Electro-Pest is a cybernetic variant of the common Pest encountered in the game. It is fitted with a powerful Tesla Coil array that augments its natural melee behavior with an area electrical attack. Electro-Pests appear in the same environments as standard Pests but require different tactics due to their shock-based abilities and the need to avoid conductive interactions.
Behaviorally, the Electro-Pest behaves like a standard Pest by leaping at targets to deal contact damage. Each time it initiates a leap it emits a radial shock ring that deals 30 Blunt Stun damage to all entities within range; this shock ring can trigger only once every 3.5 seconds. When the shock ring is in a charged state, striking the Electro-Pest at close range will reflect damage back to the attacker, inflicting 30 Blunt Stun on melee aggressors. The shock ring is an area-of-effect attack and therefore bypasses shields, making groups of Electro-Pests particularly hazardous in confined fights. Outside of active combat, both the Pest and Electro-Pest are sluggish and slow to move.
Electro-Pests can be captured with the Pest Trap, providing a useful attack companion once contained. Standard containment procedures for specimens follow strict electrical isolation: specimens must be stored in non-metallic environments and kept fully electrically isolated, for example in containers lined with non-conductive rubber padding. Any direct interaction with a specimen, even when sedated, must be done with all equipment fully electrically grounded.
Drops and salvage from Electro-Pests are reliable and useful for crafting and consumption:
Prefer ranged attacks to avoid the shock ring and the melee reflection when the Pest is charged. Ranged strikes prevent triggering reflected damage.
If closing to melee, try to evade or bait leaps so you do not get caught in the area shock; the attack has a 3.5 second cooldown and will occur roughly every other leap.
When facing multiple Electro-Pests, avoid clustering behind shields; the ring still damages through shield defenses.
Capturing with a Pest Trap converts the threat into a companion that is more useful in attack roles than in mobility outside combat.
Background and lore: the Electro-Pest is cataloged as IS-0173-B in the GATE Compendium and originated from a cybernetic program led by Dr. Abraham Stern. The electric variant was developed through micro-integration experiments on IS-0173-A; the program was suspended on the orders of Dr. Derek Manse and has been on hiatus since late 1992. During experimentation, Dr. Stern reported discovering unusual patterned information embedded in the creature’s gene-analogues, described as resembling an intentional design note. There is archival imagery of Abe Stern and Janet Ross experimenting with an Electro-Pest near Cascade Laboratories.
Notable historical issue: in early access up to v1.3, a bug allowed the Prickly and Thorns bonuses from the Carapace Armor Set to create a damage loop with the Electro-Pest’s close-range shock response, often resulting in player deaths because the reflected shock dealt 30 damage versus the thorns’ maximum 7.
