Before you can begin to understand how to attack each alien, a brief understanding of each military system is necessary. Below are the military systems available at your disposal, followed by each alien and their description.

Information on how the health and damage values were obtained can be found in this guide:

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1285652620

These basic military systems are the most common and most straightforward. They're also the most useful - the majority of aliens can be dealt with these four military systems.

Cost- 400
Health - 25
Damage Per Second - 8
Power Drain- 2
Usefulness - very high

The laser is by far the most reliable and versatile weapon in the game. It excels at damaging groups of weak aliens, or single high-priority targets. A group of auto-lasers can be a deadly barrage, providing an impenetrable defense.

Be aware, that the laser requires a constant supply of argon gas (it has 2 argon slots, one is for backup). It also takes several seconds to power up, during which time it is vulnerable to being destroyed (Rockhoppers are especially bad for taking advantage of this due to their high damage and speed). I suggest providing cover for the laser with soldiers, as these have no 'wind-up' time, and can deal adequate damage.

Cost- 1000
Health - 100
Damage Per Second - 40 (assuming continuous damage) Deals 125 damage per blast
Power Drain- 3
Usefulness - medium

The manual laser is an immensely powerful variant of the auto-laser. It has 3 argon slots instead of two, and also has a 'wind-up' time. Unlike the laser, it operates in 'bursts' - the laser will charge up and unleash a massive barrage of damage onto its target.

However, despite these positives, I do not think it is superior to the auto-laser. For starters, it requires an operative to work. It also has a chance of missing its target, causing no damage.

The chance of a manual laser missing its target is dependant on the skill level of the colonist operating it. Please note that the values below are a rough approximation, and are by no means definitive:

The manned laser is useful against bigger, stronger targets, such as the Gorilloid, Hyracsus and Protean worms, since it can kill these aliens in one or two hits.

Cost- 250
Health - 10
Damage Per Second - 10
Power Drain- 1
Usefulness - very high

The forcefield is by far the most overpowered military system in the game. You can use this to easily kill pretty much any alien by placing two posts, then quickly deleting them just before the alien attacks.

Keep in mind that only two forcefields are needed to achieve maximum damage - placing more than two will not deal more damage, it will just widen the area of effect.

They're so brokenly overpowered that I often have them disabled for my missions.


Cost- 1000
Health - 20
Damage Per Second - 20
Power Drain- 4
Usefulness - very high

The high-power forcefield deals double the damage, but costs four times as much. What I said about the regular forcefield still applies here.

Hi-powered posts can stack with low-powered posts. This means that if you place a high-power and low-power post overlooking the same area, it will deal a whopping 30 damage per second.

The Hi-power forcefield also has a much bigger range than the low power forcefield.

Please note that some aliens, most notably all Fribulan, are immune to forcefields. See more details below.


Cost- N/A
Health - 100
Damage Per Second - 4
Power Drain- N/A
Usefulness - Low

An often overlooked aspect of your colonists is their ability to utilise a laser when on guard duty. This laser is as strong as a Commando's (half as strong as an auto-laser).

While this can be useful in a pinch, I really wouldn't recommend using a colonist to defend your base, as this could easily lead to them being killed.

It does excel against the Hyracsus, however, as these aliens are unable to hurt colonists.


Cost- 200
Health - 10
Damage Per Second - N/A
Power Drain- 2
Usefulness - very high

You may be wondering why I've bothered to include lights in the military systems section. It's because all of your military systems are completely useless without light. Military systems cannot lock on to enemies in the darkness, so you'll need these to light up your surroundings.

Place lights strategically, such as in areas inaccessible to aliens, or behind a barrage of lasers. If a light gets destroyed, remember to replace it as soon as possible, as your defenses will be left extremely vulnerable!

Please note that Hovermine Delivery Systems often destroy lights, even if the light is placed behind the delivery system. Ensure your lights are somewhat far away from Hovermines, and out of their line of fire!

Military Units are unique military systems. They come with a weak post which you should defend, and are able to be sent into the fray. To send a military unit into battle, click on it, then click on the landscape where you want to send it. Please note that if the unit cannot path to the selected area, it will not move.

Note that all military units will still function without power.

Destroyed military units can be repaired at the military robotics factory.

The maximum number of Dogbots, Soldiers, and Commandos allowed at any given time is 12. You can use an exploit to gain more units, however. To achieve this, allow your units to be destroyed. Then, place more posts (so you have more than 12). Then, repair the destroyed units at a military robotics factory. You can gain an unlimited amount of military units this way, however the game may sometimes crash when selecting a unit.

Cost- 2000
Health - 50 (post) 200 (dogbot)
Damage Per Second - 1.2
Power Drain- 0
Usefulness - low

Dogbots are extremely weak, and I wouldn't recommend them unless absolutely necessary. They provide adequate defense against weak aliens, such as Rodents or Mutant Bees, but you're much better off saving your money for a soldier or commando.

