Scyther

Scythers are a fast-moving mechanoid that are powerful in melee.

Acquisition[edit]

Scythers can be gestated by a mechanitor at a large mech gestator once the standard mechtech research project has been completed. Note that this research requires a signal chip to unlock. Each requires 75 Steel, 75 Plasteel, 4 Components, 1 Standard subcore and 2 gestation cycles taking 1,800 ticks (30 secs) each to initiate. They take up 2 bandwidth from their linked mechanitor.

Dead, friendly scythers can also be resurrected at the large mech gestator using the "Resurrect medium mechanoid" bill. This requires the corpse of the friendly Scyther, 50 steel, and 1 gestation cycle taking 1,800 ticks (30 secs) to initiate.

Summary[edit]

As mechanoids, every scyther is immune to fire, Flame and Heat damage, and temperature extremes, despite having Comfortable Temperatures defined. They have 100% Toxic Resistance and Toxic Environment Resistance, making them immune to toxic buildup, rot stink and other toxic effects. They do not need to eat, rest, and have no mood. They will be stunned by EMP attacks for a time proportional to the EMP damage inflicted and will "adapt" and rendered immune to further EMP strikes for 2,200 ticks (36.67 secs).

Dead scythers may be shredded at the machining table or crafting spot for 15 steel, though these values are affected by mechanoid shredding efficiency as well as missing parts on the scyther.

As an enemy[edit]

Scythers have no fear for their life, and will charge directly at colonists without regard to cover. As part of a raid, scythers will go ahead. But mechanoids part of a stationary threat, like a psychic ship, will only chase if a colonist continues to be within a certain radius.

Mechanoids can raid the player's base through events, and are found in most poison ships, psychic ships, and mech clusters. Scythers are often supported by heavier mechanoids like centipedes, but will charge ahead without letting them catch up.

Combat[edit]

Scythers attack with a blade attached to each arm, dealing a massive 20 damage per blade. Even for brawlers with high melee skill, scythers are extremely dangerous.

Melee Attacks	Damage Amount	Cooldown
Cut	20	2.0 sec

Scythers have a 62% melee hit chance, equivalent to a pawn with a Melee skill of 4. Their damage output is roughly equivalent to a pawn with 10 melee skill wielding a normal quality steel longsword.

Effect of its armor on melee damage

As an ally[edit]

Mechs under player control require power: scythers use 10% of their power per day while active. If set to dormant self-charging, they instead recharge for 1% power / day, without pollution. They recharge in a large mech recharger (400W), for 50% power/day, creating 10 wastepacks whenever the recharger's waste is filled up.

Analysis[edit]

As an enemy[edit]

Main article: Defense tactics#Scythers

Scythers are dangerous melee fighters; they deal significant melee damage while forcing your gunners into melee combat. Usually, a 1v1 fight with a scyther and a gunner will result in the scyther emerging victorious. Melee fighters are essential in guarding against scythers, being able to 'peel' them off from more vulnerable allies. Even then, a scyther's blades can often result in permanent scars and even cut off limbs.

Scythers are vulnerable to spike traps, being more readily lured into them due to their melee nature.

As an ally[edit]

Scythers are one of the few melee-focused mechanoids that a mechanitor can control, and much faster than a tunneler. Mechanoids are much more disposable than other pawns engaging in melee: they are immune to pain, are slightly faster than an ordinary pawn, tend to remain fast after damage due to said pain immunity, and can repair "permanent" injuries or be resurrected for a fairly cheap cost.

Most pawns with a ranged weapon are unable to fire once engaged with melee combat. This makes scythers great at targeting specific, deadly threats in the back, like frag grenades and sniper rifles. This also makes them helpful against enemy centipedes, assuming your other colonists can dish out firepower. Against the diabolus or war queen, a mere scyther won't stop their ranged attacks, but the former's flame burst has no effect against machines. Against other mechanoids, watch out when using EMP. However, it's generally worth stunning your scyther in order to stun a centipede in the process.

Health[edit]

Biology[edit]

Scythers, although mechanical and not very human-looking, are actually almost the same in structure as a typical human (minus the organs). However, they're more durable than humans, don't feel pain and do not fear for their life - they don't even use cover. This can make them very dangerous to fight against when under-armed.

Like Lancers they have two arms, run on two legs, and (surprisingly) have a neck and make vocal communication. Why a machine would use standard human-like air-based vocalization is unknown at this time - especially when Centipedes are completely unable to manually communicate.

Diet[edit]

Scythers are machines, and machines don't need to eat - but they do need some source of power.

In the Biotech DLC, Scythers use standard electric power from a large mech recharger, creating toxic wastepacks in the process. However, enemy mechs get their power from a unknown source, and even player mechs can enter dormant self-charging from an independent power source.

