Collaris

Collaris is a Tier 5 melee-assault mech unit that appears as a guardian enemy in campaign sectors (notably Karst on wave 9) and as a late-game hostile in Origin. It is designed to close with enemy bases and overwhelm defenses by walking into range and detonating a powerful main shell that fragments into homing submunitions. Collaris cannot target air units and combines very high mobility with explosive area damage, making it effective at breaching walls and clearing clustered ground defenses when commanded directly or possessed by the player.

The Collaris weapon fires a two-part attack: a primary shell and multiple frag bullets. The primary shell fires at 2 x 0.23/sec and deals 195 damage with 120 area damage over approximately 4.5 tiles; it has a limited lifespan so timing and positioning matter. On explosion the shell releases 15 frag bullets that deal roughly 37 damage each, with 35 area damage (about 3.7 tiles), 2x pierce, and homing behavior. Frag bullets also cannot hit air. The unit inflicts Slow on itself for about 2.18 seconds when firing. Its leg contact does minor area leg damage (~32 area damage over ~4 tiles). Collaris has the fastest movement speed of all Tier 5 units across both planets.

In player hands Collaris excels when directly possessed: you can detonate the main shell at a chosen position so fragments travel farther and reach turrets that would otherwise be out of direct range. This tactic increases effective striking distance and allows it to deal with most turrets except very long-range or heavily shielded ones (e.g., Scathe requires additional countermeasures). Pairing Collaris with short-range missile escorts (Obviate, Avert) placed ahead of it and a Unit Repair Tower helps defend against counters and Scathe missiles. Collaris is space-efficient for base assaults and synergizes with allied missile/anti-missile units to disable Shockwave Tower lines and other area-control defenses.

When opposing Collaris, static defenses generally defeat it if its projectiles are intercepted or the unit is prevented from reaching walls. High-damage, layered large walls and boosted Regen Projectors stop most of its assaults. Shockwave Towers neutralize amassed shells and are effective against groups. Collaris’ inability to hit air units makes Obviates or other flyers ideal counters; ozone containers dropped into a pack of Collaris can rapidly finish them if caught in the blast. Cyanogen-fueled Sublimates are particularly space-efficient against mechs attempting to crawl over walls. In campaign scenarios it rarely appears in overwhelming numbers, so competent defenses or a few targeted counter-units suffice.

Collaris was added in Build 136 and has undergone several balance changes: its range and primary damage were reduced in Build 142, and later Build 152 adjusted drown time scaling, increased primary area damage to its current values while shortening projectile lifespans and lowering secondary projectile damage and area. The unit’s weapon sprite has also been updated in an intermediate build. Collaris shares its name with a common beetle species and, together with Tecta, is one of the only units that appears as a guardian on Erekir sectors.