[VPAC Vertu Expansion] Lancer (Lancer)

The Lancer is an assault unit which can directly assault enemy units, towers, and some projectiles like Missiles from the Rocket Launcher. It also has a stun mode which has a lot more range and will stun the target unit as well as nearby units while also depleting their ammo by 80%. Additionally, Vanilla Shields are destroyed by this Stun Pulse, including shields not directly hit by the Stun Pulse, making the Lancer extremely effective in destroying a shield wall (depending on how close each Shield is to each other).
The Lancer must be created at the NEXUS using its build beam which will need to recharge for a minute after constructing a Lancer.

• Uses 3 power.
• 15 Health.
• Relatively fast.
• Floats on Creep and Anti Creep. (Will be beached if stuck on dry land).
• DAMAGED BY AC.
• Is a direct assault unit which attacks nearby enemy units.
• Assault Mode:
  • 0.2 damage per shot. Bonus damage against towers (3x damage bonus).
  • Very fast rate of fire. Faster than its ability to recharge energy for shooting unless it is a veteran.
  • Deals only 50% damage to units under a shield (0.1 per shot).
• Stun Mode:
  • Double the range of assault mode.
  • Destroys vanilla shields in range of the stun.
  • Removes 80% of the ammo of all units stunned by it.
  • Very long recharge time. - Will be fully recharged in energy for another shot before the weapon is recharged.
  • Stun lasts as long as the weapon recharge.
  • Only works against units that can be stunned. Assume all units in VPAC can be stunned, it is very likely.
• If destroyed, it must be slowly reclaimed by Creeper or as of version 2.9.0.0: revived by the Nexus.
• Has smart targeting AI when told to fire indiscriminately.
• Can be told to only shoot at specific targets and target types (such as projectiles or ignore projectiles).
• Has a rapid heal rate of 0.0025 per frame (2.5x vanilla) so it doesn't need to sit around for an overwhelmingly long time after being shot up.
• IMPORTANT! Lancers are a direct countermeasure against Fighter Drones. (See Fighter Drone section for details).
• VPAC v2.10.1.0: You can not stack Lancers on top of each other.
• VPAC v2.12.0.0: Lancers can level up from destroying targets, taking damage, being active, and being revived. Once leveled up, they recharge faster than they can discharge, allowing them to fire at full rate of fire and always have full energy.

The Lancer is constructed by the NEXUS. When the build plan of a Lancer is placed close enough to a NEXUS and the NEXUS is stationary, the NEXUS will begin to build the Lancer.
Once the Lancer is constructed, the build beam of the NEXUS will need a full minute to recharge before being able to build another Lancer.
Additionally, when the NEXUS revives a Lancer, its build beam will also have to recharge but with a much shorter charge time. Keep in mind reviving and building share the same recharge.

• 0 [LABEL] Available energy display and amount needed for stun shots.
• 1 [LABEL] Recharge time display (reload timer).
• 2 [FLIP] Armed state. [Armed/Disarmed]
• 3 [FLIP] Mode. [Assault/Stun]
  • Assault deals 0.2 damage at a high rate of fire and if the target is under a shield, will only deal 50% damage (0.1) per shot.
  • Stun has double the range of Assault and removes 80% of all ammo from all units stunned in a radius. Also destroys Shields in that same radius. The stun lasts as long as the recharge time after firing.
• 4 [CHOICE] Target prioritization. [ALL, Cannons, Mortars, Sprayers, Snipers, Missile Launchers, Nullifiers, Shields, M-Rifts, Pylons, Rocket Launchers, Be Point Defense, Only Units]
  • 'Be Point Defense' has the Lancer only target projectiles. This includes missiles from Rocket Launchers which is the most important type of projectile to be shot down. Other projectiles are targeted but are less important. 'ALL' can also target projectiles.
  • 'ALL' and 'Only Units' have target prioritization for 5 units. Any other units when these 5 are not in range are targeted based on which is the closest to the Lancer. See the Target Prioritization section for details.
• 5 [CHOICE] Floating height in Creep/AC. [Creeper height / 2, Creeper Height, Approximately terrain height, 5 above terrain, 10 above terrain, 15 above terrain, 20 above terrain]
• 6 [BUTTON] Self reclaim (DESTROY button). This will take some time and can be canceled just like with the Stash Base. This is much, much faster than having to reclaim the wreck of a Lancer.
• 7 [LABEL] - Display of the reason for it having “Quantum” in its name. Removed by v2.12.0.0.

