If you keep lots of animals, is there any practical use for Animal Pulsers?

Started by Teleblaster18, August 05, 2018, 03:12:05 AM

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Teleblaster18

I'm struggling to figure out what one is, and I've played this game a lot.

If only they wouldn't ignore the doors when they go manhunter, I'd keep them locked in the barn while the rest of the map's animals go berserk...but unlike wildlife, they just go right through every door in the base like they have an Electronic Door Swipe Key.

How are you guys using them...if at all?

s44yuritch

Simple: you don't use them on your home map.
But, when you go out to attack something (outpost/enemy base), that's the time for them. Just make sure to:
a. don't take your own animals with you
and
b. build a shelter on the map before using the pulser.

And, of course, make sure there are enough squirrels and such around the enemy base.

Teleblaster18

Quote from: s44yuritch on August 05, 2018, 03:39:47 AM
Simple: you don't use them on your home map.
But, when you go out to attack something (outpost/enemy base), that's the time for them. Just make sure to:
a. don't take your own animals with you
and
b. build a shelter on the map before using the pulser.

And, of course, make sure there are enough squirrels and such around the enemy base.

Is there any reasonable usage for them on your home map, though?  I also caravan with animals exclusively, so the same problem that applies at home would apply for me when I'm assaulting enemy bases.

I've never used them even once, in all my hours of playing...again, if it were only the fact that either a) it didn't effect colony animals, or b) that colony animals would not observe door barriers when it was activated, it would be a fantastic game item.

Kirby23590

Good for raiding enemy/pirate & destroying bases.

But if you are desperate when mechanoids with their centipedes that are raiding you and they are about to trash your colony.

You better send someone out in a caravan with all the colony animals with them outside of the map via by leaving the map or with drop pods. Sometimes it doesn't work & sometimes centipedes will outnumbered by angry squirrels and rats only leaving a mixed manhunter pack that can be wounded or with less numbers.

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rythmica

So here's the thing: not really with a LOT of animals. But if you have between 1-10, you can anesthetize them, and they will be unaffected by the pulsar while asleep.
Generally, I've used this technique during animal migrations when I want them to rush my killbox (pre 1.0, obviously) or, for raids that prepare or mortar raids.

Plus, it's just really fun to drive all the animals crazy.

cultist

You could just wall off your animals while it lasts and let them back out when they stop being crazy.

Nainara

Quote from: Teleblaster18 on August 05, 2018, 06:12:38 AM
Is there any reasonable usage for them on your home map, though?  I also caravan with animals exclusively, so the same problem that applies at home would apply for me when I'm assaulting enemy bases.
Psychic animal pulsers are WMDs. It doesn't make sense to drop them in your backyard. Much better if you drop them in the other guy's backyard.
If you absolutely must bring your own animals to the party, then perhaps you can build a shelter to keep your animals away from your colonists until the effect wears off.

patoka

easy: i always have a room in the outskirts of my base where i let all my animals haul corpses of dead raiders and then feast on them. when i want to use my psychic animal pulser, i change all my animal's area to that corpse room and then seal it with a block of wood. i then activate it, all animals go manhunter as intended and a day later i let my calm animals out again :)
surely you dont need to rebutcher corpses that you already half butchered if you leave the table to smoke a joint real quick?