Pikeman

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.

Base Stats

Type

Mechanoid

Market Value

1200 

Mechanoid

Bandwidth Cost

2

Armor

Armor - Sharp

40%

Armor - Blunt

20%

Armor - Heat

200%

Pawn Stats

Combat Power

110

Move Speed

2.5 c/s

Health Scale

85% HP

Body Size

1

Mass

60 kg

Pack Capacity

35 kg

Carrying Capacity

75 kg

Filth Rate

1

Life Expectancy

2500 years

Comfortable Temp Range

-100 °C – 250 °C (-148 °F – 482 °F)

Melee Combat

Attack 1

Front left leg
12 dmg (Blunt)
18 % AP
2 second cooldown

Attack 2

Front right leg
12 dmg (Blunt)
18 % AP
2 second cooldown

Attack 3

Head
8.5 dmg (Blunt)
13 % AP
2 second cooldown
0.2 chance factor

Average DPS

3.72

Creation

Crafted At

Required Research

Standard mechtech

Gestation Cycles

2

Resources to make

100 + 40 + 4 + 1

Technical

weaponTags

MechanoidGunLongRange

Pikemen are a type of slow-moving, long range mechanoid.

Occurrence

Raids = Yes. When?

Ancient shrines = Yes

Clusters = Yes

Diabolus summons = Waves 2, 3, 6

War queen summons = Waves 1, 3, 5

Apocriton summons = No.

Acquisition

Pikemans can be gestated by a mechanitor at a large mech gestator once the standard mechtech research project has been completed. Note that this research requires a signal chip to unlock. Each requires  100 Steel,  40 Plasteel,  4 Components,  1 Standard subcore and 2 gestation cycles taking 1,800 ticks (30 secs) each to initiate. They take up 2 bandwidth from their linked mechanitor.

Dead, friendly pikemans can also be resurrected at the large mech gestator using the "Resurrect medium mechanoid" bill. This requires the corpse of the friendly Pikeman,  50 steel, and 1 gestation cycle taking 1,800 ticks (30 secs) to initiate.

Summary

As mechanoids, every pikeman is immune to fire, Flame and Heat damage, and temperature extremes, despite having Comfortable Temperatures defined. They have 100% Toxic Resistance and Toxic Environment Resistance, making them immune to toxic buildup, rot stink and other toxic effects. They do not need to eat, rest, and have no mood. They will be stunned by EMP attacks for a time proportional to the EMP damage inflicted and will "adapt" and rendered immune to further EMP strikes for 2,200 ticks (36.67 secs).

Dead pikemen may be shredded at a machining table or crafting spot for  15 steel, though these values are affected by mechanoid shredding efficiency as well as any missing parts on the pikeman.

As an enemy

Pikemen will slowly move until they are at range, in which they will stay at maximum range to fire. They will not move around to seek cover, or avoid incoming fighters. Pikemen have moderate resistance to sharp damage and very small resistance to blunt damage, making them trivial to disable if one can get close enough to them.

Mechanoids can raid the player's base through events, and are found in most poison ships, psychic ships, and mech clusters. Pikemen are often supported by centipedes, scythers, and lancers, though their speed and range difference often leaves them at the back of the formation.

Combat

Pikemen are always equipped with needle gun. It doesn't deal too much damage, but has an extremely long range, and better-than-average armor penetration. Like any other weapon, the needle gun has the possibility of getting a lucky shot to the head. They are also able to engage in (less effective) melee combat with colonists.

Pikemen have a shooting accuracy of 96%, equivalent to a pawn with a Shooting skill of 8. They have a melee hit chance of 62%, equivalent to a pawn with a Melee skill of 4.

Effect of its armor on melee damage

As an ally

Mechs under player control require power: pikemen use 10% of their power per day while active. If set to dormant self-charging, they instead recharge for 1% power / day, without pollution. They recharge in a large mech recharger (400W), for 50% power/day, creating 10 wastepacks whenever the recharger's waste is filled up.

Analysis

As an enemy

Main article: Defense tactics#Pikemen

Pikemen play a supportive role. While their damage output is atrocious, their range is massive, analogous to a sniper rifle. Thus, a pikeman serves a few functions:

• They make kiting a group of mechanoids, i.e. firing and backing away from them, more difficult. Kiting a lone centipede is easy, but kiting a centipede with a pikeman firing potshots is very difficult.
• They allow crashed ship parts and mech clusters to fire from far away.
• They have a small chance to instantly kill a pawn. If the needle gun hits the right body part (brain, heart) without protection, it can flat out kill.

