Mechanoid cluster

A large mech cluster deploying with a toxic spewer.

Mechanoid clusters are a major threat introduced in the Royalty DLC. Mechanoid clusters consist of various buildings, including condition causers that will hinder your colony, as well as mechanoids. They may generate through storyteller mechanics or quests, or deployed willingly through an orbital mech cluster targeter.

Generation

Mech clusters will attempt to spawn by selecting a tile and seeing if the cluster can fit there. It will repeat this twenty times attempting to spawn a mech cluster. If it succeeds, the mech cluster will be spawned. If the mech cluster does not fit in any of the twenty tiles it attempted to spawn in, it will select any empty tile and spawn a mech cluster. This means for bigger bases, a mech cluster is likely to spawn partly inside the base. For very large mountain bases, if it cannot find any other valid spaces, the mech cluster is likely to land in the mountain. Landing on overhead mountain will destroy the drop pods immediately and cause large chunks of the roof to collapse which can crush items and colonists below.

Mech clusters can only generate with at least 400 raid points.

Summary

Activation

Mechanoid clusters will initially arrive dormant, with the mechs and offensive buildings will wake up under specific triggers. The entire cluster will wake up once any mech or building takes any direct damage, or when building within a 2 tile distance to a mechanoid or any non-wall, non-barricade building. Mech clusters may also appear with a proximity activator or count-down activator, which will wake the cluster up. Damage to steel walls from spreading fire will not wake up the cluster.

Condition causers and auto-mortars will have an activation timer separate from the cluster itself, and may be active immediately. Damaging the condition causer will not activate the causer itself but will wake the rest of the cluster.

Behavior

By default, awake mechanoids will attack enemies within range, but will not stray too far from the cluster, similar to a crashed ship part or infestation.

For non-quest clusters, if any structure (including walls or barricade) falls below 50% hit points, mechanoids will attack as if they were a standard raid. Quest mech clusters do not have this 50% hit point attack threshold behavior, and will only attack once all mech cluster buildings are destroyed.

Defeating a mechanoid cluster (destroying all mechs and harmful buildings) grants a +4 Defeated mech cluster mood buff to all colonists and colony-owned slaves on the map. This buff lasts 10 days and stacks up to 5 times.

Building types

Miscellaneous buildings

Building Type	Image	Health	Description	Effect	Size	Must be destroyed to kill cluster
Mech capsule		180	A mechanoid storage and deployment capsule. It can contain a number of mechanoids, ready to emerge and fight upon being awakened.	Deploys 410 points of mechanoids when triggered.	2 × 3	No
Mech assembler		260	An automated mechanoid factory. It periodically assembles and deploys new mechanoids.	Releases 1 mechanoid of a single type periodically. Shuts down after producing 4 mechanoids.	3 × 3	Yes
Mech drop beacon		100	A mechanoid reinforcement drop beacon. When activated, it calls in a group of mechs to land in drop pods nearby.	Calls mechanoid reinforcements in a local area.	1 × 1	No
Proximity activator		100	A proximity alarm for dormant mechanoids. If it detects a human-like threat nearby, it will awaken any nearby dormant mechanoids or structures.	Activates any nearby sleeping mechanoids when any human steps within a 12.9 tile radius.	1 × 1	No
Count-down activator		100	A timed mechanoid activation unit. After counting down, it will wake nearby dormant mechanoids and structures.	Activates any nearby sleeping mechanoids after between 600 ticks (10 secs) and 1,200,000 ticks (333.33 mins) (20 days), averaging 267,060 ticks (74.18 mins) (4.45 days).	1 × 1	No
Mech low-shield		200	A shielding device which projects a momentum repulsor field. Shots can go out, but not in. This one is tuned to low angles, so it will block ground-level projectiles like bullets. The unit can be temporarily disabled by EMP attacks, either by shocking the projector unit itself, or using EMP munitions on the shield.	Blocks projectiles from ranged weapons from all outside sources except mortars. Can be EMPed. Turns off for 1 day every 10 days to charge. Turns off permanently when the cluster is defeated.	1 × 1	No
Mech high-shield		200	A shielding device which projects a momentum repulsor field. Shots can go out, but not in. This one is tuned to high angles, so it will block mortar rounds. The unit can be temporarily disabled by EMP attacks, either by shocking the projector unit itself, or using EMP munitions on the shield.	Blocks mortar rounds. Can be EMPed. Turns off for 1 day every 10 days to charge. Turns off permanently when the cluster is defeated.	1 × 1	No
Mech node		50	A self-powered mechanoid node of unknown function. Mech nodes can be deconstructed to yield valuable resources - but only if they are captured intact. The internal micro power cell will flame out and ruin the materials if the unit takes too much damage.	Emits light in a 1.65 tile radius. Can be claimed or deconstructed for resources.	1 × 1	No
Unstable power cell		200	A mechanoid power generation unit. The vanometric power core will run forever, extracting energy from quantum foam fluctuations. An internal amplifier system makes it unstable. If damaged, the unit will generate a massive explosion. Some brave humans steal these from mechanoids for their own use as power plants or defensive bombs. However, an unintentional detonation can be devastating.	Provides 400W of power. Explodes when damaged	1 × 1	No

