unit-oct

Oct is a heavy aerial transport and support unit encountered in late-game content (Cruxscape and PLT). It combines enormous bulk and armor with a regenerating Force Field and the ability to carry other units and large payloads, making it useful both as a frontline tank and as a mobile repair/ship platform. Its shield is larger and tougher than the older Force Projector shields and was later changed from a hexagonal to an octagonal shape; the unit also benefits from the highest build speed of all units, letting it perform on-the-spot rebuilding while absorbing incoming fire.

Oct functions as a force-multiplier rather than a pure damage dealer. It follows nearby allies when given AI-style orders (runs the HugAI behavior) and can carry most ground units and large items—its payload capacity and item inventory have been adjusted across updates (item capacity has changed multiple times and the payload was expressed in blocks before being converted to a 5.5×5.5 block area). The Force Field protects nearby allies and regenerates, but the field itself cannot be healed by external repair sources; an Oct with its field down loses much of its survivability and becomes vulnerable to things like Quad bombs. Octs also have a repair pulse and high raw health (tied with Reign among tier-5 units), high armor relative to most units, and fast movement for their class.

Practical use and interactions:

• Defensive role: Park an Oct on the front to soak turret and unit fire while nearby allies repair or rebuild behind it. Backing it up with Repair Turrets or Velas units can keep it alive indefinitely since the field won’t be healed by those sources, but its large health pool and armor already make it unusually durable.
• Offensive role: Use the Oct to airdrop heavy or dangerous units (Reign, Toxopid) or to deliver high-value payloads (Vaults loaded with explosives or reactor parts) into enemy territory; its bulk and shield let it hover over an enemy Core for blast-bombing or kamikaze strategies in PvP/custom maps. It can also protect fragile backline units (for example Corvus) by soaking turret shots when paired with a Foreshadow.
• Vulnerabilities: Foreshadows bypass the force field and can hit an Oct directly; status effects like Sapped (from Arkyids) or debuff combinations rapidly degrade an Oct’s defenses. Ammo that deals repeated small hits (Surge Alloy rounds from Cyclones/Swarmers) becomes more effective once the shield is down because sparks hit multiple times. When the field is down the Oct cannot counter certain threats (e.g., Quad bombs) and should be treated like any other exposed centerpiece.
• Survivability notes: The Oct’s sheer health (24k reported in some sources) makes it resistant even to powerful explosions (reports say it can survive a Thorium Reactor nuke with much reduced incoming damage if the field blocks it, though using it as a shield for other structures is not recommended). The Force Field shape and break effect were refined in updates to match the octagonal shield.
• Logistics: High item/payload capacity and fast build speed enable the Oct to act as a remote transport and on-the-spot builder—shipping multiple Vaults or carrying components across the map is a common tactic.

Development and miscellanea:

• The Oct was introduced in early builds and later received AI/HugAI behavior, numerous capacity and speed adjustments, and cosmetic/functional Force Field changes across builds (notably build 141 changed the shield to octagonal).
• Its name comes from the Latin prefix oct- (eight). A small list of blocks and high-tier units cannot be picked up by Octs (processors, memory blocks, Cores, certain unique units and large logic/display blocks). Among tier-5 units it has the fastest build speed, is tied for highest raw health, and ranks high in armor and movement speed compared to its peers.