Rocketswarm launcher

Rocketswarm launchers are security turrets that fire a barrage of rockets at a designated point when activated by a pawn.

Acquisition[edit]

Rocketswarm launchers can be constructed once the Rocketswarm launcher research project has been completed. Each requires 20 Plasteel, 200 Steel, 2 Components, 180 Chemfuel, 10,000 ticks (2.78 mins) of work modified by the construction speed of the builder, and a construction skill of 5.

Once constructed, they cannot be re-installed; they can only be deconstructed.

Summary[edit]

Blast of 1 rocket, and the radius where blasts can hit.

Rocketswarm launchers fire a volley of 12 rockets in 110 ticks (1.83 secs). Unlike most other turrets, it must be activated by a pawn, and then manually targeted by the player.

It can target any tile within its 29.9 tile range and within line of sight. It fires at the targeted tile, even if a pawn is on the tile at the time of targeting. As such it is unaffected by blind smoke and the pawn will not adjust the point of aim if the pawn moves after target selection. Pawns that are incapable of violence cannot activate the launcher. Unlike the mortar, it must be powered to fire.

There is a delay of 60 ticks (1 sec) between targeting and firing. Note that the rocketswarm launcher fires in a straight path like a traditional projectile, it does not travel over walls or other obstructions like a mortar.

Each rocket will land in a 5.75 tile radius of the selected tile and deals 24 Bomb damage with an AP of 36% in a 2.9 tile radius. Note that per explosion, this is significantly less than the default of 50 damage of other Bomb type weapons, although it is made up for by the volume of fire. Additionally, unlike other forced miss radius effects, each rocket will hit a different target tile unless every possible tile has been hit. This ensures that the projectiles are dispersed over the target radius. Note that the blast radii of the rockets can still overlap.

The launcher can be activated once before needing to be reloaded at the cost of 180 chemfuel. A partial load of rockets cannot be launched; the turret must be full. After launching, there is a 7,200 ticks (2 mins) cooldown before it can be fired again, and it cannot be reloaded during this time.

When damaged beyond ?%^[Value?] of its health, a rocketswarm launcher will spark and emit a hissing sound shortly before exploding 240 ticks (4 secs) later, dealing 50 Bomb damage in a 6.9 tile radius around itself.

Analysis[edit]

Rocketswarm launchers are highly effective against high quantity, lightly armored targets such as tribals, manhunting animals, fleshbeasts, and horax cultists. Each enemy is likely to be hit by multiple rockets, which is enough to cripple or kill them. However, rocketswarm launchers have clunky firing mechanics and a hefty research cost, so they are not a high priority for most colonies:

Rocketswarm launchers require a colonist to manually aim them, and each launcher only has one volley before needing to cooldown.
Their rockets are inaccurate and deal great damage to buildings, so any defensive fortifications need to be built around the rockets' radii. It is possible to build these launchers out in the open to avoid building damage while still getting a lot out of the explosions, but this usually requires building turrets at multiple angles, and risks them being destroyed by high range enemies like pikemen.
Raiders tend to spread out naturally, with many pawns lagging behind and with faster pawns like joggers ahead of the the rest of the pack. Structures and natural terrain can be used to clump up raiders, although structures can be destroyed and natural terrain is not available in all maps.
Rocketswarm launchers can damage friendly structures, animals, visitors, and colonists.

By the time Microelectronics is researched, the resource cost required to build and refuel rocketswarm launchers should not be prohibitively expensive. They are actually cheaper than autocannon turrets to build. The chemfuel cost is high, but chemfuel can be trivially produced in most biomes by growing more food. They can provide high value for their resource cost when in the right circumstances, but their high research and need for specialized base designs requires extra effort from the colony, said base designs are less effective for other weapons, and multiple rocketswarm launchers are typically needed against large raids.

Their rockets are great at destroying buildings as they deal Bomb damage, but under normal situations, this property is hard to use offensively as these launchers cannot be uninstalled. For example, if wanting to deal with a mech cluster, a new launcher would need to be built for each new location. However, when on a gravship, rocketswarm launchers can be brought along for attacks, making them an effective tool at dealing with turrets and enemy cover.

Usage strategy[edit]

Usually, it is not necessary to lead the shots by more than a few tiles, as rocketswarm launchers fire quickly and the blast radius is large. When aiming at a crowd, it is is better to aim at the standard speed pawns if possible, not the joggers and go-juice pawns that will lead the front. Having melee pawns and/or using traps may help prevent fast pawns from advancing and attacking your rocketswarm launchers.

If placed outside of a base, consider having pawns ready with jump packs, locust armor, longjump legs, or moving and move speed enhancements ready to ensure they can get in position to trigger the launcher in time.

Defense structures[edit]

One way to take advantage of the rocketswarm launcher is by using water, which can slow down enemies, clump them up, and naturally funnel them (via pathing AI) without needing to build structures. This is easier to set up when settling on water-related landmarks, such as archipelago or coastal atoll. Rivers may be used in the base game, but are more awkward and enemies can come from the opposite direction from the river.

Water being used to clump up and slow down raiders.
After 2 rocketswarm volleys, the raid ends.

Version history[edit]

1.4.3523 - Added.
1.4.3682 - Pawns that are incapable of violence can no longer activate rocketswarm launchers.

Architect

Security: Barricade • Sandbags • Spike trap
(research): Autocannon turret • Foam turret • Mini-turret • Rocketswarm launcher • Uranium slug turret • Mortar • Hunter trap
IEDs: IED trap • IED incendiary trap • IED EMP trap • IED firefoam trap • IED smoke trap • IED antigrain warhead trap • IED tox trap • IED deadlife trap
Related: Antigrain warhead • EMP shell • Firefoam shell • High-explosive shell • Incendiary shell • Smoke shell • Tox shell • Deadlife shell