Condition causers

Main article: Condition causer

All condition causers must be destroyed for the cluster to be considered killed.

Building Type	Image	Health	Description	Effect	Size
Psychic droner		1,500	An archotech device transmitting the thoughts of a mad superintelligence. It generates a massive psychic drone tuned to one gender and affecting a whole region of the planet. People of that gender will be disturbed by the effect, reducing their mood and possibly driving them insane. The effect is modulated by an individual's psychic sensitivity.	Creates a gender specific Psychic Drone	6 × 6
Toxic spewer		1,500	An ultratech weapon of mass destruction designed for area denial. This device harvests available compounds and converts them into self-reproducing poisons. By spewing these into the atmosphere, it can poison a whole region of the planet.	Causes toxic fallout across the map and a radius of 3 hexes on the world map.	6 × 5
Smoke spewer		1,500	An ultratech weapon of mass destruction designed for area denial. By harvesting available compounds and converting them into self-reproducing opaque molecules, it can spew enough smoke to block the sun in a whole region of the planet.	Prevents sunlight shining through during day. Affects the worldmap with a radius of 10.	6 × 5
Sun blocker		1,500	An ultratech machine that generates a sheet of exotic fields at high altitude, turning the sky opaque and blocking the sun.	Blocks the sun akin to an eclipse. Affects the worldmap by 10 hexes.	6 × 4
Psychic suppressor		1,500	An archotech device that generates a massive psychic suppression field tuned to a particular gender. People of that gender have their psychic activity suppressed, reducing their consciousness. The effect is modulated by an individual's psychic sensitivity.	Inflicts upon a specific gender a reduction in consciousness and scaled to the pawns psychic sensitivity up to a maximum of 50% consciousness cap at 100% sensitivity. Does not scale beyond 100% sensitivity. Affects the worldmap by 10 hexes.	6 × 6
Weather controller		1,500	An ultratech device for controlling weather. Using chemicals and exotic fields, it forces the weather into a particular configuration.	Causes a local weather phenomenon on the local and world map within 10 hexes.	6 × 6
EMI dynamo		1,500	A massive electromagnetic interference generator. It interferes with or shuts down electrical devices in nearby regions.	Causes electrical equipment to malfunction akin to a solar flare. Affects a radius of 10 hexes on the worldmap.	6 × 4
Defoliator		400	An area-denial device which annihilates nearby plants without affecting animals. In planetary wars, these weapons are scattered across farmlands or jungles to deny the enemy food or cover. They're usually associated with orbital-drop mechanoid swarms.	Kills all plant life in a slowly expanding radius, affecting up to a 100 tile radius of the map. Releases an EMP blast with a radius of 9 tiles when destroyed.	3 × 3
Climate adjuster		1,500	An ultratech device for controlling climate. Using chemicals and exotic fields to manipulate the atmosphere, it shifts the temperature in this region of the world.	Causes the Local and Map temperature to increase or decrease by 10 degrees, whichever would be more dangerous.	6 × 6

