Matabele Ants- Paramedic Ants

[JDMarBlack]

I know the topic of healer ants have been brought up before, but this is more of an ant idea than a healer idea. Matabele ants, or more specifically Megaponera analis, are known for their column formation termite raids and their healing of injured ants. While in real life they bring their injured home after the battle, in the game world we don't tend to have many to bring back and those that live afterwards can just walk themselves back.

Due to the difference between reality and the game, this behavior isn't really meaningful and is already available to one type of ant as an upgrade, which is where the previous suggestion fell short. Instead I suggest the Matabele ants which carry(and immobilize) ants with hp below 40% back to the nest to be healed. This synergises well with the black ant's self preservation, allowing them to retreat back to the Matabele ants to be healed, thereby costing less food and allowing for a conservative playstyle as opposed to swarming the enemy with as many units as possible and wasting tons of food hatching new ants.

In addition to these, assuming the Leaf Cutter ants will be more of a production based unit for the formicarium and the Army ants will be a melee DPS unit, it gives the Black ants the ability to serve as a decent tank and with the addition of the Spiny Devil Cricket's aoe attack and thornmail passive, this will make an in-battle healing ability more necessary with smaller groups of ants.

 

[Buffalo981]

Leaf cutters ants will have the role of being a tank in the formicarium, not production (of food, I'm assuming is what you meant).

Black ants are currently used as tanks for other ants (wood ants) only because there is no other choice of melee unit. The role of black ants currently is melee attacker (maybe even damage dealer). The role of wood ants is ranged attacker/damage dealer.

The great thing about this game is by default ants will have all of these roles, but it is really up to the player on what game-changing upgrades to give the ants and how to use them. I believe black ants are meant to be a simple to use, versatile unit. Unlike melee wood ants, which are straight up tanks with very little damage, black ants do high damage and, especially with upgrades, get high health as well. That is why I believe the role of melee attacker is more fitting, rather than tank. The game, too, catogorizes black ants with red melee icon, while the only ants with the blue tank icon is the melee wood ant.

 

[Blitz674]

This is a bit off topic but, I resenty witnessed the Matabele ants attacking a termite nest while I was in vacation.