Remember to place your post somewhere secure, then send the dogbot to guard a contested area.

Can be rebuilt at the robotics factory for 1 titanium, 1 electronics.


Cost- 4000
Health - 50 (post) 400 (soldier)
Damage Per Second - 2.75
Power Drain- 0
Usefulness - medium

A definitive upgrade to the dogbot, the soldier deals more than double damage. They're quite slow, so make sure you plan in advance where you want them to be!

Can be rebuilt at the robotics factory for 2 titanium, 2 electronics.


Cost- 6000
Health - 50 (post) 600 (commando)
Damage Per Second - 4
Power Drain- 0
Usefulness - high

Top of the range military hardware, these guys are worth every penny. Decent damage, and fast speed - these guys provide a highly versatile defense for your base. Please note that the colonist's laser deals the same damage as the commando's laser.

Can be rebuilt at the robotics factory for 3 titanium, 3 electronics.


Cost- 6000
Health - 60 (post) 200 (sentinel)
Damage Per Second - 8 (assuming continuous damage)
Power Drain- 3
Usefulness - low

Definitely very underwhelming compared to the commando. The sentinel deals the same DPS as the auto-laser, and can target the flying Acidwings. Unfortunately, the bolt fired by the sentinel is very slow, and is often useless against mobile targets, such as Protoraptors.
It does deal adequate damage against slower, easily distracted enemies, such as Gorilloids, however.

Unlike other military units, the sentinel cannot be commanded to move. It instead requires a sentinel patrol marker, which it will fly to. Once a patrol marker has been detected, the sentinel will fly towards it. Sentinels will continue to fly towards the marker, even if it has been destroyed. Sentinels will only return to their posts if there are no markers on the map.

Orox and enemy laser weapons are able to destroy the sentinel, making it a poor choice for those enemies.

Can be rebuilt at the robotics factory for 3 titanium, 3 electronics.


Cost- 200
Health - 60
Damage Per Second - N/A
Power Drain- 1
Usefulness - low

Used to direct the sentinel. Can set up an effective patrol area by using two markers. I would recommend having as few patrol markers as possible, as the sentinel will randomly pick another marker and fly towards it.

Note that a sentinel will not fly towards another marker if there's already a sentinel on it. This can sometimes lock sentinels in place if there are too many sentinels, but too few patrol markers.

The miscellaneous military systems are less common than other military systems. They all have their own uses, but you'll probably use these less frequently.

Cost- 1000
Health - 50
Damage Per Second - 3.5 (counted from the moment the system is first placed)
Power Drain- 7
Usefulness - medium

The hovermine is an odd creation. It can create and store up to 5 hovermines, which it launches at nearby aliens. If there's a building between the delivery system and the target, then it will collide with the building instead. The delivery system cannot store mines if it has no power.

Hovermines do not collide with other delivery systems, allowing you to safely create a wall of them.

Each hovermine deals low damage, but can quickly add up if you have a lot of them.

A single hovermine is quite useless by itself, so multiple hovermines will be necessary for a decent defense. However, the power and monetary cost of the hovermine is quite high, so you might want to consider investing in other military systems instead.

Hovermines can target Acidwings, but not their eggs. It also ignores Protoraptor pods, making a decent tool for killing raptors, while leaving their pods unharmed. I have also found it to be decent against Fribulan bases, as hovermines have a much faster prep time than auto-lasers.


Cost- 1500
Health - 20
Damage Per Second - too inconsistent to determine
Power Drain- 1
Usefulness - low

You should only use this to destroy the giant spineweed plant, as the clusterbomb's damage is laughably inconsistent. It fires a single explosive pellet, which creates more explosions as it travels. The cluster bomb can function even without power.

The damage seems to be extremely low, and the clusterbomb usually fails to hit its target.
It requires argon gas, and has 3 slots available. One pellet is fired per argon gas, making it unbelievably inefficient.

I would not recommend using this for anything other than spineweed.


Cost- 3000
Health - 200
Damage - Extreme - roughly around 1000 damage at the epicentre of explosion.
Power Drain- 5
Usefulness - medium

The missile silo requires 20 argon gas, and 10 electronics to prime. After that, you can select where to launch the missile. I would only recommend using this against extremely strong enemies, such as the Orox, Fribulan bases, or competing bases due to the difficulty in preparing it.

Keep in mind that an Orox base has around 4500 health, so a single missile will not be sufficient to destroy it.


Cost- 1000
Health - 100
Damage Per Second - N/A - warns of incoming invasions.
Power Drain- 3
Usefulness - high

The radar will automatically pick up any invasions heading towards your base. It's an invaluable piece of kit, and I would recommend getting one as soon as possible.

