduce incoming fire both to the turret and the colonist behind the turret repairing/shooting.
Putting a turreted defense in an underground base with a narrow entrance and wide turreted area is best because it forces the raiders to take a single-file approach to where all the turrets will be able to fire on them. There should be more than one line of turrets so that the innermost line or lines can be used to position colonists where they are not immediately under threat from grenades (grenadiers will target the closest turrets first) or if colonists are positioned closer so they can repair, to retreat colonists further back when turrets are about to be or have been destroyed. Every line of turrets should have a line of sandbags directly in front and every supporting wall/rock should also have sandbags to lessen the likelihood of collapse due to collateral damage. Turrets should not be placed directly (within three tiles) next to wall/rock or other turrets for the same reason, as they explode when they run out of health. Outside or in front of the defense area, you can put blasting charge minefields in areas they are likely to group up in.
Gun Turret Cooling is a priority for later raids, but should not be rushed. The extra shots tend to help ''kill'' raiders, but early on you will want to incapacitate them so you can capture and imprison them for recruitment.

''Note: as of the Alpha 11 "Sappers" attack strategy for raiders, this method of defense can be avoided by any of the slightly higher level raids, but is still a viable option for many of the raids as not all of them will attempt this strategy.''

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This section commented out since blasting charges have been removed from the game.
=== Minefields ===
Early on, you want to focus on armed colonist defense with turrets, but as the raiders grow in number, it becomes more efficient to use a bit of metal to kill several at once than to invest a lot of metal in a turret that costs nothing to fire, but will explode rapidly due to large raider groups.
Blasting charges are extremely effective when used correctly, and the raiders will make some (but not usually enough) of an attempt to avoid them, which can force them into a single-file line even before they reach the entrance. You should only detonate a charge if one second (slowest speed) from when you activate it, it will have at least one grenadier or at least three regular raiders near it or it is vital that you kill as many as possible. Note that fires and other blasting charges can activate blasting charges, so do not place them outside near where your colonists regularly walk and do not place them within range of other charges.
While you can place them near support walls/rock, triggering a cave-in is not usually worth it. It creates more rock to mine out after the battle, provides cover for raiders, destroys metal from destroyed turrets or other buildings, and since the cave-in will happen usually right in the middle of where the charge went off, it will only kill raiders who are already at low health from the blast or simply destroy the bodies of those killed by the blast.

The most dangerous raiders are those with frag grenades. One grenade will instantly destroy a turret or kill a colonist. The only defense against grenades is to kill the grenadier quickly, pull out colonists from an area a grenade is being thrown at immediately, and sell anything in that area immediately too. Grenadiers are thus by far the first priority to kill. All other raiders are generally weak, but among them raiders equipped with pump shotguns are the most threatening to colonists and raiders equipped with molotovs or incendiary launchers are the most threatening to buildings, yet the least threatening to colonists.

Because raiders will take cover from your turrets and colonists, it's possible to lead them into mines by offering them false cover. Once detonated, the raiders will not only take damage, but be left in the open for further attacks.
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=== "Attention Suppressor" Entryway ===
Once you have lots of bulk materials, but don't have enough industry to build proper defenses, you can build an attention suppressor out front of your basic defensive line. This is usually out of [[wood]], although the flammability of wood is a problem.

Start like you're making a 29×29 room(27×27 interior), but instead of doors, just leave one-tile openings at opposite ends. That way it doesn't get a roof. If needed, use a [[no roof area]]. Down the middle of the attention suppressor leave an open path, 3 tiles wide, which will actually be travelled by your colonists. Pack the sides with alternating walls, leaving numerous blind alleys branching off the open path. The attention suppressor should look like two giant combs facing each other across the path, or perhaps like a cutaway of an especially-blocky sound suppressor.

A raider entering through an attention suppressor is presented with numerous blind alleys, each one of which could hold something important. Raiders will typically only resist the lure of a dozen or so blind alleys, after which they'll turn off into a blind alley to look for something to attack. In many cases they'll attack the walls, but the general effect is that a raiding force will spend a long time milling around in the attention suppressor, deeply distracted, and slowly trickle out of it toward your base alone, or (for a large raid) in twos and threes. This slow trickle of raiders is easily handled by a few colonists with basic weapons, or later a few turrets and a [[Menus#Repair|repair]]er.

Colonists and visitors with specific business on one side or the other of the attention suppressor will go quickly down the middle without being distracted. However, colonists pursuing [[joy]] activities like going for a walk will usually be diverted to do so in the blind alleys of the attention suppressor. As a result, it's not safe to fill with deathtraps.

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