v2.12.0.0: Stun mode now applies the automatic target prioritization correctly. Previous versions have this broken.

The Lancer has smart targeting prioritization when told to target “ALL” and “Units Only”. The priority is as followed from highest to lowest:
HEAVILY OUTDATED Mirco-Rift, Nullifier, Sniper, Pylon, Shield

When none of these targets are in range, the Lancer will target the closest nonimpervious unit to it.

When the Lancer is not set to “ALL” or “Only Units”, it will strictly target only the specified type of target, allowing manual and strict control over what it shoots at. “Be Point Defense” is merely a whitelist of various projectiles the Lancer will target and ignore everything else.

The Lancer has to be reclaimed by that Nanites within the Creeper once a Lancer is disabled and rendered dysfunctional by sustaining too much damage. The reclaim process takes a considerate amount of time and can only be done when not in a power deficit and the Lancer is in contact with Creeper.
However, it will always be better to allow the Lancer to repair itself than to manually reclaim it when it is low on health. Manually reclaiming (DESTROY button) still takes some time and the NEXUS takes time to prepare the construction of a Lancer before building it instantly while also having a minute long build beam recharge time after making a Lancer. So when a Lancer is low on health, retreat it. They have more range than an unupgraded Sniper (not ERNed and there is no Weapon Range ERN port buff) so it is very possible to keep them out of harms' way. If you are not facing unupgraded Snipers, then the longevity of each Lancer is your responsibility alone.

VPAC Note:
Only HARDCORE difficulty will have the Weapon Range ERN Port utilized.
Just know this only applies to VPAC maps made by Vertu.

With the VWC project reaching a notable age, the project has been given the call to allow more direct methods of difficulty. Introducing the Fighter Drone.
Although nothing more than drones with relatively simple programming (and proneness to slamming into cliffs), these are the first units designed to actively destroy VWC constructs. Advanced Emitters, Burst Emitters, CSMDs, TCMLs, Flow Controllers, and Launchers are all outright impervious to traditional damage, making them immune to Fighter Drones.

Lancers and Light SAMs can take on these drones but the Lancer is by far the most capable combatant with its fast movement, rate of fire, and most importantly: medium armor.

These drones will attack without mercy, they possess the ability to actively end your incursion by destroying everything you have….. eventually…. However, Invader Emitters are heavily armored against damage, allowing them to survive nuclear grade strikes to the face. But given enough time they will also be destroyed. Do not slack on the defense against these adorable pack hunters.

• Hover height restricted to 5 above terrain.
• Does not move.
• When disabled, it will slowly be revived when in Creeper.
• Countered by ERNed Snipers and Snipers boosted by the Weapon Range ERN Port.
• Can be told to be restricted to Stun or Assault mode. Just keep in mind this is a UI State and will reset if you press the “Update Unit Instances” button in the editor.
• All previous information applies if not stated otherwise by the above.

• The Lancer does not damage units under a shield and instead remove 1 ammo from the targeted unit. When the unit is out of ammo the Lancer will deal direct damage of 0.2 per shot.
• Stunned units have half their ammo removed upon being stunned.
• v2.12.0.0: Stun mode now applies the automatic target prioritization correctly.

VPAC CPACKs download location.
⇐ VPAC Wiki Page
⇐ CPACK - VPAC Vertu Expansion
⇐ Custom CPACKs & Units
⇐ Index