The number of 'klicks' picked up by the radar refers to the type of aliens on their way. Here's a handy guide below. Keep in mind that some invasions have more than one type of alien, but only one alien will be displayed by the radar:

Health - 5
Speed - medium
Attack - crashes into buildings, dealing minimal damage
Weakness - Forcefields, Laser
Special - spreads the Podulus Toxicaria plant
Threat Level - low

These aliens are among the most basic enemies you will encounter. A single, well placed laser is more than enough to take out an entire swarm. Be aware of the 'Podulus Toxicaria' plant, as this will swell up and explode into a large swarm of bees if it's given enough light. Likewise, the bees will spread the plant if there's enough space. The plants can only be removed by the weeding post.

Be aware that the amount of plants spread depends on your difficulty level - on hard mode, a single bee can spread a huge amount of the plant, so watch out!

Bees from an invasion will head towards your bridge, while bees from the plant will move randomly in a large circle.

Health - N/A
Speed - fast
Attack - crashes into buildings, dealing minimal damage
Weakness - none, plant must be killed off with a weeding post
Special - spreads the Metaflaxus plant
Threat Level - low

Essentially a tougher version of the Mutant Bee, Burnflies are too small to be targeted by any military system. To defeat them, you must remove the Metaflaxus plant, from which they spawn. Be warned, as sometimes the Metaflaxus plant can be hard to spot, especially when it's small!

Burnflies will fly around in a large circle, whilst creating 1-2 extra Metaflaxus plants. A single Metaflaxus plant will spawn two swarms before perishing.

Health - 5
Speed - medium
Attack - crashes into buildings, dealing minimal damage
Weakness - Laser
Special - cannot be killed by forcefields, attacks vegetation.
Threat Level - low

Stripper Insects are native to their home stripper mounds which can only be killed off by weeding posts. They are produced in a large swarm, and will seek out and destroy any nearby vegetation. This can be used to your advantage, as all vegetation will be devoured, including the harmful Lupulus, Metaflaxus, Podulus Toxicaria, and Spineweed.

If you don't want these insects to eat your crops, then you'll need to use a laser weapon - stipper insects will slip underneath forcefields!

Stripper Insects from an invasion may create a new stripper mound. This is the only way new stripper mounds can be generated.

Health - 7.5
Speed - medium
Attack - spreads rodent disease
Weakness - laser, colonists
Special - sometimes, military systems cannot target them
Threat Level - medium

These cheery little fuzzballs may seem cute, but they're potentially a huge threat to your colonists. On some missions, contact with a Rodent will cause a colonist to contract Rodent disease, which is potentially fatal. Only prepped medi-bays, which have been augmented with pharmaceuticals, can cure rodent disease.
Rodent disease will slowly sap your colonist's health. If the disease is fatal, it will keep draining until the colonist dies.

Unfortunately, some missions disallow the harming of Rodents, and all your military systems will ignore them. If this turns out to be the case, you'll just have to deal with the Rodent disease with pharmaceuticals (assuming the Rodents are infected!).

As far as I can tell, Rodents take less damage from forcefields. Forcefields will still kill them, but you may be better off with an automatic laser.

Health - 50
Speed - fast
Attack - disables a base facility
Weakness - plants
Special - dies after attacking a base facility
Threat Level - low

These guys are a huge pain, rather than a threat. They pose no threat to your colonists, but can cause a base facility to need repair. Best kill them with a laser, as they have deceptively high health. Space Gremlins have slightly less health than a protoraptor, but their health-bar shows them having equal health to rodents.

Gremlins may be momentarily distracted by plants, so make sure you have a few near each airlock. Colonists will automatically attack Gremlins if they see one, so make sure your base isn't too big, as you don't want your colonists to be too spread out.

Health - 20
Speed - slow
Attack - explodes randomly, causing huge damage (up to a maximum of ~170 damage)
Weakness - military units
Special - respawns constantly from lava
Threat Level - low

These little buggers are found only in lava. If you see one, that means they'll continuously respawn in that location. They wander around randomly and occasionally detonate, causing a huge explosion. This makes each beetle a ticking time bomb, which can easily destroy your expensive lava power plants.

Auto lasers are fine for these guys, but since they constantly respawn, they'll consume a lot of your base's argon. In my opinion, you're better off with a soldier or dogbot standing guard, as these require no argon.

Health - 200 (adult), 50 (offspring)
Speed - slow
Attack - none
Weakness - forcefields
Special - reproduces constantly (kill it before it reproduces!!), slime rapidly drains hygiene.
Threat Level - medium

These guys may seem innocuous, but they are actually a huge threat. They wander around randomly, and will occasionally produce an offspring. These offspring will grow up, and the cycle of life begins anew.

