AI War:Spire Maw
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Huge alien vessel that swallows transportable enemy ships and gradually attritions them. If the maw is destroyed, they are ejected with whatever health they have left. External guns also fire at targets at short range while it chews on the swallowed ships. The Maw can swallow a ship every 5/4/3/2/1 seconds at Mark I/II/III/IV/V. |
Base Stats
| Ship Cap | Ammo Type | Armor Type | Immunities | Damage Bonuses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Shell | Ultra-Heavy | Fusion Cutters Reclamation Paralysis Attacks Swallow Being Insta-Killed Translocation |
| Mark | Damage | Attack Range | Reload | Health | Armor | Speed | Engine Health | Single Ship DPS | Ship Cap DPS | Ship Cap HP | Abilities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | 28x9 | 4,000 | 2 sec | 21,000 | 0 | 56 | 100,000 | 126 dmg/sec | 630 dmg/sec | 105,000 | Transports 50 Ships |
| II | 56x9 | 4,000 | 2 sec | 42,000 | 0 | 56 | 100,000 | 252 dmg/sec | 1,260 dmg/sec | 210,000 | Transports 100 Ships |
| III | 84x9 | 4,000 | 2 sec | 63,000 | 0 | 56 | 100,000 | 378 dmg/sec | 1,890 dmg/sec | 315,000 | Transports 150 Ships |
| IV | 112x9 | 4,000 | 2 sec | 84,000 | 0 | 56 | 100,000 | 504 dmg/sec | 2,520 dmg/sec | 420,000 | Transports 200 Ships |
| V | 140x9 | 4,000 | 2 sec | 105,000 | 0 | 56 | 100,000 | 630 dmg/sec | 3,150 dmg/sec | 525,000 | Transports 250 Ships |
| Mark | Knowledge | Metal Cost | Crystal Cost | Total Cost | Energy Cost | Build Time | Cap Metal Cost | Cap Crystal Cost | Cap Total Cost | Cap Energy Cost | Cap Build Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | -- | 25,000 | 0 | 25,000 | 1,000 | 00:03:29 | 125,000 | 0 | 125,000 | 5,000 | 00:17:25 |
| II | 2,500 | 50,000 | 0 | 50,000 | 2,000 | 00:06:57 | 250,000 | 0 | 250,000 | 10,000 | 00:34:45 |
| III | 4,000 | 100,000 | 0 | 100,000 | 2,000 | 00:13:54 | 500,000 | 0 | 500,000 | 10,000 | 01:09:30 |
| IV | Adv Fac | 150,000 | 0 | 150,000 | 2,000 | 00:20:50 | 750,000 | 0 | 750,000 | 10,000 | 01:44:10 |
| V | Core Fab | 200,000 | 0 | 200,000 | 2,000 | 00:27:47 | 1,000,000 | 0 | 1,000,000 | 10,000 | 02:18:55 |
Since version 5.036, a Spire Maw's swallow rate has depended on its mark level. Mark I/II/III/IV/V Maws can swallow one ship every 5/4/3/2/1 seconds. The number of swallows per minute for a full cap of Mark I/II/III/IV/V Maws is thus 60/75/100/150/300 swallows per minute.
How to use in your fleet
Maws are slow and short-ranged, thus ideally situated in an ambush while protected by force fields. It is a quintessential fleet-combat ship, providing an inspired method to vastly reduce enemy firepower. Notably, full caps of Maws-I to Maws-IV will eat over 2000 ships if they are allowed to live long enough to fill their cargo hold - this is entire caps of fleet ships. Therefore, protect them well, and they will perform admirably in every engagement.
NB: Maws are immune to Ion-Cannons, thus able to lead assaults into heavily emplaced AI worlds.
How to counter when in the AI fleet
While fearsome, a Maw can be easily kited. It is vital that they be destroyed before a large chunk of the player fleet is consumed - this can be accomplished by a targeted run with Bombers (fly them out of range while re-loading!) or keeping your fleet out of range. Starships are a good alternative as they cannot be consumed by Maws (starships have their own predator in the form of a Starship Disassembler Guardian).
