unit-mega

Mega is a support air unit that appears on Serpulo and other maps as a mid-tier flying worker in Mindustry. It combines light repair beams, moderate build/mining capability, and a 2×2 block payload capacity for transporting units, containers and liquid containers. Megas occupy a role between early support flyers (Poly, Quad) and heavier transport/assault aircraft: they can rapidly construct and repair, ferry ground units into combat, and even mine when player-controlled, but they have relatively low health and must avoid concentrated anti-air fire.

The unit mounts two pairs of laser-based repair guns. The forward pair fires at 2 × 1.25 shots/sec (0.4 s reload) dealing 10 damage per bolt and applying 5.5% block repair per hit; the rear pair fires at 2 × 2 shots/sec (0.25 s reload) dealing 8 damage and providing 3% repair. Both use LaserBoltBulletType with an effective range around 22–22.2 tiles, projectile speed about 39 tiles/sec and lifetime roughly 0.58 s. Rotation speed for the turrets is high, letting the Mega redirect its beams quickly. Movement speed was standardized in later builds to ~18.75 tiles/sec, and it will flee from enemies after certain updates.

In practice the Mega excels at keeping structures alive and finishing builds. With substantial build-speed bonuses (reported examples like 260% build speed in grouped operations), a squad of Megas can almost instantly complete construction and rapidly repair incoming damage, which makes them invaluable for mid- and late-game defense and base support. Their capacity to pick up containers greatly amplifies their carrying throughput: containers hold multiple item types and give roughly five times the per-item capacity compared to carrying items directly. Liquid Containers also let Megas move liquids without conduit networks, useful for games/maps where on-site production is limited.

Megas can also act offensively by loading slow, powerful ground units (Fortress, Spiroct, etc.) and airdropping them into enemy positions; payload loading and unloading are available via command mode so you can coordinate rapid strikes or pull damaged attackers back to repair points. Command options added across updates include repair, rebuild, assist player, mine, load units/blocks, unload payload, and loop unit transfer. They can mine sand when player-controlled if the relevant control option is enabled.

Operational notes and counters:

• Megas are relatively cheap and more durable than Polys but far less survivable than heavy combat flyers; avoid exposing them to focused anti-airfire, piercing or splash damage (enemies such as Vela and Corvus can wipe groups).
• When used offensively by enemies, their healing and rebuilding abilities can undo player progress quickly; it is generally better to destroy hostile Megas rapidly rather than distract them.
• Zeniths and dedicated combat units are effective counters because Megas are optimized for support, not sustained combat. High-damage tier-4 units or units produced via Exponential Reconstructors will also neutralize them quickly.
• Carrying containers is more efficient than carrying raw items for long transports; Megas can build a replacement container where one was picked up to continue stocking.
• Although their payload footprint equals their physical size, Megas cannot carry another Mega.

Historical and miscellaneous notes:

• The Mega was introduced in early major updates to expand support aviation and has received multiple balance and feature changes over several builds (range, heal rates, movement model, command additions).
• Its sprite is composed from three Trident ships (a removed player ship design), and it shares a firing sound with the Nova. Its name is derived from the metric prefix "mega-".