The Overseer Conundrum: Playable Slave-Maker Ants

[TheRexYo]

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Greetings, fellow an- er, I mean humans! It's nice to eat - uh, meet you. I wrote this article to help players picture one way Slave-Maker Ants could make it into the game as more than an enemy colony. Before we can start, it must be mentioned that there are multiple species of "Slave-Maker Ants", each of which has a different degree of reliance on hosts. Most Slave-Maker Ants, particularly the Polyergus spp., are totally reliant on their slaves, with the colony's native workers being designated solely to raids. However, not all do. The type featured in EotU, Formica sanguinea, is actually a medium between these two ant lifestyles. They will pilfer other colonies, but they can also use their own workers for non-combat tasks as well, making them very versatile. For the purposes of this article, we will be discussing both types.

Here's a summary of the two colonies:
Formica sanguinea
Here's a familiar face.

• Overview: Gameplay with these guys would be pretty interesting. Since they can't get their own food, won't build, and don't tend to nurseries, they will rely heavily on having a supply of host colonies to raid from.
• Strategy: Play em' like black ants, but be aware that your workers are stronger and your soldiers are weaker. Generally, soldiers are only needed for nest-guarding in the early-game or as a substitute for captured soldiers if you have trouble getting into someone's nest. Try to attack enemies while they're away from the nest, sending scouts to check if need-be.
• Formicarium Units:
  • F. sanguinea Scout: A speedier worker ant that fills a scouting role. Has very high damage for its cost, but is quite fragile. Also has the ability to steal a nest's larva, like all other F. sanguinea species. At level 3, has 20% increased speed.
  • Upgrades:
    • Vanguard: Ants have 100% chance to avoid a hit. After avoiding hits this way, there is a 10s cooldown before ants can do so again. Mutually exclusive with Assassin.
      • Note: AoE attacks can trigger this effect for multiple ants. This makes them weak to AoE but strong against slow, single-target attackers (like Spiny Devils!)
    • Assassin: Has a 25% chance to avoid hits while in combat. Mutually exclusive with Vanguard.
    • Subjugator: Ants take 40% less damage from attacks. Mutually exclusive with Exterminator.
    • Exterminator: Ants have 200% increased damage. Mutually exclusive with Subjugator.
• Summarized Information:
  • Base units are identical to that of Black Ants, though soldiers are weaker.
  • Workers can steal enemy colony's larva during nest-raids. This will probably use sight-based targeting (similar to food and fights) to prevent targeted raids. This gives Polygerus a much-needed edge.

Polyergus
And here's the challenger!

• Overview: Gameplay with these guys would be pretty interesting. Since they can't get their own food, won't build, and don't tend to nurseries, they will rely heavily on having a supply of host colonies to raid from.
• Formicarium Units:
  • Polygerus Worker: A standard worker with lower HP. Releases pheromones at random intervals, with an aggression-lowering effect that lasts for 5 seconds. This effect doesn't stop attacks, but reduces their frequency and duration, as well as the distance from which enemies are willing to attack. Can steal larvae from host species. At level 3, can steal from non-host species as well.
    • Upgrades:
      • Defensive Pheromones: At 40% HP, ants release a concentrated cloud of pheromones that confuses nearby foes for 5s. Mutually exclusive with Offensive Pheromones. Cooldown: 30s.
      • Offensive Pheromones: While in combat, ants release a weak cloud of pheromones that confuses nearby foes for 0.5s. Mutually exclusive with Defensive Pheromones. Cooldown: 5s.
      • Raider: Ants can move through enemies, have their move speed increased by 10, and have a 50% chance to avoid being hit while not in combat. Mutually exclusive with Infiltrator.
      • Infiltrator: Ants do not provoke enemy ants unless they attack or are carrying larva. Non-ant enemies have their aggro distance greatly lowered when attempting to spot the ants. Mutually exclusive with Raider.
• Non-Formicarium Units:
  • Polygerus Soldier: A standard soldier with lower HP. Releases aggression-lowering pheromones when attacked at 40% HP or less (this effect doesn't stop attacks, but reduces their frequency and also reduces enemy aggro distance). Can steal larvae from host species. At level 3, can steal from non-host species as well.
• Summarized Information:
  • Reliant on slaves to do the dirty work, and will starve without slaves.
  • Polyergus queens must invade another colony alone and kill their queen to form their own colony.
  • Polyergus queens possess a calming chemical that confuses attackers and lowers nearby enemy aggression.
  • Queen can bite to defend herself - this is necessary for the nest-invasion start-off.
  • Colony can claim the ants of defeated colonies, procuring a new queen to do so. This creates an allied sister colony, allowing for an easier late-game, as Polygerus have a difficult start-up.
  • Colony can target specific nursery tiles with a pheromone marker - only nurseries of the type the marker is placed on will be targeted by members of that marker. This will give them an edge against their formican counterparts.

So, what do you think? Did I miss something? Get something wrong? I'd love to know, so give me a comment if you can!

 

[NONONOOT]

...its a great idea i would love to see this in the game