Bryde

Bryde is a naval combat unit that attacks from long range using two distinct weapon systems: a slow, high-splash artillery shot and a rapid dual missile mount. It appears in maps with water where it operates while swimming, and it is frequently used to control sea lanes and support pushes toward enemy bases or the enemy Core. Bryde complements water-capable support units such as Oxynoe and Cyerce to form resilient, high-damage deathballs that can overwhelm land defenses when water leads directly to the enemy.

Bryde's artillery fires at a rate of 0.92/sec, dealing 70 area damage over roughly 5.0 tiles with 1.5 knockback, a small inaccuracy of 3 degrees, and ammunition that applies the Blasted status and travels over blocks. Its missile mount fires two missiles at a combined rate of 2 × 3/sec; each missile has 12 direct damage and 10 area damage over about 3.1 tiles, with 5 degrees inaccuracy and homing capability. These two weapon types let Bryde soften clustered defenses from far away and finish mobile targets with homing missiles.

Bryde is a durable sea unit with notable stats and gameplay changes across updates: it was added in 6.0 and has received several balance adjustments since, including modest health increases, a size increase (recently to 2.5 × 2.5 which prevents being carried by Mega), an increase in item capacity (now 80), and several range/splash changes that reduced artillery area damage and adjusted its range; its movement speed is expressed as 6.37 tiles/second in modern builds. Bryde was originally subject to a command limit (8) that was later removed.

• Use Bryde where water paths lead directly to objectives: in those maps it overrides most other unit choices except when combined synergies are required (for example Oxynoe for Overclock bonuses and Cyerce for healing). Combined water units create a potent, largely self-sufficient assault force without necessarily investing in higher-tier factory tech.
• Bryde out-ranges many common attackers such as Cyclone, Swarmer, Meltdown and Spectre, allowing it to damage or eliminate those units before they can retaliate. Beware of units like Ripple that outrange Bryde; counter with Cyerce or Retusa to sustain through incoming damage or use long-range shore turrets.
• Against Bryde, the AI commonly charges into static defenses rather than kiting; placing long-range Ripples or dense turret lines at choke points in water can punish Bryde formations. Close-range turrets such as Fuse and Swarmer are effective if Bryde reaches the core. Because Bryde is immune to being slowed by water status, explosive combos (Blasted + Freezing ammunition) with large splash radii are especially effective against groups of Bryde.
• Bryde’s artillery travels over blocks, letting shots go above obstacles and hit behind walls; use this to strike protected targets or hit clustered enemy units behind fortifications.
• The unit name references Bryde’s whale, reflecting its fast, streamlined naval role.