Scathe

Scathe is a long-range ground-only artillery turret that fires guided missile units rather than conventional bullets. It specializes in striking enemy ground formations and distant defensive structures from extreme range, serving as a primary long-range firepoint for defensive lines and base harassment. Scathe cannot hit air units, has one of the slowest firing rates and rotation speeds among turrets, and requires specific high-tier ammo types (Carbide, Phase Fabric, Surge Alloy) that dramatically change its behavior.

Scathe has an exceptionally long range of 168.75 tiles (1350 world units) and a base firing rate of 0.1 shots/sec. It benefits heavily from water boosting: a water boost increases fire rate by 250% (15/sec drain for full boost cooldown). The turret has a notable wind-up delay before its first shot and the longest initial-fire delay among turret blocks; it also lacks a minimum re-wind time. Because it launches unit missiles, those missiles have their own health, speed, lifespan and abilities, making Scathe fundamentally different from conventional artillery.

Ammo options and their effects:

• Phase Fabric: costs 3 ammo/item, reduces fire rate by 20%. Missiles spawn with 500 HP, a Force Field that grants 2000 shield (11.25 tile radius) and a long cooldown, a lifespan allowing long travel, and explode for 400 area damage over 15.0 tiles with -90% building damage. Explosion spawns 7 frag bullets dealing 164 area damage over 7.0 tiles with -80% building damage; frags travel over targets and have 0.8 knockback. Phase Fabric missiles effectively guarantee a hit thanks to the force field and are useful to protect the missile from projectiles while it reaches its target or to filter weaker units.
• Surge Alloy: reduces range by 9 tiles and fire rate by 10%. Primary missile has 400 HP, short lifespan, and explodes for 1800 area damage over 5.0 tiles with -90% building damage, and spawns 5 frag bullets that themselves spawn homing secondary missiles with lightning damage (10 lightning bolts × ~45) and frags that add additional lightning and area damage. Surge Alloy yields the highest single-projectile area damage available in the game (1800 area damage) and adds chained lightning on hit.
• Carbide: spawns missiles with 210 HP, medium lifespan and speed, exploding for 1000 area damage over 8.1 tiles with -90% building damage, plus 7 frag bullets doing 100 area damage over 5.0 tiles with -90% building damage and 0.8 knockback. Carbide provides reliable long-range damage with larger frag reach and consistent DPS but the missile is more fragile than some alternatives.

Operational notes and strategies:

• Place Scathe behind frontline walls and support turrets; it functions best as a rear-line long-range snipe/turret that suppresses ground armies and picks off high-value targets that hang back.
• Use Phase Fabric to ensure missile survival through heavy projectile screens or to reliably reach targets; it synergizes with other anti-unit weapons that stall attackers, allowing Scathe missiles and allied unit missiles to connect.
• Surge Alloy is ideal for concentrated, short-range engagements where the primary and frag explosions overlap (notably within ~46 tiles), dealing massive single-shot damage and triggering lightning chains that devastate clustered units.
• Carbide is the most general-purpose ammo for steady, long-range anti-ground damage; however its missiles are vulnerable to high-fire-rate defenders that can shoot them down (e.g., Tecta, Anthicus).
• Scathe cannot target air; protect it from aerial threats by adding anti-air turrets and ensure adequate local missile interception (Regen Projector, Shielded Walls) to prevent its explosions from damaging ducts or key backline conduits.
• Fog reveal for Scathe is reduced from full range to 67.5 tiles (after balance updates), which still exceeds most other blocks and allows Scathe to reveal distant enemy turret placements for allied units like Quell or Disrupt.
• Scathe’s ammo production is resource intensive (Carbide and Surge Alloy are high-tier), and ammo crafting is slow; plan logistics and consider recycling tactics (e.g., Deconstructor) or paired production to keep supply steady.
• Scathe unlocks after Disperse and itself is required to research Malign; it is typically built late-game and scales with rate-of-fire boosts, parallel placement, and stable ammo supply.

Scathe is unique in using unit missiles and, when equipped with the proper ammo and placement, can out-range and out-damage virtually any other ground turret, trading rate-of-fire and cost for devastating, long-distance precision.