Dagger

The Dagger is a basic tier-1 ground mech unit that appears early in Mindustry. It is inexpensive to produce and excels when fielded in large numbers, functioning as a straightforward short-range gunner that fires standard bullets at enemy targets. The Dagger is obtainable from the Ground Factory and serves as an introductory offensive unit before more specialized or expensive mechs are unlocked.

The Dagger fires two synchronized guns with a combined firing rate of 2 × 2.3 shots/sec (0.21 sec combined reload, 13 ticks, 26 ticks per gun). Its projectile is a basic bullet type that deals 9 damage, travels at 18.75 tiles/sec, and has a lifetime of 1 second, giving an effective range of 18.75 tiles (historically adjusted slightly across patches). The Dagger has moderate survivability for a tier-1 unit (health was raised to 150 in past updates) and moves relatively slowly compared to other tier-1 units, making it rely on numbers rather than mobility.

• Use Daggers as cheap DPS fodder and to overwhelm defenses by massing them; they are most effective in swarms rather than as lone raiders.
• Daggers are vulnerable to long-range and splash weapons; artillery and high-range turrets such as Hail, Ripple, Lancer, and Arc handle Dagger swarms effectively before they reach walls. Splash damage and outranging options are particularly efficient counters.
• Against single-target or high-health defenses, Daggers can be outclassed by units with greater range or specialized roles. They do not self-destruct for extra damage (unlike suicide units such as the Crawler) and lack the movement boost of units like the Nova, making them slower at closing winding paths to enemy cores.
• In PvP or maps with increased unit caps, Daggers are useful as a high-damage swarm option due to their low cost and decent DPS, though tech progression to units like the Lancer changes balance once higher-tier materials are available.
• Historically notable changes: the Dagger has existed since early development, was moved to the Ground Factory in later versions, had its firing sound and description updated multiple times, had its range and firing rate tweaked (range and rate adjustments around builds 127 and 147), movement speed normalized to tiles/sec in build 128, health increased in build 127, and earlier command limits and research costs were removed or reduced in subsequent builds.

The Dagger takes its name from the short stabbing knife; follow-on upgrades and higher-tier mechs in its tech tree are themed after medieval objects and weapons.