Body Parts[edit]

Body Part Name	Health	Quantity	Coverage^[1]	Target Chance^[2]	Subpart of	Capacity^[3]	Effect if Destroyed/Removed
Thorax	52.8	1	100%	2%	N/A^[4]	-	Death Will never take permanent injury
Neck	39.6	1	10%	2%	Thorax	Communication	Death Will never take permanent injury
Head	39.6	1	80%	2.7%	Neck	-	Death Will never take permanent injury
Artificial Brain	13.2	1	10%	0.8%	Head	Data Processing	Death Will never take permanent injury
Sight Sensor	13.2	2	13%	1%	Head	Sight	−25% Sight. −100% if both lost. Will never take permanent injury
Hearing Sensor	13.2	2	10%	0.8%	Head	Hearing	−25% Hearing. −100% if both lost. Will never take permanent injury
Chemical Analyzer	13.2	1	10%	0.8%	Head	-	Will never take permanent injury
Mechanical Shoulder	33	2	17%	2.5%	Thorax	Manipulation	−50% Manipulation. Will never take permanent injury
Arm	39.6	2	85%	7.2%	Mechanical Shoulder	Manipulation	−50% Manipulation. Will never take permanent injury
Blade	26.4	2	30%	4.3%	Arm	-	Will never take permanent injury
Hand	26.4	2	20%	1.2%	Arm	Manipulation	−50% Manipulation. Will never take permanent injury
Finger	9.24	8	15%	0.43%	Hand	Manipulation	−10% Manipulation. Will never take permanent injury
Leg	39.6	2	20%	16%	Thorax	Moving	−50% Moving. Will never take permanent injury
Foot	26.4	2	20%	4%	Leg	Moving	−50% Moving. Will never take permanent injury
Reactor	26.4	1	6%	6%	Thorax	Power Generation	Death Will never take permanent injury
Fluid Reprocessor	19.8	2	4%	4%	Thorax	Fluid Reprocessing	Death if both lost −50% Fluid reprocessing Will never take permanent injury

↑ Coverage determines the chance to hit this body part. It refers to the percentage of the super-part that this part covers, before its own sub-parts claim their own percentage. For example, if the base coverage of the super-part is 100%, and the coverage of the part is 20%, 20% of hits would hit the part, and 80% the super-part. If the part had its own sub-part with 50% coverage, the chances would be 10% sub-part, 10% part, 80% super part.
↑ Target Chance is the actual chance for each part to be be selected as the target when each part's coverage has been taken into account(I.E. Neck covers 7.5% of Torso but Head covers 80% of Neck so it actually has only a 1.5% chance to be selected). This is not pure hit chance, as different damage types propagate damage in different ways. See that page for details.
↑ Note that capacities can affect other capacities in turn. Only the primary effect is listed. See specific pages for details.
↑ This is the part that everything else connects to to be considered 'connected'.

Trivia[edit]

Scythers have a unique slashing sound when they use their melee attacks.

Gallery[edit]

Age 0-99 Scyther facing east
Age 0-99 Scyther facing north
Age 0-99 Scyther facing south

Age 100+ Scyther facing east
Age 100+ Scyther facing north
Age 100+ Scyther facing south

Version history[edit]

0.5.492 - Added.
Beta 19 - Scythers, who could previously use melee or wield charge lances, were split into scythers and lancers. Downed scythers can no longer be be salvaged through a medical operation to obtain their blades if they are intact after the battle.
Beta 19/1.0 - Now dies when downed.
? - Fix typo in description. Description changed from "[...] but their mostly use two arm blades [...]" changed to "[...] but they mostly use their two arm blades [...]".
Biotech DLC Release - Introduced ability to create and control scythers.

Scyther from Alpha 6
Charge lance wielding scyther before Beta 19

Mechanoids

Mechanoids | Core: Centipede (Blaster, Burner, Gunner) • Lancer • Pikeman • Scyther • Termite
Combat: Centurion • Legionary • Militor • Scorcher • Tesseron
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: Mech gestator • Large mech gestator • Mechband antenna • Mechband dish

[1] Coverage determines the chance to hit this body part. It refers to the percentage of the super-part that this part covers, before its own sub-parts claim their own percentage. For example, if the base coverage of the super-part is 100%, and the coverage of the part is 20%, 20% of hits would hit the part, and 80% the super-part. If the part had its own sub-part with 50% coverage, the chances would be 10% sub-part, 10% part, 80% super part.

[2] Target Chance is the actual chance for each part to be be selected as the target when each part's coverage has been taken into account(I.E. Neck covers 7.5% of Torso but Head covers 80% of Neck so it actually has only a 1.5% chance to be selected). This is not pure hit chance, as different damage types propagate damage in different ways. See that page for details.

[3] Note that capacities can affect other capacities in turn. Only the primary effect is listed. See specific pages for details.

[4] This is the part that everything else connects to to be considered 'connected'.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Scyther

Contents

Acquisition[edit]

Summary[edit]

As an enemy[edit]

Combat[edit]

As an ally[edit]

Analysis[edit]

As an enemy[edit]

As an ally[edit]

Health[edit]

Biology[edit]

Diet[edit]

Body Parts[edit]

Trivia[edit]

Gallery[edit]

Version history[edit]

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