Force Projector

The Force Projector is a defensive building that generates a hexagonal force field around itself, protecting buildings and units inside from incoming damage. It was added in Mindustry and functions as one of the few ways to completely stop piercing bullets and many other projectile attacks. The projector consumes large amounts of power and can optionally use coolant to prevent overheating; Phase Fabric (and associated boosters) increase the shield size and improve shield performance.

Force Projectors stop many projectile types outright and reduce or nullify area damage from certain weapons; they also fully neutralize the Horizon and Quad bombs against units and structures inside the shield (these bombs apply a reduced single-target damage to the shield instead of normal area damage). Unlike the Segment, which is overwhelmed by rapid-fire attacks, Force Projectors are overwhelmed by very high single-hit damage. For this reason they are effective against many standard turret and unit bullets but less effective as the sole defense against very heavy artillery or high-damage single strikes.

Force Projectors have significant power requirements and can overheat when taking too much damage; it is common to control them with a Logic Processor to deactivate them and redirect Phase Fabric or conserve power when the shield is not needed. Since Build 147, Force Projectors also absorb crash damage from falling wrecks but receive double the crash damage taken.

• Projectiles and effects that are not absorbed and do inflict damage to the shield include: electric arcs, sapping lasers, railgun projectiles (for example from Omura and Locus), and unit missile explosions and their immediate explosions in some cases. Piercing and sapping lasers and railgun projectiles bypass the shield entirely. Aegires energy field zaps and certain Foreshadow bolts pass through shields without damaging shield health.
• Certain artillery or aerial projectiles that normally travel over blocks (for example some Minke shots and various artillery frags) do not physically collide with blocks or units but carry a hidden single-target damage value that is applied to Force Projector shields. Examples of these hidden single-target damages include: Arkyid artillery 12; Bryde 15; Hail (graphite/silicon) and Minke 20; Ripple (Pyratite) 24; Hail (Pyratite) 25; Toxopid artillery frags 30; Merui 40; Titan 350 (105 against building shields). Force Projectors only receive that single-target damage when a projectile that has both area and single-target components contacts the shield.
• Force Projectors absorb falling wreck explosions fully (but take double crash damage from crashes per Build 147 changes).

Force Projector performance can be enhanced through boosters tied to Phase Fabric usage. Typical booster effects (as recorded) include:

• Small booster: costs 1 Phase Fabric (0.171/sec); grants +400 shield health and +10 blocks to shield radius.
• Mid booster: costs 6/sec; grants +7.2/sec repair speed (raising 90 → 97.2/sec) and reduces cooldown by 2s (35 → 33s).
• Large booster: costs 6/sec; grants +55.8/sec repair speed (raising 90 → 145.8/sec) and reduces cooldown by 15s (35 → 20s).

Practical notes: place Force Projectors to cover high-value cores and production clusters where piercing and standard projectiles are the main threat. Combine them with Segments for layered defense—Segments perform better against sustained rapid-fire or large bosses like Toxopid, while Force Projectors excel at stopping heavy single-shot pierces. Use Logic control to disable projectors when inactive to save power or reassign Phase Fabric, and expect shields and their decals to change color to match the owning team.