Only problem is, they reproduce at an alarming rate, and can quickly clog up your base. This is especially problematic if there are other, more dangerous aliens on the map, as your military systems will often prioritise the slugs over actual threats.

If you find your base overrun with slugs, just stay calm and kill any babies you see with forcefield posts. The adults will die randomly by themselves. Please note that if a baby grows up, it will be fully healed.

The slime is gross to your colonists, but is otherwise harmless.

Like other aliens, Venusian Slugs produced by an invasion will always head towards your bridge. Once they've arrived at the bridge, they behave like normal, randomly moving and reproducing.

Health - 100
Speed - immobile
Attack - produces swarms of Rockhoppers
Weakness - forcefields, military units
Special - reproduces to defend itself
Threat Level - medium

These bugs are easily disposed of with forcefield posts. Two high-powered posts will quickly kill the queen, as well as any babies she produces. If no posts are available, you'll have to use military units, as auto lasers are simply too slow to deal with her. Have one soldier targeting the queen, with one or two others further back providing defense for the first one.

Rockhoppers are produced only if the queen is disturbed, or if she's damaged. If you leave her alone in darkness, she'll leave you alone too.


Health - 1
Speed - very fast
Attack - runs into buildings, causing immense damage
Weakness - laser
Special - runs in a huge swarm, dies after a short time
Threat Level - high

These short-lived nasties are produced en mass by the queen (see above). They can easily rip through an undefended base, so make sure your defenses are up to scratch!

Forcefields alone may not be enough to defend your base, as Rockhoppers can easily run into and destroy them. I suggest using a combination of auto-lasers and military units. The dogbots/soldiers provide limited defense for the autolaser while it's loading up, and then the laser takes over, annihilating the swarm.

Please note that Rockhoppers can also come from invasions - just because there are no queens on the map doesn't mean the Rockhoppers are gone for good!

Health - 80 (raptor), 50 (pod)
Speed - fast
Attack - 3.2 DPS
Weakness - laser
Special - hatches from pods, sometimes loves chicken
Threat Level - medium-high

By far the most common bug you'll come across. Protoraptors are general, all-purpose annoyances which you'll soon love to hate. Protoraptors wander around randomly until they spot a nearby building (usually a light or solar-power plant). They'll then charge towards that building, continuously scratching it until it breaks.

Once a Protoraptor has locked on to a building, it will not stop attacking till it has been destroyed/killed. You can use this to your advantage by placing an object with high health (such as a small bio-dome), and letting the raptors lock-on to it as a distraction.

On some missions, Protoraptors will attack space chickens exclusively. If this is the case, you don't have to worry too much about them, as they aren't a huge threat.

Protoraptors often appear in swarms, so a big barrage of auto-lasers will usually be needed to deal with the larger swarms.

Protoraptor pods are a resource which can be harvested with scavenger bunkers. They have slightly less health than regular Protoraptors (although they have no health bar in-game), and will begin hatching when exposed to light. Pod hatching rate ranges from 15 hours to 1 day. Each pod will be replaced shortly after hatching. Pods will not hatch once they've been picked up by a scavenger.

Protoraptor pods will not be targeted by hovermine delivery systems, making them a decent (albeit destructive) way of dealing with Protoraptors without destroying the pods. Forcefields will also not damage the pods.

Health - 200
Speed - immobile
Attack - acid bolt - 20 damage per shot
Weakness - military units
Special - constantly produces offspring
Threat Level - high

Protean Worm Mothers are similar to Rock Hopper Queens in that they are immobile aliens which breed. Unlike the queens, these worms can attack using a devastating acid bolt. They also reproduce constantly, regardless of whether or not you've disturbed them.

If you see Protean Worms, it means there's at least one mother somewhere on the map - you need to seek them out and kill them, as the worms are a huge threat. Use military units (preferably soldiers or commandos), as auto lasers will quickly be destroyed.

Alternatively, if there is enough space available, you could distract her with a small bio-dome. Place a bio-dome between her and some auto-lasers, and she'll be stuck shooting the bio-dome. The lasers will begin attacking her once they have been prepped with argon.

One offspring is produced every 15 hours, or every 4 hours, depending on the reproduction rate.


Health - 80
Speed - fast
Attack - acid bolt - 24 damage per shot
Weakness - laser
Special - cannot be damaged when underground
Threat Level - medium

These worms are the babies produced by the mother (see above). They attack with a slightly weaker version of the acid spit, and have the added caveat of being able to hide underground. Since all worms are produced from mothers, you can usually predict where they'll attack you - the worms will always travel in a straight line from the mother to the nearest building.

Worms can deal damage to even a well-fortified base, as their acid spit can easily take out lights and lasers. Vigilance is key. Manned lasers are particularly effective here, as a single shot from a manned laser will instantly kill one worm.

Protean worms cannot be spawned via invasions, so once the mothers are dead, the worms will stop being produced.

