Elude

Elude is a light, fast hover unit used for hit-and-run, reconnaissance and rapid response. It is a ground hovercraft (the only ship-related unit without true flight) that appears early in the tech tree and excels at crossing wide areas and dodging slow turret fire. Elude fills the role of a fragile skirmisher: it deals moderate single-target DPS with a homing projectile while relying on speed and maneuvering rather than armor or durability.

Elude’s primary weapon fires a homing projectile in a curved arc with a firing pattern of two shots at 1.5 rounds per second and deals 12 damage per hit. The curve and wide arc of its projectile make the weapon effective at medium range and against targets that cannot close quickly, but it is unreliable against very close or tiny targets because shots tend to miss at point-blank range. Eludes have very low armor (reduced from higher values in earlier updates) and must use mobility to avoid sustained incoming fire.

Elude is best used in small, mobile groups or paired with complementary units. It is easier to produce than the Stell and shares similar offensive capability when attacking bases, while its superior speed makes it particularly suited for defensive patrols and interception. Common tactical uses include quickly picking off vulnerable turrets (for example, long-reload or ammo-dependent structures) and responding to enemy raids. Combining Eludes with the Avert creates an effective mixed ground-and-air force that can selectively eliminate high-threat turrets without heavy wiring or resource investment. Pairing Eludes with heavier tanks such as Stells lets the tanks soak or distract turret fire while Eludes maneuver to destroy ammo or support structures.

Elude fares well against certain unit matchups due to mobility: it can dodge the slow projectiles of Merui units and contest wide areas where slower units cannot respond quickly. However, Elude is vulnerable to being funneled by walls and choke points because its ground movement is blocked by solid obstacles; defenders should wall likely approach paths to stop Eludes from bypassing defenses. Against other Eludes, keep distance—each Elude’s homing projectile has a wide arc and often misses if the target is too close.

Practical points and design notes:

• The weapon fires in a curved, homing trajectory: maintain medium engagement distance for reliable hits; avoid point-blank fights where projectiles miss.
• Use Eludes to patrol and respond rapidly to threats, exploit their ability to cross around terrain such as liquid pools to buy time or escape.
• Avoid committing large formations of Eludes to fight heavily armored or high-area-damage targets; they are fragile and best used for hit-and-run, flanking, and targeting support structures (ammo, production).
• When defending, block likely paths with walls and chokepoints to nullify Elude’s speed advantage.
• Eludes emit a cosmetic movement particle trail and are the fastest ground unit in the game.
• Historical notes: Elude was added in Build 136 and later had its armor and weapon damage reduced (Build 141).