Smokepop pack

The smokepop pack is a reusable utility item that releases a cloud of smoke on command, reducing ranged accuracy.

Acquisition

Smokepop packs can be crafted at a Machining table once the Smokepop packs research project has been completed. Each requires 20 Steel, 1 Component, 40 Chemfuel and 1,200 ticks (20 secs) of work.

They can also be purchased from traders or found on raiders.

Summary

A smokepop pack is worn at the waist and can be manually activated to create smoke around its user. The smoke reduces hit chance by 70% for any projectile that paths through it. It does not affect melee hit or dodge chances. The smoke also prevents turrets from locking onto and firing at targets. Smoke has an effect even if the shooter or the target are outside it, so long as there's smoke in between. It dissipates after around 30 seconds.

The pack can be activated 3 times before needing to be reloaded for 10 chemfuel. Reloading smokepop packs always costs 10 chemfuel, even if there are charges left, as compared to the jump pack, which uses 20 chemfuel per charge restored. Because of this, it is obviously more efficient, if less safe, to spend 2 or 3 charges before reloading.

Quality Table

On explosion, the smokepop pack covers an area with smoke. The radius depends on the quality of the pack.

Quality	Awful	Poor	Normal	Good	Excellent	Masterwork	Legendary
Explosion radius (tiles)	4.1	4.5	4.9	5.3	5.7	6.4	7.4
Market Value	83	125	166	205	250	415	830

Note that a larger explosion radius is not necessarily better, as smoke affects both sides of the battle.

Analysis

Smokepop packs are fast to research and cheap to craft, especially if you already have Biofuel Refining. The chemfuel cost isn't too expensive, and even in the extreme biomes, a hydroponics room should give plenty of extra supplies.

Smoke is very useful against turrets, such as in a mechanoid cluster - smoke completely negates their ability to target and fire. Other pawns can then destroy it, hit it with EMP weapons, or handle other threats. However, turrets easily outrange your colonists, and 3 charges is not likely to be enough to approach in melee. You can have your pawns use walls to their advantage, use locust armor or the skip psycast to bring important pawns in (EMP, smoke, or just high firepower), bring multiple smoke packs, or simply take the hit.

Against humanoid raiders, smoke is more useful with a largely melee or otherwise low range group. They can allow colonists to approach enemies, which is very effective against tight groups of enemies with few or no brawlers of their own, which may include sieges. A melee alternative is the shield belt, which fully eliminates damage until it runs out. However, smokepop works after EMP attacks and applies to all pawns in an area, as opposed to needing one shield belt per colonist. Smoke will also apply to animals, which can be very useful in melee combat. Finally, only one colonist needs to wear a smokepop belt, meaning the rest can stick with a shield.

As covering enemies with smoke also greatly reduces effectiveness of your own gunners, it isn't very effective if you can outrange the enemy, or if you're otherwise in a firefight. But even with a ranged group, you can use the cover of smoke to reposition your group in a safer manner, or to approach turrets.

Comparison to Smoke Launchers

Smokepop packs have two major advantages over smoke launchers: they can be used with another weapon, and they deploy instantly. Meanwhile, smoke launchers have one of the slowest firing rates in the game, taking (210 ticks (3.5 secs) to aim and fire.

Smoke launchers use the weapon slot, so will defintely bring one colonist out of raw combat. However, smoke is useful even if the colonist is bad at combat, and the utlity slot is freed for further support items like a psychic insanity lance. Turrets, one of the stronger cases for smoke, are entirely stationary, so players can prepare a launcher in advance. Against a largely turret-centric force, a single colonist losing their weapon isn't as important as the smoke itself. Launchers can also be used at range and have no cost or charge limit for firing.

In general, smokepop packs are much more flexible as they allow pawns to wield other weapons. Smoke launchers have the advantage of ammo and range, but their slow firing means that they are best against turret encampments (but not so much better) and are fairly weak otherwise.

Version history

0.17.1546 - Added as the smokepop belt.
1.2.2719 - Renamed to the smokepop pack from smokepop belt, now has 3 charges, no longer disappears on use, and can be triggered manually instead of automatically triggering when hit by a projectile.
1.2.2753 - AI will now only deploy an NPC's Smokepop pack if the offending attacker is hostile. This prevents friendly-fire from activating an NPC's Smokepop

Utility

Utility: Firefoam pop pack • Orbital bombardment targeter • Orbital power beam targeter • Psychic shock lance • Psychic insanity lance • Shield belt • Smokepop pack • Tornado generator • Low-shield pack • Jump pack • Orbital mech cluster targeter • Bandwidth pack • Control pack • Tox pack • Biomutation lance • Biomutation pulser • Deadlife pack • Disruptor flare pack • Shard animal pulser • Shard insanity lance • Shard shock lance • Turret pack