unit-cleroi

The Cleroi is a medium-class erekir mech introduced in Build 136 that combines area-effect plasma shells with a short-range point-defense system. It is produced alongside other Merui line units and is notable for pairing a two-barrel plasma weapon that deals splash damage with a fast-firing, short-range weapon that intercepts incoming projectiles. Its kit encourages grouped “deathball” deployment where each Cleroi’s point-defense can protect neighboring mechs while their plasma shells punish clusters of enemy units and structures.

Cleroi weapons consist of two identical plasma barrels and two point-defense mounts. The plasma barrels fire at 2 × 0.9/sec (each barrel reloading in 0.55 s / 33 ticks) and shoot BasicBulletType projectiles that deal 22.5 damage with 43 area damage (about 3.7 tiles) and have an effective range of roughly 17.3 tiles (26.25 tiles/sec, 0.66 s lifetime). The point-defense pieces fire at 2 × 3.33/sec (0.15 s reload) with a rotation speed of 20°/tick; their projectiles deal 28.5 damage to incoming projectiles and have very short range (12.5). Cleroi do not rotate their main barrels independently, and the two plasma barrels do not alternate — they fire together as described. Over tuning in builds has changed them since release: damage and area were buffed in Build 141 while speed and firing cadence were reduced in Build 149.

In practice, the Cleroi excels when used in concentrated groups because each unit’s point-defense can shoot down many enemy projectiles that would otherwise damage adjacent mechs. This makes large Cleroi blobs particularly resilient: reported thresholds for substantially reduced incoming damage are small for early tiers (e.g., 2 Cleroi against Beryllium Breach, 3 against Tungsten Breach) but much larger against high-damage turrets (reports cite ~10 Cleroi for inner-line protection versus Titan-class turrets). The plasma shells provide reliable area damage for clearing infantry and soft targets, and their piercing nature can threaten higher-tier tanks from range if the mechs keep distance.

Cleroi perform well defensively against several Erekir enemies: they handle Avert and Obviate fairly reliably (two Cleroi can neutralize Obviate attacks) when not surrounded, but struggle if enemies close in or certain turret projectiles bypass point-defense. They are vulnerable to railgun-type projectiles (e.g., Locus shots), since those are typically not intercepted by the point-defense — using allied tanks (Precept, Vanquish) as shields or keeping Cleroi at range helps mitigate this. Unit missiles and some turrets that produce projectiles unaffected by point-defense also pose problems; diffuse or ozone Sublimates are recommended early-game counters on Erekir.

Practical considerations and tactics:

• Use Cleroi in groups so their point-defense protects neighboring units; solitary Cleroi lose much of their survivability.
• Position them at range or behind cover against railguns and long-range tanks to avoid projectiles that bypass point-defense.
• Combine with heavy tanks or slower units to soak hits that the point-defense cannot intercept, or to distract enemy turrets.
• Spread enemy deathballs with Loci or Anthicus in a concave to fragment the Cleroi formation and reduce area-damage efficiency.
• Beware of unit missiles and certain turrets on Erekir whose projectiles skirt point-defense—deploy counters accordingly.

The unit’s name derives from Cleroidea (a beetle superfamily), continuing the Merui line’s beetle-themed nomenclature. Cleroi are one of the few units that mount point-defense weapons, and the only erekir unit with that capability.