How to Deal With Mactera Swarms: Tactics & Priorities

Combat Summary

• Prioritize Immediately: Mactera are High-Priority Targets that must be dealt with first, often before ground-based threats.
• Focus Fire: Coordinate with your team to eliminate individual Mactera quickly, minimizing incoming damage.
• Accurate Bursts: Exploit their weak points (glow sac) with precise, sustained fire to take them down efficiently.

Management doesn’t care if a Mactera Tri-Jaw rips your face off, but your team should. Those flying bastards, often generically called ‘drones’ by greenbeards, are responsible for more team wipes than almost any other enemy. Ignore them at your peril. Effective Team Coordination and prioritizing these aerial threats is non-negotiable for survival on Hoxxes IV.

Best Counter Tactics

When Mactera appear, shift your focus. Their ranged attacks can shred armor and health quickly, especially when combined with ground threats. Look for the glowing sacs as weak points – direct hits there bring them down faster. Burst fire is often more effective than spraying, conserving ammo and increasing accuracy. Scouts are excellent at rapidly eliminating individual Mactera, while Gunners can suppress entire groups with sustained fire or clear them with Airstrike Grenades. If they get too close, even a Driller’s Cryo Cannon can freeze them out of the sky.

Recommended Class Roles

• Scout: Your mobility and accurate weapons (M1000 Classic, GK2, Plasma Carbine) make you ideal for picking off individual High-Priority Targets like Mactera Spawn and Tri-Jaws. Zip in, pop a few, zip out.
• Gunner: With high ammo counts and sustained fire, a Gunner can suppress or clear entire waves of Mactera. The Thunderhead Autocannon or ‘Lead Storm’ minigun are excellent for airborne crowd control. Don’t forget your shield for desperate breathing room.
• Engineer: Turrets provide continuous fire, assisting with aerial threats, especially if placed strategically. The Shard Diffractor and Breach Cutter can also deal significant damage to grouped Mactera.
• Driller: While not his primary role, a Driller can freeze or ignite grouped Mactera if they’re within close range, especially useful in tight caves where Enemy Tactics force them into a choke point.

Common Mistakes

The biggest mistake is ignoring Mactera to deal with ground swarms. Their damage output accumulates rapidly. Another error is failing to focus fire; spread damage across multiple Mactera means none die quickly, and the team takes more hits. Lastly, don’t run low on ammo when you hear their tell-tale chitter. An RJ250 ‘Pogo’ stick won’t save you if you’re out of shots against a Tri-Jaw.

When To Prioritize Even Higher

• Mactera Plague Warnings: If Mission Control warns of a Mactera Plague, expect large, continuous waves. This isn’t just a threat; it’s a mission-defining event. Every dwarf needs to adjust their Enemy Tactics accordingly.
• Critical Overloads: During events like industrial sabotages or Dreadnought fights, Mactera can easily overwhelm a team focused on other objectives. Designate a dwarf for dedicated aerial threat elimination to maintain Team Coordination.