Biomutation lance

The biomutation lance is an artifact with four uses added by the Anomaly DLC. Equipped by humans into their utility slot, it is manually activated to forcibly transform biological targets into a Fleshbeast.

Acquisition[edit]

Biomutation lances can be crafted at a bioferrite shaper once the Mutation weaponry research project has been completed. Note that this research requires dark study to unlock. Each requires 1 Shard, 50 Bioferrite, 20 Twisted meat, 40,000 ticks (11.11 mins) of work modified by the general labor speed of the crafter, and a crafting skill of 6.

Alternatively, they can bought from traders or be received as a quest reward.

Summary[edit]

When equipped, a biomutation lance is worn in the waist utility slot. Pawns that are incapable of violence can equip, but not use, the lance. Once the wearer is drafted, it can be manually activated by the player to target a non-downed pawn with a body size of 2.5 or under, and within 25.9 tiles and line of sight. Psychic sensitivity does not affect whether or not a pawn can be targeted. Mechanoids, drones, and entities, with the exception of shamblers and ghouls, cannot be targeted. The lance has 4 charges and cannot be recharged - when all charges are expended, the item disappears completely and no resources can be salvaged from it.

After a 120 ticks (2 secs) warm-up, the target will instantaneously transform into a fleshbeast in a purely-visual explosion of gore. No filth will be created.

The resultant fleshbeast depends on the body size of the pawn transformed:

Between 0 and 0.74: Fingerspike
Between 0.75 and 2.51: Toughspike ^50% / Trispike ^50%

Fleshbeasts will be hostile to and attack any humans, mechanoids, and tamed non-pen animals they see, but won't necessarily seek out enemies to engage.

The pawn's original body is completely destroyed, leaving no opportunity for death refusal or other means of reviving, and any equipment will be dropped to the ground untainted. The pawn will also be considered missing rather than dead. This affects certain death-related thoughts, as well as meaning there will be no funeral opportunity if they were a colonist, and they will not be replaced if they were a faction leader.

If used on a non-hostile faction's pawn, it will decrease goodwill with that faction by −200 points.

Like all utility items, a biomutation lance 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.

Analysis[edit]

Compared to shard insanity lances, the biomutation lance has a shorter warmup time, better range, and comes with more charges. It also completely converts the target into a fleshbest; the insanity lance could be more effective if the target is especially powerful, e.g., pawns with the tough trait. Meanwhile, psychic insanity lances have a much better range than any shard lance, so they are much more effective at their role, although they can't be crafted by the colony.

In addition, there is significant competition for the use of shards. Biomutation lances and the corresponding research can be considered a low priority for most colonies, compared to the shard insanity lance or Shard shock lance. And before spending shards on either of those, spending shards on Ghouls may be preferable first.

Like the other crafted lances, Revenant vertebrae or the Invisibility psycast can make it easier to use effectively, given the reduced range compared to their Archotech, non-crafted counterparts. It is worth noting that mutating a pawn will cause it to drop its equipment. death acidifiers will not activate, as the pawn is considered missing rather then dead, and apparel that drops will not be tainted. As such for colonies that are hostile to the empire, or any other high tech faction, a Biomutation lance is a quick way to exchange a hostile pawn for their equipment, rather then risk killing them in a firefight and ruining their gear. It is capable of hitting enemies through a low-shield, like other types of lance, as well as not being stopped by a [shield belt], regardless of it's charge level.

Of the craftable lances, the Biomutation lance has both the highest crafting requirement, and the least practical uses, being a niche tactical item generally inferior to it's alternatives. As a way to remove an enemy from a fight in one guaranteed cast, it is inferior to the Shard shock lance, which allows one to recruit useful pawns or capture entities, as well as butcher the human body. As a means of causing disruption in enemy lines, it is inferior to the Shard insanity lance, which can make far more dangerous enemies turn on their allies then what a mere trispike can provide. It is even inferior to the Biomutation Pulser for creating fleshbeasts, as the pulser creates them both in large quantities in most maps, and in stronger forms- The biomutation lance cannot create bulbfreaks.

The Biomutation Lance has narrow applications for use: It can be used on your own colonists that you wish to be rid of, as pawns hit with it are considered disappeared rather then dead, and it can bypass the worst of the 'colonist died' mood penalties, and while it is decidedly inferior when used on enemies, it has double the charges, at 4 uses rather then 2, and activates 0.4 seconds faster. This may make it more desirable to use while caravanning to quest sites, where smaller numbers of enemies need to be downed to rout them, and where weaker hostile-to-all pawns such as fleshbeasts may be desired, if you need to fight them after hostile pawns go down. In addition, it can target psychically deaf pawns, though not entities, and so it may be of use if there's an extremely dangerous pawn with no psychic sensitivity that needs to be removed immediately from the field.

A biomutation lance may be useful while melee blocking in a killbox: With melee units (preferably Ghouls) keeping the horde at bay, there may be ranged units further behind them that are taking free pot shots at your colonists. A Biomutation lance can turn an enemy in the cluster into a melee unit in the middle of their formation, which may be more useful then turning a ranged pawn berserk when they cannot fire in melee, sacrificing the loot and recruiting of one pawn to temporarily distract all other pawns clustered together around it, while keeping hostile pawns between your melee blockers and the fleshbeast.

Version history[edit]

Anomaly DLC Release - Added.

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 • Deadlife pack • Disruptor flare pack • Shard insanity lance • Shard shock lance • Turret pack • Hunter pack • Cerebrex node

Biomutation lance

Contents

Acquisition[edit]

Summary[edit]

Analysis[edit]

Version history[edit]

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