From testing, I have discovered that the baby worms do slightly more damage than the mothers.

Health - 160
Speed - medium
Attack - rapid fire sonic wave
Weakness - distractions
Special - attacks pierce, dies after a while
Threat Level - medium

Death Angels are a bit of an oddity. They have the highest DPS of any alien in the game, but they aren't that much of a threat. Their attack is identical to the Gorilloid (see further down) but is fired extremely rapidly (roughly three sonic waves fired a second). This attack can travel extremely far, and can damage buildings far away - make sure you fight them facing away from your base!

Death Angels are transparent and hard to see, especially on grey-coloured planets.

The reason why they aren't that threatening is twofold:
1. They automatically die after around 20 in-game hours. They can be distracted with lights for a while to keep them away from the base until they expire.
2. They sometimes seize up and do nothing (glitch?). I'm not sure what the criteria for this is, but it usually happens just after they've destroyed a building. They remain in this state until a new building is placed, or until they expire.

If there's a Death Angel close to your base, place defenses AWAY from your base - their attack can pierce buildings and can travel very far. More often then not, the Angel will be distracted by the new buildings, and diverted elsewhere.

The shockwave attack deals low damage multiple times per second, and travels quite quickly. This means that the bigger a building is, the longer it will take for the shockwave to pass through it, and hence the more damage it will take. Death Angels are easily able to destroy bio-domes in several seconds, making them a poor choice for distraction.

Health - 1
Speed - fast
Attack - none
Weakness - why would you want to kill these guys?
Special - is beneficial to your colonists
Threat Level - none

The Ooma are a unique alien in that they pose no danger to anyone, and are useful to have around the base. Despite this, military systems (and some colonists) will target the Ooma. Since the Ooma have the lowest health in the entire game, this will always result in the Ooma's death. If you wish for some wild Ooma to get past your military defenses, simply turn off power to military systems in the power subsystem.

Wild Ooma will head towards your base and will move around randomly. To get a colonist to adopt an Ooma, select a colonist, then click on an Ooma. Colonists can have multiple Ooma, but they will overlap, causing it to look like a single Ooma.

When near their pet, colonists will gain a boost to their social motive. This is true for all colonists, even those who hate Ooma.

Adopted Ooma will stay on their owner's bed while the owner is working. When the owner finishes work, they will rush to meet them. If the owner works far away from the base, the Ooma will go outside to their location (and often results in the Ooma's death).

Some colonists will kill the Ooma after a while. I'm not entirely sure what the criteria is, but I think it has something to do with whether or not the colonist enjoys combat. Nailer and Barbara are usually the main culprits.

In some missions, the Ooma will automatically be assigned to colonists who have a bed.

Health - 5 (Acidwing), 5 (egg)
Speed - medium, then fast once egg is laid.
Attack - acid spit hit-and-run
Weakness - hovermines, sentinels, forcefields.
Special - flies above ground, lays eggs then becomes hostile.
Threat Level - medium

Acidwings are a huge threat to an unprepared base, but a mere annoyance to a prepared base. Acidwings can only be killed by hovermines or sentinels, while their eggs cannot be killed by hovermines (although other forms of weaponry will target the egg).

Once spawned, (either from an egg, or an invasion), they will slowly move towards the nearest building. Then, they will slowly circle an area and proceed to lay an egg. During this time, they can be killed with forcefields (a preferable method of dealing with Acidwings).

After an egg is laid, they become permanently hostile and can no longer be killed with forcefields. They begin attacking nearby buildings with a weak acid spit, then hastily retreating to safety. This hit-and-run attack makes an unprepared hovermine delivery system a poor choice.

The egg will only hatch once the parent acidwing is dead, meaning you have ample time to kill the egg with military units or forcefields.

If you know an area frequented by Acidwings, it's best to have a wall of hovermine delivery systems. Hovermines are destructive, but cannot destroy other hovermines.

Health - 300 (parent) 50 (offspring)
Speed - slow
Attack - area-of-effect earthquake, 10 damage to nearby buildings (triggered 3 times per earthquake for a total of 30 damage per quake).
Weakness - military units
Special - reproduces occasionally
Threat Level - medium

Hyracsuses... (Hyracsi?) are a slow moving, but deadly threat to an unprepared base. Their earthquake attack can easily level huge fields of lasers, and if they break through your defenses, you're probably done for.

The damage caused by the Hyracsus is highlighted by an orange-red circle. Please note that this circle is smaller than the actual AoE - buildings outside of this circle are still vulnerable to damage

That being said, they only attack when they are right next to their target, so if you have a big enough wall of lasers, it shouldn't be a big problem. In my experiences, around 6 auto-lasers are sufficient to deal with a single Hyracsus. Additionally, they can only damage buildings. Units, (such as soldiers, nutrient extractors, colonists and so on) will be unaffected by the attack. This means that a group of colonists are a good defense against a Hyracsus in a pinch!

