Two different ways to hold the line
AldyDerg’s prototype report and Dyrkabes’ reply describe the contrast below. Their build number is unspecified; later balance changes can alter the result. Read the original player report and developer reply.
| Unit | What the account actually says | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Mosquito | The player linked its frontline performance to rapid production and arrival, plus extra hit immunity, evasion and movement-speed upgrades. The developer acknowledged its balance problem. | This is not a measured damage ranking. A fast replacement screen and high damage per unit are different benefits. |
| Woodlouse | The player said it died before reaching the frontline. The developer agreed it underperformed despite exceptionally high health. | A large health value alone does not establish how long it protects the rest of the army. |
Air coverage is separate from frontline durability
The same player reported limited splash anti-air and described mixing other units into the army. Do not turn “Mosquito can absorb attacks” into “Mosquito counters every enemy.” A unit that cannot target an airborne attacker provides no direct answer to that target, regardless of its ground damage.
When comparing the options shown by your build, separate these questions: can it target the attacker? Then, can it reach or fire at that target in time? Finally, consider its damage and production. This order prevents an impressive health number from hiding a targeting mismatch.
Read unit output without confusing the numbers
The developer’s popup update introduced damage, HP and speed information. A following update described displaying production per second after upgrades. Damage, health, movement and production rate describe different constraints: more health per unit does not automatically mean more health arriving at the frontline each second.
Illustrative comparison: if two otherwise identical lines produce one unit every second and one every five seconds, the second needs five times the health per unit just to match health produced per second. This arithmetic is not a claim about actual Mosquito or Woodlouse stats; targeting, travel and lost units still affect combat.
Use the newer damage statistics and enemy overview
The September 9 update introduced a statistics screen showing damage dealt and absorbed for all units. This gives the two sides of the Mosquito question separate places to look: damage absorbed concerns its screening role, while damage dealt concerns its offensive contribution. The announcement does not specify a per-unit normalization or sampling period, so raw totals alone do not establish a fair damage-per-unit ranking.
- For your army, compare the displayed damage dealt and absorbed rather than using health alone.
- For enemy details, buy the enemy-overview upgrade, then double-click the enemy base. The developer describes this interaction but does not name the required upgrade in the announcement.
- Use the overview to identify the opponent before treating a historical Mosquito recommendation as a counter to it.
Swallow and newer anti-swarm threats
The 0.5.3 announcement describes Swallow as full-access only: a flying rocket launcher with low-damage attacks against global targets, rocket bursts against closer targets including air, and a retreating response during encounters. It is not a promised unlock in the public demo, and no cost or exact unlock level is supplied.
The same announcement lists high-level anti-air rockets on turrets and bases. That means the older complaint about limited anti-air should stay attached to its prototype context; it cannot establish that a Mosquito swarm is safe against the later defenses. Swallow’s two attack ranges also should not be collapsed into one damage claim. 0.5.3 unit and defense notes.
Keep Steam’s unit promise separate from prototype balance
The Steam description says early units can gain later abilities and synergies. It does not give their unlock order or prove a mixed army always beats specialization. Retain the unit’s specific role when considering an upgrade, rather than replacing it solely because a higher-tier option appears.
For the corresponding purchase trade-off, see coins, interest and upgrade controls. Exact current stats, counters and a complete tier ranking are not provided here.