Pulsar

The Pulsar is a Tier 2 flying attack unit that fires arcs of electricity which both damage enemy targets and repair allied structures. It belongs to the Nova family of units (named after celestial bodies) and combines a short-ranged arc weapon with limited item capacity and a small shield-regeneration field. Pulsars have the lowest health among Tier 2 units and are designed as fragile, fast attackers and utility miners rather than heavy front-line units.

Its primary weapon fires dual arc bursts with an effective firing configuration of 2 × 2.5 shots per second (three shots per round, yielding roughly 2 × 0.83 rounds/sec). Each arc deals 15 damage with an inaccuracy of 35 degrees and applies a small repair effect to allied buildings (about 1–2% repair per hit in core database rounding). The weapon’s effective arc length and detection range were adjusted across updates; as of recent builds the arc length and weapon range were increased (arc internal length to about 8 units and range to 8.1 tiles). The unit’s move speed was standardized to 5.25 tiles/s in modern builds.

Beyond combat, Pulsars can mine when controlled by a player if the “double-tap/click to mine” option is enabled; they can mine sand specifically since an update in Build 129. Their mining speed was reduced in Build 149 from a higher multiplier down to 300% to balance a new convenience command that allows mining-capable units to mine without additional logic. Pulsar also carries a small item capacity which can be used for suicide attacks with Blast Compound, though cheaper alternatives (e.g., Flare) often outperform it for dedicated kamikaze roles.

Pulsars excel at hit-and-run harassment and logic-driven resource collection, but their short range and low health make them vulnerable to many turret types. In campaign encounters they lose access to their special abilities and behave similarly to weaker units, and their arcs can bypass basic walls—making early encounters dangerous if you lack strong defensive walls. Against base defenses, non-Duo turrets quickly shred Pulsars; certain turrets like Parallax or Scatter can create particularly unfavorable engagements. In PvP, Pulsar rushes can out-DPS Nova rushes and are effective at crippling infrastructure if they land safely, so mid-range turrets (Arc, Salvo) and Scatter skirmishers are effective deterrents.

• Use Pulsars as fast repair/attack hybrid units that can also supplement mining when map resources or drill coverage are insufficient.
• Avoid sending Pulsars alone into dense turret belts; they should be supported or used to flank vulnerable targets (Mend Projectors, low-health units, or unshielded buildings).
• Defend against Pulsar rushes with mild Scatter and mid-range turrets to prevent safe landing and boost phases.
• If you plan suicide runs with Blast Compound, consider cheaper dedicated kamikaze units first; Pulsar’s item capacity is a niche advantage, not an optimal primary role.
• When using player-controlled mining, enable double-tap mining to access sand mining; remember their mining effectiveness was reduced in recent builds.