Each Hyracsus may produce one offspring. These harmless offspring will grow into a fully grown adult after a few hours, similar to the Venusian slug. Like the slug, if the baby grows up, it will be fully healed. So make sure you kill the babies quickly!

Health - N/A
Speed - travels inside a colonist
Attack - drains entertainment and social, encouraging social interaction (and therefore, spread).
Weakness - fun
Special - spreads on contact
Threat Level - high

Nirvana virus is a unique alien, in that it exists as a condition that your colonists have. A colonist may randomly contract the virus (indicated by a giant blue worm above their head), which will cause their entertainment and social motives to plummet. This usually causes them to become upset, and quit work. (Note that colonists infected with nirvana can still work, initial infection just causes them to become unhappy).

The virus is spread on contact, so make sure you keep all your uninfected colonists away from the infected ones!

To cure the virus, you must max out their entertainment motive. For more information on entertainment levels, please consult this guide:

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1285798805

Note that colonists can be re-infected after being cured - consider setting up a quarantine to prevent virus spread.
The virus can easily destroy the structure of a base. As workers become infected, they'll become unhappy and stop working, halting productivity. The virus is rarely defeated by random chance so you'll have to intervene to stop the spread. The more colonists you have, the more devastating the virus will be.

Health - 50
Speed - medium
Attack - attacks base facilities
Weakness - colonists, forcefields
Special - appears randomly in the base
Threat Level - low
Annoyance Level - INFINITY

By far the most irritating alien to deal with, Mechanoids are only a threat to your internal base facilities. They are similar to gremlins in that they only attack base equipment. Unlike gremlins, Mechanoids are much more annoying for several reasons:

1. They appear directly in the base, meaning external defences are useless
2. They destroy facilities rather than disabling them
3. They can destroy multiple facilities, rather than just one
4. Plants don't slow them down
5. They don't die by themselves, meaning you'll have to use colonists or forcefields to kill them.
6. The military radar will not warn you about Mechanoids.

According to various in-game sources, it's implied that Mechanoids would have originally attacked and killed colonists, rather equipment. This is not the case in the final game - Mechanoids pose no threat to colonists whatsoever.

If Mechanoids frequent your base, I recommend a few well-placed hi-power forcefield posts intersecting the base. This will quickly kill off any Mechanoids in your base far faster than any colonists could kill them.

Try not to make your base too large or sprawling, as you'll want your colonists to be able to quickly walk to the location of a Mechanoid.

Health - 300
Speed - medium-fast
Attack - long range and piercing sonic roar
Weakness - military units and distractions
Special - attacks can damage a building multiple times
Threat Level - high

The Gorilloid is by far one of the toughest bugs you'll have to face up against. They have high health, a fast walk speed, and devastating weapon.

I've already covered the sonic roar weapon under the 'Death Angel' alien further up, so I won't dwell on it too much here. Just remember that it travels in a straight line and can damage buildings that are far away - make sure the Gorilloid is facing AWAY from your base during combat.

Unlike other aliens, the Gorilloid can be enticed to attack a different building when fighting. This means you can stop a Gorilloid from attacking your lasers by placing a few well placed lights or forcefields when during combat.

I highly recommend using either soldiers or commandos to dispatch the Gorilloid. Hovermines and auto-lasers will easily be taken out by the Gorilloid's roar attack (although a large amount of mines/lasers can kill the bug before it attacks).

Health - 1000
Speed - medium
Attack - Archangels/mental attack (can also quickly destroy missile silos)
Weakness - manned lasers, cryogenic reanimation-units.
Special - instantly kills attacking colonists, then drives a colonist insane
Threat Level - medium

Hosts spawn from monoliths on the map. If there's a monolith on your map, you've got Hosts, buddy! While they are exceedingly hard to kill, they are only a mere annoyance if not provoked. Hosts will occasionally drive your colonists insane (requiring either a detention facility or a counsellor to bring them back to sanity).

Military systems cannot detect the host, meaning you need to use manual lasers. Upon damaging a host, an Archangel will swoop down and kill the offending person. Then, the Host will retaliate, driving a colonist insane. It takes 8 manned laser blasts to kill a Host, meaning up to 8 colonists will die per Host.

Note that each Host can only have a limited number of Archangels (the screaming skulls). They regenerate Archangels slowly over time, but can only have 3 at any given moment. This means that if you exhaust all of a Host's Archangels, you can quickly kill it before they come back without having to lose too many colonists.

Additionally, if you delete the manned laser before the skull flies into it, your colonist might not die.

Hosts will seek out and automatically destroy any missile silos.

Hosts will be targeted and killed by the Orox (their arch-enemies).