Defenses

Building Type	Image	Health	Description	Effect	Size	Must be destroyed to kill cluster
Auto mortar		260	A self-powered, self-loading, automatic mortar. It can hit targets at any distance, over walls, but is quite inaccurate.	The auto mortar will slowly destroy even the best defended and equipped bases from a distance, making these one of the biggest threats of a mechanoid cluster. Will fire even if all remaining cluster sleep.	2 × 2	Yes
Auto inferno turret		180	A self-powered turret mounted with an inferno cannon. It cannot sense targets at very short ranges.	A defensive turret that shoots incendiary shells from its Inferno cannon variant.	2 × 2	Yes
Auto charge turret		180	A self-powered turret mounted with a charge blaster. It cannot sense targets at very short ranges.	Defends Mechanoid clusters with a fast firing blaster, making this one of the most dangerous turrets to try to disable.	2 × 2	Yes
Mini-slugger turret		100	A self-powered defense turret mounted with a weak but long-ranged slug-thrower. May explode when damaged.	A small common defensive turret used by mechanoid clusters. Fairly harmless but has incredible range.	1 × 1	Yes

Analysis

Tackling a mech cluster by charging in head-on is unwise, as the mechanoids will have the advantage of terrain and turrets while colonists will not. Preparation is recommended, from shelling it with mortars to using cover and EMP to give colonists as much advantage as possible. Melee is also feasible, with the only melee mechanoid being the scyther.

Alternatively, it is possible to ignore the mech cluster and live under it conditions, depending on what the problem causer is, so long as colonists' allowed areas forbid going near the cluster. For example, a cold climate adjuster may not be dangerous if the colony already has a greenhouse and warm clothing. Clusters without a condition causer or with an irrelevant condition causer may be ignored, and potentially beneficial as the mechs will fight any human raiders that come across it.

Effective tools

• Blind smoke (smoke launcher, smokepop packs, the Smokepop psycast): Smoke prevents turrets from targeting pawns entirely, making it much easier to approach and damage the cluster. If/when the mechanoids are lured out away from the cluster, smoke will make dealing with turrets 100% safe.
• EMP: EMP damage stuns all mechs and turrets. If there is no proximity activator, a user of EMP grenades can be placed in a key location and stun effectively. EMP shells can work from a distance.
• Invisibility: A pawn that can self-cast invisibility multiple times in a row can go in, destroy any problem causers and automortars, and get out unharmed.
• Bomb type damage (mortars, triple rocket launchers, aerodrone permit strikes, frag grenades): Bomb damage deals 4x damage to impassable buildings, and certain explosives like mortars have long enough range to attack safety from a distance.
• Firefoam pop packs: These immediately extinguish fires from auto inferno turrets and centipede burners, which can otherwise be dangerous to pawns.

Walls and Cover

If a mechanoid cluster has not yet activated, your colonists can prepare buildings to make it easier to handle. Building a wall between the cluster and your base will prevent turrets from shooting your colonists, and allow your troops more flexibility to maneuver while dealing with mobile units. Be careful to remove the Home area around the wall so colonists don't decide to go cleaning or firefighting just in front of the wall. (Designating allowed areas for your colonists can also help keep them safe.)

If you intend to use direct fire attacks, you should take care not to wall the cluster away entirely, or you may be unable to disable the turrets. Leave a way for your troops to shoot at the cluster from cover, and provide a protected path to access this site.

If a mech cluster is well beyond your colony's abilities, you may be able to wall it in entirely while you prepare better armament. If the cluster is unable to harm you, such as by way of a condition causer or auto-mortar, you may even opt to leave it alone entirely, until a different group of uninvited guests, such as Pirates or Insectoids, wanders into the cluster and softens them up for you. Be careful with friendly factions and any incoming caravans however.

When constructing anything, be careful not to build within 2 cells of the cluster buildings or sleeping mechanoids, as this will activate it, proximity activator or not.

Luring mechs

Unless the cluster spawned via quest, once any building of a mech cluster is destroyed, the mechanoids will pursue and attack colonists en masse, regardless of distance from the cluster. This will lure the mechs into a killbox or any number of defensive fortifications, and more importantly, lure mechs away from the cluster's turrets. This makes it significantly easier to deal with the cluster, as the turrets alone can be trivially destroyed with the help of a smoke launcher.

Destroying buildings can be done via mortar fire or other long-range attacks like triple rocket launchers, planting IED traps while the mechs are dormant (don't place them within 2 tiles of a building or near a countdown activator) and setting it off, via invisibility, and so on.

If the mechs won't leave the cluster, it is possible to lure the mechs, attack for a bit from long range, then back off until the mechs retreat. Using the invisibility + skip psycasts to repeatedly attack mechs, back off, recover neural heat and psyfocus, and attack again is also an effective tactic.

