Diffuse

Diffuse is a short-range, high-rate-of-fire turret that consumes items as ammo and excels at shredding enemies that are forced to bunch up directly over it. It was added in Build 136 and later received silicon and oxide ammo types (Build 147). The turret trades range for concentrated burst damage and is best deployed in chokepoints or cramped corridors where enemies must pass within its limited firing distance.

Diffuse fires very rapidly and benefits strongly from being placed where enemies cluster; its DPS can exceed longer-range turrets like Ozone- or Cyanogen-fueled Sublimate when targets are close. It uses different ammo types with distinct roles: Graphite is cheap and easy to supply, offers the highest knockback to disrupt small numbers of melee units and prevent them from crushing defenses, and is useful for general early-to-midgame defense. Silicon is produced once chemical infrastructure is available; its homing property keeps damage consistent at varying angles and helps against nimble targets, though its lower base damage makes it less effective versus heavily armored tanks. Oxide is the heaviest-damage ammo and kills clustered targets most quickly; it consumes more resources to produce and reduces knockback relative to Graphite, making it a dedicated damage dealer rather than a crowd-control tool.

Diffuse interacts with other game systems in several important ways. Shallow Water boosters massively increase its fire rate (was buffed from 160% to 250% in Build 147), making water-boosted Diffuses extremely lethal in defended chokepoints. Because the turret empties ammunition quickly—especially when fed Oxide—use Reinforced Containers or other high-capacity storage to avoid frequent resupply issues. It struggles against long-range or high-mobility threats such as Anthicus, Quell, Disrupt, Obviates, and some campaign enemies (Stells, Merui) that can attack from outside its range; these opponents require secondary coverage (long-range turrets, breach-support, or kiting) to handle reliably.

• Place Diffuse in tight funnels or single-tile notches in walls to force enemies to walk over the turret and maximize its concentrated damage.
• Use Graphite when you need knockback to protect structures and slow mech/core pressure; switch to Oxide where raw kill speed is more important and resupply is assured.
• Employ Silicon when homing is desirable against maneuvering units, but expect reduced effectiveness vs high-armor targets.
• Pair Diffuse with water boosters and reinforced ammo storage to amplify its strengths and mitigate rapid ammo consumption.
• Protect its supply lines: destroying transportation or supply blocks halts sustained fire quickly since the turret consumes ammo very fast.
• Combine with complementary defenses (breaches, longer-range turrets, or missile units) to cover enemies that remain outside Diffuse’s short range.