Precept

Precept is a heavy frontline unit that fires piercing cluster projectiles and is built to absorb punishment while breaking enemy lines. It was added in Build 136 and occupies a 3x3 footprint with a hitSize of 24. Precept is intended as a durable tank unit that splits its primary shots into multiple frag bullets on impact, capable of shredding clustered targets and chipping at turrets placed close to walls. It pairs naturally as a follow-up to lower-tier assault units and is commonly used to protect more fragile damage dealers.

Precept’s defenses and movement are tuned to keep it effective in difficult terrain. It has high armor (reported as 11 armor) which makes it highly resistant to most lower-tier units. It is immune to the status effects Burning and Melting, and a floor effect multiplier of 0.65 reduces penalties from harmful terrain (listed in updates as “Less affected by harmful terrain” / “Less affected by liquid drag”). Drown time in water scales with hitSize and was increased to 720 ticks, making it more survivable in liquids than earlier units of similar size. Precept also has a mechanic to instantly destroy power nodes it contacts, a change noted in later builds to prevent easy blockage by spamming nodes along a path.

Weapon and projectile behavior are cluster-focused. The primary weapon fires at 0.75 shots/sec (reload 80 ticks) with a rotation speed of 1.625 degrees/tick. The primary projectile is a piercing bullet that produces 4 frag bullets on fragmentation. Common weapon stats across references include:

• Primary projectile (before fragmentation): listed as 90 damage, with area/splash damage ~ 50 (approx. 2.5 tiles), 2x pierce, speed ~ 52.5 tiles/sec, lifetime 28 ticks, effective range ~ 24.5.
• Frag bullets (4 per primary): 35 damage each, 3x pierce, speed ~ 37.5 tiles/sec, lifetime 15 ticks, effective range ~ 9.37.
• Combined maximum theoretical range for fragments: ~ 33.87 tiles (24.5 + 9.37).

Note about a version difference: the unit’s Build 155 entry in one version history records a reduction of the primary projectile’s damage from 90 → 7.5; earlier and other detailed weapon entries still list the primary damage as 90. The wiki records therefore show both the historical 90-damage figure and a later reported reduction to 7.5; consult the game build you are running for the exact in-game values.

Practical usage and tactics:

• Precept functions best on the front line; use it to absorb fire while your higher-damage, lower-armor units (Sublimates, Titans, Lustres) or artillery deal the killing blows.
• High armor and piercing fragments make rapid-fire spawn/frag turrets (Diffuse, Afflict) less effective; turrets with high raw damage or concentrated hits work better.
• Against Precepts, stacking multiple layers of strong walls and forcing them into chokepoints helps; high-damage single-hit units or concentrated missile volleys bypass their armor more reliably than many low-damage spammers.
• Their piercing primary is effective at chipping turrets placed directly against walls; use that to clear defensive emplacements before committing to a full assault.
• Precept is a natural follow-up from Locus in unit progression and pairs well with units that can exploit the space it creates by drawing fire.

Known technical notes and history:

• Added in Build 136. Secondary frags gained pierce in Build 146. Size reduced to 3x3 and rotation speed increased in Build 149. Immunities to Burning and Melting and floor-effect changes were added in Build 152. Instant destruction of power nodes on contact was added by Build 155. Some sources disagree on the Build 155 primary damage change; weapon details should be verified per build.