Health - 750
Speed - medium
Attack - laser deals 16.66 DPS
Weakness - lasers, military units, missile silos.
Special - can patrol their base
Threat Level - medium

The Orox are some of the toughest enemies you'll meet, but don't get discouraged. Once you learn all their tricks, they become very easy to deal with.

The Orox's main weakness is their attack. The Orox will lock on to a nearby object with a laser, and will begin draining its health at 13.33 damage per second. Once an Orox has locked on, it can't let go until the object has been destroyed, or if it moves out of range.

You can use this to easily kill off a single Orox, by letting it lock on to a bio-dome, then placing 2 hi-power forcefields, and 2 low-power forcefields. The hi and low power forcefield's damaging effects will stack, allowing the Orox to be killed relatively quickly. By the time the bio-dome is destroyed, the Orox will have lost around 80% of its health, and can usually be finished off by the forcefields.



If you have no forcefields or biodomes, then you'll need to plan in advance. I recommend using a full crew of commandos, or a barrage of auto-lasers. Manned lasers aren't very effective here, as the Orox will usually destroy the laser (and possibly your colonist) before any real damage can be dealt. Hovermines are also effective against the Orox due to their ability to store mines for later.

Sentinels aren't very effective here, as once they lock on to an Orox, they won't let go unless they can no longer see it. This usually results in the sentinel being destroyed by the Orox.

If there are a big group of Orox in one place, you may have to resort to a missile silo. A single missile can take off between 50-100% of an Orox's health, depending on how close the explosion was. Be warned that if you do attack an Orox with a missile, it will immediately become hostile and will begin to move towards your base.

Orox come in three varieties:

1. Stationary - these are Orox who are already on the map when you start the game. They stand guard, and will move towards and destroy any nearby buildings. Try not to get their attention until you are able to kill them. Certain mission events may cause these Orox to behave like variety three.

2. Patrol - these Orox will move towards the Orox base. They move around randomly near the base, and will move towards the nearest building if provoked. If no Orox base is present, they behave like variety three.

3. Attack - these Orox will move towards the nearest building. If there aren't any buildings nearby, they will head towards your base. These are the most dangerous type of Orox, and you should prepare accordingly.

Health - 100
Speed - medium
Attack - flying goop, 8 DPS ~5 damage per projectile
Weakness - lasers, hovermines
Special - can patrol their base, immune to forcefields
Threat Level - medium

Fribulan footsoldiers are one of the main ways the Fribulan base will defend itself. Like all Fribulan, they are birthed by the Fribulan Mother and come in two varieties: attack and defend.

Attack- These Fribulan will walk straight towards the nearest building and destroy it. If a Fribulan Harvester was killed recently, they will walk towards the location where the Harvester died. If they find no more buildings, they will return to the Mother and will become a defender.

Defend- These Fribulan patrol their base, walking towards each Fribulan building in the order it was constructed. If they detect a nearby building, they will walk up to it and attack it. They will also inspect Fribulan buildings which have been destroyed recently, so prepare for an inspection when you destroy a Fribulan building.

The Fribulan attack with a constant stream of flying goop. This goop travels in large circles, and homes in on nearby buildings. The goop has the same overall DPS as an auto-laser, which makes the Fribulan a significant threat. A single Fribulan footsoldier can easily take out an auto-laser before it has time to wind-up. I would recommend using hovermines when planning an assault on a Fribulan base.

Interestingly, all Fribulans are immune to forcefields, but take damage from lava. This appears to be because Fribulan are classed as a type of personnel by the game.

Health - 100
Speed - medium
Attack - none
Weakness - lasers, hovermines
Special - can interact with your base, immune to forcefields
Threat Level- medium
Annoyance Level- high

Fribulan Tourists are identical in appearance to regular Fribulan footsoldiers. They do not attack, and can be identified by clicking on them, which will bring up a colonist information screen. Their arrival is announced by the computer, who will say "Fribulan. Friends. Ten klicks."

Fribulan Tourists can perform certain jobs. They assign themselves a job randomly, and cannot be forced to start or stop. The Fribulan skillset includes:

Basic Power
Basic Oxygen
Basic Medi-prep
Basic Cleaning






Despite their ability to help, it is highly recommended that you kill these guys before they enter your base, as they can cause real trouble:

1. These Tourists will use your internal facilities, draining food and wearing down your maintenance levels.
2. They frequently interact with your colonists, interrupting their work. If there are too many Fribulan Tourists, it may literally be impossible for your colonists to get any work done.
3. They can attack colonists, causing them injury. Colonists cannot be killed by this, but they will need a trip to the medi-bay for maximum happiness.
4. They can perform certain jobs, but not very well. This can prevent more skilled colonists from doing their job, most notably medi-prep.

You can attack these guys like regular Fribulan. Keep in mind that forcefields will not work on them, like all Fribulan.