Activation

Instead of damaging a building and luring the mechs towards your base, or using mortar fire, it is possible to deal a powerful first strike before the mechs wake up.

It is possible to get up close if there are no proximity activators. If getting up close, EMP grenades, frag grenades, and melee pawns in general are effective at disabling mechs and damaging buildings. The Berserk or Berserk pulse psycast can be used on a centipede to act as a durable distraction.

Triple rocket launchers can deal great damage if it has a clear line of fire to important buildings and/or mechanoids. Doomsday rocket launchers are similar but less effective.

Mortars and indirect fire

For mech cluster without a mech high-shield, mortars are a great, low risk way of dealing with them, especially as the mechanoids linger in a small, confined area. Prolonged shelling can easily destroy mech clusters and weaken the mobile mechanoids substantially before triggering them to attack your colony (where you can take advantage of your base defenses). The main disadvantage of mortars is that they are expensive

For mech clusters with a mech high-shield, you can either try to destroy the shields first with snipers, or simply break the shield using EMP shells. Firing an EMP shell into the shield will disable the mech high-shield for 1,080 ticks (18 secs) time, allowing other mortars shells to hit the cluster, potentially destroying the shield before it comes online again. The most used strategy for EMP shells is to set all mortars to "hold fire" then "set target" to where you want to hit. Select only the mortar with EMP shell and click "hold fire" again, wait one second and select all the other mortars loaded with high explosive shells (as many as you can) and also click "hold fire" again. This will assure the EMP shell is fired first, disabling the mortar shield, and allowing all the other shells to hit.

Other forms of long-range explosives are similarly effective to mortars. If a colonist has the appropriate imperial permits, they can call down either an aerodrone strike or an aerodrone salvo. Orbital bombardment targeters can also work to take out a mech cluster. Tornado generators are great at taking out a single building, but are too unreliable beyond that.

All mechs and mech buildings (except walls and barricades) are fireproof, so incendiary shells are ineffective.

Direct Fire Tactics

Long range weapons like the sniper rifle can be used to take out important buildings slowly, or at least lure the mechs into attacking, from a distance. Smoke from a smoke launcher or the smokepop psycast is heavily recommended, as it will prevent long ranged turrets from locking on.

Building cover, having pawns with general weapons like assault rifles, and using smoke or otherwise blocking the turrets can also be effective with enough firepower.

Depending on the damage you inflict, and the mechanoids' behavior, you may have to decide between withdrawing to your base or mounting a shootout from your forward positions.

Misc tactics

• Against automortars, it is possible to build a roof over the automortar without waking up the cluster, disabling the automortar.

Tactics to avoid

• While you may benefit from melee blocking as you face mechanoids, you should not destroy effectors with melee weapons. They are liable to explode, harming the troops who are attacking them.
• Using an imperial permit to call a light trooper squad can help you deal with mobile units, but if they are exposed to extensive turret fire they probably won't last very long.

Gallery

• 

  A small mech cluster with a climate adjuster
  High shield (White) and Proximity Activator (Red) radii visible

• 

  A max raid point mech cluster with a toxic spewer

Trivia

• All mech cluster buildings, not including the condition causers, not only have a Flammability of 0%, but also take no damage from attacks with the Flame damage type. This is in contrast to, for example, a stone wall which will not be ignited by molotov cocktails but will take the 10 flame damage from the initial attack.
• Mech Clusters do not spawn elite mechanoids normally summoned by a Mechanitor in Biotech.

Version history

• 1.1.2575:
  • Implement mech shield generator charge cycle. Shields now go down for a random day every 10 days
  • Condition causers and mortars now sometimes take several days to initiate threatening the colony.
  • Make mortar/bullet shields shut down when the cluster is defeated.
• 1.2.2753 - Ensure all the mech cluster buildings wake up once it was attacked
• 1.4.3523 - Fix: Placing 0 work buildings beside/on mechanoids could wake them up, which could trigger them on command.

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Mechanoids

Mechanoids | Core

Centipede (Blaster, Burner, Gunner) • Lancer • Pikeman • Scyther • Termite

Combat

Centurion • Legionary • Militor • Scorcher • Tesseron • Cyclops

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

Band node • Mech booster • Mechband antenna • Mechband dish • Mech gestator • Large mech gestator • Mech recharger • Large mech recharger