unit-beta

Beta is a light Serpulo Core combat unit introduced in early Mindustry updates. It functions as a short‑range skirmisher with fast-firing twin guns that fire homing projectiles; its role is to harass enemies and support other units in close engagements rather than trade long-range volleys. Beta is one of a trio of similar early-game fighters named after Greek letters (Alpha, Beta, Gamma) and shares the unusual trait of having bullets that despawn after traveling a fixed distance.

Beta's primary armament consists of two barrels that together fire at a combined rate equivalent to "2x 3 shots/sec" and deal 11 damage per hit to most targets. The weapon has no inaccuracy and its bullets possess homing behavior. Against buildings the projectiles deal heavily reduced damage (reported as -99% Building Damage, effectively turning the 11 into 0.11). Bullets travel at a speed that was standardized in later patches to 24.75 tiles/sec and will despawn after traveling 22 tiles; earlier versions used different speed units or lifetimes, and the range was reduced from 23 to 22 blocks in a past update.

Important behavior and mechanics to note when using Beta:

• The unit rotates toward its attack target while shooting, and its weapon no longer independently rotates when aiming (this was changed in the 8.0 series).
• Bullet velocity interactions with the unit's own movement have changed over updates: in some builds bullet speed ignored unit velocity, while in others it was affected; current behavior restores influence of unit movement on bullet velocity.
• Bullets have homing, so Beta can pursue small mobile targets effectively within its short despawn range; however, homing does not overcome the fixed travel limit.
• Beta can mine sand if directly player‑controlled and the "Double-tap/click to mine" option is enabled (added in a 7.0 build).
• The unit had a command limit applied early on which was later removed (command limit of 4 removed in a 7.0 build).
• Because of the fixed travel distance of its bullets, Beta (like Alpha and Gamma) is best used inside its effective range—deploy it to contest chokepoints, escort fragile units, or flank enemies rather than attempting long-range pokes or base bombardment.
• Shooting backwards previously caused an unintended extended bullet lifetime; this was fixed in later builds so that reverse firing does not increase bullet travel distance.

Beta is primarily useful in close engagements and swarm tactics where its rapid-fire homing rounds can focus down individual targets quickly, but its nearly negligible building damage and limited projectile range make it a poor choice for direct base assaults.