Merui

Merui is a legged artillery unit that fires slow, unblockable ground-only area projectiles which travel over intervening blocks. It appears in the same tech tree branch as other beetle‑themed units and was added in build 136; its main weapon received a slight rate-of-fire nerf in build 149 (reload 60 → 63 ticks, firing rate 1 → 0.95/sec).

The Merui’s primary shot deals 30 area damage with an effective blast radius of about 2.3 tiles, applies 0.8 knockback, and cannot hit flying targets. The projectile travels over obstacles and other units, with an effective range of 17.25 tiles (projectile lifetime ~0.76 s, speed ~22.5 tiles/s) and a travel behavior that allows it to pass over blocks to strike exposed ground targets. The weapon cannot hit air, and the projectile continues past intervening targets. The firing cadence is roughly 0.95 shots per second (63 ticks reload).

Merui is fragile compared to similar midgame tanks and is relatively expensive to field because it requires tungsten components from the fabricator. Its strength lies in denying and severing turret ammo lines and damaging clustered ground targets from behind cover thanks to its over‑block projectile. It pairs well with more durable buddies that can absorb direct fire: position Merui behind tanks such as Stell to let those units soak hits while Merui knocks out defending turrets. On offense, Merui performs best when enemy defenses are exposed or when breaching has removed obstructing blocks; breach weapons and high-penetration shells (such as tungsten rounds) help finish Merui that hide behind other tanks.

Practical considerations and tactics:

• Spread friendly units into a line or concave formation to reduce splash casualties from Merui blasts; surrounding a stalled Merui makes it easier to focus and destroy.
• Kite small groups of Merui using faster units, as their projectile is relatively slow and can be dodged.
• Merui cannot target air, so area bombing with airborne-delivered liquids (e.g., ozone drops from a Reinforced Liquid Container) will damage them without being targeted, making environmental or air-delivered damage effective against clustered Merui.
• Merui projectiles ignore intervening blocks, making them particularly effective at striking turret ammo lines or structures behind thin cover; use this to sever logistics or force defenders out into the open.
• Legged units like Merui can traverse around liquid tiles if natural walls border the pool and the unit body does not sit over the water; this allows Merui to accompany other legged attackers in specific terrain configurations.
• On maps or modes with tungsten and Oxidation Chamber access, Merui unlocks synergies with higher-tier turrets (Sublimate) and broader tactical options, but the unit’s low speed and fragility mean investing in faster or sturdier escorts is usually necessary.

Merui units carry a small item capacity (unique among normal non-core units on certain maps), which allows limited wireless transport of items in some scenarios; this capacity is of little practical automated use on certain maps that lack unit-compatible logistics.

The unit’s name derives from the aquatic beetle Meru phyllisae, following the beetle naming convention of its unit family.