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
Armor
- Armor - Sharp
- 40%
- Armor - Blunt
- 20%
- Armor - Heat
- 200%
Pawn Stats
- 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
- 3.36
Creation
- Crafted At
- Required Research
- Standard mechtech
- Gestation Cycles
- 2
- Resources to make
100 + 
40 + 
4 + 
1
- weaponTags
- MechanoidGunLongRange
Pikemen are a type of slow-moving, long range mechanoid.
Occurrence
 | This section is a stub. You can help RimWorld Wiki by expanding it. Reason: General. Ensure parity with other non-commander mechs, whatever standard you or others might decide to set.. |
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
 | This section relates to content added by Biotech (DLC). Please note that it will not be present without the DLC enabled. |
Pikemen can be gestated by a mechanitor at a Large mech gestator once the Standard mechtech research project has been completed. They require 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).
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, better-than-average armor penetration, and 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.
Armor
| Armor |
|---|
As an ally
| This section relates to content added by Biotech (DLC). Please note that it will not be present without the DLC enabled. |
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
Pikemen play a supportive role. While their damage output is atrocious, their range is massive, analogous to a sniper rifle. This makes kiting a group of mechanoids, or firing and backing away from them, a difficult task. It also acts as a stationary mech group's effective range. The needle gun's piercing value means that it has the potential to be lethal, if it hits the right body part. 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
| This section relates to content added by Biotech (DLC). Please note that it will not be present without the DLC enabled. |
A pikeman's needle cannon is still as weak as ever. And, unlike your colonists, a tiny chance to instantly kill a raider doesn't really matter. Enemies almost always have larger numbers than you, so good overal DPS (leading to pain shock) is much more consistent. 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, getting into a sniper duel risks getting a colonist's head lobbed off. Thus, pikemen are a safer way to lure sieges into attacking, pick off preparing raiders, or hunt with less risk than a human marksman. When using one, beware of their rather slow movement speed. For example, keep your fighting force ready and somewhere nearby when getting a siege to attack.
Health
Note, that due to mechanoids having different body part structures, this table is only provided as a rough guide.
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
- Introduced in 1.1.
- Biotech DLC - Introduced ability to create and control friendly mechanoids, including pikemen.
- 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