Parasite
From ArcenWiki
| This page is up to date for version 6.009 |
 | Fires fairly powerful shots that do reclamation damage. An enemy ship with reclamation damage equal to or greater than its max health will be reclaimed when destroyed. The newly-reclaimed ship will have health = total reclamation damage it had taken. |
Base Stats
| Ship Cap | Ammo Type | Armor Type | Immunities | Damage Bonuses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 per Mark | Shell | Ultra-Light | Reclamation | 4 Medium, 4 Neutron |
| Mark | Damage | Attack Range | Reload | Health | Armor | Speed | Engine Health | Single Ship DPS | Ship Cap DPS | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 4,080 | 6,000 | 8 sec | 204,000 | 900 | 68 | 100 | 510 dmg/sec | 24,480 dmg/sec | Reclaims Enemy Ships, Armor Piercing 750 |
| II | 8,160 | 6,000 | 8 sec | 410,000 | 1,800 | 68 | 100 | 1,020 dmg/sec | 48,960 dmg/sec | Reclaims Enemy Ships, Armor Piercing 1,500 |
| III | 12,200 | 6,000 | 8 sec | 616,000 | 2,700 | 68 | 100 | 1,525 dmg/sec | 73,200 dmg/sec | Reclaims Enemy Ships, Armor Piercing 2,250 |
| IV | 16,200 | 6,000 | 8 sec | 820,000 | 3,600 | 68 | 100 | 2,025 dmg/sec | 97,200 dmg/sec | Reclaims Enemy Ships, Armor Piercing 3,000 |
| V | 20,400 | 6,000 | 8 sec | 1,020,000 | 4,500 | 68 | 100 | 2,550 dmg/sec | 122,400 dmg/sec | Warp Detection, Reclaims Enemy Ships, Armor Piercing 3,750 |
| Mark | Knowledge | Metal Cost | Crystal Cost | Total Cost | Energy Cost | Build Time | Cap Metal Cost | Cap Crystal Cost | Cap Total Cost | Cap Energy Cost | Ship Cap Build Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -- | 200 | 1,000 | 1,200 | 400 | 00:00:09 | 9,600 | 48,000 | 57,600 | 19,200 | 00:07:12 |
| II | 2,500 | 400 | 2,000 | 2,400 | 800 | 00:00:17 | 19,200 | 96,000 | 115,200 | 38,400 | 00:13:36 |
| III | 6,000 | 800 | 4,000 | 4,800 | 800 | 00:00:34 | 38,400 | 192,000 | 230,400 | 38,400 | 00:27:12 |
| IV | Adv Fac | 1,200 | 6,000 | 7,200 | 800 | 00:00:50 | 57,600 | 288,000 | 345,600 | 38,400 | 00:40:00 |
| V | Core Fab | 1,600 | 8,000 | 9,600 | 800 | 00:01:07 | 76,800 | 384,000 | 460,800 | 38,400 | 00:53:36 |
How to use in your fleet
Parasites are utility ships that give the player the powerful ability to convert AI fleet-ships to their cause. They are not strong in general fleet combat, and should be escorted by Fighters and Bombers to maximise survival effectiveness - ships with sufficient reclamation damage to be converted must still be 'destroyed' first. If you unlock these, consider also unlocking Leech Starships as a complement.
Reclaimed ships will simply sit around by default, or they can path to a suitable rally point if you toggle the relevant controls. It is therefore a good idea to bring a Mobile Rally Point (plus Engineers) or Mobile Repair Station with you on offense. Also check your Command Station for strays after a defensive battle.
Due to the way reclamation damage is calculated (below), higher marks should be unlocked early. Snipers, Zenith Bombards and Sentinel Frigates are a personal favourite target, but some shepherding is required to capture ships with a retreat range. It should be noted that players cannot reclaim more ships than allowed by the ship-cap, e.g. if you already have the maximum of a cap (say, 98 Space Tank-Is) the next ship that would otherwise be reclaimed is destroyed instead.
Reclamation damage is scaled by the following multipliers as of 5.001:
- If the reclamator is 4 mks higher than the target (mkV shooting mkI), multiply by 64.
- If the reclamator is 3 mks higher than the target, 48.
- If the reclamator is 2 mks higher than the target, 32.
- If the reclamator is 1 mk higher than the target, 16.
- If the reclamator is the same mk as the target, 8.
- If the reclamator is 1 mk lower than the target, 4.
- If the reclamator is 2 mks lower than the target, 2.
- If the reclamator is 3 mks lower than the target, 1.
How to counter when in the AI fleet
The general threat-level varies depending on when/where Parasites are encountered. An AI-waves with pure Parasites are of little threat, but if a number of parasites are interspersed amongst significant enemy firepower an avalanche will soon develop with a constant absorption of the player's fleet (unlike players, the AI has no regard for ship-caps).
Fighting with reclamation-immune assets is the only sure counter, with Starships, Turrets and some select fleet ships. In many offensive situations, however, there are not enough parasites+firepower present to justify a deviation in the general strategy.
