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As dangerous as they are, hellbugs are actually an integral part of the terraformed ecosphere and economy. Their metabolism converts Gulanite into Petrohol, the fuel used by almost all ground vehicles in the Defiance universe.
The key to fighting hellbugs of all sizes is to aim for anything that glows. Mouth, chest, abdomen, butt... shoot the red-yellow glowy bits.
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Monarchs, like bee drones, are the only active males in a hellbug hive (most hellbugs are asexual). Skitterlings are born from a Matron (no one knows how a Matron is made). Skitterlings are the larval phase of hellbugs and, while maturing, work mainly as diggers and food gatherers, gathering gulanite to feed the hive by spitting an acid onto the gulanite, then consuming the liquid. When a skitterling has consumed enough of this liquefied gulanite they can return the food to the hive or burrow and make a chrysalis that, when they emerge in their mature form, produces a Warrior, Archer or Blast Pod. It can be assumed that this is also how a Monarch (and maybe even a Matron or Hellion) is produced, but it has never been observed in the wild. Monarchs always burrow up out of the ground fully formed which has prevented researchers from observing the births.
A Hellion is a mobile nest, capable of moving when the gulanite veins in an area have been depleted, and is in two distinct parts: The "host" is the enormous three-sided thing you see at Major Arkfalls, and the motivating intelligence is the "symbiote". Although the Hellion normally stays deep underground it can be drawn to the surface by large deposits of purified gulanite, such as the large crystals seen surrounding the site of a Major Arkfall, producing a feeding frenzy.
Episode 3: Svushinnira introduced Elementally-mutated bugs. These come in three "flavors": Fire (red), Electrical (blue) and Radioactive (yellow), They are stronger than their normal cousins and the frontal attacks will be of their elemental damage type, not just concussive. In other words, when a Hellbug Fire Warrior backhands you, you burst into flame. And, yes, Elemental Archers spit Fire, Acid and Lightning instead of goo.
If the arkfall crystal is red, Skitterlings attack the arkfall and feed off it. This leaves a glowing carbuncle (weak point) which they will consume, then run off and burrow to make a Chrysalis. Bad as this sounds, without the skitterlings you will take a long time to destroy the arkfall. Kill the skitterling AFTER he makes the carbuncle, then concentrate your fire on the carbuncle to do a lot more damage! Regarding chrysalises, When the timer over the chrysalis expires it hatches an Archer, Blast Pod or Warrior, so destroy it before it hatches.
If the arkfall crystal is blue just kill everything until the crystal becomes unstable and explodes (EGO will warn you a few seconds before it blows).
Kill Importance:
If you have any coordination with other ark hunters, try to assign some to kill mobs while some concentrate on the carbuncles made by the skitterling bites.
Editorial: There has been a lot of disagreement about this on the forums so let me be clear. Skitterlings feed on the Arkfall Crystal by biting the shell and, like a wasp stinging a peach to get juice, they then eat the carbuncle. This is bad two ways. Only a fed skitterling can burrow and make a Chrysalis, and the carbuncle vanishes faster. Killing skitterlings is NOT a bad thing! Enough will always slip through the killzone to make carbuncles, but those that do need to die the moment they form it.
Mother of all Hellbugs: Hellbug Matron appears. See her description, above.
Revolting Hellbugs: A Hellbug Hellion rises, drawn by the "smell" of purified Gulanite,and a feeding frenzy ensues. Warriors and Archers spawn throughout this arkfall just to harass you while you try to kill the Hellion.
Smells Like Victory: Ring of pheromone secretors around one of the three-armed Hellion Host/Nests. No real difference to Revolting Hellbugs other than the addition of the secretors, which are just window dressing.
Trivia |
The name of this Arkfall is a reference to a line spoken by Robert Duvall in the 1979 Francis Ford Coppola film "Apocalypse Now", "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning. It smells like... victory." The devs must be big Duvall fans because there is also an Emergency with this same name. |
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Note: In Emergency: Smells Like Victory, the task is to Collect pheromone samples. We have yet to reach the Smells Like Victory arkfall before the Hellion rises so "maybe" the secretors are there so the nest does not rise before players arrive?
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