In large groups, they are not to be underestimated, and don't expect basic mini-turrets to be able to hit them.

As their description says, engaging pikemen at close range can be a viable way to take them down, though you'll have to deal with their comrades first. Their gun is weak, but their melee is even weaker.

As an ally

Pikemen are quite weak. Enemy pikemen can be threats as they can headshot colonists, but a tiny chance to instakill a raider doesn't really matter. Thus, they aren't the best for combat. Enemies almost always have larger numbers than you, so occasional lucky kills are not impactful and good overall DPS is much more reliable and useful metric - and one where the pikeman lags behind. Once you've researched High Mechtech, lancers become a better option for general combat: they move much faster and have a much greater DPS.

Therefore, the pikeman is a niche support unit, using its massive range to its advantage. While any pawn can boast the same range with a sniper rifle, pikemen are safer to use due to being eminently replaceable. When fighting enemy snipers, a colonist risks getting their head lobbed off but pikemen can easily be revived, so this is not a problem. Thus, pikemen can be used to lure sieges into attacking, pick off preparing raiders, or hunt animals. When using one, beware of their rather slow movement speed. They typically will not be able to run far before aggroed enemies catch up with them - even at maximum range, human enemies will typically catch up to the pikeman within at most 21 tiles of its starting position. Keep your fighting force ready and somewhere nearby when triggering or baiting an attack.

Health

Note, that due to mechanoids having different body part structures, this table is only provided as a rough guide.

Body Part Name	Health	Quantity	Coverage	Target Chance	Subpart of	Internal	Capacity	Effect if Destroyed/Removed
Thorax	34	1	100%	4%	N/A		-	Death Will never take permanent injury
Neck	25.5	1	10%	2%	Thorax		Communication	Death Will never take permanent injury
Head	25.5	1	80%	2.7%	Neck		-	Death Will never take permanent injury
Artificial Brain	8.5	1	10%	0.8%	Head		Data Processing	Death Will never take permanent injury
Sight Sensor	8.5	2	20%	1.6%	Head		Sight	−25% Sight. −100% if both lost. Will never take permanent injury
Hearing Sensor	8.5	2	5%	0.4%	Head		Hearing	−25% Hearing. −100% if both lost. Will never take permanent injury
Chemical Analyzer	8.5	1	6%	0.48%	Head		-	Will never take permanent injury
Leg	25.5	4	18%	9%	Thorax		Moving	−25% Moving. Will never take permanent injury
Foot	17	4	50%	9%	Leg		Moving	−25% Moving. Will never take permanent injury
Reactor	17	1	6%	6%	Thorax		Power Generation	Death Will never take permanent injury
Fluid Reprocessor	12.75	2	4%	4%	Thorax		Fluid Reprocessing	Death if both lost −50% Fluid reprocessing Will never take permanent injury

Trivia

The line in the description, "Veterans of mechanoid wars know that often, the safest place to be around a pikeman is touching it." is copied almost verbatim from a previous version of the Lancer's description, namely: "Veterans of mechanoid wars know that often, the safest thing to do against a lancer is to charge."

Version history

• 1.1.0 - Added.
• Biotech DLC - Introduced ability to create and control friendly mechanoids, including pikemen.

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Mechanoids

Mechanoids | Core

Centipede (Blaster, Burner, Gunner) • Lancer • Pikeman • Scyther • Termite

Combat

Centurion • Legionary • Militor • Scorcher • Tesseron

Command

Apocriton • Diabolus • War queen (War urchin )

Labor

Agrihand • Cleansweeper • Constructoid • Fabricor • Lifter • Paramedic • Tunneler

Cluster | Buildings

Condition causer • Count-down activator • Mech assembler • Mech capsule • Mech drop beacon • Mech high-shield • Mech low-shield • Mech node • Proximity activator • Unstable power cell

Turrets

Auto charge turret • Auto inferno turret • Auto mortar • Mini-slugger turret

Creation | Pawn

Mechanitor

Buildings

Mech gestator • Large mech gestator • Mechband antenna • Mechband dish