Health - 5 (Fairy) 50 (Hatcher)
Speed - medium
Attack - collide with buildings, ~10 damage
Weakness - lasers
Special - immune to forcefields
Threat Level - medium

Marsh Fairies are produced in groups of three or four by the Marsh Fairy Hatcher. They travel in straight lines, periodically randomly changing direction. They can deal significant damage to buildings over time. I would recommend having all buildings defended by at least a single auto-laser to prevent destruction.

Marsh Fairy Hatchers are unable to defend themselves directly, instead relying on help from their surroundings. They are very weak, meaning they should be destroyed when possible. Please note that destroying a Fribulan building will anger the hive mind, causing footsoldiers (or worse...) to be dispatched to your location.

Health - 100
Speed - medium
Attack - none, targets resources
Weakness - lasers, hovermines
Special - can steal your hard earned resources
Threat Level - medium

Fribulan Harvesters are unable to attack by themselves, but are still a significant threat. They steal nearby resources, and then return to the Mother to sell. They are the main way the Fribulan hive is able to win production races, and should be killed if possible.

If attacking Fribulan is disallowed, you can place buildings (such as solar panels or corridors) to block off access to resources. Note that these buildings will likely be destroyed by footsoldiers.

When a harvester dies, a Fribulan or Ogre may be dispatched to the location it died, so be warned!

Harvesters do not steal Protoraptor Pods or Cylincsus.

Health - 250
Speed - medium
Attack - flying goop, 8 DPS per shot, fires 4 shots at once for a total of 32 DPS, ~5 damage per projectile
Weakness - lasers, hovermines
Special - immense damage, immune to forcefields, doesn't appear on easy mode.
Threat Level - high

Fribulan Ogres are probably the most dangerous aliens in the entire game. They are fast, tough and strong. They can easily rip through your defenses, so make sure your defenses are well maintained.

The trick with Ogres is to overwhelm them - you should have so many hovermines and/or auto-lasers that the Ogre dies before it can fire a shot. Small bio-domes can also provide enough cover fire, although there usually isn't room to place a bio-dome in a Fribulan swamp.

Ogres are produced when the Fribulan Mother is being attacked. They do not patrol, and instead walk straight towards the nearest building. Once the building has been destroyed, and there are no other nearby buildings, they head back towards the Mother. They then may begin patrolling, or will simply remain stationary near the mother.

Only one Ogre can be on the map at any given time. If the Mother gives birth to another Ogre, the first one will disappear.

Ogres do not appear on easy mode - only medium or hard difficulty.

Health - 500
Speed - immobile
Attack - produces foot soldiers, ogres
Weakness - hovermines, military units, missiles
Special - controls the entire Fribulan base
Threat Level - high

This controls the entire Fribulan base. Killing this will destroy all other Fribulan buildings. It's no threat by itself, but is usually surrounded by several Fribulan Spitters. You'll need several soldiers or commandos to take this down.


Health - 250
Speed - immobile
Attack - acid goop, ~5 damage per projectile
Weakness - hovermines, military units
Special - spits goop at nearby buildings
Threat Level - high

These turrets provide the Fribulan base with immense defense. They are similar to Ogres in terms of health and DPS, but are stationary. They usually regrow around 3-4 times before dying off for good.


Health - 50
Speed - immobile
Attack - none
Weakness - hovermines, military units
Special - only appears on escaping argon gas
Threat Level - none

Fribulan lungs determine how quickly the Fribulan base will initially be set up. I think they may also be responsible for how fast Fribulan buildings regrow, although this is hard to determine; it seems that the number of lungs on the map is irrelevant, only how many lungs there were to begin with affect growth rate.

Placing an argon gas rig over the escaping gas will prevent it from growing back


As far as I can tell, Fribulan Eyes and Fribulan roots do literally nothing except light up their surroundings, so I haven't bothered to include them here.

Health - N/A
Speed - medium or fast
Attack - burrows beneath the ground, instantly destroys any buildings in the way
Weakness - explosions
Special - can only be destroyed by explosions
Threat Level - high

Giant Spineweed isn't an alien, but I'm including it here anyway due to the threat it poses to your base.

When spineweed activates, it begins burrowing underground at a slow or fast rate, depending on the mission. It begins moving randomly, until it's set to attack, after which it travels towards your bridge. It will burrow under and instantly destroy any buildings on the way to your bridge. Once it gets to your bridge, it's game over.

Spineweed can only be destroyed by explosions. Clusterbombs are the best choice for this, as they will automatically target the spineweed. Note that hovermines will not damage the weed, despite appearing to be explosive. You'll likely need several clusterbombs to get the job done, as they are slow to arm, and often inaccurate. Also remember to defend the clusterbombs from Marsh Fairies, and other Fribulan attackers.