Scorcher

A scorcher is a mechanoid added by the Biotech DLC.

Summary

As mechanoids, every scorcher 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

Scorchers will charge at the player, then try to stay at maximum range. Due to the short-ranged nature of their weapon, this behavior is somewhat counterproductive - see #Combat for more detail.

Mechanoids can raid the player's base through events, and are found in most poison ships, psychic ships, and mech clusters. Scorchers are a fairly low level threat, but can be dangerous with other mechs.

As an ally

Scorchers are medium mechanoids, and require Standard Mechtech to be researched.

They are created from a large mech gestator with 80 Steel, 32 Plasteel, 3 Components, 1 Standard subcore, taking up 1 bandwidth from a mechanitor. They take 1800 ticks to initally craft, and then it must gestate for 2 cycles (default 1.8 game days per cycle). Mechanoids can be fully repaired at the cost of power and nothing else. A dead scorcher can be resurected for 50 steel and 1 gestation cycle so long as the corpse is extant.

Mechs under player control require power: scorchers 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 5 wastepacks whenever the recharger's waste is filled up.

Combat

Scorchers are equipped with a mini-flameblaster. With a range of just 4.9 tiles, it is the shortest ranged weapon in the entire game. However, it has the unique property of being able to fire during melee combat. Enemies are able to do so but do not actively take advantage of this fact.

As its name suggests, the mini-flame blaster lights pawns on fire, which will cause them to run around widly if there is no firefoam or water around. All mechanoids are completely immune to fire.

Analysis

As an enemy

Enemy scorchers are not much of a threat on their own. A scorcher in range of firing is also just a few tiles from melee range, and can be shot down as it tries to approach. But if it gets to shoot, fire is a very dangerous condition. It will send your pawns careening into the attacks of other mechanoids. A firefoam pop pack is useful.

As an ally

Scorchers have a very limited range, so are dedicated to melee combat, or to help other pawns out in melee combat. Scorchers can be very effective in hallways, either in melee or just behind a melee blocker. Fire will cause vulnerable enemies to stop attacking, which allows pawns in the front lines to survive for longer, giving more time to kill in general. Effective against infestations or drop pod raids.

Earlier on, scorchers are also decent out in the open - but a few scorchers won't be enough to suppress a large tribal raid. Even in hallways, it may eventually become better to get a centipede (perhaps a centipede burner!) over a scorcher.

Health

Specify body type when known.

Body part	Health
Head	18
Skull	18
Brain	7
Nose	7
Neck	18
Jaw	14
Eye ^[1] (left, right)	7
Ear (left, right)	7
Body	28
Kidney^[2] (left, right)	11
Lung^[2] (left, right)	11
Liver^[2]	14
Heart^[2]	11
Spine^[2]	18
Stomach^[2]	14
Limbs (left, right, fore, hind)	21
Appendage (left, right, fore, hind)	14