Disperse

Disperse is a dedicated anti-air turret found on the Erekir tileset. It specializes in engaging flying units and missiles, trading ground attack capability for a very high rate of fire, long range, and strong sustained anti-air damage. Disperse is unique among Erekir defenses for being an explicit AA-only gun: it cannot damage ground targets and only fires on air-class entities.

Disperse fires rapidly and consumes ammo quickly; this high fire rate combined with solid per-shot damage and good range makes its coverage turn large areas into effective no-fly zones against most aerial threats. It can shoot down most missile projectiles because those are treated as air units, allowing Disperse to neutralize missile-based attacks even if it cannot directly damage the launcher. Disperse has multiple specialized ammo types that alter its behavior:

• Thorium: BasicBulletType with high single-shot damage (67.5) and 2 ammo per item; reduces fire rate by 15% and gives 2× pierce. Cannot hit ground.
• Silicon: BasicBulletType with lower damage (26.25) and 3 ammo per item; reduces fire rate by 10% and grants homing (0.045), improving long-range hit reliability. Cannot hit ground.
• Surge Alloy: BasicBulletType with moderate damage (48.75) and 3 ammo per item; increases range by 3 tiles and reduces fire rate by 25%. Bullets carry three lightning strikes (~18 damage each) and apply Shocked. The turret also emits interval bullets as a workaround to generate constant lightning sparks (interval bullets do 1 damage, 1× lightning ~20 damage, are shocked, instantly disappear, and cannot hit ground).
• Tungsten: BasicBulletType with moderate damage (48.75) and 3 ammo per item; cannot hit ground.

Because Disperse burns through ammo rapidly, pair it with extra storage and supply lines for sustained defense. Silicon ammo improves long-range accuracy but deals much less damage per shot, so it is usually only chosen when extreme range accuracy is required; the turret’s high rate of fire often makes heavier-damage ammo (Thorium or Surge Alloy) more effective overall. Surge Alloy adds range and electrical effects that help against clusters of air units.

Disperse’s main tactical limitations shape effective counters and deployments. It will target units at the edge of its range but often cannot actually hit them unless homing silicon ammo is used; exploiting this by swarming from just outside its effective hit zone drains its ammo or forces it to waste shots. Because it only fires in one direction at a time, attackers can bypass or distract a Disperse with a second wave approaching from another angle, or use cheap air units (Averts, Obviates) to occupy its targeting while missile or payload units deliver damage. Disrupting ammo supply—destroying conveyors or refill blocks—quickly degrades a Disperse’s effectiveness.

Disperse was added in Build 136 and later received its current ammo set and an increased water booster effect in Build 147; the update introduced thorium, silicon, and surge alloy ammo types.