Flying

flying

ID	Flying
Effect Type	Activity-based, Minor

flying

Can't be attacked in melee by non-flying creatures.
Isn't affected by terrain.
Fast travels much faster.

Flying is an effect given to all airborne creatures and objects.

Creatures that are flying cannot be targeted by melee attacks from non-flying creatures. However, when flying, creatures gain a Swoop ability that allows them to attack non-flying creatures.

Flying is only possible on surface zones. Creatures cannot fly underground. Some subterranean creatures, such as bats, have the Wings mutation or a description that indicates that they have wings and can fly, however, those creatures do not actually have the flying effect from a mechanical perspective, because flying is not allowed underground. As a result, they can be targeted normally by melee attacks.

Swooping

Whenever a creature is flying, that creature also gains access to a Swoop ability.^[1] Swoop will attempt to attack an adjacent non-flying creature, with the attack functioning identically to a melee attack. When using Swoop, a flying creature will have a small chance of falling clumsily to the ground. The chance of falling to the ground is doubled if the swoop-attacker is shield blocked^[2].

Travel Speed & Chance to get Lost

Most sources of flight grant a bonus to your travel speed on the world map as well as your chance to get lost. These bonuses stack together even for multiple flight-granting items, and they stack by adding on to other bonuses not multiplying by them. These bonuses apply even when the flight ability is not activated.

Sources of Flying

Flight Source	Movement fall chance	Swoop fall chance	Travel Speed Bonus	Chance to get Lost
The Wings mutation	(6 - Level)%	(24 - Level)%	+(50 + 50*Level)%	-(36 + 4*Level)%
mechanical wings	5%	23%	+100%	-40%
gyrocopter backpack*	2%	20%	+250%	-52%
anti-gravity boots*	0%	18%	+350%	-60%
Cathedrae	0%	(14-compute power/10)%	n/a	n/a