User:PigeonGuru/Archive

Weapons (melee charge)

High-DPS single-target weapons are optimal in this situation. Focus fire to break down shields and quickly down the exposed enemy.
EMP weapons can be used to devastating effect by knocking out their shields with 1 hit. A lucky hit with an EMP shell can take out most of the shields in a melee raid.
Explosive weapons may be used to break their shields, though they block the entire explosion so a single explosion won't hurt them much. They should be used in conjunction with EMP weapons if you're looking for #damage.
Incendiary weapons penetrate the shield and set the raider on fire, distracting them. While their shields continue to block gunfire, the distraction makes it easier for them to be broken, as well as scatters enemies apart.
Sniper rifles are capable of breaking a weaker shield with a single shot. Combined with their long range, this makes them a good supporting weapon to weaken an incoming charge.
The Firefoam popper is a surprisingly effective option in this situation. In addition to spreading a wide field of foam over the ground that slows down anyone walking over it, the popper will deplete shields, stripping melee attackers of their crucial protection.

Weapons (manhunters)

High DPS weapons are good at taking down packs at close to medium range.
Long-ranged weapons work to provide long-distance firepower when paired with other high damage weapons, but are inadequate on their own.

The sniper rifle works well against larger animals, but is poor against hard-to-hit small animals, as a missed shot is punishing due to its long reload, and its high damage is grossly overkill.

Longswords, or any other high-damage melee weapon, are a must-have to fight off animals at melee range, which often happens with fast animals.

Crowd control

The Minigun is an excellent weapon against manhunter packs of any size. At a distance, it can destroy the tightly packed groups of incoming animals, while at point-blank, it can rip large animals to shreds, often with just a single barrage of bullets. Aim for an animal in the middle of the pack, and the bullets will hit others around it as well.
Chain shotguns are also a good choice at defeating manhunter packs at close to point-blank range, though its short range makes it risky to use against faster enemies.

Explosives are excellent at clearing out manhunter packs, when used carefully. They can hit a lot of animals at once, and don't miss easily, especially against small animals which can evade bullets.

Rocket launchers are an effective yet easy-to-use one-use solution. Be careful when using them near your base or colonists though, and disengage if animals come dangerously close to allies.
- The Doomsday rocket launcher can obliterate a swarm of smaller animals using its giant incendiary blast.
- The Triple rocket launcher excels against larger animals with its high damage 3-round salvo.
Mortars aren't very useful as animals generally run faster than the mortars can hit, but if you have a kiting colonist or trained animals distracting them and you aim ahead, you can still achieve great results.
Grenades are good for groups, but are too short-ranged to be safe to use against raging animals.

Distraction structures

Once you have lots of bulk materials, but don't have enough industry to build proper defenses, you can build an distractions to temporarily delay raids.

Doing this can delay raids in early-mid game if you have the effort and materials, but as you enter mid-late game it's better that you replace the suppressor with something else, such as a killbox, which can actually bring the hurt.

Attention suppressor

A full-size attention suppressor with a 1-wide path, built out of granite.

Start like you're making a 29-wide room, but instead of doors, just leave one-tile openings at opposite ends. That way it doesn't get a roof. If needed, use a no roof area. Down the middle of the attention suppressor leave an open path, which will actually be traveled by your colonists. Pack the sides with alternating walls, leaving numerous blind alleys branching off the open path. The attention suppressor should look like two giant combs facing each other across the path.

A raider entering through an attention suppressor is presented with numerous blind alleys, each one of which could hold something important (in their perspective). Raiders will typically only resist the lure of a dozen or so blind alleys, before turning off into one to look for something to attack. In many cases they'll attack the walls, but the general effect is that a raiding force will spend a long time milling around in the attention suppressor, deeply distracted, and slowly trickle out of it toward your base alone, or (for a large raid) in twos and threes. This slow trickle of raiders is easily handled by a few colonists with basic weapons, or later a few turrets and a repairman.

Colonists and visitors with specific business on one side or the other of the attention suppressor will go quickly down the middle without being distracted. However, colonists pursuing joy activities like going for a walk will usually be diverted to do so in the blind alleys of the attention suppressor. As a result, it's not safe to fill with deathtraps.

Pros

Effectively distracts and delays raiders

Cons

Does not deal damage
Takes up large amounts of space
Expensive and time-consuming to build a lot of walls
Makes it harder to eliminate all raiders at once

Dummy power grid

Place many wires randomly around the area. This causes enemies to stop and ignite or fight the wires, delaying them.

Note that they will charge immediately upon seeing colonists so this is a measure to buy time at best.