Smokepop pack

The smokepop pack is a reusable utility item that, on command, can releases a cloud of blind smoke around its wearer to reduced the ranged accuracy of pawns firing through it.

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, 1,200 ticks (20 secs) of work modified by the general labor speed of the crafter, and a crafting skill of 3.

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

Summary

File:Smokepop pack radii.gif

The AoE of the pack when triggered at different qualities.

A smokepop pack is worn at the waist and can be manually activated to create a cloud of blind smoke of a quality-dependent radius around its user. Pawns under the control the player will never automatically use the pack - instead it must be manually activated by the player by use of the "Pop smoke" gizmo. This gizmo will only appear when the pawn is drafted. NPCs wearing a pack will automatically trigger it when fired upon.

Blind smoke multiplies the hit chance of any projectile that paths through it by ×70%. It does not affect melee hit or dodge chances. Smoke has an effect even if the shooter and/or the target are outside of the cloud itself, so long as there is smoke between them. The smoke also prevents turrets from locking onto and firing at targets so long as one tile of smoke is between the turret and the target. The smoke dissipates after approximately 30 seconds.^{[Detail needed]}

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.

Like all utility items, a smokepop pack is treated largely like any piece of apparel, however some exceptions exist. Utility items are worn on the waist and are mutually exclusive only with each other, regardless of the layer or coverage of other apparel worn. Additionally, utility items never become tainted, deteriorate from being worn, or inflict a worn-out or tattered mood debuff when damaged.

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.

Also note that in effect, the radius of the Poor and Normal packs are identical. It is unknown if the nominal difference affects dissipation rate.^{[Detail needed]}

Analysis

Smokepop packs are fast to research and cheap to craft, especially if you already have boomalopes or Biofuel refining. The chemfuel cost isn't too expensive, and even in the extreme biomes, a hydroponics room should give plenty of extra supplies. That said, they provide only moderate value when compared to the wealth of options available for the Utility slot, especially when accounting for the options added by the DLC.

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 and other obstructions to their advantage, use locust armor or the skip psycast to place them in ideal blocking positions, bring multiple smoke packs, or simply take the hit. Turrets are less accurate from further away, meaning that you should save smoke charges until you get closer. However, smoke launchers essentially relegate the pack to times where a weapon slot cannot be sacrificed or when launchers are simply not available. See below for further detail.

Against humanoid raiders, smoke is more useful if your pawns are 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. In many cases, a low shield pack will provide all the benefits

As covering enemies with smoke also greatly reduces the effectiveness of your own ranged pawns, it's use is often contraindicated if you are relying on ranged combat or can outrange the enemy. Note that even with a ranged group, you can use the cover of smoke to reposition your group in a safer manner, or to approach turrets. You can also use it to debuff ranged pawns that your ranged pawns are not currently engaging, allowing them to more safely focus fire on uncovered enemies and then returning to the smoked enemies once the cloud clears.

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, even more time for the shot to actually land, and 420 ticks (7 secs) to fully cycle from shot to shot. The instant smoke is very useful for repositioning, but it also requires the pawn being where you want the smoke to be.

Smoke launchers use the weapon slot, which essentially removes one colonist from combat. However, smoke is useful even if the colonist is bad at combat, and the utility 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 and fire a launcher in advance. Against a largely turret-centric force, a single colonist losing their weapon isn't as important as the smoke itself. Smoke launchers can be fired indefinitely, can place the smoke at range and, with repeated firings, can cover a much larger area. This makes the launcher far more reliable and flexible in their smoke deployment, especially in longer engagements. Against large mechanoid clusters, which can have a large number of turrets with a variety of different firing angles, a smokepop pack may simply not provide enough time to destroy all the turrets.

In general, smokepop packs are much more flexible as they allow pawns to wield other weapons, but are much inferior in terms of actual smoke generation.

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 instead of 1, 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
1.4.3523 - Texture replaced.

Pre-1.4.3523 Texture

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