Oct

The Oct is a heavy support air unit that projects an octagonal regenerating force field to protect nearby allies while carrying large payloads and ground units. It functions as a mobile shield, repair platform and transport, and appears as a high-tier flying unit encountered on late-game maps (notably in Cruxscape and PLT). The Oct is capable of carrying most ground units and large amounts of cargo, follows nearby friendly units when set to its AI, and is designed to soak damage and assist frontline recovery rather than to deal primary damage itself.

Its behavior and mechanics emphasize survivability and utility. The Oct projects an octagonal force field that regenerates over time but is not repaired by external repair sources; when the field is down the Oct becomes vulnerable to attacks it would otherwise negate. It has a built-in repair pulse that helps sustain nearby allies and itself (but the pulse alone cannot outpace some persistent threats). The unit was given the "HugAI" in an update, causing it to follow nearby units; a previous command cap was removed so multiple Octs can be used freely. Its movement speed is among the fastest of tier-5 units, and its build speed is the highest of all units, making it effective at on-the-spot rebuilding and construction in contested areas. Recent builds standardized its speed to 6 tiles/second and adjusted payload representation to a square footprint (5.5 × 5.5 blocks).

Practical uses and interactions:

• Defensive anchor: The Oct's large health pool and heavy armor allow it to tank sustained fire while its force field protects nearby units and structures. Pairing it with Repair Turrets or Velas keeps it effectively immortal so long as the shield is up or consistently cycled.
• Mobile repair and rebuild: With the fastest build speed of all units, Octs excel at repairing or reconstructing structures on the front line. Their bulk absorbs explosive and area damage that would otherwise destroy lighter repair units.
• Transport and assault drops: The Oct’s high payload capacity lets it ferry multiple Vaults, reactors, or dangerous units (for example, Reign or Toxopid) into an enemy base for pressure or kamikaze strategies. It can also hover over a Core to deliver blast compound for a large explosion.
• Shield interactions and counters: Certain units and effects bypass or ignore the Oct’s force field—Foreshadow attacks strike the Oct directly, and Sapped status from Arkyids helps finish air units. Surge Alloy ammo that sparks (from Cyclones or Swarmers) deals repeated hits and is effective once the shield collapses. Because the force field is not healed by external sources, losing it exposes the Oct to rapid degradation from high-damage or debuff-heavy attacks.
• Survivability against nukes: Due to its massive health pool (noted in sources as around 24,000 HP), the Oct can survive some high-damage events that would normally destroy most units; if its force field intercepts a Thorium Reactor explosion, the Oct itself takes a comparatively small portion of the blast damage. However, relying on this is risky and can still leave nearby units vulnerable.

Limitations and restrictions:

• The Oct cannot pick up copies of itself and cannot carry certain classes of blocks and structures. Specifically excluded pickup targets include processors, memory blocks, Cores, Radar, the Antumbra, Eclipse, Omura, Navanax, Conquer, Disrupt, Exponential Reconstructor, Interplanetary Accelerator, Large Logic Display, and Tetrative Reconstructor.
• Its repair pulse cannot fully replace dedicated repair support against sustained high-damage foes; support with Repair Turrets or allied healers is recommended.
• While extremely durable, combinations of debuffs, targeted bypass attacks, or sustained focused fire can still remove an Oct; prioritize eliminating Foreshadows or debuffing air units when facing enemy Octs.

Tactical tips:

• Use Octs as mobile shields for high-value backline units (Corvus, reactors, or factories) and stage offensive airdrops behind enemy lines.
• Keep Repair Turrets or Velas nearby to maintain the Oct indefinitely in prolonged engagements.
• When assaulting, fill Oct payloads with explosive Vaults or reactors to threaten enemy Cores beyond no-build zones; when defending, focus anti-air and Foreshadow-style counters to neutralize Oct utility quickly.
• Deploy multiple Octs to create overlapping fields and redundancy; their follow-AI makes them effective at sticking to advancing columns or protecting fragile carriers.