Aphid
Fiery horticulturalists with strong opinions on monoculture to a fascist degree, Aphids utilize tar and their former flammable pesticides to slow and torch any bot daring to approach, at risk of an explosive overheat, but that is a sacrifice they're willing to make.
FLAMETHROWER: Simple as they come, the Flamethrower allows Aphid to expunge flames that build in both pressure and output as time goes on, allowing an extreme level of damage output and rocket-like mobility unparalleled by any bot currently built. Although this comes at a heavy cost as flames uniquely affect Aphid by Overheating it, limiting the length of time it must fire before cooling. Failure to do so and critically overheating will lead to an explosion.
- Aphids close to overheat can sear any enemy they touch, killing them.
TAR: Aphid opens up the fuel trap to cover the floor in a slowing and incredibly flammable substance. Firing the Flamethrower while the Tar trap is open will instantly Overheat Aphid, causing it to self-destruct.
Upgrades
| Tier | Icon | Name | Effects | Description | Max Stack |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Common |  |
Overpressure | +10% flamethrower output, -50% ignition time | Premature conflagration. | 10 |
 |
Exhaust Feedback | +25% flame pressure buildup, +10% heat buildup | Turbocharged | 10 | |
 |
Laminar Outflow | -20% heat buildup | Ask your mechanic about "explosive reflux" today. | 10 | |
 |
Overclocked Cooling | +40% cooling rate | Entropy is your Friendtropy. | 3 | |
 |
Distended Spigot | +30% tar lifetime, +60% tar burn time | Probably not reversible... | 4 | |
 |
Quadrupedal Optimization | +10% movement speed, +20% traction while firing | Rooted like a weed. | 5 | |
| Tier | Icon | Name | Effects | Description | Max Stack |
| Radical |  |
Aerated Fuel Tanks | Increases post-mortem explosion power, Power increases further after 10 seconds in host | What could go wrong? | 2 |
| Tier | Icon | Name | Effects | Description | Max Stack |
| Breakthrough |  |
Internal Combustion | +100% flame range, -50% flame spread, +25% flamethrower recoil, +40% heat buildup (precludes: Ultrasonic Nozzle) | Handheld rocket engine. | 1 |
 |
Ultrasonic Nozzle | Flames are replaced with gas clouds that explode after you stop firing (precludes: Internal Combustion) | WARNING: Thermobaric blast rated visor mandatory. | 1 | |
 |
Alternative Coolant | Instantly vent all heat when not firing.', 'Create a self-damaging explosion based on amount of heat vented. | Liquid, conductive, and readily available... | 1 |
Skins
| Name | Image | Description | Unlock |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default |  |
"The green thumb." | Allways Unlocked |
| Magnesium |  |
"Burning Bright." | Complete a run getting 100 kills using Aphid |
| Carbon |  |
"Well Done." | Gain 30,000 points in a single loop |
| Krypton |  |
"Smells like grilled leek..." | Complete Advanced RAMming (AD) |
Elites
Enemy Aphids can be spawned with one or more upgrades, with their skin being determined by the upgrade. These Elites will award extra fitness points when defeated, and will retain their upgrade when swapped into(usually stacking its effect with upgrades already possessed). In the case that an Elite is spawned with multiple of these upgrades, the skin closer to the top of the table will take priority.
| Skin | Image | Icon | Upgrade | Effects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnesium | |
|
Aerated Fuel Tanks | Self-Destruct explosion is significantly larger. |
| Krypton | |
|
Distended Spigot | Increases the lifetime and burn duration of tar. |
| Carbon | |
|
Laminar Outflow | Heat builds up more slowly when firing. |
Trivia
- The Indev name for Aphid was Flamebot.
- The original moveset for Aphid was very different, the original moveset did not have the overheat mechanic, rocket thrust mechanic, tar, or pan-sear, its secondary attack was a limited form of the self-destruct, and its flamethrower decreased in output with time.
- The “Carbon” Elite Aphid does not appear in-game as of version 0.4.2 due to a programming error, which checks for “Self-laminar outflow” instead of “Laminar outflow”.
- The "Krypton" Aphid Skin is a reference to Hatsune Miku.
Concept Art
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