Chrome pyramid/Killing

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Killing a chrome pyramid is a difficult and tedious task that grants its own achievement. There are multiple ways to go about it, each with their own caveats.

The easiest method is to find an Obliterate Faction relic and then activate it to eliminate all robots on the screen. This will counts as your kill.

Another easier way is to look for a rusted chrome pyramid in a rusty biome. Rusted pyramids are unable to fabricate missiles, and their forcefield is only rarely up.

Attacks to defend against

The chrome pyramid has two main attacks: a spray of HE Missiles and a dangerous non-resistible melee attack (~18 PV, +10 to hit) if within melee range and the swarm rack is removed in any way. The missile attack is the least dangerous attack. Having a high enough DV and keeping out of its range will completely nullify any damage. It starts with 100 HE missiles, with the swarm rack firing 10 each round. It can also fabricate 20 more once it runs out at the cost of 100 HP. It can only do this every 2-4 turns. It's slow, but is possible, to slowly whittle away the pyramid's HP by forcing it to fabricate missiles every turn it can.

Removing the Shield

If you're not dealing piercing damage with missile weapons, you'll have to remove the shield to get into melee range to attack. There are four main methods:

  • Be True Kin and have force modulator to walk through it
  • Use any source of Normality to destroy the walls (this will also affect yourself as well)
  • Use any source of EMP to disable wall generation (this will also affect yourself, unless your stuff is Electromagnetically-shielded, or if you're using Electromagnetic Pulse)
  • Make the pyramid destroy its own force bubble by making its missiles detonate near it

If the force bubble is damaged in any way, it will not fully regenerate itself until the entirety of the force bubble is destroyed, so plan accordingly.

A more dangerous method could be to utilize plasma-based weaponry, either a rifle, pistol, or grenades. All will create a gas pocket of plasma, continuously disabling the force bubble. Be wary of the damage over time when approaching the gas.

Damage Methods

After removing the shield, and possibly lowering the HP after forcing it to fabricate missiles, you will need some actual damage to count as your kill for the achievement. The following methods do not utilize wishes- but if you desire, one can simply wish explodingpalm when in melee range to instakill the pyramid and get the achievement.

Normal Method

Have a weapon that ignores AV, or have an electrified mod on your melee weapon. The pyramid near resists everything except electricity. Once you get a hit in, slowly whittle down the HP any way you like. Having a lot of HP and healing items helps.

Attempting to dismember the pyramid is not recommended if you plan to further engage the pyramid in melee combat. It has Regeneration 10, so it cannot be decapitated and thus instantly killed in this fashion. Dismembering the pyramid's hardpoint, which holds the swarm rack, makes it more dangerous as well. They would then have to counter against the distortion field's massive unresistable damage output. The field is equipped to the body, and cannot be removed.

Thermal Disintegration

Though the heat resistance of the pyramid is incredibly high, it is possible to raise its temperature enough, to achieve an instant kill. This can be done via thermal grenade, or more efficiently, through a flamethrower. Note that the flamethrower does not need to penetrate the AV of an enemy to raise the temperature of a certain square, so it is desirable to keep the pyramid still for this method. Luckily, enemies that are engulfed in fire are usually stationary. Plasma can be very helpful due to lowering the heat resistance to zero, and preventing natural cooling.

Kaboom

A Hand-E-Nuke thrown within a few squares of the pyramid is enough to kill it in one hit, even with its shields up, although as a precautionary measure they should be disabled, as they can absorb much of the blast. A dead-center hit directly on the pyramid can do 40000 damage, which is more than enough to kill one even at full health. As usual when handling a Hand-E-Nuke, be aware that it can do a large amount of damage to yourself, and that it is also very expensive.